Drawing – Week Five

The first task was to draw around the outline of my body and to try and communicate how my body felt and the emotions I was feeling at the time. I used the side of the charcoal to create ‘shadowy’ spaces within the body shape focused more on the chest area.

Using a long bamboo stick with either a paintbrush dipped ink or a stick of charcoal taped to the end we had 40 minutes to create a life drawing on a large piece of paper. I think I was too hesitant to create bold brush strokes making the image look very unfinished. For example with the face you can only see the faint charcoal lines making the head look very unproportionable. The reoccurring issue with my life drawing and going into my other practices as well is the fact that I am too anxious to take that first step to create an impactful piece meaning that they always seem stiff and timid.

Drawing – Week Two

12 October 2021

In the second week of drawing, we focused on tone. Overall I was very disappointed with the outcomes I created within this session. I found it very difficult to achieve a wide depth of tone and translate the figure onto my page without using line. Near the end of the session, I started to understand the process more although, I still found it difficult to see what process where I needed to place the charcoal and how to make accurate proportions without mapping out the outline first. Practicing tone is definitely a skill I need a lot of practice on to improve my skills.

Tonal exercises I did after the session.

Drawing – Week One

In drawing week one we drew from a real life model. With each drawing we had certain adjustments we needed to make that gave us a new drawing experience. The adjustments would also help us to try and forget all the bad habits we might have picked up. For example, trying to draw with out non-dominant hand whilst not looking at the paper. I found these exercises very helpful as I find it very hard not to overthink and I get frustrated when I can’t get everything perfect. I personally think the drawings I did with my non dominant hand while not looking at the paper turned out to be the some of the best outcomes I have had from drawing in awhile – I liked their fluidity and how they captured the essence of the life model. After this experience I started my own personal sketchbook where I have started to work on and develop on the areas of drawing where I feel my skills are weaker. I try to work for at least 30 minutes every day in the sketchbook with quick drawing exercises and figure drawings.