Part 3 Final Assignment

Fig. 1. Detail of the wall surface of the porch.

Motivation for Subject:

Across the road from our apartment there is a desperately grimy and derelict porch (see fig.1.). It is the sort of structure that I would never sit under, even during the midday sun, as it stinks of urine and sweat, and its layers of muck are etched into the wall's surface. What I have found absolutely incredulous is that this porch rarely sits totally empty (fig. 2.). Throughout the day, it has a constant stream of people using it in various ways. It might become a temporary shelter for half-a-dozen snoozing gentlemen, lying out the hottest hours of the day on cardboard sheets in its shade. Or, the entire porch becomes covered in parked motorbikes. At other times stacks of brand new patterned mattresses stand to attention ready to be sold.

The most humbling occupants of this porch are the dear women that I have come to befriend, despite the fact that I speak only a smattering of French courtesies. At least three nights out of the week they come at around dusk to set up camp for the night. One woman is in her twenties. She is paralyzed from the waist down and has two withered arms - possibly as a result of polio, a common disease here due to the lack of inoculations.  The other woman is a mother of adorable twin girls. These little bundles with their cute dubious expressions and tentative totterings, are often seen exploring the edges of this porch. To my horror, the one was actually licking the wall the other day. This porch serves as their temporary home until dawn, when they pack up their mosquito nets and bedding, bathe the toddlers using cup-sized packets of water, and sweep the porch clean. Hard to believe that people can actually exist in this manner - and still have a smile of greeting for me every day, wishing me "Bon Journee".

It has been for a few months now that I have desired to draw this porch as it has come to have a strange nostalgic meaning to me. As ugly and inhospitable as it appears to me as a Westerner, it brings much needed shelter and respite for numerous travelers, and serves a multitude of purposes. Like George Shaw, I want to be able to find inspiration in the mundane. These words of his resonate with me:

"I get perturbed by people who have meaningful epiphanies in expensive places – who go to India, Goa, New Zealand, watch a glorious sunset to find themselves. If you can’t find yourself in your own back yard, you’re not going to find yourself in the Serengeti, are you? So for me, it was taking those clichés of epiphany and the sublime and putting them in a place where great thoughts aren’t rumoured to happen."

(Kellaway, 2015)

Due to the fact that my husband and I are international educators, I have travelled the world to places considered exotic, and yet, it is often in the grimy porches that I encounter the challenge to look within, and to allow God to help me to find the strength to turn the "grimy porches" into a haven. For this reason, I decided that I want to embark on capturing this porch in my assignment. In a manner inspired by George Shaw, I wish to capture this humble porch in a way which gives it a bit of credence and yet honest dignity. Capturing all of this in a two hour drawing session will be the ultimate challenge for me, as my style tends to be belabored and intense. Artworks which appeal to me at present are works which have many layers to them. The uppermost layer partially obscuring and, yet also, partially revealing the underlying layers. So, my goal is to depict the layers of grime and weathering, along with the rustic lines of the structure, within the short time frame allowed.

Fig. 3. Wall and roof surface sketchbook practice.

Preparation: I started out by trying to emulate the layers of the roof and wall surfaces in as little time as possible. After experimentation, I discovered that the streaky layers of the edge of the roof can be emulated using a palette knife with a mixture of greys and whites. By scraping the acrylic very flat, it remains workable for markers and other drawing media. Pink marker and white chalk worked particularly well on top of this panel of layers, creating the idea of water seepage (fig 3.). 

I also experimented with the wall surface using a variety of yellows and creams. I liked the effect that I created by drawing into a layer of wet acrylic, scratching away most of the color, and then applying chalk pastels on top of this. Charcoals and drawing pencils work well on top of these layers to create the shady shadows of the interior. The colors of the walls are not this acidic lemon yellow, but rather closer to a burnt amber. So I will need to work on my color palette.

