ASSIGNMENT 3: Observation in Nature

Saturday 21 November 2009



Course work: Started exploring the properties of my various colored media, working in my course sketchbook.



My first experiments utilized Derwent Coloursoft Pencils. I started off working in a 5 cm square, but quickly learned that I needed more space. I also learned that, surprisingly, slight dampening produces an effect quite similar to watercolor pencils. I sketched an orange, and worked at shading it, not very convincingly…it appears that sketchbook paper quickly takes up a maximum amount of pigment, and that adding more doesn’t produce very satisfactory blending. A tiny stylized tree was half-moistened, and half left dry, confirming that water does produce some blending and color intensification. An application of yellow over blue produced a green, but not a very strong green. Vertical stripes of yellow, orange, red, purple, and green were crossed with horizontal stripes of the same colors to assess opacity and miscibility: yellow, orange, and to a lesser extent red pick up significant amount of the underlying color. None of the colors is opaque enough to fully conceal the underlying different color. Color blending with a finger is not successful; rubbing with a paper stump produces a somewhat better effect.



A second series of experiments was carried out with Prismacolor colored markers. I have only the three primary and three secondary colors in these. The colors are very intense. Since these markers are solvent-based, they are water-resistant once applied. Application of one color over another does not yield very strong mixing; yellow over blue produces only a weak green. Mixing complements produces fairly strong neutrals (particularly strong with orange and blue). Use of a colorless blender results in some color mixture, but also lightens the underlying color, and produces a strong “bloom”. The back of the sketchbook page is worthless for further use, and at least two sheets of paper are needed beneath the “working” page in order to prevent marring of subsequent pages of the sketchbook with bleed-through. I understand that special paper is available for use with markers that minimizes some of these problems, but I don’t see these markers as being very useful to me: I’m glad I only bought a few to try.

Total time: 47 minutes

Monday 23 November 2009




Course work: After reviewing yesterday’s work on the final drawing in Assignment Two, I concluded that it would be a stronger composition left unfinished. I did a little more work on it, applied some workable fixative, and photographed it for submission. I’ll move on to further work on Assignment 3 now.

Sunday 22 November 2009




Course work: Three small heads of people seen in town. I think it is time to declare the “Moving Figure” exercise complete, while planning to continue similar work until I can do it adequately. Two sketchbook pages of ideas and details for the final drawing in Assignment Two. Tried graphite pencil, carbon pencil, Conte’ crayon, water-soluble pencil, and charcoal: decided on the latter, since use of tone is the major objective of this drawing. On this grey, rainy day, I used artificial lighting, which brought out the folds in the model’s clothing very nicely. After some thought, I decided that omitting the feet, and legs below mid-tibia, would improve the composition. The drawing moved along fairly well, and I’d estimate I’m about 2/3 done.

Reading:



Cathy Johnson The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature

Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1990

Pp 31-66



Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course

Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993

Lesson 15 (pp 122-127)





Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of part of the nighttime view from my armchair.

Summary Observations on the Moving Figure Exercise (Check and Log):

This was perhaps my most difficult exercise to date, and I don’t really think I’ve done it justice: I will continue to work on the moving figure in the future. In a few cases, I managed to capture the “gesture” of the moment; most of the little sketches I’ve done are fragments. The visual memory I’ve always prided myself for doesn’t seem to have done much for me here. I continue to seek the “…few descriptive lines to suggest the movement…”.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: Portraiture and figure work still seem to be very challenging, but I have made a great deal of progress over the past several weeks. I still lack the ability to capture a truly convincing likeness, but it may take more years than I have left to achieve this.





Total time: About three hours (95)

Saturday 21 November 2009




Course work: As my model was unavailable today, I could not do any work on the last part of Assignment Two. I therefore started work on the first part of Assignment 3, and have reported it under that heading.

Reading:



Jim Arnosky Drawing From Nature

Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard Books, New York, 1987

(A short book with un-numbered pages, more illustrations than text. Contains information that will be helpful in Assignment 3.)



Cathy Johnson The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature

Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1990

Pp xi-xii, 1-30



Personal Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, three pecans, one still with some husk, found under a “feral” tree probably planted by a squirrel hiding a nut.

