Missed ...

Just tidying up this last semester's work when I realised that there's a few bits I hadn't managed to upload to the blog:

Did another one of these (so theres five in the set)

Also, as some homework for the life painting sessions, we had to take a photo, and using a black and white version of it as tonal reference, do a high key and low key version of it.

Low key

High key

The idea being that after that we could black and white photocopy the two paintings to see if we managed to get the tones right - I didn't get them exactly (especially the background area) but did better on the hands. This is what the two look like (left low key, right high key):

I think this is the last of this year's work (apart from some random sketches)... Phew! What a year of learning ... and my 198th post! Maybe I should do something special for the 200th .... hmmm....

Look out for a feature on this year's graduating class from UWE illustration in the next few days :)

Image and Obs update 2

I also did a set of embroidery hoops as my 'body of work' for this module:













I contemplated some sewn text and also cutting the fabric so only the bit IN the hoop was there - but was advised against it by a couple of people who saw them ... I still think there's something missing, but I'm handing them in this way - and will think about how to make them better over summer ...

Edit July 08 - Hello to everyone who's come here via Whip up and Craft Mag's Blog and have been leaving lovely comments :) If you follow the "embroidery" label, you'll get to see a couple more sewing based things...
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Images and Obs update 1

Remember these hands? I redid all the blue ones in thread, on the sewing machine (hand cranking!), on some organza. Wish they had been a bit sheer-er ... but this was the best I could get. I quite like how 'loop-y' the sewing is.

Tying it all up

Today was the last of our life painting classes and a chance to amalgamate everything we had learnt in the last few weeks. I was mostly just playing with colours still and getting to grips with working tonally. I did move up a gear and worked at a larger scale - apart from the bottom portrait, everything else is A3 size - and the paintings you've seen up to now have been A4.

The end has come round much too soon :(

Knit Green Purl Red

Just playing from some of my stitch'n'bitch refernce photos ...

Postbox

Full set of 24 images plus original pencil drawings here.

These last two days we've been doing another location drawing workshop based around the theme of an object. We were given a list (that included door, window, gate, tree, traffic light, boat, and a bunch of others I can't quite remember) from which I chose "postbox" (or "pillar box" - although there was some post-themed deviation). We went about town drawing our item of choice, in A6 landscape format (at least 24pieces). Most of the exercise was about looking at a mundane object, and seeing how you can draw it in different sizes (zoomed in, whole thing, far away), contexts (whats around it, is anyone or anything interacting with it? Negative space, composition) and not get bored! Also, A6 being quite small, and having to make at least 24 pieces, it was about practicing speed and gestural drawing, over too much detail (oh man did I have difficulty with that!).

Although mine are still quite detailed, I started to get much looser towards the end, especially as I moved on from a B to a 4B pencil. I then photocopied all my pieces (makes it all look uniform), and coloured in the photocopies with coloured pencils. Full set of pictures here. If anyone has advice on how to scan/photograph pencil drawings, can they please give me a shout, as I'm having no joy ...

Really enjoyed this and am enthused about doing more observational location drawing. Heres' what the drawings (originals on top, coloured photocopies on the bottom) looked like arranged in a group:

Embrace the colour ...

I think I'm finally beginning to get to grips with painting and colour ... well at least I've begun to see what combinations I actually like to work with. This has been such a steep learning curve.

Still stitchin' ...

Are you bored of them yet? Sorry for the quality - the pencil drawings don't scan very well - And I seem to have lots of spots (scanner artifacts)... Have also started thinking about what I might actually DO with all these drawings ... but it's still in planning/testing phase ...