Part 2 Project 1 Composition Exercise 2 Compositional studies of natural objects

Sharpie at the end of a
feather duster handle
at about 0.6m.

As I have been having problem getting my proportions right and generally need to work on my eye-hand coordination, I fancied working through the exercises in Drawing Projects by Mick Maslen and Jack Southern (2014). For this exercise, I went to the beach to collect whatever I could find washed up on the rocks. I found a selection of pieces of driftwood which I thought would work for this exercise. I read the instructions from pages 66 to 69 and went about doing the exercises described. I set up an easel with A2 size paper, selected a piece of driftwood, a feather duster (which I attached drawing materials to) and commenced these exercises.

I drew my first three drawings using the feather duster at a distance of 0.6m from the easel. Although initially unwieldy, I found that I started using whole arm movements and my ability to control my medium improved. Although the exercise called for using graphite, I chose to use a sharpie as I remember doing similar exercises in Sharpie while at college. However, the Sharpie marker was hard to control as the grain of the paper influenced the flow of my strokes when being drawn from 0.6m. It was virtually impossible to get some of the strokes to follow the path I was trying to draw. I then switched to charcoal. Although better, this also did not have the control and flow I required when working at 0.6m. So I then followed the instructions more closely and used a 6B pencil, this time working at a distance of 0.3m from the easel. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this drawing as the angle I had made for an interesting placement of the wood on the page, and I had better stroke control. My final sketch for the day was with a 2B pencil holding it at the very end of the pencil. I found that although this drawing has greater finesse in the degree of control, I fear that the drawing might be a little tight once again.

0.6 m stick with sharpie

 

Charcoal at 0.6m
 

Pencil at 30cm

Final sketch 2B pencil

These drawings helped to encourage me to use my whole arm in a more gestural, expressive manner. It also forced me to observe the driftwood and move my arm in accordance with my observations. I had to force myself to concentrate on the main contours and gestures that gave the driftwood character. I could relate to the words of Jeff Koons as quoted in Drawing Projects: "If I try to articulate every little detail in a drawing, it would be like missing the forest for the trees, so it is just about getting the outline of the forest."(Maslen & Southern, 2014, pp. 70,77). I also played with the perspective of the driftwood, experimenting with the articulation of the negative space. I felt that my first pencil drawing was the most interesting in the way the negative space was divided.

As a continuation of my study of composition, I started out by selecting a Spartacus shell I bought at the seaside craft fair, a sea sponge and oyster. My compositional exploratory sketches compromised of observing the objects from about 45 degrees above, at a slight position above the objects, and then an overhead view. Out of these initial three drawings the view which used the negative space to assist in connecting the objects was the sketch taken from directly above the objects. This view had a lot of potential, allowing for a more abstract approach to composition. I took a few photographs of these arrangements to also play with varying picture plane formats.

Exploration of composition using photos.

I then decided to use a coral with the Spartacus shell, a shell indigenous to South Africa. I liked the idea of having the coral break up the negative space around the shell which is very compact in its shape. I completed a sketch of this shell on top of the coral. I then used my cell phone to take snapshots of the drawing. Using the reframing option on the camera, I played with a variety of format options. I liked the slightly elongated rectangular format as I like the inclusion of more negative space, then with a traditional format. I decided to use a more elongated format as it has elegance reminiscent of Japanese scrolls. However, instead of using the page in portrait, in landscape, as I felt the detailed drawing of the Spartacus shell would create a rather top-heavy arrangement.

Sketchbook Studies

Before choosing my composition layout, I once again played with my cell phone camera zooming in and out of the collection of objects until I was satisfied that the composition had enough negative space in contrast to the positive space. I decided to have a fairly large space at the bottom to hold the placement of the shell and coral, and to allow the eye to flow up the coral towards the center of the swirl of the shell.