Total time: A bit over an hour (92)

Friday 20 November 2009




Course work: Completed the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2. Trying to decide what to leave out of this pure line drawing was as difficult as deciding what to put in. I think I did a reasonable job of capturing the pose of a somewhat drowsy model trying to keep her mind on her book and on maintaining the pose.

Reading:



Deborah Haynes Art Lessons

Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2003

Pp 17-50



Personal Sketchbook work: Two reproduction oil lamps, one mid-Eastern, one Roman.

Total time: About 1 ½ hours

Friday 13 November 2009




Felt unwell; did nothing useful today.



Saturday 14 November 2009



Course work: Did three little sketches of people seen on the street in Washington, Georgia. I am not pleased with my progress on this “Moving Figure” exercise. Did a third self-portrait, charcoal with touches of white pastel on buff paper 22 x 28 cm (8 ½ x 11”). Although I am not entirely happy with this piece, I think that I have, overall, now done a reasonable job of fulfilling the objectives of the “Self Portrait” exercise.



Reading:



David Bayles and Ted Orland Art and Fear

Image Continuum Press, Santa Cruz, Californian, USA, 1993

Pp 93-118

(The subtitle, “Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking”, describes this book rather well. This is not a book of “how,” but a book of “why.” I’ve read it before, undelined in it extensively, expect to read it again, and have recommended it to friends who are having difficulty finding their way. A worthwhile book.)



Tom Coates Creating a Self Portrait

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1989

Pp 7-129

(This would have been a more useful book had it been twice as long. The author does well at getting so much between the covers, but one wishes for so much more. I wish that this book had resurfaced two weeks ago: I might have approached the self-portrait exercise somewhat differently.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of part of the book-case in my office-studio.



Summary Observations on the Self Portrait Exercise (Check and Log): Many years of seeing myself in a mirror and in photographs did not prepare me well for this exercise: my early attempts were very poor indeed, but I improved gradually as time passed. I plan to do more self portraits in the future. I think that I can see the head and neck as basic shapes, and the head and face appear solid and convincing in at least some of my drawings. Asymmetry is present primarily in my age wrinkles, eyelids, and the different appearance of my ears. I think the shadows are adequately placed. Head size had to be readjusted often as drawing progressed. This was a good exercise: I learned a lot from it.



Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Sunday 15 November 2009



Today was almost entirely consumed by a trip to Atlanta, Georgia to see the da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum (report in museum and gallery visits section).



Monday 16 November 2009



Course work: I found the instructions for the “Portrait from memory” section confusing and contradictory. One can hardly “…repeat the sketches until you feel you have gained enough information…” if one is to “…draw someone you have seen momentarily…” I chose to approach the exercise by spending twenty minutes collecting information from three photographs I have in which an individual I see primarily at local social events happens to be included. I then put the photographs away and worked from my notes, sketches, and memory. The process was, as expected, difficult: perhaps the most difficult part was getting a reasonable approximation of the unusually-shaped skull, which in a lateral view is quite strongly dolichocephalic. This, the subject’s chronic squint, and his complete baldness, are the three most important features in obtaining a likeness here. I found trying to imagine shading challenging, and finally omitted most of it.

Reading:



(No author listed) Techniques of the Great Masters of Art

Quantum Books, Ltd., London 1985

(Enjoyed browsing in this book for some time)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of several foil-wrapped chocolate candies

Summary Observations on the Portrait from Memory Exercise (Check and Log):

This is a difficult exercise: one learns that memory is frail indeed. Converting my sketches to a portrait was a challenge, especially considering the paucity of my original reference material. If I were to do a similar exercise (with clearer instructions) in the future, I would certainly endeavor to collect more information and draw more initial sketches.



Total time: About three hours



Tuesday 17 November 2009



Course work: Drew two quick sketches of people walking in town, both very unsatisfactory. Started work on the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2: tested several slightly different seated poses, did a number of small sketches, and provisionally selected a pose to begin work on tomorrow.

Reading:



Rudy De Reyna How to Draw What You See

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1972

Pp 69-102



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 19 (pp 301-324)













Personal Sketchbook work: A manikin drawing in the pose I have selected for my first assessment drawing.

Other activities: My painting group met today (time not included)



Total time: About two hours



Wednesday 18 November 2009



Course work: Got much of the pencil block-in done for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2. I hope to be able to start inking in tomorrow.



