Assignment 1

Tutor – Please see coursework 1, Exhibitions and books, and Notes, for related content supporting this assignment.

Before beginning this assignment I arranged a free weekend without interruptions and gathered all my previous coursework and sketchbooks together for reference. I chose a few objects that triggered a feeling of well-being and sense of thoughtfulness by friends and family. The objects seem ordinary to the viewer but have a particular value to the owner (me) as they were all gifts given by loved ones. I set them up by a window to access the natural light, it was a sunny day and this created interesting reflections particularly in the teapot. I chose willow charcoal which I’ve never used until starting this course and I am delighting in the boldness of the marks. Some touches of chalk pastel and graphite pencil were added towards then finish. I like the combination of broad, sweeping strokes and soft edges.

I feel that the teapot reflection went well in the end as I persisted in focusing on what was reflected in the smooth , glossy, curved surface. I was reluctant at first to even attempt to depict this reflection as I felt it was too challenging, then my adult daughter came in the room and said ” I think you should do it Mum”. I actually felt fascinated by this reflection and curious to look further into it. When I first placed the objects by the window I hadn’t even noticed the delightful other reflection of another window.

Because of the exploration involved in looking at shadows and reflection, I needed to focus and give attention to detail- particularly the way the objects are in relation to each other. The objects were resting on a pad of paper which I use in the watercolour class I attend each week ( a very happy place! ) so I wanted to suggest the edges of the pad without too much detail as a surface to bring the objects together.

I don’t think the candle went too well as is possibly too dark. I wanted to utilise the frottage experiment onto the surface, so rubbed I dried leaves, but with the charcoal it perhaps wasn’t the right medium. the candle looks too flat to me and the ellipse could be done better.

The plant leaves are coloured brightly to bring a feeling of hope as it is growing well and surviving amongst the man made objects.

Reflections

. During this assignment I have used a range of materials and some for the first time. My techniques are developing and need to be practised more thoroughly. Observation is rising with each exercise. Visual awareness needs to be increased as sometimes I miss things. I need to be more confident in design and composition.

. The content needs to be more varied. My application of knowledge is somewhat limited particularly in organising my log/blog and coursework using WordPress. Discernment and conceptualisation of thoughts and ideas are emerging with each exercise but I have felt I’m only at the tip of the iceberg.

.I have begun to express creativity in a small way and experimenting with different papers and materials is helping to see what it means to develop a personal voice. I need to use my imagination much more and not feel bound by what I feel safe with.

. Research and critical thinking have been limited and I want to progress in these areas and reflect far more on their value in art. I often look at the art of others but neglect to reflect on what is being said.

Feedback for Assignment 1

Formative feedback Student name Jennifer Berresford Student number 522488
Course/Unit
Drawing 1 Assignment number 1
Type of tutorial written Overall Comments Altogether this is a very good start to the course. You show a good ability in using a range of media and in depicting form accurately. In your assignment piece you also show a playfulness and inventiveness in your approach to drawing a composition.

As you move forwards, continue to integrate the knowledge from different exercises into larger drawings in order to help you to develop them and to work creatively whilst also accurately.

Allow yourself to experiment freely with materials and compositions, using your skecthbook development and also your artist research to help to inform the different possibilities in ways of working with drawing.

Feedback on assignment

Assignment 1 asked you to choose an interesting and personal selection of objects to make an A1 or A2 drawing from. You were asked to consider the light source, tone, surface and reflection; using a range of monochrome materials and expressive mark
making to give form and feeling to your composition You were then asked to reflect on the process.

You’re assignment piece does well to bring together the techniques from the exercises earlier in this piece to reveal a good understanding of using drawing to accurately represent form and to use tone to give a sense of shadow and light.

The pops of colour in the leaves and the inventive use of a coloured reflection in the teapot feel bold and work well.

As you move forwards, continue to look for ways to be playful and inventive in your assignment work.

In addition, continue to use your assignmnet pieces as a way to combine the various techniques learnt during the course.

You mention that these objects are meaningful to you – As you move forwards, try to consider how different drawing styles can help to convey these meanings, whether through giving dark and heavy tones, light and sensitive or fluid and expressive.

While your composition does work well, it would be good to see you using your sketchbook to plan your composition and to experiment a little more with materials or marks before you move onto the final drawing. This kind of preliminary experimentation is a great way to broaden your ideas and to make sure that you are able to work confidently once you embark on your final piece.

Sketchbooks / exercises: In Project 1, exercises focus on gesture and expression, encouraging your to explore a range of drawing materials in an experimental way.

Warmup Exercise: Temporary Drawings

Exercise 1: Experimenting with expressive lines and marks

Your drawings show a lovely range of mark making skills here and its great to see you incorporating a range of materials in order to explore this. The way that you reflect on how the marks can communicate emotion is good. As you move forwards, try to bring this fluid,
varied and expressive style of drawing to your work in order to help to tell a story or to give feeling to your images.

