Getting started on assignment pieces can be a real challenge for me; I like to think of all these big lovely ideas and expect a wonderful outcome, quickly becoming overwhelmed. This course so far has taught me that planning and observation are just two skills that will ensure a successful outcome of a piece of work. The objects I initially chose for this assignment are below. They were picked to capture an essence of my creativity and passion for music and painting but also the books for the importance (to me) of self-led learning throughout life and Pooh Bear to symbolise family, children and playfulness. I was really excited to arrange these items into a composition, conscious of the tonal values created by the items with the light set up. In a previous project, I learnt that if the light sources change position then the shadows will too, so I set out early in the morning to make use of the long shadows. However, my work area was quite dark because of its position in relation to windows and the sunrise. To overcome the lack of light strength, I used an angled lamp and an overhead light which gave me a really nice variety of shadows, from the primary light source but also secondary with the reflected light.

It quickly became apparent from my trials of this composition with different materials that I really wasn’t happy with the composition layout. I tried a few ways of moving the objects, even removing some items, but I felt that the items were either unbalanced, or a little squashed to get everything in if I cropped the view, discarding the neck and scroll of the violin for example. I just couldn’t get the feel of the composition right; to communicate with the viewer in the way I wanted to. I eventually came to a decision, after getting a cup of tea and standing back with fresh eyes; there was too much going on. I only really needed a few key items to indicate my personal choices in this composition.

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Removing the violin, Pooh Bear, the music and painting books and the ink and pen, I was left with the violin bow, the half-pan painting tin, a paintbrush and I added the rosin and watercolour paint tubes which I thought by closing the painting tin and using metallic reflective paint tubs, I would best be able to showcase what I have learnt with my mark-making depicting reflective objects.

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Setting out in a different direction with my new composition and a few additional items; I felt as soon as I laid these items down, they were a better description of the representation and passion I wanted to produce. It wasn’t as busy, the pieces showed me that they would be drawn landscape because of the relaxed way the bow was lying across the paint tin (which gave a lovely shadow on the curves and bumps of the painting wells in the lid).

I really enjoy looking at artwork that isn’t immediately obvious as to what the representation/symbolism is for, a little like the Totes Meer, 1940-1 by Paul Nash https://laura522918drawing1.home.blog/2019/05/16/an-introduction-into-studying-in-he/. I wanted to capture an essence of my passions and this composition did that better than the first. Using just the violin bow and the rosin gives a clue that there is a music element here, but which instrument? The viewer has to work a little harder to understand what the item is and why it is there.

I knew from my previous experiments that I really wanted to work with ink pen (0.05, 0.2 and 0.5mm) and charcoal for this piece. The pen would give me the accuracy I craved to depict the cross-hatching and dots in the shadows and the charcoal would help the tonal gradation blend nicely to show the different sources of light.
This is most evident underneath the heel of the bow (below photo, bottom right corner) where there is a lighter shadow above the lower darker one. Because of the previous projects and the guidance of observing and identifying how the light plays on the positive and negative areas and where the light, mid and dark tones are, I was able to notice these shadows, the gradations of their tone and also where the reflected light fell and if it acted on other objects in the composition.
I feel I showed the reflected light well (in the final piece pictured below) in the metallic paint tin lid and the paint brush ferrule from the reflected light of the paint tubes. To get this effect with the paintbrush ferrule, I moved the paint brush (originally it was sat on the table by itself, almost a little lost) and by connecting it to the paint tubes by laying it on top, I felt like it rejoined the composition, drawing the eye around the piece in a smoother style.

Drawing 1 Assignment 1
A Passion For Music And Art

Something that didn’t work well for me here; the use of shadows, I don’t think the lighting I chose was strong enough or at the right angle to cast longer shadows where I could really get into it and describe the tonal gradation of them. If I were to draw this composition again, I would use an angled light closer and to the side of the objects, rather than angled from above. Secondly, I felt that looking at the composition when finished, the top right of the paper looks a little sparse. I actually quite like the negative space around the items as it gives me peace and fluidity to explore and enjoy the items in the composition individually before my eyes travelling to the next object. However, to some, this piece might seem a bit unbalanced and that there should be something here, maybe a vertical surface depicting the elongated shadows of the objects and maybe reflecting light back onto them. I also wish that I hadn’t drawn a solid line on the top edge of the hair of the paintbrush. I feel it almost gives a ‘cartoony’ feel to the drawing that I wanted to avoid; perhaps I got carried away with the pen and should’ve utilised the charcoal here to adopt more tonal variation and describing the forms on the paper in general.