Reading:



Russell Hart Photographing Your Artwork

Amherst Media, Inc., Buffalo, New York, USA. 2000

Pp 12-57

(This book, though only nine years old, is essentially obsolete, as it deals only with film cameras. Some of the information in the first half of the book, which is all I read, remains pertinent.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A drawing of a leek.

Total time: About 1 ½ hours (87 ½)



Thursday 19 November 2009



Course work: A sketchbook page of figures in motion or at rest in the parking lot of the grocery store. A bit more work on the pencil block-in for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2, and the first few ink lines.

Reading:



James Horton Composition and Perspective

Quintet Publishing Ltd, London, 1994

Pp 4-64

(This small and slender volume could well be a transcript of a single lecture on the subject. I thought it rather basic, but a good review of the high points.)



Deborah Haynes Art Lessons

Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2003

Pp ix-xvii, 1-16



Personal Sketchbook work: Some further experimentation with powdered graphite, this time a drapery study. As noted on 12 November, workable fixative and repeated applications of the powdered graphite are required, but the result is acceptable. I think I’ll try in on paper with more “tooth” next time. Also did a little sketch of three pears, using water-soluble pencil. This completes the first “personal” sketchbook (in which I primarily do work not directly related to the course). My pocket sketchbook work is much less impressive in volume.

Total time: About two hours (89 ½)



Comment: I am now three months into the drawing course. I can tell that my work is more confident, and that I can produce equivalent work in a good bit less time than formerly. My interest level remains high. I am about two weeks behind my originally-planned schedule, in part because of my mother’s illness, and in part because of additional effort required on some of the figure exercises, but have done almost 200 hours of work (actual drawing and reading) through today. House guests next week will set me further behind my plan, but I confidently expect to finish Assignment 2 before the end of next week.

Friday 13 November 2009




Felt unwell; did nothing useful today.



Saturday 14 November 2009



Course work: Did three little sketches of people seen on the street in Washington, Georgia. I am not pleased with my progress on this “Moving Figure” exercise. Did a third self-portrait, charcoal with touches of white pastel on buff paper 22 x 28 cm (8 ½ x 11”). Although I am not entirely happy with this piece, I think that I have, overall, now done a reasonable job of fulfilling the objectives of the “Self Portrait” exercise.



Reading:



David Bayles and Ted Orland Art and Fear

Image Continuum Press, Santa Cruz, Californian, USA, 1993

Pp 93-118

(The subtitle, “Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking”, describes this book rather well. This is not a book of “how,” but a book of “why.” I’ve read it before, undelined in it extensively, expect to read it again, and have recommended it to friends who are having difficulty finding their way. A worthwhile book.)



Tom Coates Creating a Self Portrait

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1989

Pp 7-129

(This would have been a more useful book had it been twice as long. The author does well at getting so much between the covers, but one wishes for so much more. I wish that this book had resurfaced two weeks ago: I might have approached the self-portrait exercise somewhat differently.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of part of the book-case in my office-studio.



Summary Observations on the Self Portrait Exercise (Check and Log): Many years of seeing myself in a mirror and in photographs did not prepare me well for this exercise: my early attempts were very poor indeed, but I improved gradually as time passed. I plan to do more self portraits in the future. I think that I can see the head and neck as basic shapes, and the head and face appear solid and convincing in at least some of my drawings. Asymmetry is present primarily in my age wrinkles, eyelids, and the different appearance of my ears. I think the shadows are adequately placed. Head size had to be readjusted often as drawing progressed. This was a good exercise: I learned a lot from it.



Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Sunday 15 November 2009



Today was almost entirely consumed by a trip to Atlanta, Georgia to see the da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum (report in museum and gallery visits section).



Monday 16 November 2009



Course work: I found the instructions for the “Portrait from memory” section confusing and contradictory. One can hardly “…repeat the sketches until you feel you have gained enough information…” if one is to “…draw someone you have seen momentarily…” I chose to approach the exercise by spending twenty minutes collecting information from three photographs I have in which an individual I see primarily at local social events happens to be included. I then put the photographs away and worked from my notes, sketches, and memory. The process was, as expected, difficult: perhaps the most difficult part was getting a reasonable approximation of the unusually-shaped skull, which in a lateral view is quite strongly dolichocephalic. This, the subject’s chronic squint, and his complete baldness, are the three most important features in obtaining a likeness here. I found trying to imagine shading challenging, and finally omitted most of it.



