OCA D4: Assignment pieces

OCA D4: Self portrait

My smaller studies were made looking in to a mirror with my sketch book on my easel. I was only focusing on features and proportions and not considering rendering with hatching. There is a very good likeness in my smaller portraits and a reasonable likeness in my other two pieces. I put the same effort in to accurately recording my features as I did with rendering the blouse when drawing my clothed figure. With my portraits I wasn't as elegant with my line... It was more about getting the reference points in the right place.

Portrait from memory

I didn't make preliminary drawings for my memory portrait. I have a vivid memory of a misplaced photograph taken of me holding my son when he was a baby. I wanted to gradually work my line until I came close to the photograph I remember. This was a reasonable resemblance, although the features could be more accurately recorded. I've had a lot of practice with self portraits and painted myself numerous times. I'm a model who is always available.

Self portrait

My self portrait was started about twelve months ago, for this exercise, and has gradually picked up tone and line ever since. It's just a drawing I want to keep working on. Since the original drawing, it has taken on a slightly caricaturish appearance... Flowing line and exaggerated features.

As for family and friends, they all acknowledge the resemblance (even my four year old son), but they all wish me to depict myself with a happier expression. Ummm.

OCA D4: The moving figure

A fleet or pose?

To force the fleet I experimented with bolder materials. I tried my child's felt tips, ball-point, my new Spectrum pens - love these and need some bolder colours - old fabric pens, and made a few pencil drawings, which I managed not to obsess over. I'm particularly fond of the sketches made of my son drawing... I had bold medium and a little boy constantly changing position... Ideal for capturing fleeting moments.

This was all about just responding to his movement, but also retaining small details while I was drawing. Mental notes were made about foreshortening, how his head was positioned, his hand positioning and the curl in his toes.

My work space

This next drawing was created gradually over the space of one working day. It is the view from my desk. The primary figure is facing me, positioned at the left, scanning across office. The other figures were added throughout the day, as and when I was available to draw. I would like to try the same exercise, but from a better vantage point. Desk dividers obscured my view of other colleagues.

I made a sketch, partly from reference and part memory. This was a boat trip in Italy. The weather was overcast and a lady in the foreground was wearing a red semi-transparent rain coat over her regular jacket. The other people on the trip have been sketched from memory. I made this drawing using ball-point, felt-tip pens and Spectrum Noir Alcohol pens. The layered colour and blotting of the ball point have accidentally created the effect of bad weather and a transparency in the lady's coat. I don't experiment and mix materials as much as I should, but I've thoroughly enjoyed working on the exercises for this assignment and using some new materials in my figurative drawing... I'm now gathering ideas for new pieces.

OCA D4: The clothed figure

The clothed figure

Overall, this was my most satisfying piece. It isn't the most creative, but I really feel I captured her posture, the delicate fabric of her blouse and the subtle muscle tone in her back. I sometimes struggle with the patience required to be a little more subtle when drawing; partly due to me suffering from anxiety. I approached this with patience and calmness, and I'm thoroughly pleased with the results.

I was able to focus on the body as a whole, without getting bogged down in detail, and once I had the proportions, I worked gradually over the whole drawing, layering and slowly building tone and form.

I would need to approach a similar drawing in the same way, so if I wasn't restful then I could struggle with more delicate areas. Personally, I find it difficult to force a piece of artwork, so the quality, or variation in my line can often be determined by my state of mind.

OCA D4: Gesture

Capturing the poses

For the first standing pose I had my model stood with her hips jutting out, upper-body leaning over and a tilted head to even her balance and make for a nice pose. This drawing was rapid and drawn boldly and did capture the essence of the pose. I see a sense of movement in the spine and the hips and the extended neck and vivid neck muscles exaggerate the twist of her head to counteract her weight. I think the line could be comparable to an Egon Schiele drawing, albeit, not quite as expressive.

One of Egon Schiele's more natural line drawings, but with comparable line...

For another of my standing poses I had my model hold the back of a stool (drawn as a bar) and shift just a little of her weight on to her right side. She lifted her left foot off the ground. The quick reference points are actually drawn with a marker that was running out of ink. I am happy with how I've captured the slight shift in weight, the raised leg, upper-body twist, slight push of the hips, arched back and tilt of the head to counter her balance.

