Part 4 Project 1 Exercise 2 Emphasizing form with cloth

Last night I attempted to complete some gestural sketches of my husband. The whole exercise made it very clear to me that I need to spend a considerable amount of time just sketching, as I am horribly rusty. My poor model looks more like a troll in the first sketch. My foreshortening in the second sketch seems to work, as the feet seem in proportion to the rest of the figure. As my model is not a paid model, I do not feel that I can enforce his sitting absolutely still for long periods of time. So, my third picture indicates various positions in which the arms and legs were positioned during the drawing process.

Gesture Drawing 1

Gesture Drawing 2

Gesture Drawing 2

Hodgson, Ian. Shadowplay, 2013. [Graphite]

After my struggle to sketch my model’s proportions last night, I went onto Axis Web to seek out contemporary artists who sketch figures. While browsing through various artists, I came across Shadowplay, 2013, by Ian Hodgson. What appeals to me about this piece is the mixture of a well-observed graphite drawing from an unusual, foreshortened perspective, with simplified silhouette shadows and light casts, which is then overlaid with a large finger print and tiny holed grid. It is an intriguing mix, which adds layers of psychological depth to the drawing. I found his explanation of his style enlightening:

“My work engages with identity and place exploring the transformative process of journey filtered through memory…The depiction of light in space and on surface plays with the divisions between the physical and psychological, the solid and the ethereal. Heads and bodies feature as representations of internal conflict and resolution regarding my place in the world whilst the recurring fingerprint motif is used to signify the self.”

(Brighton, 2016)

This explains the strangely unsettling psychological dimension to his work. It is not just a well-executed drawing, but also one which hints at the transience of life. With the smudge of a finger, your image can be smeared or eradicated. Your identity, represented by the fingerprints, inalterably changed. Hodgson's ability to blend expressive lines and mark making with meticulously observed drawing is remarkable.

For my final sketch, I chose a photograph of the back view of a women with a drape over her buttocks. Somehow when reading the brief I missed that this should have been a seated figure. But as I feel that I was able to create the sense that there is a living form under the drapery, and the fact that the drapery is very much an integral part of this drawing, I will include this sketch as my study for this exercise.

Graphite and charcoal sketch of woman draped in fabric. 

I do like the lighting on this woman, as it provides the drawing with stark contrasts and enlivens the folds of the fabric.

Works Cited

Brighton, A. I., 2016. Refrain by Ian Hodgson: An exhibition at Naked Eye Gallery. [Online]
Available at: http://www.artinbrighton.co.uk/exhibitions-and-events/2016/2/12/refrain-an-exhibition-by-ian-hodgson
[Accessed April 17 2016].

Hodgson, I., n.d. Ian Hodgson Gallery. [Online]
Available at: http://ian-hodgson.co.uk/gallery.html
[Accessed 17 2016 2016].