Final drawing 3: Landscape

This drawing was done at Brighton and it shows a landscape of the seaside. Rendered in pastel, it took about an hour to complete. The style employed is completely impressionistic as it is simplistic and shows the basic elements, letting the mind fill the gaps where ever needed.  The horizontal line is in the middle, below the bridge, the main focal point is in the middle where the lighted dome is and there are several  areas of interest on the other lighted buildings. There are noticeable implied lines in the sky and the sea. There is some foreshortening in the buildings in the back. Better use of the medium would have improved the drawing.

Final drawing 2: Anatomy

This potrait was done in 20 minutes by use of conte crayons and chalk. The perspective is correct and the shapes of the features are in the correct size whilst most angles are also fine for the perspective given. Although very detailed, more attention to the hair and the background could have improved this drawing.

Final drawing 1: Still life

This drawing was done in one hour and a half by use of soft pastels. The arrangement was made in such a manner that the objects would connect so that the composition would have unity to it. The main focus is on the glass found in front and there is an implied line starting from there that follows all the glass objects one by one until the cork is viewed, then the emphasis falls on the fabric below. The horizontal line is high since the eye sight of the artist is very high. The shape and form is the same with the original real-life objects, though some expressiveness can be found. There is a decent attempt at showing the right texture for the cork, fabric and the different types of glass. Refraction on the glasses was also drawn well where necessary. The chromatic is a bit contrasting although it helps in making the drawing more expressive.  

Week 12: Figure (Facial Expression)

These drawings were done as part of the directed study and each of them took five minutes to complete. The medium used is chalk. The planning was done for each pose, as it can be seen from the helping lines. The shapes of the features were kept for the most part though a slight caricatural feel to them can be seen. The emotions are of  a varied range: from happiness to apathy and arrogance. Although they are not far off from the goal, a different medium might have been more helpful in showing more detail in the subject's expressions and thus more realism could have been reached.

Week 11: Figure (Facial Anatomy: portraiture)

In this week's session the focus was on facial anatomy. The drawing above was done in 10 minutes by use of soft pastels. The minimalistic approach to it is meant this way in order to show the anatomy in an impressionistic way. The proportions are correct for the most part, perhaps the nose area should have been given more attention, so does the forehead area since the model had a slightly different angle.

Week 10: Figure (Tone & Colour in skin)

In this week's session the main focus was on figure and also tone and colour in skin. This drawing took 30 minutes to complete and was done in pastel. Although the main focus was on creating a realistic colour for the skin, this chromatic seems to work well in creating an appealing composition, mostly because of the shades and tones. The proportions and anatomy of the model are correct and the pose is static since the model is sitting and her limbs are relaxed. The horizontal line is a bit below the area where the model is sitting, there is clear foreshortening in the arms and torso. Using more of the chromatic of the model on the other fabrics would have helped create a better composition.

Week 9: Figure

These drawings were done as part of the directed study for this week's topic which is clothing on human figure. Such is that different types of fabric can be seen on this model, all which were drawn in chalk for five minutes each. Although the second example in the top right is successful in showing the cloth's material, the last example in the lower right is poorly showing the weight of the fabric, mostly because of the knitted scarf that is obscuring the cloth. Wool and denim-like material seem to be drawn in a realistic manner, as much as the medium permits.

Week 8: Anatomy refresher

This week's session consisted in refreshing our anatomy knowledge. This drawing was done in 20 minutes using pastels. To start of, the anatomy is mainly fine aside from the belly area which should have been a more compressed area because of the perspective of the artist. Hence, the proportion is fine aside from that area which needed revising. The pose is static, seen from both the legs and the relaxed arms. The horizontal line is high because of the position of the artist, and there are clear examples of foreshortening on the torso and legs. The vanishing point is in the distance above the head of the model.
The chromatic used has an impressionistic quality to it, though not realistic it does not fall short in showing the model in a way in which it can be perceived well by the viewer.

