EDAM Week 5: Drawing Space and Light (2)

 Week  5  of Extended Drawing  for Artists and Makers   started with a recap of the previous week  where  we'd been drawing  space, through transparency.  Anne  had brought in one of her fragile artworks to show us, made from strips  of paper , asking us to compare it  with the very solid brown teapot  it was based on. This week we were looking at surfaces and the  way light  bends around the surface  and the  awareness of the sense of touch 

Anne Teahan 

Antony Gormley 

 We looked at 2 different art works  by  Antony Gormley  based on the human form with very different scales and approaches: ' Exposure' ( above ), a huge structure composed of space  and the small dense, dark,  form of 'Iron Baby'  cast from  his  daughter ( exhibited as part of 'Found' at the Foundling Museum)  

Antony Gormley 

Thinking of how you might  draw this sculpture, we looked at the drawings  of Georges Seurat  with their rich blacks of Conte  on  textured paper  built up of tone rather than line, his approach to curved surfaces.   (I rediscovered my 'World of Art' book on Seurat bought in 1980  when I got home - I've always preferred his drawings to his paintings) 

Georges Seurat 

Georges Seurat

Georges Seurat

In these portraits  by Chuck Close, he's used  clusters of fingerprints to create tone - using different pressures to create light and shade, using touch itself . 

Chuck Close

Chuck Close

So our drawing tasks for the morning  were  to draw from photo of  'Iron Baby'  with white chalk on black paper and  charcoal  on white paper   working directly  with our fingers and hands , feeling our way around the subject , working lightly to begin with.   

 We  set up a 'palette' on the corner of   the paper, rubbing the white chalk to create a  dense covering which we lifted off with fingers to draw/ smear on the paper, replenishing when  needed,  creating a tonal scale with white fingerprints down the edge.  Working outwards ,we  used an eraser  to remove some of the chalk marks, to  define shapes and lines ( trying to avoid using the chalk directly until working  on  the strongest  highlights)  

Introducing the  dense , velvety blacks of compressed charcoal was left to the end , using the same technique of  rubbing on the corner of the paper for a palette  and then applying fingerstrokes in the  very darkest parts of form 

 We then  repeated  the process  in reverse, using  willow charcoal  initially  before the compressed charcoal.   The results  were much better  ( and more interesting)  with white on black than black on white , partly because the subject was dark so didn't need as much of the chalk to  find and define  the form ( neither of the papers had much a  'tooth' to hold the pigment.), partly as  I was looking intently just at the areas of reflected light rather than the subject matter. It was quite magical gradually seeing the 'ghost' emerge, the trick was to put a bit more definition in certain areas - the fist, the line along the back 

 Having said I don't really like charcoal to draw with as it's messy  and dries out my skin, I rather went for it, with a bit of encouragement using the side of my hand to draw with ! I rather like the smudged  overlapping lines and marks   that you couldn't get any other way. 

 I couldn't resist taking   'selfies' of my hand ( but then I  have  used my 'inky digit'

 as inspiration, including the piece above for 'International Threads' )    

I then found   the work of Judith Ann Braun! 

Judith Ann Braun

Judith Ann Braun 

In the afternoon   we applied some of the techniques  to the  shiny black vessels or objects  we'd brought in ( in my case a coffee filter cone) , starting with charcoal on white paper 

'Spaceship Caffeine'

 ' Nul Points'  for  perspective  and elipses but  I had a wonderful time putting in the lines with the side of my hand  and some energetic mark making with my fingertips and an eraser.   I like   how the  history of  corrections  and  redrawing   adds to the richness if not the accuracy  

I  didn't have much time  for  doing the  white on black version  ( especially after all the hand washing to remove at least some of the charcoal) - a bit more accurate,  a lot less lively.

Next week  we're doing   one A1 drawing based on the combination of space ( transparency) and light( surfaces, touch). Lots to think about! 

EDAM Week 4: Drawing in Space and Light ( 1 )

Week 4 of Extended Drawing for Artists and Makers with new tutor ( Anne Teahan ) and a new 3 week project  starting with drawing in space ( seeing the world transparently ).

We started with  an introduction to  artists  who'd explored the idea of space  using 3D media  (  have tendency to think of space as nothing  but it's integral  to seeing in the same way as gaps in music are important) - how they treat space inside a room, a landscape or the human form. 

We looked particularly at the work of Chiharu Shiota  ( I regretted  not getting to the exhibition 'Lost in Lace' )  looking  at how objects take on the characteristics of the process of 'drawing' with thread 

 The work of Cornelia Parker  where space appears trapped  within the charred remnants from  a suspected arson  ( I was lucky enough to see her retrospective at the Whitworth  and more recently at Turner Contemporary)

The gestural  marks from her 'bullet drawings'  share similarities to Antony Gormley's 'Domain Fields' (below ) with space intruding into the forms.  

The spiralling lines of  his 'Feeling Material'  contrast with the overlapping parallel lines of 'Matrix 1 and 2'  with a feeling of  crosshatching, building up layers of density.

Giacometti's 'The Artist's Mother'   also shows space built up in layers and cross hatched marks. 

Then to work,  ' harvesting marks' from these artists  to build up layered drawings in charcoal, using different grades ,lightness, thickness,  lots of dusting off, trying to keep  a feeling of space , going back in with  a rubber when it started getting too heavy . 

