When I reflected on my life and what is important to me I think there is so much information I needed to compartmentalise it in some way. A friend had recently rescued for me an embossed canvas that would have been binned. It’s very large and my intention is to recover the frame with canvas/linen. For this project however I decided to turn it inside out and use the back of it to collate my vocabulary.
I have a lot of images of walks s its important that the majority of my background will be the great outdoors. I stick some of the images on the board which includes the foraging pathways and I start to collect other images taking photos and collecting newspaper cuttings that are relevant. I include a folded copy of the foraging map as this is really important to me. Wellington is a transition town and environment and community is key. I am also quite passionate about equality and issues issues around black lives matter, sexuality, disability. Inclusiveness and acceptance are central to my values and I will always be an advocate for fairness and justice. I decided to use some text on my board. I know I can add to this library and there’s quite a lot of life to condense to the size of the board but I will try to add as much as I can think of. I include a painting I did of a suffragette holding her hunger strike medal. I did this from one of the WI centenary celebrations where one of the members was dressed up as a suffragette. The right hand top left is about campaigns I support. In the style of Basquiat I enter the violence against women and cross it out to hopefully make the viewer take more notice. Years ago I used to play football and I’m so pleased the women’s’ game has made such progress. I include a cutting of an L plate with the caption and making reference to never too old to learn that is. Local, national and global news is important and I include a homeless person on the bench. Other photos featured are Monets garden and travel adventures. I also include a recycling label. Recycling and upcycling feature in my life and May be a drawing.
The exercise states that the drawings are to reflect my lifestyle. I hope that each one reflects important values.
The first drawing I’ve created is in charcoal and it is reminiscent of a modest resin sculpture I own and love. Although the sculpture wasn’t titled to me it signifies quite a lot. I’m calling my work Trusting in safe hands. To place such trust in someone holding onto you by just a rope is quite amazing. It’s also about being cared for. The work is on a medium sized canvas 40cm x 50cm. I’m only just beginning to reacquaint myself with charcoal and I’m really enjoying the effects. What I’ve loved is the versatility of the medium. To use it densely as in the figures or the rocks and then the ability to smudge with my fingers. I deliberately let the light area surround the figures. I also used a mechanical eraser to add in light around the dark clouds. This was quite effective and I let the eraser jog a little to provide a serrated edge effect. The canvas was textured with a coat of gesso with a hard bristle brush. This has helped to provide more ruggedness to the rockface. I’ve learned a lot again in this part pf the course and my processes are so important. While I mention Hopper, Kentridge and Walker as my inspiration for some of these drawings. I must not forget Seurat. A couple of his works are below.
Working in charcoal is quite exciting and liberating in some ways. The smudging lightly or heavily produces such different effects. I’m not entirely sure about the figures and the backpacks could be more shapely. What I do feel works well is the light. I love the contrast of the lights and darks with charcoal.
The next work is on watercolour paper approx 24ins x 18ins. My scene is from one of my walks. I walk a lot and love being at peace with nature. I find being outdoors quite spiritual and inspirational. Drawings in charcoal and figurative work will hopefully form part of my parallel project. In this landscape I do think I’ve achieved a foreground, middle ground and background. The area around the basins, allotments and the nature reserve are such beautiful but rugged landscapes.
My local walk with nature is the title and the work is my interpretation on a wintery day.
I managed to capture a beginning as the first image shows of my tree.
What is good as I progress is the confidence I have in my eraser and I’m not afraid of facing white paper or canvas anymore. The next image shows the scene part way through and I’m really working from memory in my scene. I’m remembering the ruggedness and the coolness of winter days. I have in my head the importance of foreground, middle ground and background and I am really keen to ensure that the texture in these areas has the appropriate depth of texture too. At this stage I’m quite pleased with the background right, the tree on the left which I use the fine edge of my willow stick of charcoal. It’s important to vary the branches and their directions so again fleeting light strokes up the page letting the willow find it’s way. I work on the foreground and want this to be dark. It’s so easy to press a little harder on the willow and make swooping arm movements to create the foreground and as I do this I allow the marks a graduation. At the basins where I walk there is a pond so this will feature in the mid ground.
I work the area some more and I erase a little around the trees on the main trunk allowing some light to fall. The pond I create a few reeds in the middle as it’s where ducks live. After completing the sky I add in the duck.
On the whole I am quite pleased with the work. I’ve hardly really worked in charcoal much before and I’m beginning to enjoy it. I can see areas as stated for improvement but I shall persevere. In the latter work I might have been better with no sky. I’m not sure.
Drawing 2 Interpreting the environment 