Photo of subject

To enable me to get my proportions correct, I used a grid copying technique. This helped a lot in being able to understand the complexity of the coral with its shadows. I spent some time experimenting in my sketchbook with my watercolor pencils, aqua plus Monami markers, and Neocolor II water-soluble crayons. A number of the markers changed hue when interacting with water. This was actually handy as the black of the shell is more of a dark green then a pure black. In the end, I used a combination of all three media with black find liner used to provide the occasional details. I particularly like the way the crayons dissolve to create the strokes of the coral.

 

Textural Exploration

I found the shading on the pearlescent sections of the shell hard to portray. I had to observe the shadows very carefully in order to get the impression of its being knobby and yet still curved. I also found the intricate designs found in the skimmed off sections of the shell quite difficult to portray. In getting caught up with their designs, it was easy to detract attention away from the form of the shell. Initially, I wondered if I needed to fill in the dark color of the coral, or whether to leave this as a more abstract white shape. I took a photograph of what it looked like at this stage. I think that given the natural objects I used, I was able to create a composition with strong directional forces leading to the spiral of the shell, wrapped in the swathe of white from the negative space of the foreground. This swathe is influenced by the white that Kandkinsky used in Painting with White Border.

Final Spartacus shell

Is it easier to suggest three dimensions on man-made or natural objects?

Drawing the shape of natural objects seems easier than man-made objects due to the fact that man-made objects tend to be so well-known, that we can immediately spot flaws in its symmetry. Symmetrical man-made objects tend to be harder to draw, as their very symmetry is hard to emulate, especially when the objects are being drawn from a slightly elevated viewpoint. I would agree with the authors of Drawing Projects that: “Nature still provides the most interesting objects of a student of drawing to practice their drawing skills on…(as they) offer more leeway to be approximate enough, and allow the drawing to be freed from the inhibiting need to having to make it absolutely correct.” (Maslen & Southern, 2014, 44) However, I think depicting objects three-dimensionally, is totally depends on the nature of the objects. I find rounded surfaces easier to indicate three dimensional depth, whether man-made or natural objects, as they have a fairly recognizable shadowed area and highlights.

How do you create a sense of solidity in your compositions?

Looking back over my compositions, the placement of the subject matter is definitely crucial to creating a sense of solidity. Often the area of interest is placed using the principal of the rule of thirds of quarters - which in turn is influenced by the Golden Mean. I also ensure that the lines of the composition create directional forces towards the focal point. The focal point is often emphasized by being different in nature or color to the other objects of the composition.

The acute awareness of the impact of the negative space created by the placement of the subject matter helps to create a dynamic of stagnant composition. Ensuring that the negative spaces are carefully placed to guide the eye to the focal point and to invigorate the background to increase interest, is as important as the consideration of the subject matter itself. This was clearly demonstrated to me in a work on exhibit at the "Celebrating the Baakens Valley" art exhibition, Metropolitan Art Gallery in Port Elizabeth (July 2015). A painting by Fred (Frederick Hutchinson) Page called Freeway (1984) is dynamic in its placement of the stark whites of the freeway superstructure against the dark blacks and charcoals of the surrounding buildings, night sky and foreground (Page, 1965). There is a tension created between the barrier in the top left-hand section of the painting and the solid pillar of the support structure in the intersection of thirds in the right-hand section.

Page, Fred (Frederick Henderson) Freeway, 1965.
Oil on board.

I also found that using perspective techniques like overlapping, foreshortening and one-point perspective were important in creating the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality.



Did changing your arrangement of your composition make a difference to your approach and the way you created a sense of form?

What radically changed was my perception of depth and foreshortening. This then in turn influenced the way that the shadows and highlights played across the surface of the subject and the negative spaces created. I did not really change my style of drawing, but my ability to interpret the perspective was different depending on the arrangement of the composition.

 

Works Cited

Maslen, M. & Southern, J., 2014. Drawing Projects an exploration of the language of drawing.. London: Black Dog Publishing.

Page, Fred (Frederick Henderson) (1965) Freeway. [oil on board] At: Port Elizabeth, "Celebrating the Baakens Valley" temporary art exhibition, Metropolitan Art Gallery, July 2015.