Explore how expressive marks can be used in combination with sensitive and accurate drawing in order to create and interesting contrast in your drawings and to give focus and narrative to them.

Exercise 2: Experimenting with texture

Again, you show a good ability to explore texture through frottage, controlled drawing and expressive marks. As you move forwards continue to consider the texture of different surfaces and to think about which method would work best to communicate this. The avocado skin texture is certainlyt interesting.

When you pick up on these things that feel particularly successful, or when you learn a new technique it might be worth writing them down in a list. You can then refer to this kind of list when working on assignments in order to give inspiration into ways that you could work.

In Project 2, the focus is on build obersvational and technical skills, learning how to give form to objects form through drawing with tone, shadow, reflection and texture.

Exercise 1: Drawing Groups of Objects: This exercise asks you select a group of objects with varying 3D forms to make an A2 or A1 sized drawing using monochrome materials. It asks you to accurately give form to the objects by considering light, form, materials and the relationships between objects.

In this exercise you do well to challenge yourself. The range of drawings here give a sense that you are really figuring out how to accurately draw form here and through the process of making these sketches, thinking and looking closely, you have produced some accurate drawings that feel well balanced.

Do continue to take on exercises that feel challenging by breaking them down and making multiple attempts as you have done here.

As you begin to make more complex compositions in your assignment works and further in the course it can often be useful to begin the process by using this technique to lightly sketch things out. If you start from an accurate position you are likely to find the rest of the drawing quite fluid.

Exercise 2: Observing Shadow using blocks of Tone: This exercise asks you to draw a group of objects, creating a strong light source with a lamp and drawing in a range of monochrome tones to give form to them.

You show a good ability to use blocks of tone to create a sense of light and shadow here. If you are using a rough / powdery materials such as charcoal, you might find that increasing the scale of the drawing will help you to gain more crispness and contrast, giving the material more space to move.

Exercise 3: Creating shadow using lines and marks: This exercise asks you to choose four objects to experiment with using a range of mark making; stipples, lines, hatches, to give form to the objects.

You show a good ability to use different lines and marks in order to give a sense of form here and your objects are also draw accurately. Your hatching and line work using pen shows a nice level of detail and sensitivity. It could be interesting to explore combining this with the expressive style of marks found in the ‘emotion’ excercise.

Exercise 4: Shadows and reflected Light: Choosing two objects with reflective surfaces, work at A1 or A2 with charcoal, conte and a putty rubber to draw the forms, drawing deep shadows and lifting out highlights paying close attention to the form and tone of reflections and shadows.

These drawings show that you have an awareness of the way that highlights and shadows can help to give form to an object. In your drawing on pink it might have been usefull to use a white in order to bring out these highlights a little more. Explore beggining these charcoal drawings with a pencil framework, following the exercise on shape and form earlier in this part of the course. This may help to give you a more accurate and stable framework and allow for you to then experiment a little more with the technique in the exercise (e.g. light and reflection)

Research

Study Two Trees by Odilon Redon, considering composition, tone, mark making and atmosphere. Use this and other artworks to analyse and discuss the use and impact of tone.

Your notes on the artworks of Odilon Redon show an understanding of the way that controlled use of tone can be used to add to a specific atmosphere or to tell a story. Also consider the way tone can help to guide the way that a viewer looks at the work. For instance in Redon’s ‘Trees’ The Darkness between the two trunks leads the viewers eye into the artwork

Suggested reading/ looking:

Anselm Kiefer Alter Und: inventive approaches to composition and still life.

Georges-Pierre Seurat – Stone Breaker: Approaches to using hatching to create tone

Jenny Saville: In the Realm of Others: Using charcoal on a large scale in both controlled and expressive ways.

Strengths
Ability to represent form through drawing
Use of a range of expressive and sensitive marks Inventive approach to compositions Reflection on your learning process

Areas for development Use of sketchbook to develop final ideas. Fine analysis of artworks in your research Exploring reflection and shadow
Drawing at larger scales

Reflection on feedback Looking at my tutors suggestions on areas for development I will try to apply these recommendations in future work.

I have a growing understanding of all of the areas and particularly Use of sketchbook to develop final ideas has helped me throughout Assignment 2 – to plan and also to use as knowledge/reference for a final piece. I want to do this in a greater way as I am now seeing the value of this skill much more.

Fine analysis of artworks in your research I will use my reading time to look at how others analyse artworks and read reviews of exhibitions.

Exploring reflection and shadow

I need to be more aware and observant when working and also when outside to take note of how reflection and shadow are present.

Drawing at larger scales

Definitely an area where I don’t feel confident, I just have to do this !

Tutor name Natasha Russell Date 17/07/19 Next assignment due