Category: Assignment 3

The category containing all posts for assignment 3.

Assignment 3 – 12/01/20

Assignment 3

Assessment Criteria:

– Demonstration of technical and visual skills – Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills (35%)
The submission for Assignment 3 demonstrates my ability to apply tonal ink washes and detail made with brush strokes and dip pen marks. I opted for a monochromatic colour palette because I wanted to focus on the sense of perspective and focus on the amphitheatre as the main subject. The view in which I opted to draw was from the top of the huge stone seating looking out to sea. I spent a while observing the depth of my view, the steps closest to me would be in focus and detailed, with the steps at the bottom of the stair case and beyond would seem to gradually appear out of focus. I also wanted to represent the perspective changing with the tonal variation; strong contrasts closer to the viewer. I chose a cold-pressed medium weight of paper which would give me a relatively smooth line, which would be ideal for describing the stone stair amphitheatre seating. The slight roughness would also allow me to use a slightly drier brush and see some white areas on the sea be left around the tooth of the paper, describing reflections from the sea’s surface. I tried to keep my line in-between loose and tight, giving the impression of a slightly atmospheric and aged scene, rather than a realistic, polished looking drawing. I think the design to present the view from the top of the amphitheatre was to help draw the eyes from the strong lines of the steps down to the contrast area around the middle of the drawing, on to the foliage and out to sea and the clear bright sky. I tried to ensure there was interest in the drawing with the earth and foliage running from right to left diagonally around the viewing platform, following the line of the steps but also by using the limited colour palette, the viewer was taken around the drawing and its use of simple lines and strong contrasts in tone. I felt that with a mixture of the lines being parallel, diagonal and horizontal, and the looseness of the rendering of the stone steps and foliage on the earth, the drawing would have a dynamic feel to it with interest coming from these conflicts between smooth and rough, manmade and natural. The use of ink came through experimentation in my sketch book. I felt the darkness gave the stone steps a feeling of solidity and strength against the sky and sea. Through experimenting with other materials, I found that the use of colour distracted my mind from the feeling that I wanted to evoke from the viewer in this piece. I visited the amphitheatre to try to understand the positioning of it and the perspective against the vast open sky and sea it overlooked. I also tried to observe the amphitheatre from many view points to see if there was another perspective I hadn’t noticed before which would make an interesting composition. It was also interesting to see the amphitheatre in the autumn/winter season as the shadows were longer than they had been when I visited in the summer with the sun directly overhead.

– Quality of outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas (20%)
The scene’s content itself shows what I had envisaged the outcome to include, but I am sad at the rendering and description of the tones and textures of the subjects in the composition. I also feel disappointed that the use of perspective and the lines used on the steps, let down my aim to describe the Roman built architecture standing strong and impressive in and amongst the natural landscape. It looks out of proportion and feeble in my eyes. I experienced that the lines detailing the steps were a lot more difficult to draw in a way that shows good knowledge and application of media to describe the steps accurately in this relatively realistic drawing. I also feel that the content feels a little bland with a lack of texture to the sea and/or sky. The application of the tonal ink wash was too wet and I wasn’t able to pick out reflections on the sea with the tooth of the paper. My thoughts of the overall piece are of disappointment and I am not entirely happy with this submission. I feel I have let myself down with a lack of experimentation and research, paying particular attention to how the lines would appear when drawn on a bigger scale, and the use of perspective. I don’t feel there needs to be any other features in this composition’s content, but perhaps had I investigated further into the details and textures I could have applied, remembering perspective, in the fore, middle and back ground sections of this composition, I would feel that the drawing’s composition links together cohesively, as the Romans built it. Overall, it isn’t a bad drawing and I can see and understand where improvements could be made to develop this drawing further. If I were to attempt it again, perhaps I would try from a different angle, to get more of a feel of the steps and their textures against the delicate and intricate greenery cliffs overlooking the sea. I would also pay particular attention to the vanishing points, ensuring that the squareness of the steps is shown here. My idea to incorporate the concept of the intelligent mathematics that were utilised in ensuring the amphitheatre steps fit snugly together is lost in my drawing, but I would try to develop this idea in a future drawing. I do like the way the brushstrokes and large areas of tone simplify the greenery in front of the amphitheatre, creating a little energy and movement with the wind direction that was blowing across from East to West. I also feel the subtle lifting-out technique in the sky for clouds and the wet-into-wet technique to describe tonal variations in the stone are pleasant and do not take anything away from the scene. I could have perhaps gone a bit further with these techniques to develop the overall feel I was aiming for.

– Demonstration of creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice (25%)
Experimentation, compared with Assignment 2, was fairly limited within the preliminary work to this assignment due a number of factors. Due to health and family priorities, I found applying myself completely to the second half of Part. Although this was a burden to my studies, I also found out a lot about myself in terms of my learning and studying style and habits. I found that my creativity, passion and enjoyment wavered with emotional stress involved. It almost created a block which was hard to work around. It did feel unnatural to return to my studies and I feel my lack of research and experimentation during this period of difficulty reflects this somewhat. I believe that experiencing this and seeing my personal voice struggle through in this drawing (when I look at it, I feel as if it was drawn by someone else in their style) has shown me that it would have been better to keep progressing with my studies with small steps rather than take a large period of time away from it. My personal voice seemed to be really quiet and shy after a break. On a positive, I did try to experiment out of my comfort zone in drawing on such a large plane and using a tonal wash rather than watercolours. This was interesting as ink cannot be manipulated so easy after it has been applied if it is staining so I had to work in a slightly different way. Again, if I had experimented with this more extensively prior to the Assignment piece, my expectations and experience may have been more prepared. I am really pleased with my ideas for this piece, even if the communication and application were not to my expectations. I imagined this scene to feel historic and timeless at the same time. This view would have been fairly similar for thousands of years, with the introduction of the amphitheatre, and the contrast of the manmade structure and the natural landscape surrounding inspired me to create a drawing which played on this concept, inviting the viewers in to the scene with the specific perspective from the top of the steps.


– Context reflection – research, critical thinking (learning logs and, at second and third level, critical reviews and essays) (20%)
I have discussed the research above but I would like to add that I have started to explore this assignment again (in the interim period of after submission and before tutor feedback) starting with researching other artists who focus on historic monuments with black and white colour themes. Also, I have been practising drawing curved archways and pavements keeping in mind the perspective. Also, I will be experimenting different types of line with the dip pen but also trying different media to work with here. Potentially, this scene would have looked like it had more life and drama if used with mixed media. Reflecting back on this, this should have been preparatory work for this assignment, not post-reflection.