When experimenting with the greens of the foliage in the background, I realized that I am going to have to do the background layer first as no matter how I tried I ended up in destroying the rough texture of the edge of the concrete when applying the background afterwards. I decided that as I have to work fast to fit within the two hour time-frame, I will lay down a layer of green and then work watercolor pencils and crayons on this layer to suggest foliage.

Fig.4. Study of random items shoved into the burglar bars.

One feature of this porch that amazes me is the fact that people leave items of clothing, pots and dishes stuffed into the burglar bars of the windows, or hanging from the air-conditioner casings. I spent sometime trying to figure out how I was going to approach this feature of this unusual porch (fig. 4). I experimented with one of these windows. Once again I laid down a layer of watercolor, in this case brown, and then worked on top of it with markers and watercolor crayons. I think this will create the effect I want.

On investigating the lines of the linear perspective on a print of the photograph I am basing my drawing on, I discovered that it has a number of vanishing points all around a similar position. The little lean-to has its own vanishing point. (See fig. 5.)

Fig.5. Print of porch showing

orthogonals leading to varying vanishing points.

I decided to complete an ink study to try to analyze the dark and lighter areas of this scene. I can't say that this sketch was satisfying, as it seemed clumsy and awkward (fig. 6.). (This sketch got cream paint on it when I used it to help me with my final artwork.) However, what I did discover from this study was the fact that I needed to hone my composition in more, allowing the attention to focus on the shrouded motorbike, and the 'dressed' windows. I also decided to take the attention off of the umbrella shop at the corner.

Fig.6. Sketchbook ink study of tonal values.

As a result of my dissatisfaction with my ink study, I went through a cycle of reconsidering my style and approach to this project. I reconsidered the words from Clare Wilson, my tutor, in her assessment of my previous assignment. The words that jumped out to me were the following:

"Very often less is more in a good drawing and the ability to know when to stop is a skill that increases with practice and with confidence."

"...you should consider ways of focusing on the aspect of a drawing that is most interesting and allow other areas to be less dominant without losing what you want to say about the subject."

"Also look at the variety of mark making in the abstract drawings by Julie Mehretu and the angular and expressive quality of line in the work of Egon Schiele. Claude Heath makes drawings that have an active, energetic quality that might inspire you to explore a more animated approach." (Wilson, 2015)

I still find it hard to focus on my main area of interest, allowing the rest of the drawing to lose focus. I looked at the work of Julie Mehretu to get a fresh breath of inspiration. What intrigues me about Julie Mehretu's work is the way that through abstract textural mark making with inks, acrylic and graphite she is able to suggest visual connections. Your imagination formulates a landscape, cityscape, or sense of time travel. Her images even have an area of focus, which though suggested, remains enigmatic. This is particular evident in Fever graph (algorithm of Serendipity), 2013. It is hard to comprehend the significance of her work when looking at a small photograph of her works on the computer. I do look forward to the day that I can studying her work as it is installed in a gallery.

I read up the description of her aims and style on Marian Goodman Gallery site. I wish I could say that I understood all that this write-up was saying, but what did resonate with me were these words: "It is in this space of the liminal – literally, threshold – the stage of standing on the verge between one’s previous way of structuring identity, time, or community and a new way-- that her new body of work has developed." (Marian Goodman Gallery, 2016) I so long to be able to work beyond my "previous way of structuring identity" in my artworks.  

Fig. 7.  Egon Schiele, The Bridge (1913).

One of my decisions regarding how I am going to draw this porch is how I am going to interpret the wall surfaces and layers of grime. In researching further works of Egon Schiele, I came across The Bridge, 1913. (See fig. 7.) His use of earthy beiges and grey tones contrast starkly with his primary colors in the hut and the boat in the distance. His layering of colors is what I want to aim for in this drawing of mine. The green of the distant hillside is a dark non-projecting green, unlike the green of my preliminary exploration. I also like the manner in which he works in a linear fashion on top of his fields of color.

My next step was to do a further mock up of the composition and to try to speed up my technique. This sketch can be seen in Figure 8. At this stage, I caught a glimmer of the potential that this composition could have. I had slowly tightened my focus from the original photograph my husband took, to the cropped in version. I even tried to move one of the pots hanging from the air-conditioner to see if it would add to the composition if it were moved closer in. In the end, I decided that although an intriguing detail, it was not necessary to the composition.