 The second one  I did contrasting the 2 Antony Gormley pieces  was more successful. Before lunch  we set up a layered  background for the observational drawing in the afternoon ( we  put a border of masking tape around the edge of the paper and then drew a charcoal frame within it  to define and enclose  the  space from the start ) 

 After lunch we looked at the work of Jenny Saville and Ginny Grayson,   how they'd layered marks and made continual , visible adjustments as they drew  which added to the richness and complexity of the surface. 

 The objects I brought in  were the pewter vase which I've drawn several  times before ( above)  and  for transparency, a glass pyrex jug . Who knew that it would be so satisfying  ( if difficult)  to draw! 

 Rather than setting up a still life , we started with one object  and then added  another, building up layers and composition. Challenging  but interesting, one of my problems is that I've done very little drawing with charcoal as I hate the mess and it irritates my skin and  so usually wear gloves. Fine for gestural marks but  clumsy and awkward  for detailed observational work, but I persisted! Perspective is all over the place too   but looking down from an easel , my position kept moving. 

The next session is  drawing in light ( seeing the world as a series of surfaces touched by light)- I'm off to  look for some black and shiny objects ! 

' You Are Here' Mapping a sense of place with Matthew Harris in Puglia

2 weeks ago I was in sunny Italy   at the  Masseria  della Zingera  in Puglia, on course with Matthew Harris 'You are Here' : Mapping a sense of Place.   It was a fabulous stimulating experience in a lovely location in excellent company   and I'm still unravelling the processes involved in producing the piece above  and beginning to explore how I might apply them to my own developing  work.  Besides providing insightful ( and sometimes challenging)  suggestions   throughout  the week, based on our individual experiences and preferences, Matthew gave a talk about how he makes his own work. I heard him speak at FoQ  last year  ( about 'Field Notes' collaboration)   but seeing samples in the flesh  and hearing more about the thought  that goes in to them was fascinating.  

 We had an extensive list of things to bring and the outline of the workshop - that we would be beginning with drawing using a variety of media , tools and scale  to explore ways to respond to the surrounding environment  which would form the basis of  2 and 3d dimensional work that reflects a strong sense of personal and environmental place.   How it evolved I'll be revealing over a series of blogposts 

 On the first morning  we each went out on walk for an hour - in the grounds and the surrounding roads,  being mindful of the experience and collecting things as we did so ( including a large and small stick to be used as drawing implements ) . As part of the walk , we were also to find our 'space'  where we would each be working/ recording  in and from during the week . There was so much rubbish along the roads ( particularly plastics)  I collected examples of that as well as lots of plant material, doing my bit to clean up. 

 After morning coffee  we  were each given a  3m long   strip of  paper   and laying them out in the courtyard outside the studio  we  slowly drew the memory of our walk along the whole length of  it using firstly the  large stick and an  orange ink  made from prickly pear (reinforced with a small amount of procion )  and then drew from the other end  with a grey ink (  Indian ink diluted 1:8 ) with the smaller stick.   Trips to find more stones was required as they took off in the breeze!  

We then repeated the process  with the scroll of acrylic sized calico  Matthew supplied, laying it over the paper for convenience  but not tracing the marks, remembering the walk yet again . The size gave the fabric a papery feel but reacted differently. 

The next exercise  was to put  the drawing on paper  up on the design board  and choose  marks to with and make 3d drawings using some of the items we'd collected 

 I must admit  I struggled with this.  Besides  remodelling a bit of wire I'd found, my main focus was on the ink blots - finding   similarities in the  holes in walnut shells . Bethan ( fellow Cwilt Cymru exhibiter)  was much more imaginative , making a wonderful mobile from grasses based on her marks. 

 Doing blind drawings on our fabric scrolls   of objects by feel alone  was far more satisfying  - choosing different media to depict  varying textures and shapes. I used a fine Pigma  pen for a textured metal strip;  graphite for a pine cone; a very large Pitt pen marker for a crushed plant pot. I rather regretted the graphite at a later stage when layering colours as it made everything very grubby , should have bought some hairspray  as fixitive with me! 

We then listed words at the bottom of our drawing on paper about our space and objects  to act as prompts and reminders. Among my finds  were some old faded cigarette boxes and a tatty piece of cardboard  with writing on -  what is about foreign handwriting  that's so fascinating? 

First thing on the second day  we were asked to curate our objects, grouping them by type, colour, textures, shape,  and then working  on our cloth from one end , to draw some  of these groups and objects   in ink. 

The  drawings of shibori -like lines of twine, fibre and wire  remained my favourite part  and I reluctant to alter them  until  at the last minute on the last day  with Matthew's encouragement I finally plucked up the courage to obliterate the marks ( on the basis  of  being able to repeat and reinstate) . They're still there  but hidden among the layers, resulting in a much richer texture.   

 The main focus of the week however was  going to work  in  our 'space'. We paid a visit there each day , taking our fabric , responding to a series of  6 prompts , chosen by throwing a dice. Later we had the addition of  a series of 6 tasks to complete , also selected by throwing a dice, working down the cloth and back again so that you could see the development of ideas. Bethan's space  was a popular choice  with steps leading up a wall, mine wasn't too far away.I'd been there on the first morning sketching a distant church  so it selected itself and   the combination of natural and manmade features and viewpoints  worked out very well.   

On the last  afternoon after clearing up we laid the cloths on the floor and discussed the very varied approaches before draping them on the line outside in the  glow of the glorious setting sun. Difficult to believe we'd all started out with the same  paper,cloth and materials.