Part one - Still life

Project: Still life


Exercise - Still life sketches of made objects

I accidentally cut off the notes when I took the photos, next to the pencil drawing it says:

"There was much more reflected light with these items than i was expecting. The cast shadows should have been drawn with either diagonal or horizontal lines. I don't like the effect of the vertical lines. The glass looks too messy."

The notes next to the pen drawing were accidentally cut off as well, they are:

"I think this turned out a lot better than the pencil drawing above, and I prefer the arrangement here. I really like the pen marks, they somehow show the curvature more effectively than in my pencil drawing. The glass looks more accurate and transparent with fewer lines."

I really like how the pen drawing turned out, it is one of my favourite pieces so far in the course.

The more I look at it the more I think the glass in the pencil drawing looks very messy, I will remember to use less lines next time.


Exercise - Composition of natural objects

I really enjoyed drawing the fruit, and I think this time the pencil suited the subject better than the ink. The pencil works well for natural objects and I wonder if the ink was a bit harsh for the subject here. I think fewer marks with the ink would have worked better for these objects.


Check and log

• Do you think it is easier to suggest three dimensions on man-made or natural objects? Try to explain your answer.

I think usually man-made objects are easier because they tend to be more regular. Fruit and vegetables on the other hand often have knobbly bits, dents and are less e.g. spherical (in the case of round fruit!) than say a tennis ball.

• How did you create a sense of solidity in your composition?

I tried to keep the objects together but not quite touching, so they were not crowded but not too far apart either. The contract in tone and cast shadows helped the composition work.

• Do you think changing the arrangement of your composition makes a difference to your approach and the way you create a sense of form?

I think the approach is the same. The contract between the objects and the lighting create the form. However it would be harder to create a nice composition if all the objects were of the same colour/tone and in the same lighting conditions. A bunch of grapes in full shade would be quite a difficult arrangement to draw because all the parts would be uniformly dark and would probably end up looking quite flat.

• How did you decide how to position yourself in relation to the objects?

I placed the objects on the window sill as the lighting was pleasant... I was then quite restricted as to where I could sit but chose the angle that I thought looked most complimentary to the fruit!


Exercise - Observing negative space and perspective

Part one - Reflected light

Project: Reflected light


Exercise - Study of light reflected from one object to another

Exercise - Shadows and reflected light and shade

Research point - Patrick Caulfield

Patrick Caulfield's work is in some ways quite simple, many of his pictures use only a few colours, and the shapes of the objects are simplified, as in his White Ware prints. His use of negative space is very interesting, as it makes the detail of the picture the background, rather than the subject. The subject still remains the focus in some ways, as it is much bolder due to the lack of details. However it is sometimes hard to see what the main subject is. In 'Reserved Table' you would expect the table to be the subject, however the focus is the lobster in the background, because the colours pop out.

I really like his later works, such as 'After Lunch'. In this, Patrick Caulfield's style contrasts simplified objects with one very realistic object.

For my drawing in the style of Patrick Caulfield I have used negative space in an otherwise quite realistic picture. I think now that I should have used a less realistic, more cartoon-like approach on the bricks of the fireplace, to make it more like Patrick Caulfield's work. I am not overly happy with the results this time, but hope to experiment with negative space more in the future.

Check and log

• What are the difficulties in separating cast shadow from reflected light and shade?

The difficulty depends a lot on how complex the shapes of the objects are. if the shapes are regular it is easier to see and predict where the shadows will fall and where the reflections will be. If there are a lot of grooves or different curves then it gets trickier. Cast shadows are easier to see and depict, as they have a more obvious direction and cause, but reflective surfaces can show reflections that you wouldn't expect.

• The reflected shadow and light follows the contours of the objects. How have you shown this in your drawing?

On the metal tin you can see that there is an almost straight white line on the side facing the jug/tankard type object. The white line moves with the grooves in the tin. The same happens on the jug, as the white line follows the curve of the object, and where there are shadows there are darker sections.