Project exploring coloured media

check and log

Which media did you find the most expressive


notes on coloured media used

Soft pastel

This I found surprising as I have never used this before the different textures and blending was interesting  I shall experiment more

Coloured pencils

I found some interesting results with these I used three different makes to see if there was a difference (Faber-Castell- Dewent and Boldmore) My experience has been limited in the passed as I have usually only used pencil when drawing.  These again prove to be an interesting exercise

 Oil Pastels

I have never been interested in using these before as I suppose I did not know the best way to use them So again I found the results good  I think maybe handy when doing landscapes etc. rather than details work

Maker pen

These I have never considered using before in art so quite enjoy the experience again I think would be useful in background work etc

 Coloured Chalk

This was fun  though I did think it might be a little messy it proved to be not as bad a charcoal I agree you may be able to make some detail work with these.

Coloured ink

Here I use a variety of nibs on this exercise including various sized bamboo pens I think these are ideal for more detailed work and enjoyed using them almost as much as pencils!

My last experiment was using academy watercolours pencils in different ways

Wet on dry - Lifting the colour off the pencil with a wet paint brush this gives soft colours  and some details

Paper palette - drawn solid blocks on separate paper then lifted off with wet brush this was similar to the wet on dray but give more of a softer colouring (clouds etc maybe)?  

Finally  Dry on wet   wet paper the drawn with dry pencil this gives a more defined mark and quite interesting in hatching and blocking

I my opinion I think that the coloured ink lends itself more to detailed work also the drawing pencil.

two artists that exemplify mastery of detailed drawing

My first artist is Andrea Del Verrocchio born between 1434 and 1437c -to 1488 in Florence in to a artist family.  Verrocchio was counted among the best draughtsmen of his time (Hemingway). His Head of a Woman is a line drawing in black charcoal on paper which has acquired a buff tone during the centuries. Observe the decisive line with which the hair and its ornaments are drawn but wonder whether the line was used tin the shading of the face. The features are draw in charcoal, this was them rubbed down with a stump or finger to create a greater subtlety of tone - a method which most art student have adopted but which has never produced a result comparable with this study by Verrocchio.  He has softened the face shading to suggest the texture and tone of flesh with highlights which he has emphasised with white also with the texture of the hair.  (from the book The Magic of Line by Percy V Bradshaw).

The next drawing by Verrocchio is a design for a monument in the form of the covered bowl surmounted by a figure of Justice, as a design for a funeral monument to Andrea Vendramin commissioned by Vendramin while his was in Venice the original  drawing in lead pencil has been covered in pen by a later hand which may have modified the main shape (V and A Museum)

William Albert Green 1907 to 1984

Green began drawing as a teenager using pencil and water colour then turned to pen and ink mainly concentrating  on historic buildings in the Mildlands counties then  later on further a field. His method was to make a pencil sketch on location (by bicycle or public transport)  from which he would later trace the outline on to cartridge paper and complete the drawing using Indian ink and a fine mapping pen (wag@ewgren.org.uk).

reflections on Assignment one

Question 1
I personally think it has helped doing preliminary work before starting on the final work this I have never done before and found it very helpful.

Question 2
This I found quite hard as I have never done any drawings larger than  A 4 or smaller so it was  a challenge

Question 3
I think I made a fair selection of objects to draw it was interesting the different ways to arrange them and the final design different as I have not done group objects before and it was interesting to do.

Question 4
The enlarging exercise helped on the subject of  working on a larger sheet of paper

Question 5

The drawing and hatching was a bit trying as have not attempted any for a long time but once I got started and relaxed a bit it wasn't  to bad.  I think I need to practice a lot more in all of these areas.