Reading:



(No author listed) Techniques of the Great Masters of Art

Quantum Books, Ltd., London 1985

(Enjoyed browsing in this book for some time)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of several foil-wrapped chocolate candies



Summary Observations on the Portrait from Memory Exercise (Check and Log):

This is a difficult exercise: one learns that memory is frail indeed. Converting my sketches to a portrait was a challenge, especially considering the paucity of my original reference material. If I were to do a similar exercise (with clearer instructions) in the future, I would certainly endeavor to collect more information and draw more initial sketches.



Total time: About three hours



Tuesday 17 November 2009



Course work: Drew two quick sketches of people walking in town, both very unsatisfactory. Started work on the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2: tested several slightly different seated poses, did a number of small sketches, and provisionally selected a pose to begin work on tomorrow.



Reading:



Rudy De Reyna How to Draw What You See

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1972

Pp 69-102



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 19 (pp 301-324)













Personal Sketchbook work: A manikin drawing in the pose I have selected for my first assessment drawing.



Other activities: My painting group met today (time not included)



Total time: About two hours



Wednesday 18 November 2009



Course work: Got much of the pencil block-in done for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2. I hope to be able to start inking in tomorrow.



Reading:



Russell Hart Photographing Your Artwork

Amherst Media, Inc., Buffalo, New York, USA. 2000

Pp 12-57

(This book, though only nine years old, is essentially obsolete, as it deals only with film cameras. Some of the information in the first half of the book, which is all I read, remains pertinent.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A drawing of a leek.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours (87 ½)



Thursday 19 November 2009



Course work: A sketchbook page of figures in motion or at rest in the parking lot of the grocery store. A bit more work on the pencil block-in for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2, and the first few ink lines.



Reading:



James Horton Composition and Perspective

Quintet Publishing Ltd, London, 1994

Pp 4-64

(This small and slender volume could well be a transcript of a single lecture on the subject. I thought it rather basic, but a good review of the high points.)



Deborah Haynes Art Lessons

Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2003

Pp ix-xvii, 1-16



Personal Sketchbook work: Some further experimentation with powdered graphite, this time a drapery study. As noted on 12 November, workable fixative and repeated applications of the powdered graphite are required, but the result is acceptable. I think I’ll try in on paper with more “tooth” next time. Also did a little sketch of three pears, using water-soluble pencil. This completes the first “personal” sketchbook (in which I primarily do work not directly related to the course). My pocket sketchbook work is much less impressive in volume.



Total time: About two hours (89 ½)



Comment: I am now three months into the drawing course. I can tell that my work is more confident, and that I can produce equivalent work in a good bit less time than formerly. My interest level remains high. I am about two weeks behind my originally-planned schedule, in part because of my mother’s illness, and in part because of additional effort required on some of the figure exercises, but have done almost 200 hours of work (actual drawing and reading) through today. House guests next week will set me further behind my plan, but I confidently expect to finish Assignment 2 before the end of the month.

Tuesday 3 November 2009




Course work: Additional work on the “Clothed Figure” drawing.



Reading:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapters 15-16 (pp 217-259)



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 80-101



Personal sketchbook work: Two partial sketches of people in the street, for the “Moving Figure” exercise.



Other related activities: My painting group met today (time not included).



Total time: about 1 ½ hours





Wednesday 4 November 2009



Course work: Completed work on the “Clothed Figure” drawing, done with graphite pencil on 25 x 38 ½ cm (apx 10 x 15”) paper. I found the number of layers of hatching required to produce even a good mid-tone grey somewhat surprising. Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the drawing, which does, I think, capture not only the pose of the model, but a hint of her personality.



The next section in the text is “The Moving Figure.” Since I live in a very rural area, work on this may be slow (though I have made a start on it when I make my weekly trip to our county seat of 4,000, about 18 miles (30 km) away. I will work on this exercise in parallel with others.



Started work on the “Self-Portrait” exercise, with two short pencil sketches (one full-face and one rotated to about three-quarters) done with the aid of a mirror, another imagined from the first two, and a strongly side-lit view on one eye and half the nose.



