Assignment 5 – Option 3: Drawing Outdoors | BA (hons) Degree Course in painting Level One

27/11 – 08/12/14

Assignment 5 Option 3 – Drawing Outdoors

Process and Progress:

: Fig 1. Watercolour wet in wet washes

: Fig 2. Building watercolour layers and defining the middle ground trees

: Fig 3. Adding in acrylic inks and building tone and colour

: Fig 4. Adding definition, tone and colour to focal point iron work.

: Fig 5. Middle ground woodland still too strong. Added creased tissue paper with 50:50 PVA glue and water …

: Fig 6. Adding brighter ink to the woodland and watercolour washes into the river

: Fig 7. Using water soluble Derwent Graphik pens, sepia drawing and brush pens to draw into the under-painting, bringing in the details …

: Fig 8. Addition of more washes, completing all features, building tone in shadow …

: Fig 9. Working in the texture in the wooden plank walkway …

: Fig 10. Water built up with ink pens and oil pastel

Fig 1 – Watercolour wet in wet washes

Fig 2 – Building watercolour layers and defining the middle ground trees

Fig 3 – Adding in acrylic inks and building tone and colour

Fig 4 – Adding definition, tone and colour to focal point iron work. Washed out the indigo blue watercolour as seems too strong

Fig 5 – Middle ground woodland still too strong. Added creased tissue paper with 50:50 PVA glue and water – fresh start but with some colour and marks showing through. Began adding texture, colour and tone to the concrete buttresses. Adhered torn hand-made paper to the bottom left corner and added inks and watercolour for foliage

Fig 6 – Adding brighter ink to the woodland and watercolour washes into the river

Fig 7 – Using water-soluble Derwent Graphik pens, sepia drawing and brush pens to draw into the under-painting, bringing in the details and building more texture with mark making.

Fig 8 – Addition of more washes, completing all features, building tone in shadow areas, adding colour, definition and texture with oil pastels and colour brush pens.

Fig 9 – Working in the texture in the wooden plank walkway, increasing tone in the middle ground taking down the brightness. Worked into the foreground foliage increasing darks with dark blue brush pen, working negative spaces to bring out natural shapes of leaves with highlight of Graphik pen.

Fig 10 – Water built up with ink pens, oil pastel and washes.

Final work

Self Assessment
Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills material, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.
I continued experimentation with different media and drawing tools and tried to push them and myself by letting them find their own way in a sense. As well as inks, pens and oil pastels etc. I tried textural effects with different papers and salt. Compositionally, careful planning and the trying out of different views made it easier to be free with how the work was made within a considered design.

Quality of Outcome content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
Initially, I was excited to try all sorts of ideas and techniques and if I hadn’t gone through the lengthy process of experimenting and trialling effects in my sketchbook and elsewhere, I think there would have been a definite lack of coherence. By following the process, I achieved a loose and fluid under-painting which I feel has been successfully pulled together by drawing and mark making with detail and accuracy where necessary yet the image remains lively.

Demonstration of Creativity imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
I used my imagination to create a version of the scene that I hope has enhanced an autumnal feel by my use of colour and texture. All of the planned elements are there, yet I was determined to avoid a photographic representation, the feelings that the location evokes in me are demonstrated by the treatment given. Textures, smells and sounds inspired the work and helped develop a representation of a favourite walk. I didn’t want to rely on laborious, detailed and intricate drawing of branches, mosses and foliage but make the best of what the media and techniques gave me and work with whatever effects occurred.

Context reflection, research, critical thinking (learning log).
I have continued to use my blog to record my reflection of progress and exercises. I have learnt lessons and recorded them clearly, together with the research undertaken this has informed my decision-making and direction in the making process.

Reflection of Final Work

I have left the assignment drawing for a couple of days and returned to it to re-evaluate and decide whether I am entirely happy with the result. My thoughts:

From a distance the trees immediately to the left of the iron girder appear too vertical and are not distinct from the girder itself.
The whole image may need more “pulling together”.
The texture and tone in the foliage in the foreground is too flat and indistinct.

Rework to Address the Above

Assignment 5
Option 3 – Drawing Outdoors
Final and Complete Piece of Work

Points Above Addressed by:

Lightened the end of the iron girder to bring it forward
Added more tone and texture to the offending group of trees, plus made them less vertical by adding tonal branches.
Brought colours across the drawing to unify and using oil pastels on their side to bring out the relief of the tissue creases to indicate branches.
Added lights and darks to the foreground foliage with oil pastels and worked into the negative shapes with dark brush pens to bring the leaves forward.

Detail Photographs

As this particular assignment is being assessed purely on-line due to time restrictions, I have included close-up detail photographs to further illustrate the textures and details.