Shells -Observational Pencil Drawings

When drawing the shell, on a large scale, I had to take my time and draw the outline first, because once the outline is complete I can work on the rest of the details. Drawing the shape of the shell was simple, because I maintained reference to the actual shell. It helped me get each part of the shell drawn in proportion and in the right place.

After getting the shape drawn, I was then able to start work on the detail. Thanks to outline this was easy for me to do, seeing as I just needed to get the right shades, shapes and tones in the right place.

After getting the detail drawn in, it was then complete. I am very pleased with the outcome, because the drawing looks exactly like the object I was drawing it from.

Starting on another shell, applying the same technique I used on the initial one, I outlined the shape of the shell and began to shade/tone and detail the interior of the drawn shape.

Progressing, i began detailing the rest of the shell, i used the rubber to highlight the parts of the shell that had light shining on it.

 

Underpainting and a Jenny Saville inspired Painting

This was the start of my under-painting  After gridding the images/paper (A4: 2cm x 2cm A1: 6cm x 6cm) I began applying paint. 

Under painting consists of earthy colours in which form shapes and tones -the light parts and dark parts- of the painting, The colours in which are mainly used are ochre, umber, brown etc. These earthy colours are seen to be subtle and so when painting on top they wont show through.

I chose to use umber and ochre. Upon application, i used water in order to dilute the paint as well as use the water to provide me a variation of tone of the paint.

Progressing into the next stages of the under-painting, It becomes more apparent as to which areas of the painting retain more tone and which parts do not.

The nose is now more defined and you can see the where the shadow in which the nose makes on the left hand side of the face, as well as where the light hits my neck and where my hair casts shadow.

The lips are slightly higher, than where they are in the photos, therefore I am in need to lower them when i paint over the the under-painting  I need to keep referencing the photos, seeing as they are my main guidance, to which structures my A1 portrait.

The under-painting is now almost complete. The background is fully painted, as well as the face and neck. All that remains to be done is the rest of the hair.

The hair was harder to do, than the face seeing as the highlights are very fine and I wanted to get in as much detail as I could using the ochre and umber, in order to make the painting easier, however I feel accomplished in the sense that it is taking shape and it does still look okay (I am still looking back at the photos top do this, due to the fact that it is very important that i get the shape and tones in the correct place).

Under painting is now COMPLETE!

Tones are now definitive and I can see where I am to apply the colours.

(Of course, depending on the area of the the painting, will determine the shade and overall colour of the paint in which I am to use there, once again referencing back to the photos for guidance).

Under painting now well and done. I am to start the next stage of the portrait. 

In a Jenny Saville inspired style, I will use the painting technique impasto to finish the portrait. An image of a Jenny Saville painting is located by my photo, this will help me obtain the right colours and style to which I am to apply to the under painting.

Using only the primary colours (white and black included), i have to mix them to get the colours I need. 

So far, so good.

The face is now complete.

Impasto is a painting technique that isn't smooth or precise, its rough, textured and lively. Bearing in mind that that is the style in which Jenny Saville works in, I have to put myself in her shoes and really let myself go when painting this.

As well as using colours that she would use, when painting I had to be careful not to go overboard with the abstracting colours and make sure I retain the life like feel to my painting, because I still have to make it look like my photo..

After getting the face done, I will have to start on the hair. For this, I use a dark blue as a base colour. I use it as a base colour for the dark areas due to the fact that my hair in my photo is dark, therefore reflecting my dark hair in the style of Jenny Saville (because in the image i have beside my painting she has not used natural colours).

As well as that, it will be clearer as to where the highlights are in my hair once I paint them in. (I have started to paint them in as you can see in the painting on the right -which is a close up of the painting on the left-) why I started to put the highlights in at such an early stage of the painting is because I wanted to make sure it worked in the painting and to see if the colours I had mixed were of the right tones.

Concertina Sketchbook... Le Grande Finale!

This is the final product of my concertina sketchbook..

I dressed up the cover of my book with imagery cut out from magazines from a variety of magazines, I  then drew over some of the imagery. Why i did this? because anyone can cut and rip out images from a magazines heck, even format it in the same layout as the one I've managed to come up with, but the drawings was a reflection of me, I wanted to portray my personality and traits of myself on the cover, I felt I successfully did this.

This was what was on the inside of the first page of my sketchbook. It is an image of Vincent Valentine, from the Final Fantasy series. I drew him with a black OHP projector pen and cut him out in order to put him in my sketchbook. The reason as to why i chose him to be in there as well as draw him, is because Final Fantasy is a big part of my life, I like the character design, the game, animation and story line and it just so happens that Vincent Valentine is one of my favourite characters, so when drawing him I made sure I made him look like his character in my own style and made sure, to me it was perfect.

