Tea and Doodles

In my previous blog outlining my preparation for the first assignment, I brainstormed several objects around me that meant something in some way. Referring back to the mark-makimg exercises and the emotive response I needed to reflect on, I knew I needed to have a variety of reactions to the objects in order to deepen my drawing response. I  also mentioned that the media I would choose for each object reflect the marks I want to make, I feel they matched the mood I would be trying to create in each part. I see myself as a little nostalgic, happy to sit reminiscing about the smallest thing. I specifically started to look for objects that spark a memory with me. The coloured vase takes me back to my childhood; I remember it sitting in the hallway of my grandparent's house. It was a gift from my Great Grandad to my Great Nanny. It gives me a feeling of place, a grounding, a sense of belonging in a loving environment. Words I feel when I take myself back - happy, content, fun, cosy, i...

In my previous blog outlining my preparation for the first assignment, I brainstormed several objects around me that meant something in some way. Referring back to the mark-makimg exercises and the emotive response I needed to reflect on, I knew I needed to have a variety of reactions to the objects in order to deepen my drawing response. I  also mentioned that the media I would choose for each object reflect the marks I want to make, I feel they matched the mood I would be trying to create in each part. I see myself as a little nostalgic, happy to sit reminiscing about the smallest thing. I specifically started to look for objects that spark a memory with me. The coloured vase takes me back to my childhood; I remember it sitting in the hallway of my grandparent's house. It was a gift from my Great Grandad to my Great Nanny. It gives me a feeling of place, a grounding, a sense of belonging in a loving environment. Words I feel when I take myself back - happy, conte...

The exercise initially was hard, although maybe more for the fact that I thought it would be difficult to capture the sheen and reflections of a silver surface. I've been practicing this with different media just to have some playtime. I've never tried biro. This has a glow to it, I love it!  As my annotation shows, the proportion is out. It is all too easy to focus on perfection sometimes and miss the aim of the exercise! A brushed chrome seemed harder to replicate; a diffused reflection was difficult. Maybe in charcoal? The ornament was easier initially as the reflective areas were more definitive against the contrast of the dark wood colour. However, lifting the conté to highlight the figure was not easy on such a small area - this would become easy when I work with a larger scale next for the actual exercise. I've realised I need a much better quality sketchbook, this one is awful, the surface lifts and disintegrates as I wiped the conté dust with a chamois.

The exercise initially was hard, although maybe more for the fact that I thought it would be difficult to capture the sheen and reflections of a silver surface. I've been practicing this with different media just to have some playtime. I've never tried biro. This has a glow to it, I love it!  As my annotation shows, the proportion is out. It is all too easy to focus on perfection sometimes and miss the aim of the exercise! A brushed chrome seemed harder to replicate; a diffused reflection was difficult. Maybe in charcoal? The ornament was easier initially as the reflective areas were more definitive against the contrast of the dark wood colour. However, lifting the conté to highlight the figure was not easy on such a small area - this would become easy when I work with a larger scale next for the actual exercise. I've realised I need a much better quality sketchbook, this one is awful, the surface lifts and disintegr...