Week 9: Worcester Museum

WEEK 9 - WORCESTER MUSEUM OBSERVATIONAL DRAWING TRIP

Week 8 was Peer Assessment, so week 9 was our next drawing week. The class took a trip to worcester museum and undertook a number of tasks. The task was designed not just to improve the skills we had learnt during figure drawing, but to apply them to other subject matter, and be able to draw observationally. This is a vital skill for working with briefs, as often it will require visual research and drawing objects or people from a partiucalar place/time period/environment, etc.

TASK 1: 'Depict an object that you feel symbolises nature. Try to draw this as large as possible.'

30 MINUTES / 6B & 4B PENCILS

I was struck by this enormous mounted lion's head and really wanted to attempt to capture the beauty and overwhelming power of it. I chose 6B and 4B pencils in order to work with loose, heavy strokes and give the essence of the mane without adding too much detail. I think these mark-making techniques work well with the subject matter, giving the drawing a raw and powerful feeling of movement.

TASK 2: 'Depict an object that you feel symbolises the phrase 'man-made'. Try to draw this as large as possible.'

40 MINUTES / 4B PENCIL

For this task I didn't think you could get more man-made than the beautiful smooth carving of a violin. I thought it would be something very interesting to draw seeing as there are such a variety of angles, lines and shapes within it. However, I found that coming to draw it, this was a lot harder than expected. The angles gave me lots of trouble, especially trying to get the object to look 3D as it was foreshortened from where I was sitting. I always tend to have trouble with this and despite trying to use skills from class, the drawing still looks a little off. This is something I'd like to try again, so I took a photo and will attempt to improve it at home. I may draw the violin smaller too, so I have enough space to fit it on the page - I don't think this helps as the violin looks squashed at the end. I also don't think the heavier pencil marks work very well for the piece, so I'll choose a more delicate medium.

TASK 3: 'Draw three or more different objects on a page that you feel symbolise nature. Really consider where you place these elements on the page.'

(Top to bottom) 20, 25 & 15 MINUTES  / XS & S BLACK FINELINERS

After the slightly disappointing second drawing I am a lot happier with these. The change in medium to fineliner pen was a strong decision here because there is so much detail to be seen and the fine lines bring it out beautifully. I was able to use shading/hatching techniques for tone and depth, which was useful practice for tonal study.The bat was particularly beautiful to draw, as the wings were so translucent and caught the light which highlighted hundreds of tiny veins within. Therefore I spread the bat across the page so it had the main focus, and framed it with the other two drawings. 

TASK 4: 'Draw three or more different objects on a page that you feel symbolise the phrase 'man-made'. Really consider where you place these elements on the page.'

(Top to bottom) 10, 20 & 20 MINUTES / 2B PENCIL, BLUE BIRO & CHARCOAL

I experimented a little more with mediums for these drawings. I tried to find a variety of items to symbolise man-made, and then base my medium choice on the item itself. I think the most successful is probably the pair of boots, because the soft, messy style of charcoal captures the creases and shadows on the leather well. The shoes were also black with long, loose laces, and I think you get a sense of this just through the charcoal itself. The foreshortening was still tricky but I do find this drawing more accurate and successful than the violin foreshortening!

The gun drawing works well with the more detailed biro, and the clarity of line that biro gives captures the complex design well. I think this would have been very strong had I managed to fit it all on the page - this is a weakness of mine I continually recognise and need to keep improving upon!! The medal drawings in contrast are nicely spaced on the page and I think overall the page drawing works well; however I will admit to rushing the medals a little bit in order to be finished within the museum's closing time! Therefore I think I could have been more adventurous with my medium as well as my drawing style here.

HOMEWORK

TASK 1: 'The people that visit and the space itself (the interior and exterior architecture of the building) can also inspire interesting studies and observations. I would like you to complete 3 studies of people on 1 A2/A3 page and 3 studies of the space on an A2/A3 page. Spend at least 10 minutes on each drawing.'

MAX. 2 MINS EACH / HB PENCIL

I would have liked to do many more studies of people for this task, as I find observational life drawing very helpful for practising proportion and speed drawing skills, but unfortunately when I went there were not loads of members of the public looking round. I also found it hard to spend 10 minutes on each drawing because the people were constantly moving; this is why the drawings were only about 2 minutes each. Even so, I am happy with the drawings and feel that they look quite accurate and lifelike in the way I've caught poses or movements. This sort of drawing is something I will be continually improving on but I do feel that I have found my style and what is most effective for me.

I didn't manage to make the location drawings on that day due to lack of time, but I have taken photos and will be completing these studies at home (to be uploaded soon).

TASK 2: 'Make at least one drawing from each of the following categories: BIRD/ MAMMAL/ WEAPON/ HEADWEAR/ BOTTLE/ CLOTHING.'

20 MINUTES / 4B PENCIL

BIRD - For the bird I chose to draw this huge gull spread across one of the walls in the museum. The wings were so huge and gave some beautiful shapes and curves. I did manage to fit the drawing across one A3 page, although once again could probably have gone slightly smaller so it wasn't squashed at the edges. I don't think this drawing is my best - I like some areas, like the mark-making on the tail and body, but the wings probably aren't as detailed as they could have been, and the perspective appears slightly off.

(TL - 20 MINS, TR - 20 MINS, BR - 10 MINS) 2B & 4B PENCILS

BOTTLE / MAMMAL / WEAPON - I'm not entirely sure why I chose to draw all of these objects on one A3 page - looking back, I wish I'd taken a page per object and really focused on the details. I also wish that I'd thought to try other mediums so that the drawing style suited the objects more. Had I spent longer per drawing I think I could have been more accurate with tone and proportion. Despite this, there are some successful elements. The bottle is probably my best work of the 3, as I think I've captured the 3D perspective quite well by leaving large areas of paper showing through carefully placed lines. The stoat has a nice form but I'm not massively happy with the face. It had a very interesting snarl that I struggled to recreate and it's lost in dark shading, I think. The dagger is also interesting but looks a little rushed, and fineliner or watercolour would have done the delicate sharp edges more justice.

CLOTHING / HEADWEAR - Once again I placed multiple drawings on one page but considering these two relate to a similar theme, I actually find the composition quite effective. The pencil also works successfully with the subject matter, because it enabled me to capture the many folds and shadows in the material. I like the way you can alter pressure with pencil to make some areas sharply defined while only suggesting the outline of others. This is especially noticeable in the righthand drawing by drawing focus to the main subject which is the headgear, but still giving context with some softly suggested clothing. To improve these drawings I would consider adding colour. The jacket on the left was a gorgeous deep red with gold embellishments, so I think acrylic or goache would bring this to life.