Overall, I am pleased with my drawing submission for Assignment One and I feel I have learnt an awful lot, for example: the use of light/mid/dark tones to describe forms, observing primary and secondary light sources and reflected light, experimental mark-making and how different materials can be used for various effects such as blending charcoal to gradual tones and cross hatching and dots to describe form and shadows. I look forward to hearing my tutor’s comments on my work and using them to move forward in developing myself and my artistic ability. Below is my reflective feedback of this assignment against the assessment criteria.

Assessment Criteria Review

1 Demonstration of technical and visual skills – materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills (35%)

I utilised pen ink and charcoal (which I experimented with previously to ensure they would be compatible for the feel I wanted to create) using a variety of cross hatching, blending, dots and strokes on a rough A3 surface. I tried to observe the light, mid and dark tones, describing them with cross hatching with the pen and blending dark to light with the charcoal to give further depth to the tones where needed. I also looked for how and where the shadows fell and if they had an effect on any other items in positive or negative space. The composition was designed to be intentionally light and spacious, with 5 areas for the eye to flow around. I chose a landscape composition due to the length of the bow and the balance of the other items to ensure there wasn’t too much negative space.

2 Quality of outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas (20%)

The quality of the application of knowledge I feel is acceptable, I have applied various techniques learnt through the coursework building up to the final assignment: cross hatching, lines, dots (for shading) observing shadows and reflected light and using charcoal to show the tonal gradations to describe form. (I still feel that much practise is needed in this area and I will continue to try to look for the light, mid and dark tones and the positive and negative spaces to help build a successful drawing) My thoughts came through in the drawing well, I wanted to create a really light (in tonal and emotional) drawing to express my passion for music and art (originally I wanted to create a family element here but the composition got too busy so I decided to edit the items I included to keep it fresh and balanced) and present it in a way that was care-free and almost as if the items appeared to be put down quickly in the middle of being used, so there was a feeling of life behind the stillness and that they wouldn’t be there for long. I would have liked to have seen more tonal gradations with the charcoal in the finished piece however, I don’t feel like the shadows were long enough and they could have been emphasised a bit more with more angled light)

3 Demonstration of creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice (25%)

The charcoal and ink pen worked well for me in this final piece, I wanted a detailed approach with a softness to show realism but gentle form. I struggled internally with refraining from adding every little detail with the technical ink pen, I notice this in the hair of the paintbrush where perhaps the top edge didn’t need a solid line. Overall, I feel that the composition looks exciting and it inspires my imagination to look at the paints and brush and feel like I want to pick them up and paint. Also the violin bow draws a sense of drama as it flows the visual route up and around the drawing which I quite liked. This wasn’t intended but when I sketched out initially, I picked up on this effect and decided to emphasise it and keep all of the bow in focus, showing dark tonal cross-hatching under the bow for shadows.

4 Context reflection – research, critical thinking (learning logs and [at second and third level] critical reviews and essays) (20%)

I believe my research has been quite useful in helping me end where I am with my assignment. I have learnt many techniques (such as close observation for reflected light, complicated shadows and tonal gradation in shadows) and I tried to experiment with these in my learning log sketch book to demonstrate my reaction to the new skills learnt and how I could apply them. The research in the library books that I have read has been conducive to me learning about emotions and driving forces behind creating artwork and how artists capture feelings in their work. Without experimenting with the various media (using solitary or in conjunction with others) I would not have been able to utilise the ink pen and charcoal and understand how to use them sympathetically to create a successful drawing that describes the forms on the paper. I have really enjoyed exploring putting together a composition and believe that the sketches prior to the final piece have helped me considerably in seeing how the finished work would look and feel as a whole. I would like to get better at deciding which items to put into a composition, how to place them and where to cast shadows to get the desired effects I want, this I am sure will come from practise and research of other artists.