Sense of energy

I did capture the poses and I'm quite good at quickly memorising posture and gesture. I made some quick sketches of work colleagues and sketches of my son dancing around my living room for this exercise. I am reasonably happy with the drawings, but not with the sense of energy I was trying to capture. The figures are balanced, but my line just isn't dynamic enough to capture movement. I think because I was so focused on trying to capture energy I became stiff and lost all sense of rhythm in my movement. I've actually captured more energy in some of the drawings that weren't completed for this exercise. This is something I will likely attack during my next life drawing session. In fact, reading through the figurative section of the next assignment; these new drawings will likely be something I will submit. Perhaps drawing on a larger scale with broad strokes will help.

Drawings of my son...

Some more gestural drawings of my son...

Quick update...

I've just found this drawing on Saatchi-online...

Not an original idea by any means, but using the same drawing for various dynamic positions is something I will experiment with. I will credit the artist for this picture when I locate their name.

OCA D4: Essential elements

I didn't have a model available when I worked on this exercise and I wanted a good variety of poses and creative compositions. I set up lighting and took photographs of myself in a chair, then worked from the reference material. I hope this is satisfactory...Besides one or two other sketches, this is the only exercise I didn't work from life.

Maintaining focus

Comparing the more rapid approach to the hour-long pose in the last exercise, I found that simple reference points like my elbow to wrist to finger, became larger shapes like strong cast shadows and negative space. There was still an element of line-drawing involved, but facilitated nicely with blocks of tone. I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise and it was nice to play with the conte crayons, which isn't a medium I would normally choose for life drawing.

Sense of pose

My favourite drawing was made in charcoal. The composition is unconventional, the pose a little awkward and I like the overall atmosphere and enigmatic quality. However, it took a little longer to render this pose with charcoal. I love charcoal, but I love it because I can spend a long time enjoying and manipulating it. I created this drawing with charcoal, putty rubber and a little added grey conte for mid-tones; to give it more form. I didn't stay within my allotted time-frame, which is why I think my two smaller drawings in soft pencil gave the best sense of pose in a short time.

These drawings give the best sense of pose because the medium is more diverse. I could block in very dark cast shadows, handle mid-tones and softly glide the pencil over the surface to suggest a limb or item of clothing. I found it much easier to quickly capture form and pose.

My drawing in charcoal...

Summary

My aim with this exercise was variety. Variety in gesture, composition, medium and mark-making. I am especially pleased with how these depict gesture, light and a sense of mood. I would like to experiment more with conte, and perhaps on a larger scale.

OCA D4: Three drawings

Proportions

The overall proportions are accurate, but this is something I've practiced over the years. I used to draw an over-sized head on my figurative drawings, and over-sized eyes in my portraits. A conscious effort was made to correct this problem and it is something which is more natural now. But, Lucian Freud's earlier drawings were depicted with over-sized features, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Form

To create form I did try to imagine my dad's (the sitter) muscle and skeleton; particularly the angle of his spine. In the seated drawing, there is more curvature in his spine, which is noticeable in the hunch at the top of his back. I also had to pay close attention to the shortening of his left arm, which I rendered to push back in to the distance. I didn't want his arm to look as though it was sticking from the front of his chest.

In the standing drawing, his spine is obviously extended... It was useful to consider this and the central axis noted in the 'Stance' exercise.

For my third picture, due to my dad's time constraints, I had to go back and work over my preliminary drawings of my son sleeping. I was considering drawing my son, but he is four and a half, so for the seated and standing poses, any period greater than a couple of minutes would have been near impossible.

There was an interesting problem with the third drawing that was the teddy bear laid over the top of his arm, obstructing all but his hand appearing from the other side. I had to visualise and draw through the bear to ensure his hand appeared attached to his body.

OCA D4: Quick poses

Statement and characteristics in time allocated

One hour was enough time to work on the proportions of the figure, which was a self-portrait in a mirror. However, I did go back to the drawing to add a little rendering around cast shadows and would like to add more to the facial features.

The main problems were working on the proportions of the hand and handling the foreshortening of the forearm. When capturing the figure I'm always mindful that drawing what I 'think' I know and drawing observationally are very different things. When depicting a challenging part of a drawing, I try to abstract the subject matter and find reference points. When dealing with the foreshortening of the forearm and hand my reference points were the crease at the armpit, the elbow, wrist and tip of the little finger. And all the time I was checking horizontal positioning and using my ear and nose as vertical references.

I am pleased with how this drawing turned out and I'm especially happy with the foreshortening and the solidity of the hand resting on the edge of my easel. I get a sense that the hand is firmly placed with my little finger hanging over the edge.