OCA D1: Using Texture

New ways of using drawing tools

Did I discover new ways of using drawing tools during this exercise? I will answer yes to this question. I'm really inspired by Hockney at the moment; his work and his attitude to life in general. Recently, I visited Salts Mill in Bradford, and here they're exhibiting a large number of Hockney pieces. I enjoyed looking at the Hockney faxes, drawings and his experiments depicting form and texture. I like the simplicity he applies to capture various well known textures and effects like wood grain and water. I wanted to capture some textures in a similar way and I wanted to see what I could achieve with a single implement; a felt tip. I believe Picasso's work has had a huge impact on Hockney and as Picasso wanted to revert his brilliant craft back to that of child, I thought, what better tool to use than a felt tip pen.

I'm not completely satisfied with my drawing because it is neither child-like or natural. However, there were no preliminary studies so I'm not dis-heartened. I'm actually going to push this further and see what other complex textures can be simplified and applied using a similar method.

Implying form with little or no tonal hatching

My picture has a little form, but I was really paying attention to the patterns in the composition. More solidity and depth could have been achieved by re-arranging the composition and working in form by using more contours and letting my line wrap around each object.

Frottage

This is something I do with my children when we get arty on our trips out to parks, and something I was very fond of as a child. For me, this was a forgotten technique. It wasn't an approach presented to me at art college and it isn't a method I've used in my work.

I was especially please with one of the sand paper results. I mixed in a couple of dark tones on to cartridge paper placed over a sheet of course sandpaper. On the down side I wasn't please with the condition of the paper after I'd finished. What I would like to discover is a method of frottage that can be taken and applied to another surface, like stretched paper or canvas.