Friday 31 December 2010







Course work: A few final brush-strokes on Stage Three of Project Two, which I think I’ll call done now. I am far from happy with the overall result: shapes are reasonably well depicted, shadows are only fair, the apple seems to have advanced in the picture plane to the point it appears ready to roll on to the floor, and fabric folds appear mechanical for the most part. Color is fair; detail is poor, blending and soft edges are virtually nonexistent. Some of my frustration with this Project arises from the knowledge that I could have produced a better result working with oil paints.

A second apple sketch for Stage One of Project Two, using charcoal in my A4 sketchbook. Changed the apple’s position and the direction of the light.

Reading and theoretical studies:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Pp. 247-259





Sketchbook work: A small pile of mushrooms awaiting preparation.

Time today: One hour 34 minutes

Thursday 30 December 2010





Course work: Did the first of the four apple drawings for Stage One of Project Two, using charcoal in my A4 sketchbook.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Sarah Simblett The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London, 2004

Pp. 108-129



Phil Metzger The Art of Perspective

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2007

Pp. 9-37



Sketchbook work: A line sketch of an apple, done with pen.

Time today: 1 hour 28 minutes

Wednesday 29 December 2010





Course work: A second attempt at Perspective Project One, Stage Two. Today I did the initial drawing working from an easel, which simplified things somewhat. My vanishing points were a little closer to my assumed horizon line, although I still had one divergent line pair. My final drawing, again with projections in red and corrections in blue, is ~22x106cm. I found it interesting that my error in judging the correct position of the vanishing point tends to increase as the vanishing point shifts away from the midline. If the object of this exercise is to teach humility, it has succeeded.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Weckbach, Kevin: A Visual Palette: A Philosophy of the Natural Principles of Painting


iUniverse, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, 2008

Pp. ix-xiv, 1-9





Sketchbook work: An ink sketch of a bag of mixed peppermint sticks.

Time today: One hour 21 minutes

Tuesday 28 December 2010





Course work: Worked on Perspective Project One, Stage Two on paper ~45x60 cm. Although I thought that I had done a fair job of drawing in the books, I badly misjudged my horizon line, and some of my lines diverged, rather than converging. I’ll try this again.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Guy Cogeval: Vuillard: Post-Impressionist Master

Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2002

Pp. 98-135

(This small, short volume includes many illustrations, most in color. Because of the small size of the book the illustrations often do not permit careful study. The translation is better than average, but still leaves the reader a bit confused at times. The text does cover Vuillard’s entire career from schoolboy days to old age, and from being one of the Nabis to becoming the most renowned French portraitist of his day. After a careful second study of the reproductions in the book, I conclude that Vuillard considered the inclusion of people in his work primarily as an opportunity to use interesting shapes and colors. I have ordered a larger book so that I may look at his works in more detail.)



Sketchbook work: A pencil sketch of my winter work cap, just as I dropped it after putting out hay.

Time today: One hour 44 minutes

Monday 27 December 2010





Course work: Some minor work on Stage Three of Project Two.



Commenced work on Perspective Project One, Stage One, selecting four equal-sized books (thin ones, to assist in ignoring their vertical thickness). Two were flat on a table, one elevated on a short cylindrical cup, and one raised on a fairly tall cylindrical vase. I decided that A4 paper was too small for this project; my work is about 25 x 40 cm. Construction lines and horizon line are black; projected sides are red; correction lines are blue. Although I did a very similar project for the drawing course, I found that my work was only modestly improved with the current project. (This suggests the need for additional work.)

Reading and theoretical studies:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Pp. 229-246



Sketchbook work: A pocket sketchbook sketch of some icicles, an infrequent phenomenon here.

Time today: One hour 33 minutes

Sunday 26 December 2010





Reading and theoretical studies:



E. H. Gombrich Art and Illusion (11th Printing)

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 1969

Pp. 268-287



Guy Cogeval: Vuillard: Post-Impressionist Master


Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2002

Pp. 69-97



Weekly reflections on learning experience: Another week in which little was accomplished, primarily because of frustrating but unavoidable holiday demands.



Time today: 44 minutes

Thursday 23 December 2010




Sarah Simblett The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London, 2004

Pp. 88-107



Time today: 22 minutes