Week 7: Still Life

The objective of this week's session was to render still life. This drawing was done in half an hour using soft pastels. The arrangement of the objects was done slightly wrong since they do in fact look as if they were "kissing", because of the knife that should have been placed perhaps in front. The shape and form is rendered well for both objects whilst the texture of the onion could have used some work. The amount of detail in the shading helps create a realistic effect. The main focus is on the onion and then the eye sight falls on the knife.

Week 6: Still Life (Bradford Industrial Museum)

This week the emphasis was put on successfully rendering man-made forms, the trip to the Bradford Industrial Museum serving the purpose of getting us to draw various types of surfaces. Both drawings in the image were done by use of pen markers and the one in the right took 5 minutes to complete whilst the left one took one hour. Thus on the right, there are different kinds of pipes, all made of a metallic material which is barely noticeable since the drawing is more of a sketch.
The main drawing of the motorcycle had been planned, fact which can be seen from the perspective lines. As a whole the shape is close to the original motorcycle but there are several noticeable mistakes in form especially concerning the wheels which have been poorly rendered. The texture is fine in certain areas, successfully showing a metallic material, or a leathery one in case of the seat and a rubbery one in the case of the wheels. But there are areas where more finesse with the material would have made the parts of the motorcycle look more realistic. The amount of detail also helps in that respect.

Week 5: Landscape (Skies)

This week the main focus of the session was on the skies. The location used is Brighton, at the seaside. This drawing was done in soft pastels and took one hour to complete. The horizontal line is deliberately put as low as possible to give space for the sky. Also, the objects below were blacked out because of the light of the sunset, but they also serve as a frame of reference. The clouds are all part of a single perspective and an implied line follows them from the bigger cloud to the one above. These are rendered in a range of shades and tints in order to convey the shadows that show the volume inside the clouds.
Another objective that has been reached is the different background layers, although the foreground could have needed more attention in order for it to not contrast so much in style with the rest.

Week 4: Landscape: Handling complex info

This week the session was focused on handling complex information and rendering it properly in a composition. The drawing was done at Brighton in 10 minutes by use of ink pen, then pastels were used to finish off the clouds and the sea. The details are poorly added in order to create an impressionistic view that would let the mind fill in the gaps. The perspective is visible on the seafront, though more planning and better positioning would have bettered it. The horizontal line is somewhat in the middle while the vanishing point goes to the right and an implied line is found in the clouds which leads to the same point.
Possibly more planning for the sky and the buildings would have improved this composition. To add to the fact that more colour added to the seafront would have made the drawing more interesting.

Week 3: Landscape (Atrium)

This week the main objective of the session was the drawing of the Atrium using a medium that has a wide tonal range. This drawing was done during night time in order to take advantage of the different chromatic the lighted buildings have by use of soft pastels and this took an hour to complete. The style used is impressionistic mostly chosen because of the complexity of the image. The horizontal line is on the ground since the artist's eyes were at the same level, the implied lines go towards the centre of the drawing. There is foreshortening present, especially on the Atrium building. Hues were varied throughout, in order to show where the main areas of interest are.
Despite the fact that there is a range of hues and some interpose to create unity in the composition, shades were barely used because of the style chosen. More tints could have improved the impressionistic image and perhaps more attention to the shape of the buildings could have improved the drawing.

Week 2: Landscape (Bradford Cathedral)

This week we went to Bradford Cathedral for the landscape session where only the planning of this drawing was done. The composition, done by use of pen markers, took about an hour and a half and was planned that day using the rule of thirds and by drawing some basic orthogonal lines. One of the two vanishing points is visible in the drawing on the wall's side. Hence, the horizontal line is very low and there are clear examples of foreshortening on the wall, windows and arches, the implied line also follows the same wall to the stained glass in the back. The focal point is in the back and there are other areas of interest mostly where the details were added. The areas of interest were also emphasised by varying the tonal values. The marks are varied since the ceiling and wall are made of different materials, same technique was applied for the rest of the elements: the tainted glass and the pillars. There was an attempt at rendering light on the wall but that proved more difficult with pen markers.
Although the perspective is fine in general, there are mishaps all over the image, starting from the ceiling where the lines are not parallel, to the windows and the ceiling below the arches. To add to the fact that some of the arches are not forming the shape required.