What follows is to the best of my recollection.

Materials / Tools

This project was accomplished using the following:

• Bristol Paper
• Crowquill Pen and Pen Nib
• Paint Brushes
• Higgins Black Ink
• Sanguine, White and Black Conte
• Toned Paper
• Gray Paper

Process

This project provided the opportunity to experiment with various media and paper types. There were 3 parts to the project.

A) Ink Drawings of a Bell Pepper

A Crowquill pen and nib, along with paint brushes, were used with Higgins black ink on Bristol paper. Five different iterations of the pepper were draw / painted using various techniques.

B) Skull Drawing with Conte on Toned Paper

A combination of sanguine, white and black Conte crayons were used to draw a skull on toned paper. A life-sized plastic anatomical model of a skull was used to draw from.

C) Self Portrait with Conte on Gray Paper

Once again a combination of sanguine, white and black Conte crayons were used, this time to draw a self portrait on gray paper. A mirror was utilized by the artist to draw from. This actually resulted in a reverse image portrait.

Feedback

Feedback was provided by the class (including the artist) through written comments given after viewing a gallery of the projects. Here is a facsimile of the notes:

Some Learnings

A main takeaway from this project was the opportunity to try various media and to use different types of paper.

What follows is to the best of my recollection.

Materials / Tools

This project was accomplished using the following:

• Sketchbook
• 18 X 24 inch Drawing Paper
• Charcoal Pencils
• Various Erasers
• Eraser shield

Process

Ideally, this process works by the artist adding more charcoal to areas to darken them. In my case, I found I sometimes had to remove charcoal from areas I had rendered too dark. I accomplished this by using the kneaded eraser, which would lift off the charcoal, as opposed to rubbing it off with an eraser. This had less of a damaging effect on the paper.

After building my “recycled being” (an object made from recyclable materials, styled to look like a person /creature), I did a quick sketchbook partial drawing of the “being” in class.

The next day, we began our larger drawing and we worked on it for a couple of class periods. However, at the end of the second day, my drawing was still unfinished, so I came in early before the next class period and worked to complete it. To me this drawing feels like it was started by one person, continued by a second person and completed by a third. Because my technique continued to change as I became more comfortable with the process, the top of the drawing (where I started) looks different than the middle; and the portion that was done on the early morning before class looks like a different style altogether (I attribute this to the need to finish a third of drawing in a short amount of time, so I was working quickly). This latter portion reminds me of the sketchbook drawing I did, and I am actually happier with the results.

In addition to the Recycled Being class drawing, our homework assignment was to create a “Quite Drawing”. This was a medium sized drawing (mine was around 10 inches square) of an object that had significance for us. I chose a spoon. After initially feedback from Professor Lisa that the spoon seemed to “float”, I added some other elements (a coffee mug in the background and a more definite surface for the spoon to rest on) to help ground it 

Feedback

Professor Lisa observed that the necessity to work quickly to finish the project on the morning before the feedback session, allowed me to see that I can trust myself more.

What follows is to the best of my recollection.

Materials / Tools

This project was accomplished using the following:

• 18 X 24 inch Drawing Paper
• Vine Charcoal
• Charcoal Pencils
• Make-up sponge
• Blending Tool
• Paint Brush with Powdered Charcoal
• Various Erasers
• Eraser shield

Process

The first attempt at this method was our leaf drawing (a classroom exercise) that started by veiling an entire sheet of 18 X 24 inch drawing paper with a layer of vine charcoal. After smoothing the charcoal veil with a make-up sponge, I outlined the leaf on my paper using the kneaded eraser to remove charcoal. As I recall, I continued to remove charcoal using the kneaded eraser to reveal lighter areas on the leaf. I then used a combination of erasers to make some areas even lighter, and darkened some areas with the charcoal pencil(s) and (I believe ) the vine charcoal as well. Finally, I used the Tombo eraser to accent the narrow veins on the leaf. Another tool I used was an eraser shield to make precision erasures.

Next we did a still life drawing of objects set-up on a table in front of the class. Overall, I was pleased with the result. The process was very similar to that described above for the leaf, however I made an extensive use of blending (using my fingers and the blending tool). I also used shaved charcoal powder and a paint brush to darken some areas for greater contrast.

For the homework assignment, I set-up a coffee carafe, mug, spoon, and several small foil bags of coffee on the edge of a computer table. I illuminated the objects for a soft-light. The process for this drawing was (again) almost identical to that of the leaf drawing, but I did use a straightedge as an eraser shield to create the light reflections on the carafe.

Feedback

Feedback from the class was positive, but Professor Lisa made a helpful observation pointing out that a background area was not as dark as it should have been.

Some Learnings

For the classroom still-life I chose to draw a cropped in section of the objects which (in hindsight) made it difficult to tell what some of the partial objects were. This was a bad choice.

After the drawing was on display in the hall, I noticed the large ball I had drawn was misshapen. Had I taken more time to step away and look at the drawing from a distance, I think I would have caught this sooner.

Although no one pointed it out during the feedback session, I noticed the top of the carafe in my homework assignment was too large on the right side. In retrospect, I could have used negative space to help draw this correctly.

What follows is to the best of my recollection.

Materials / Tools

This project was accomplished using the following:

• Sketchbook
• 18 x 24 inch Drawing Paper
• Charcoal Pencils
• Erasers

Process

In class practice included several negative space drawings. A grouping of three-dimensional objects was placed on a stand in front of the class. We were encouraged to study the spaces between the objects and then try to commit the shape of the empty spaces to paper. Once this was done, the drawn negative spaces would “reveal” a type of “shadow” of the three-dimensional objects. This was quite effective and accomplished the desired result.

The main component of the project was the Drawing from Under the Kitchen Sink. This was done at home and I worked from a seated position. I liked this eye-level perspective as it allowed me to see the objects under my sink straight on. I think this made for a more effective drawing as the negative shapes were not skewed due to an oblique angle. It think starting with the negative shapes helped to get the sizes, proportions and positions of the objects more easily rendered correctly – although erasures and re-drawing was required to achieved a suitable finished drawing.

Feedback

On balance, feedback on my Kitchen Sink drawing from the class and Professor Lisa was positive. One comment was giving concerning my inclusion of the cabinet opening and hinges. The only negative comment that I remember was given by Professor Lisa when she pointed out a curved shape that did not make sense considering the width of one of the bottles. This was great feedback and showed me how I can look right at something and not see a problem that is very apparent and obvious to someone else.

Some Learnings

This was my introduction to the concept of negative space drawing. Although it was perhaps hard to understand its importance to begin with, I now feel it is a great tool for starting a drawing. It allows an artist to more accurately render the shape, size and position of objects than just an outline would accomplish, providing a great foundation for the finished work.