Reading:



Ephraim Rubenstein Graphite in the Hands of an Indisputable Master in Drawing#22 Interweave Press, Loveland Colorado, USA Fall, 2009

(An interesting and well-illustrated article on Adolph Menzel)



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 102-125

(The text in this book is useful, but the best part of the book is the numerous sketches by many artists, each accompanied by a brief description of the technique used, or the reason for sketching in that particular manner.)



Brian Curtis Drawing From Observation

McGraw Hill, New York, 2002

Pp 1-28





Personal sketchbook work: The oak leaves are just beginning to turn color here; I made an attempt at capturing a large willow oak in oil pastel, but was unhappy with the result. I have worked very little with oil pastel in the past, and still find it difficult to manage. (Oil pastel is not a very useful medium here, deep in the American South, as the intense summer heat will often soften the sticks even in a shaded outdoor site. Sketchbook work has to be interleaved with waxed paper to avoid its adhering to adjacent pages...and this sometimes leads to adherence to the waxed paper.)



Sketched a cast of a hand, strongly side-lit, with pencil. Positioned it poorly, so that the tips of two fingers were cut off. Need to do this again.



Summary Observations on the Clothed Figure Exercise (Check and Log):



The first part of the exercise was unsatisfactory (see comments on October 30th.) The second part was made challenging by omission of at least one line and perhaps more from the text: I made my best guess at what was intended. For the figure drawing, I made an attempt to approach the figure as a whole, but the black skirt rather overpowered the lighter-toned blouse, sweater, and shawl in the final drawing. Volume of folds is best demonstrated in the shawl. One can tell that there is a figure somewhere under all the clothing, but the exercise itself seems almost designed to be self-defeating by requiring bulky, obscuring garments.



Total time: About three hours



Thursday 5 November 2009



Course work: Additional work on the “Self Portrait” exercise. Did several head sketches in varying sizes and media, none really recognizable, most looking either desperate or demented. Working with a fixed mirror limits one severely in available viewpoints from which to draw: full frontal or three-quarters is about the limit. Lighting has been a problem in my available working space as well.



Reading:



Brian Curtis Drawing From Observation

McGraw Hill, New York, 2002

Pp 29-58



Simon Jennings Face Parts

North Light Books, Cincinnati,Ohio, USA, 2008

Pp 10-153

(The first part of this book, dealing with facial structure, proportions, and individual features, was most useful to me. The section on self-portraits was somewhat useful, and certainly timely.)



Personal Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, one of the cats asleep in my lap, hastily drawn. In my A4 sketchbook, a page of eyes, and another page of lips, drawn from various sources (some drawings, some paintings, and some photographs.).



Total time: About 3 ½ hours



Friday 6 November 2009



Course work: Drew four more heads as seen in the mirror. After reviewing yesterday’s work, I discovered a tendency to draw the head too narrow: my head is in fact more like a cube than an oval. Today’s work is somewhat better. I also started the neck-drawing portion of the exercise, but found it difficult to get the lighting arranged to reveal the suggestions of subcutaneous structures well. Will try again tomorrow to see if daylight will work better.



Reading:



Brian Curtis Drawing From Observation

McGraw Hill, New York, 2002

Pp 59-92

(At this point, I decided to defer further reading in this text in favor of reading material more closely related to the present course work.)





Personal Sketchbook work: A page of ears and a page of noses, taken from drawings, paintings, and photographs.



Total time: About two hours





Saturday 7 November 2009



Course work: After some experimentation, I found a way that I could position two mirrors and get a reasonable profile view without excessive contortions: the second mirror should be placed at about a 60° angle to the mirror one is facing. My first attempt at drawing a profile produced a reasonable likeness, closer than all except perhaps one of the frontal views. Working with two mirrors is challenging, as the viewing angle is very narrow, requiring careful adjustment to see the desired view, then careful attention to head position to maintain it.



As yet, neither with daylight nor with repositioning of lights and mirrors have I been able to improve visibility of the soft-tissue structures of the neck; it may be that I simply have too much subcutaneous fat to allow good demonstration.



Reading:



Bernard Chaet The Art of Drawing (3rd Edition)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1983

Chapter 8 “Skulls” (Pp 139-159), Chapter 10 “Introduction to the Figure” (Pp 173-199)



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 17 (pp 260-276)





Personal Sketchbook work: A drawing of a ginger root, done with water-soluble pencil, with addition of a little powdered graphite for backgound tone.





