Part one - Tone and Form

Project: Tone and form


Exercise - Observing shadow and light formations on a surface

Exercise - Tonal studies

Experiment - Robinia

Research point - Odilon Redon

The work of Odilon Redon is new to me - I had never heard of him before this project.

When I first started researching, I was introduced with very colourful, beautiful pictures, with atmospheric lighting and angelic looking figures. These were apparently his later works.

I was a bit shocked when I saw his earlier works, as they are completely the opposite. Odilon Redon has been called 'Prince of Dreams', but his earlier works look like they are based on his nightmares. They are very dark, and rather than being bright and dramatic, are actually very disturbing. They are devoid of any colour and look as though they are by a completely different artist.

The contrast between the dark, grim faces in his earlier works and the bright, flowery, and beautiful colours in his later works is extreme. The earlier works look like the work of a very depressed person, who seems to have a strange obsession with spiders and menacing eyes that stare straight at you. In the later works most figures are looking to the side, and the whole piece is peaceful and vibrant.


Lane of Trees

(From here)

Bouquet of Wild Flowers

(From here)

Check and log

• How difficult did you find it to distinguish between light from the primary light source and secondary reflected light?

In these exercises I didn't find much reflected light, however in the exercises in the next section I found the different light sources quite confusing. I occasionally moved the objects slightly to check where the light was coming from. On some objects it was more obvious where the light was coming from, for example objects with very smooth, flat or rounded surfaces. Surfaces with nooks and grooves distorted the light a lot so it was not obvious what the source was.

• How has awareness of light and shade affected your depiction of form?

Light and shade have given the drawings a much more three dimensional look. The objects look much less flat and transparent, and have a lot more depth and texture.