Part two - Learning Log - Check & Log

Check & Log 1 (Exploring Coloured Media)

Which of the media you have experimented with did you find most expressive? Make notes in your learning log on the pros and cons of each medium.

• I think the different mediums are expressive in different ways. The oil pastels are very expressive because of their vivid colours, and using them I think you would be able to create a beautiful drawing, though i think the colours would not be true to life. I think marks would be expressive in a similar way, however I think the colours may be slightly more true to life, and the blending is more subtle than with oil pastels. Coloured pencil can produce more accurate colours but the thinner lines and less vibrant colours to me are less interesting than the other mediums.

Which medium do you think lends itself to very detailed work?

• Before seeing Henri Fantin-Latour's work I thought that mediums with small tips, e.g. pencils, biros, fineliners, would be more effective in detailed work. Now I think you can use any medium and achieve a detailed work, but a that a variety of stroke widths give a much better effect.

Check & Log 2 (Detailed Observation)

Which drawing media did you find most effective to use, for which effects?

• The fineliners are fun for line drawings, they give a nice bold line and can give some fine details. It is tricky to use them for shading but I did not attempt this as I used them only on the line drawings. I found the markers and dip pens useful on the stipples and dots exercise as they gave different widths of stipples/dots, which allowed for variation and detail. The pencils i used for Getting tone and depth in detail were very versatile as they were able to depict light and dark tones, and a sharp point allows precise marks and a blunter point gives wider marks. I think the pencil was most effective here, but I have not used markers very much before so I think I will find them more effective as I use them more.

What sort of marks work well to create tone, pattern and texture?

• I think dots and hatching is useful to create tone, pattern and texture. But more 'random' marks and a lack of pattern can give a nice scruffy texture.

Did you enjoy capturing details or are you more at home creating big broad brush sketches?

• I did enjoy capturing details, however I have not really done any work with big broad strokes before. I found the stipples and dots interesting to do, but I think i should've used some colour to indicate the form more accurately. I like to be accurate but I found the Getting tone and depth in detail exercise quite difficult because I had to stare at the object so much, and no matter how much I drew there was always something to add. That is why I really liked doing the line drawing of the mushroom, the lines give the impression, and despite there only being a few lines, the object still appeared! I think that the more details you add, the more details you still need to add, but if you do not aim for detail you can achieve a result that is just as interesting with only a small amount of detail. I think adding too much detail somehow makes the drawing lose something.

Look at the composition of the drawings you have done in this project.

• I seem to keep placing my objects too much in the middle of the page. I always end up with space on all sides, so I think I should try to use some compositions where objects are cut off at the edges.

Check & Log 3 (Still Life)

What aspects of each drawing have been successful, and what did you have problems with?

• I think my choice of objects for the Still life group in line exercise was poor. I should have gone for objects with more interesting shapes individually. I think the result is that I have a drawing with too many spindly objects, and not enough objects with substance. For example I should've had some bigger round objects in there, maybe some bigger flowers. For Still Life Group in Tone I liked the selection of objects, but I am not happy with how I used the oil pastels on the leaves. I tried to add detail with coloured pencil but I do not like the result of the leaves. However I really like how the mushrooms turned out with just a small amount of oil pastel.

Did you manage to get a sense of depth in your drawings? What elements of the drawings and still life groupings helped to create that sense?

• I think that I managed to achieve some depth in the Still Life Group in Line exercise, however as I siad above, I think I would have achieved a better composition and suggestion of depth if I had some other objects of a more varied size. I think there is a three dimensional look but only a slight one, although that may just be because it is only in line. I think the thicker lines suggest form quite well. In the Still Life Group In Tone exercise I think the leaves look too flat, but the shape of the mushrooms is good.

What difficulties were created by being restricted to line or tone?

• It is harder to suggest depth with only line,as the only way is to vary the line thickness. I think that using tone only does not have as many limitations, as by using tone you get the effect of a line almost automatically.

Check & Log 4 (Drawing Fruit and Vegetables in Colour)

Your composition should occupy most of the paper's surface. How much negative space do you have left?

• I always seem to have negative space left in the same place - around the edges of the drawing. I noted earlier in the project that I should try to position objects coming off the page slightly, but I seem to be drawn to the centre of the page.

What have you learned from drawing the details of fruit and vegetables?

• I have learned how to present form, and how to position objects interestingly (except for the point above). I think that what I have learned by drawing these objects can be applied to everything else, as all objects can be made up of regular objects, such as spheres and cubes, and many of the natural objects are almost regular in shape.

What did you find most challenging about this part of the course?

• I have struggled with how to use the oil pastel. I really like the grainy effect when using oil pastel on grainy paper, but I am not sure if that is ideal or not. I think smooth paper will be too slippery for oil pastel, and will not give such an interesting result. I also struggled a bit with blending the markers, as I am not entirely sure how to use the 'Colourless Blender' in my marker set without making it dirty (and dangerous for the next time it is used!).

Check & Log 5 (Drawing Plants and Flowers)

How will your experiments with negative space help your observational drawing in the future?

• The negative space experiments have really highlighted how important it is not just to look at an object, but the relationship between an object and other objects around it. I think in future this will help me with compositions, making the spacing of objects accurate, and help with the proportions of certain parts of objects.

What techniques did you use to ensure you drew your plants in proportion?

• I compare different parts of the plants to each other to see roughly how much space they should take on a page. I also look at the distances between objects.

How did you achieve an effect of three-dimensional space in your drawings?

• The composition of the objects helps - having objects in front of one another and depicting the shadows cast from one object to another. Also having objects that don't have a lot of flat surfaces - e.g. the leaves of a plant are quite flat, but the flowers of roses are quite rounded in parts, and the flowers of lilies flare outwards quite a lot.

Check & Log 6 (Drawing Animals)

What were the main challenges of drawing animals?

• My main challenge was finding one that would sit still long enough for me to draw more than two lines. I attempted to draw my dogs in different poses but they were quite alarmed when I was staring at them for more than 5 seconds. It helped me to try to draw a shape quickly though, and I think I improved after the first few attempts.

Which media did you enjoy using most and which did you feel were best for the subject matter and why?

• I found the charcoal most useful as it was very expressive and I could do a few quick strokes and still get the impression I wanted. Especially as I could then blend the charcoal rather than attempting to get more lines in. I also found the markers quite useful as I could block in colours for highlights and shadows rather than trying to draw a pose with lines.

Where can you go to draw more animals? Think about the sorts of places that will give you opportunities for animal drawing. Have you tried drawing a moving animal yet?

• My first thought would be a zoo or a wildlife centre. There are also a lot of rabbits or hares at a marina near where I live, so if it was not too busy I may be able to attempt to draw those in the future. I have not tried to draw a moving animal (at least not on purpose).