Other activities: Our local Arts and Crafts Festival was held today in Washington, Georgia. I donated a quantity of materials and did some photography for the children’s arts and crafts workshop (my wife worked as a volunteer).



Only a few painters were exhibiting on the Square, and I thought only one of those was of professional quality. It was a lovely fall day, though, and everyone was enjoying themselves.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours



Sunday 8 November 2009



Course work: Two small sketches of people fishing, both badly drawn, in my pocket sketchbook. Another ¾ view, this one a full page in my A4 Course sketchbook, in graphite. There are faint traces of a likeness. My positioning and use of mirrors has gotten a little better, as has my ability to hold my head still. I remain dissatisfied with my representation of hair, and need further work on this.



Reading:



Richard Taylor The Creative Drawing Course

David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon 2002



(This book was a “quick read”…large illustrations, little text. The first section, primarily on monochrome techniques, was interesting and suggested some possible projects. The second and third sections dealt primarily with colored media, and some of this information should be helpful when I start Assignment Three.)



Personal Sketchbook work: In my A4 sketchbook, a partially-peeled apple with a curl of peel still attached.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: For reasons I don’t understand, I seem to be working more slowly this week. After completing the “Clothed Figure” exercise, work on the “Self-Portrait” and “Moving Figure” exercises has been less productive and in many ways less satisfactory than some of the earlier work. I think that the heads I am drawing are gradually becoming closer to true proportion, and hope to start on the definitive self-portrait drawings for this exercise in a day or so. Reading continues to be good. Sketchbook work sometimes is a pleasure and sometimes seems a chore, but I’ve missed only one day this week: even if some of what I’ve done is not particularly inspired, there is some merit in consistency.



Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Monday 9 November 2009



Course work: With a little more experimentation with mirror placement, I was able to draw a self portrait of the back of my head (possibly my most attractive view). The lighting used also helped to show the upper portion of the sternocleidomastoid. I then drew another full-frontal view of the face. I think that my efforts have improved enough now to start work on the two required self-portrait drawings for the exercise: there has certainly been a significant improvement over the past several days.



Reading:



Rudy De Reyna How to Draw What You See

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1972

Pp 9-68



Personal Sketchbook work: A revisit to shiny metal: a drawing of a cocktail shaker.



Total time: A bit over two hours

10 November 2009



Course work: Worked on a ¾ view self-portrait in pencil; reasonably satisfied with result (though I have a stiff neck and tired eyes from staring at the mirror). Had planned to work on my “Moving Figure” exercise today on my weekly visit to Washington, GA, but heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ida had emptied the sidewalks, the square, and the restaurants.



Reading:



Bernard Chaet The Art of Drawing (3rd Edition)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1983

Pp 79-138



Personal Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, drew the Confederate Memorial in Washington, GA, silhouetted against a stormy sky. In my A4, sketchbook, a hasty sketch of a desk-cup with an assortment of markers.





Total time: Almost 3 ½ hours





Wednesday 11 November 2009



Course work: Four little sketches of people waiting in a doctor’s office, in my pocket sketchbook. Started work on a lateral view of my head, using Conte’ crayon.



Reading:



David Bayles and Ted Orland Art and Fear

Image Continuum Press, Santa Cruz, Californian, USA, 1993



Personal Sketchbook work: A drapery study of a hanging towel.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours (77)

Thursday 22 October 2009




Course work: Drew the first drawing for the “Structure” exercise. I was unable to complete the drawing in the 60 minutes suggested, and was forced by model fatigue to finish, not from life, but from the placement photograph taken yesterday. Graphite pencil on A3 paper was employed, and a total time of 80 minutes was required.



Reading:



Keith Micklewright, Drawing

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York (2005)

Chapters 15 & 16 (pp 148-162)



Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course

Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993

Lesson 12 (pp 96-101)



Total time: about two hours



Friday 23 October 2009



Course work: Did the preliminary sketches for the standing drawing in the “Structure” exercise, using graphite. Started work on the larger drawing on A3 paper, using Conte’ pencil, in two fifteen-minute sessions: this standing pose is somewhat difficult for my willing, but untrained, model to maintain for very long.



