Week 3: Landscape study: The Atrium

My first attempt to capture the Atrium building at the Bradford University. A quick sketch where you can see two perspective lines. This sketch was just to try out the composition and the perspective. I really like how the straight vertical lines in the building behind the atrium adds a strong contrast to the curved lines of the Atrium roof.








 The second sketch was on coloured paper with soft pastels. Tried here the values and tones. Less planning and more trying. Use of just one perspective in here.



The third sketch on coloured paper with pastels was a serious try with values and colour. Not much perspective. I put more effort into the shape and form of the atrium than on the rest of the motive, since I found that the curved lines in the structure and the reflections and shadows on it makes it the key element in the motive, there for I chose to concentrate on that area of interest.

Not finished since I didn't find the medium pleasing to work with for this motive.










The final image when I started to work with ink pens. The planning and chose of angle of the motive is the same as in the sketches above since I didn't want to start all over again at a new angle and begin to plan things all over again. The level of detail is much higher here than on previous sketches since I this time found the medium much more suitable for the motive. It's a two perspective drawing, but the only lines that shows the perspective lines going to the right only shows in the building right behind the atrium. The harder lines at the base of the atrium gives the other line of perspective.

If I had put more time into this final drawing I'm sure it could have been a very good finished pieces. The planning isn't the best since there isn't much space left at the bottom of the page to draw the foundation of the atrium and some of the pavement.

Week 2: Interior architecture

 
 Interior architecture. Graphite stick.


 
 I chose to work with the graphite stick since its a great and fast way of covering a huge area of the paper and still suitable to do fairly fine details. The texture of the paper worked perfectly to bring out the structure/texture of the stone in the cathedral and gave the piece a bit of a rough feeling.

The chose this particular angle of the inside of the cathedral because I liked how the beams where lining up and the small vertical lines in the beams being mirrored in the impressive window, the pillars to the and in the sculpture to the left. I tried to work fast in an impressionistic way and not put to much time into all the tiny details that is there on location.

Interior architecture. Soft pastels.

Since there was a wonderful light and colour inside the cathedral it would have been a shame not to do a piece in colour. Once again I fell for the lines of the scene I chose to draw. New lines of beams in the ceiling going diagonal and meeting up with the straight lines from the pillars in the left upper corner. The diagonal lines in the ceiling are mirrored by the light and shadow that enters the space from the left, through the pillar. The colour and the bouncing light was a challenge to portray but it was lovely to work with the light and colours with the soft pastels. The texture of the paper worked once again fine and didn't bring the smudgy untextured feeling to the work as most soft pastel drawing have.

Week 1: still life drawing with focus on light and shadow

Still life drawing in charcoal. 30 minutes.

I chose to work with charcoal when drawing from this still life. This particular medium is very good in creating fluidly effects , which was applied to the cloth covering the ball. The main thing I wanted to capture from the still life is the light and the shadow, which I think really shows in the wrinkled cloth. The charcoal's intense blackness and ability to smudge it out made this still life a joy to work with.

I chose to draw the still life very straight forward and placed it very centred in the paper. The intention of that was to give a big impact. I made everything else around the main motive black in order to make it pop out even more and to push the contrast between light and dark further.

I'm very pleased with the texture I managed to get into the drawing. I think that things easily ends up to smudgy and untextured when working on charcoal and you really have to work on adding some interesting textures.

What I could have done better is the planning of the drawing. I could certainly have centred it better. It is to close to the left side of the paper, a mistake made in the early stages of planning.