Fig. 8. Preliminary study. Dimensions: A4.

What I liked about the works of Claude Heath is his use of expressive exploratory lines to develop the contours of his 3-dimensional surfaces. In the study above, I tried to combine loose ink lines with the shading and blocks of smeared color fields.

Final Artwork:

I commenced this drawing with a light sketch placing the main lines of the building. I then blocked in the sky in a dusky blue watercolor wash. I then worked over it in an expressive manner to indicate the movement of palms using dark green watercolor mixed with black ink. The final area I blocked in initially was the creamy tone of the wall surfaces (fig.9.).

Fig.9. Washes of color blocked in place.

The rest of the work seemed like a dance. I would have bursts of activity and energy, interspersed by my needing to gulp down glasses full of liquid. I was amazed at how energetic the process was. I have never turned out an artwork of this size in so short a time period - but, it was quite exhilarating! I remember Clare Wilson writing to say that I should have fun with this assignment. Well, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the creative process. It took me a long time to gear up to this project, but I feel that I was able to free myself from my usual tight constraints in many areas. Obviously, I have a long way to go, and I will probably never reach the end of what is possible, but the process of this assignment has been encouraging.

Fig.10. Detail of roof and eaves.

To start with, I used the palette knife to smear in the greys and browns in the mold at the top of the cantilever (Fig.10.). I deliberately left some of the cream to peer through, to give it a layered look. I then used the palette knife with lighter greys to go under the eaves. This was more tricky to apply thinly and in the right shape. I used a palette knife to smear in the general shape of the bricked up doorway, windows and porch floor.

I found myself constantly evaluating which media would work best on the varying surfaces. I started to define the pillars of the porch, using white crayon, graphite, watercolor pencils, etc., to shade them in and give them definition. I then worked on the shading under the eaves using charcoals, graphite and watercolor crayons. For the lip of the roof of the lean-to, I tried to use expressive ink lines to indicate the crisp edges of this roofing material. I also used ink pen to define the edges and shading of the wooden poles that support the roof of the lean-to. I added some shading to these wooden posts using graphite, white watercolor crayon and a thin layer of white acrylic paint.

Fig.11. Barred windows with clothing.

I commenced filling in the porch by starting at the motorbike end and working towards the right. To get the black of the motorbike tyres and the details of the foot pedals etc., I used a black Sharpie, which I then integrated into the rest of the surface using graphite pencils and watercolor crayons on top of the surface.

To try to depict the manufactured nature of the burglar bars above the bricked in door and the metal shutters, I used Sharpie black marker and a fine point permanent marker (fig. 11.). What I particularly enjoyed was working with the rust-brown and black smear I had applied to the area of the two windows, which have the clothing stuck into the bars. The smear was already very expressive in that it had a worn rusted look to it. So, I merely added some suggestions of rectangular shapes, defining the bars, along with a few strokes of thin brown acrylic paint. I then used a combination of grey acrylic paint and watercolor crayons to depict the draped clothing.

After drawing in these detailed areas, I set about changing the tones of the wall surfaces to replicate the grime and grunge which has built up over the years. I used varying graphite pencils, watercolor markers, and water color pencils for this purpose, with the odd wash of thinned down white acrylic. I decided to add in the little stool under the window as a reminder that people come to sit in the shade of this porch.

Fig. 12. Distant corner and foliage.

For the background, I worked very roughly in graphite to indicate two people at the corner opposite the porch. Initially the umbrella was a bright blue, but I realized that is was grabbing too much attention, so I softened it to a muted blue-green. I wanted to show the people in order to contextualize the porch, but did not want them to be the focus, which they are in the photographs (fig.12.). I added some suggestions of leafy fronds on to the dark green background using watercolor pencils. In order to not detract from the building, I did not add any fronds to the greenery above the porch.