Reading:



Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Penguin-Putnam, New York, 1999

Chapter 10, in part (pp 194-204)



Burne Hogarth Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1992

Pp 62-109



Personal sketchbook work: Two manikin drawings with shading. A drapery study after a catalog illustration, perhaps a bit over-ambitious. An exercise from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (done in the companion workbook).



Total time: About 3 ½ hours



Saturday 24 October 2009



Course work: Continued work on the standing drawing for the “Structure” exercise, using Conte’ pencil on A3 paper. Progress is rather slow, as I’m finding it challenging to reposition the model precisely after breaks, and Conte’ pencil is more difficult for me to work with than is graphite.



Reading:



Sherry Camby Art of the Pencil

Watson-Guptill Publication, New York, 1997

Pp 7-142

(I wish that I’d had this small book available at the start of the course. It contains clear, concise descriptions of most drawing media and their uses, with demonstrations and descriptions of techniques. Oddly, ink is omitted from the discussion, although water-soluble graphite, water-soluble colored pencils, and water-soluble crayons are included, as the use of various solvents.)



Personal sketchbook work: A Conte’ crayon version of the Willendorf Venus.



Total time: a bit over three hours

Sunday 25 October 2009



Course work: finished the shading on the standing drawing for the “Structure” exercise. Total time required for this drawing was about 1 hour 45 minutes, but I could not have done it in less time.



Reading:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 14 (pp 202-216)



Personal sketchbook work: A sketch of a manikin, a sphere, and a cube with water-soluble pencil, in an effort to learn a bit more about this medium. I have trouble getting the desired tonal variations, but it does seem to be a useful way to get tone on a sketch in a hurry. I plan to do some further work with it.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: This has been a less-frustrating week than last: I have a clearer idea of what I am supposed to be doing. The suggested times for completion of the exercises continue to elude me, but I think that the quality of my work continues to show improvement: proportions are clearly more accurate than in my earlier work in the course. I’ve spent some time this week (not included in my time accounting) reviewing muscular anatomy in some of my old medical textbooks, a useful intellectual exercise if nothing more. Sketchbook work has been pretty good this week: I did miss one day, but compensated for it on a subsequent day. Most of my recent sketchbook work has been related to the figure.



Total time: a bit over an hour



Monday 26 October 2009



Course work: Did some preliminary sketching for the third (recumbent) drawing in the “Structure” exercise.



Reading:



Burne Hogarth Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1992

Pp 110-142

(A fairly useful book, although the illustrations seem quite exaggerated, and in some cases the divisions between the different categories of folds and wrinkles seem rather forced.)



Mari Le Glatin Keis The Art of Travel With a Sketchbook

Design Originals, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 2007

Pp 9-95

(I was disappointed in this short book: I had hoped for more “how” and less “why.”)





Personal sketchbook work: Two simple, quickly-executed drapery studies done in water-soluble pencil, as a further exploration of the medium.



Total time: about 1 ½ hours



Tuesday 27 October 2009



Course work: My model was unavailable today, so I jumped forward to the next exercise and did a 15-minute line drawing of a garment hanging on a chair. I found the line drawing a good bit more difficult to do convincingly than the several drapery studies in tone that I have done recently.



Reading:



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 6-33



Michael Woods Drawing Basics

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 2000

Pp 4-92



(This little volume has a nice introductory section on materials and techniques, but, in my opinion, many of the demonstrations that follow are a bit too advanced for the fairly-inexperienced student for which the book was apparently intended. Nevertheless, the demonstrations and exercises deserve careful study, and one can learn from them even without the ability to duplicate them.)

Personal sketchbook work: Done on a separate sheet of A4 drawing paper, a ¾ view of a human skull, drawn from a real skull. This turned into an absorbing project, and I eventually spent over two hours working on it, and could easily have taken it further.



Total time: Over 3 ½ hours.



Wednesday 28 October 2009



Course work: Started on the third drawing for the “Structure” exercise; got the general outline done, but little more. I will try this one in water-soluble pencil, a medium over which I as yet have only limited control, but for which I have some expectations as a useful sketching medium.



Reading:



Bridget Woods Life Drawing

The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marwood, Wiltshire. 2003

Pp 154-190



(This book has a great deal of useful information for the “solo” student, but was obviously written for the classroom and the studio. I would enjoy taking a life class taught from this text.)





