Part 2 Project 2 Exercise 2 Detail and simple line

Tactile Exploration

In order to improve the connection between the tactile quality of objects and my ability to record visually what I sensed, I undertook the exercises explained in Drawing Projects which aimed “towards a feeling response.” (Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, 2014) I blind-folded myself and sought to draw my shoe based purely on the sensory detail I was getting from feeling the shoe with my left-hand. I found this exercise to be extremely interesting. After initially studying the shoe extensively, I blind folded myself and tried to draw with my right-hand exactly what my left-hand was feeling. When blindfolded I became disorientated and found it initially hard to imagine what I was drawing and where I was positionally on the picture plane. I even found myself losing my sense of balance. With increased practice, it became gradually easier, although I found it fascinating that what I visualized my drawing to be and what it actually turned out to be, were totally world’s apart.

Initial tactile drawing



Second tactile drawing

Third drawing with written description of shoe

Fourth tactile shoe drawing

After my initial four drawings, I drew the shoe from memory. It was very intriguing to see how for sections of the shoe, I had to actually close my eyes to try to invoke the feelings I had felt when exploring the shoe purely through touch. For the central section, I had absolutely no recall of how the shoe went. It was rather disturbing that a shoe I wear on my feet at least three times a week, and I had just studied at length, could still be so unknown to me visually. It made me appreciate even more the artists of old who would go outside – before plein air painting – memorize a scene, and then replicate it indoors. I fear that our generation has lost the art of visual memorization.



Shoe drawn from memory

Final tactile study

Contour line drawing

This morning I cut off the lettuce leaves from its root stock to soak. After doing so, I thought the root stock was very intriguing. So, after looking at the driftwood I have in the house and deciding that they were not suitable for the contour drawing, I dug the lettuce stock out of the trash and decided to draw it.

The initial contours of the top of the lettuce proved to be interesting to draw and I was encouraged that although I was barely looking at my page, my lines correlated and described what I saw with detailed contours. However, when tackling the tangled of bulbous roots, I found that it was so easy to get lost and disproportionate. I also found that my A4 paper ran out. I ended up in gluing a piece on the bottom to enable me to finish off the root system. I have found that my concentration span when it comes to intense observational drawings is gradually improving, but I do find that after about thirty minutes, I find contour lines hard to keep a track of.

Contour drawing of lettuce root stock

I feel as if all of the work I am doing to try to improve my observation skills and hand-eye co-ordination is starting to pay off. I believe I am close to the place I was twenty something years ago when drawing was so much a part of my life. I so long to be able to get back to the sensitivity and knowledge I had of drawing material, and to be able o push my ability way beyond where I left off. It will come, I know.

Works Cited

Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, 2014. Drawing Projects - an exploration of the language of drawing. London: Black Dog Publishing.

 

Part 2 Project 3 Detailed observation of natural objects: Exercise 1 Using Markers or Dip Pens

To initiate my experimentation with markers and dip pens, as well as to develop my ability to explore the tactile appearance of a form, I followed the instructions of the exercise on pages 72 to 74 in Drawing Projects. (Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, 2014)  
Initially I worked in pencil with a few household items but then moved onto markers. I decided to take a guava and draw it using two Sharpies taped together on A3-sized paper. I then refined the form with a darker charcoal marker. I drew two different views of it, with the second being after I had taken a few bites out of the guava. I found this exercise quite liberating as it allowed me to explore the form of the guava in an unusual way. I used chalk pastels on top of my final layer of black to help to soften the image and to add to the form of the fruit. The use of two markers simultaneously created a softer appearance than if I had used the markers in a more traditional fashion. I particularly enjoyed doing this drawing. It has a spontaneity to it that my drawings are often lacking.

Drawing with two pencils




Double marker tactile study



I used fine markers to try varying compositions of items found in the kitchen, thinking of creating a Pop Art looking appearance. However, these compositions did not appeal to me, and I also thought that I needed to follow the advice on page 42 of the Drawing 1 course manual to explore natural forms. So, I sought out natural forms to portray.

 

Initial composition studies

I spent time trying out the stamp printing inks that my mom gave me. But, eventually opted rather to use the Bombay Ink I received as part of my school art supplies. Their colors were far more vibrant and transparent, enabling layering.

Color swatching

In the interim period, which ended up in being almost three weeks, my husband and I had to move our household across the city of Cotonou, and we were involved in moving the QSI School of Benin to a new location. This was rather time consuming and interrupted my study plans.

One benefit, however, of moving was that the new facility has different plants to find inspiration in. As I absolutely love the rich warm colors of the variation of the bird-of-paradise found in this region of eastern Africa, I decided to see if I could interpret them into an ink and marker drawing.

Using Markers or Dip Pens

I explored three different options for composition. At this stage, I thought I was going to included fuchsia bougainvillea as the background. For this drawing, I decided to choose A3-sized paper. I had considered using found paper, but could not find anything large enough for my purpose that was not too dark for the light color needed for the bird-of-paradise.

I then experimented with the markers and the Bombay ink to see how the ink would respond to layering. I like the effect created by using the Aqua markers with the Indian ink. The details I drew with the markers blurred once I painted a layer of Bombay ink on top of the fine lines. What I did find difficult was that the darker shades on top of the yellow base could easily mess the fibre of the paper. I realized that this would be the most difficult part of drawing with layers of ink. I also found the red ink reacted very differently to the yellow, and it was difficult to get a cheerful orange. I decided that what would work best was to draw in some of the orange using the Aqua markers.


Bird-of-Paradise composition studies

 

Experiments

I experimented with using my porcupine quill dipped in the Bombay ink to draw the finer details on the Bird-of-Paradise.

I then made two failed attempts to do a drawing of the flower. What I found was that despite trying different paper weights, the paper fatigued very easily when using too many successive layers. I also found that I had to wait until each layer was thoroughly dry in order to prevent the surface fluffing. This is a bit hard to do when in a tropical climate with high humidity. Sections of my failed attempts I stuck into my sketchbook to help me remember what to avoid. I tried Giotto turbo markers which bleed when wet. I thought that I might use those in areas, but from the experiments saw that I would need to be careful as to how I use them as their response to liquid is less reliable and predictable than the Aqua markers. I did find that Sharpies worked well on top of the Bombay ink.



Failed attempt and further experimentation

Once I had completed my bird-of-paradise flower, I decided that the bouganvillea lines would just muddle the profile of the flower. With experimentation, and photography, my husband and I decided that the asparagus fern I had rooting in a green see-through glass would make an interesting harmonious background. I initially played around with the texture of this fern and tried to see if the color would work with the oranges and yellows of the flower. I liked the clarity of color of this fern and yet its delicate texture, so thought it was a good fit. I especially enjoyed the effect of making the fern appear out of focus. The composition definitely needed something that was not too detracting and detailed to add background interest to the picture.

Bombay ink and marker study

After my extremely slow warm-up to this exercise – interrupted by physical moves across the city - I found I became immersed in the process and thoroughly enjoyed working on this drawing. I particularly liked working on the asparagus fern. It had a loose, interpretive quality to it. I also loved the unpredictable nature of using a porcupine quill to draw in the details of the flower. 

Works Cited

Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, 2014. Drawing Projects - an exploration of the language of drawing. London: Black Dog Publishing.