Lastly, I reworked the shadows on the porch floor, trying to show the variations in the tones of the grey. I added a few suggestive strokes to the edge of the porch and to the dirt road in front. I eventually erased some of the pencil strokes, as they were too definitive. As the lines of the composition all lead towards the motorbike, I decided that it needed a bit more work. I enhanced the shadows of the cover and emphasized the highlights on the folds by applying light strokes of light green acrylic paint (fig. 13.).

Fig.13. Detail of shrouded motorbike.

By this stage, I was over the two hour limit by about twenty minutes, so I decided that it was time to quit. As I stated before, I have never churned out an A2-sized drawing in such a short period of time. Our examinations at school and during my teacher training were all in the region of eight hour long sessions. So, this has been a stretch for me. But, I can truly say that I feel that I have met my goal - the porch with its suggestion of human occupancy and layers of time, has been captured in my drawing (fig.14.).

Fig. 14. Final Artwork.

Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills

I know that my awareness of linear and aerial perspective has developed during the course of this unit of study. In the past I would have treated the background with equal clarity, much like I can see in many photographs, but here, I have deliberately tried to throw the background out of the spotlight, by making it lighter and less defined. 

I have played with the composition of this piece quite a bit. Originally I fancied drawing the porch flat on, as can be seen in the first photograph. However, as I was required to include foliage, I decided to rather take a more oblique approach. In retrospect, I realized that I have a hint of three-point perspective going, judging by the angles of the columns.

An area where I do see a weakness is the area under the eaves. This shading is rather generalized and at times a bit confusing. Where is the light that lights the underside of the porch roof coming from? I also feel that this area became a bit overworked and muddy.

Quality of Outcome 

As I explained previously, my normal style of drawing is rather tight and illustrative, so this is an attempt to loosen up my narrative style and allow for a bit more expression. I spent a great deal of time in reflection, trying to ascertain my approach and seeking inspiration from other artists. I feel that I am satisfied with the outcome. I feel that it captures some of the intrigue and mystery of this nasty back alley porch.

Demonstration of Creativity

I think to some extent the creativity of this piece is in the nature of the porch. It is not your typical picturesque building. I have experimented with how to portray its grimy layers using the two hour time limit as my constraint. I think my using of a palette knife to smear in blocks of color served to provide interesting surfaces which appeared irregular and peeling, although flat enough to further develop with mixed media.

I think that a bit of my personal voice comes through. Part of this is in the subject matter. I find shabby peeling surfaces very intriguing. It is as if they contain a history. Who made that smudge? When did they paint the various layers of paint that can be seen through the broken surfaces?

Context Reflection

My one regret throughout this unit on study has been the fact that I am not living in an area conducive to outdoor meaderings and plein aire sketching. I know that when in South Africa, I loved being able to curl up under a tree and sketch the scene before me. This climate and the fact that I am a White female in a very different culture has put limitations on my exploration. However, fortunately, I have large windows looking out from my apartment, the scenes of which feature throughout this unit, and I have a supportive husband who helps me by documenting our trips with his amazing photographs. Given a different environment, my work might well have been quite different, but then...I would not have made a connection with this well-worn porch. So, in the end, I am grateful for what I have been able to work with.

Illustrations

Fig. 7.  Egon Schiele, The Bridge (1913). Available at: http://www.egon-schiele.com[Accessed 31 March, 2016]

Works Cited

Goodman, M., n.d. Marian Goodman Work. [Online]
Available at: http://mariangoodman.com/artist/julie-mehretu

[Accessed 31 March 2016].

Kellaway, K., 2015. George Shaw, 49: ‘Every second, every ounce of time has to be accounted for’. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/15/george-shaw-interview-every-second-every-ounce-of-time-has-to-be-accounted-for

[Accessed 30 March 2016].

Marian Goodman Gallery, 2016. Julie Mehretu. [Online]
Available at: http://archive.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/2013-05-11_julie-mehretu/

[Accessed 31 March 2016].

Wilson, C., 2015. Formative Feedback, s.l.: Open College of Arts.