Personal sketchbook work: A quick sketch of the pose I’m working on (after the work I’ve done so far) with application of tone with water-soluble pencil. Then (since I had a little room left on the page) a partial manikin sketch, also done and shaded with water-soluble pencil.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours



Thursday 29 October 2009



Course work: Completed work on the third drawing for the “Structure” exercise. I have encountered a good bit of difficulty in getting my model back into exact position, even with a digital photo for guidance: as a partial solution to this problem, I have made additional sketches of my model’s visible hand and both feet (by error, I made these in my personal sketchbook, not in my course sketchbook), which I used for guidance rather than struggling with exact positioning of the hand and the feet for the remainder of the “Structure” exercise. After having completed the dry pencil work, I was almost sorry I had committed myself to water-soluble pencil, and took the precaution of photographic the drawing in this intermediate state. However, after carefully applying water with an almost-dry brush, and making a few corrections, I was satisfied with the work I had done and the medium I had selected. Total drawing time for this drawing was a bit over two hours.



Reading:



Sarah Simblet, The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London 2005

Pp 142-173



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 168-189



Personal sketchbook work: Drew four little sketches of a manikin moving through a single stride, and revisited a frequent topic: a towel hanging from a hook.



Summary Observations on Structure (Check and Log): These three drawings took considerably more time than the one hour apiece suggested in the text. I used three different media, and think my handling of each was satisfactory for my present level of ability. I identified the central axis on the sitting and standing figures: the issue didn’t arise with the recumbent figure. I think that I managed the proportions fairly well, and also the foreshortening. I think that the sense of structure and form is reasonably well conveyed by these drawings. Overall, I found this an interesting and challenging exercise.



Total time: about three hours



Friday 30 October 2009



Course work: Drew the second line drawing for the “Clothed Model” exercise, using charcoal. Again, I found the line drawing impossible to do convincingly: the soft pencil used for the first drawing in the exercise and the charcoal used in this one both seem to demand addition of tone. A browse through several of my books and a look on the Internet suggests that pure line without a suggestion of tone is pretty uncommon in drapery studies. A third attempt at drawing a purely linear drapery study, using ink, proved no better.



Part of the text is omitted from the second section of the exercise. As a guess at what was desired, I divided an A3 sheet into six squares, and drew a section of material with folds and shadows in the first three of the squares, using charcoal with a few white pastel highlights.



Reading:



Allan Kraayvanger Secrets to Drawing Heads

Sterling Publishing Company, New York, 2005

Pp 6-36



Personal sketchbook work: Drew a pint jar of pickled cucumbers: enjoyed working out a way to suggest the seeds without actually drawing them.



Total time: about two hours



Saturday 31 October 2009



Course work: Drew one more 15 cm square of folds in a dropped towel.



Reading:



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 193-215



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 34-51





Personal sketchbook work: A sketch with graphite and colored pencil of a carved pumpkin slipping quickly into decay. This could easily have been turned into a larger project.



Total time: A bit over 1 ½ hours



Sunday 1 November 2009





Course work: Did the final two squares of randomly-folded fabric on my A3 worksheet.



Reading:



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 218-247

(This book was written for a more “formal” course in figure drawing than was Bridget Woods’ Life Drawing. History, movements in figure drawing, anatomy, perspective, etc. are all dealt with in greater depth…but I think I’d enjoy a course with Bridget Woods more.)



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 52-61



Personal sketchbook work: A bowl of mixed varieties of apples. Not very inspired, but the best I could manage today.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: This week’s work brings to a close the work on the nude figure, and shifts emphasis to the clothed figure and the portrait. Most of this week’s effort was devoted to the recumbent figure, the most difficult of the three drawings in the “Structure” exercise. Although the 100+ figure drawings I have done as part of the course, along with a number of sketches from a manikin, certainly do not qualify me as even a beginning figure artist, I feel more comfortable with my ability to set something on paper that at least resembles a person, and have a better grasp of human proportions.



Total time: something over an hour





Monday 2 November 2009



Course work: Did two preparatory sketches for the “Clothed Figure” drawing, then started work on the drawing itself.



Reading:



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 62-79



Other related activities: Designed and cut a linoleum block for a project of my wife’s (time not included).



Total time: just over two hours