Sunday 5 September 2010




Course work: Using a pair of cardboard “L’s” I went over the five Project One Drawings, looking for smaller areas that might be compositionally interesting. I photographed these for future reference:

I then proceeded to Project One, Stage Five, and extended one of my drawings. The only feasible way of extending it was vertically, and, after adding a sheet of paper to the bottom, I did so. This resulted in a drawing that had an entirely different emphasis from the original drawing: now the stand and the drapery seem as important as the objects. This would make an interesting painting, especially if I filled in the space under the drapery with a dark tone, although it may not be an ideal subject for the forthcoming negative-space painting.

After some further consideration, I saw that my fourth drawing could be extended with a little modification of the original drawing. I don’t really like the result: it gives me the feeling that my original objects are huddled in a corner waiting to see what that bottle is going to do.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Looked online at a number of paintings by Albert Marquet.



Stephanie D’Allesandro and John Elderfield Matisse: Radical Invention 1913-1917

The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2010

Pp. 88-107



Christopher Butler Modernism: A Very Short Introduction

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010

Pp. 14-35





Sketchbook work: A sketch of the corner of one of the book-cases in my workspace.

Weekly reflections on learning experience: Making the transition from one course to another is always stressful. I am reading about, and trying to develop an appreciation for, Matisse in particular and modernism in general, neither of which I have previously found of great interest. My work has shown the problems of transition: I know I can draw better than I am drawing, having just completed the drawing course, but I cannot seem to get my fingers and my brain to work together. I went through similar difficulties every time I moved from one assignment to another in the drawing course, so I have every expectation of improvement.



Time today: 2 hours 6 minutes