Going Back to Basics

Posted by Annaliz McGuire on February 2, 2011 at 8:45 PM (this post has been copied across from an older blog and shows the original date of posting

I'm currently considering returning to study to work towards a degree, and as I haven't seriously picked up a pencil in over 20 years it occurred to me that it would be good to find out whether my observation skills were still any good. I selected this glass bottle and a tray and set them up in my studio.

Pulling out a selection of drawing materials, I decided to use graphite as I have previously mostly worked with conventional pencils and drawing pens. Fairly early on I discovered my first basic error: in my haste to set up I had attached the paper I was using with the "not" side uppermost, and it had a particularly textured surface not especially conducive to the smooth tonal graduation needed for the subject. I had to fall back on a paper stump to do most of the blending.

Although I'm used to holding a brush in a variety of ways, I found it very difficult to hold the stick in any other way than a conventional writing grip. Also, while using pencil I tend to apply tonal areas all at once using different pressure, but I found I was building up layers of tone in between blending with the stump. This was partially necessary as I had started to draw at the top of the subject and worked down, thus requiring some tonal adjustment in the later stages.

My second mistake manifested itself some two and a half hours later when I realised the light had moved around to seriously change the highlights and shadows. I didn't have a fixed light source set up so was obliged to abandon work until the following afternoon in the same time-frame. I did however manage to complete the drawing on the second day.

On reflection, I think a smoother paper, or even possibly illustration board, would have given a much more subtle tonal blend. Although I'm fairly pleased with my attempt I failed to notice the wobble in the front line of the tray until I had applied fixative, despite referring to the image in the large mirror frequently while working.

To summarise, then, I'll fall back on that perennial favourite of teachers: "Could do better".

1 Comment

 Elayne Senn

10:03 PM on February 02, 2011 

I like this drawing very much. It's very strong in detail, line and form. If I was to make any suggestion at all - and it would free you from dependancy on light sources - perhaps you can try much quicker sketches and lots of them - say a series of five minute sketches from different angles, where you concentrate on a different aspect of the subject. It would be really good to see all the background in context too - but again, perhaps drawn more quickly. I understand you were returning to the basics of drawing skills and it's very clear from this that you certainly have them!