This is on the second page of the sketchbook, the page that mirrors the one above. I cut out a keyhole in the centre of the page. This was metaphorical symbolism. Look through the keyhole and you will see...

I roughly highlighted around the hole, to make it stand out, for it was the main focus of that page, the décor around it was in aid to highlight the centre. The wings resemble the phrase 'Spread your wings' by looking through the hole you'd be able to open up your mind and in a way be able to mentally spread your wings.

The illustration above is of an eye that's looking down, once again this is to abstract your mind and follow where its looking which would be the hole. The text around it however has more of a dark undertone to it, 'Lie, Lies and Tiny Eyes' this subjects that its not all peaches and cream with me.

I decided to use my own handwriting to write 'I developed a passion' I wrote this at the start of the page because, in the beginning that's what I did? I developed a passion and in reflection to the other page where you can see Vincent Valentine, your able to see what happened when i did.
The image of the fellow below that, was purely because he looked happy... and he had white hair. He looked like a very happy chappy.





Following onto the next page, through the keyhole are sparrows. I cut these birds out in black and white, in varying sizes.I used that colour scheme as the meaning of those two tones suggest light and darkness. Thus it becomes easy top see that in life you have to take the rough with the smooth, or in this case the light with the dark. Its an equal balance.

Starting off small, getting bigger and bigger as well as massing in numbers. For me, portrays my ongoing journey, throughout the duration of developing myself, My opportunities and life changing chances expanded and numerically doubled.. multiplied..! so generally speaking, they massed.

The connotations of these birds relate to the words distance, love... freedom. Below are the words, written in my own hand, 'Its my freedom'. The sparrows represent to me, my passion. I developed it, I went the distance, still going the distance, I love what I do and its my freedom, its how I express myself, its what I'm good at and it makes me happy.





The page after the sparrows is a hand written Caligram. A Caligram is getting an image and using its outline in which you are then liberated to fill in the interior with text. The majority of my colleagues used Adobe Illustrator to do this, however I didn't want my Caligram to be computer generated therefore I did it without it. Using tracing paper, I cut out an outline of my head (with my hair tied up) and inside filled in the spaces with words that had great significance to me. They are words that make me who I am and what I have become.

The decision to use tracing paper was simple, I wanted whoever was looking at it to see the page behind of it.

The page behind it is my timeline. The start of it, I should add.

This is the start of my timeline.

I wanted to induce more colour to the middle section of my sketchbook, because to me like a donut, the good stuff is in the middle! As well as that the ulterior meaning for the colour being in the middle was a subconscious relation to myself. The creativity within myself doesn't necessarily come from my mind, but it comes from the centre of me. So I dressed it up, but made sure the colours and imagery were not overpowering because the
central focus of this page was the timeline.

Seeing as the timeline was to express the past, present and future on a heart monitor-type lifeline, I added motivational quotes and things that were related to me all around the pages, in which has taken me from the past, into the present and will help me along the way in the future.







Moving on from the timeline page, I included a page which shows a range of crayons.

I saw these crayons in a magazine. I liked the colours of them and after a while of just looking at them for the duration of two minutes, they started to look like a sort of ladder, in which to me gave me a winning idea of drawing small stick men on the crayons doing a variety of different things in order to get to the top.

The perception of this was to show you what I have done and still doing to get to the top, the stick men trying a number of different ways to move themselves up the crayon ladder denotes the creativity in which I muster to think outside the box in order to heighten my chances and prosperity to moving upwards and onwards.






The black card I used to cut out my sparrows was then used as my next page. From after cutting out the sparrows previously I knew I wanted to use it, as it came across to me as, using the past to help in your future.

I wanted the sparrows to look as if they were flying the left (which is towards the beginning of the book) Because, seeing as i used this piece of card to cut out my sparrows, it then became a stencil, so a piece of art within itself, therefore by using it for a previous page (representing the past) it also helped me in my future page, and by having the sparrows looking like they are flying towards the front of the book, it mean't I could artistically prove the meaning of using your past to help with the future.

I applied masking tape in a jaunty way on the bottom of the stencil and wrote in colour 'Don't Regret, Just Go For It' because that is one of the mantras I use in my life and work to push myself into new things and experiment, because you never know unless you try.





For my final page I wanted to end with on a simplistic note.

The reason as to why I wanted to do this was as simple as the page. Due to the fact that it was to symbolise my future, I didn't want to over throw it with various imagery that had a specific meanings to what my intentions were -in regards to my job, relationships, status etc- because I know my ambitions and overall status is constantly changing.

Bearing that in mind I was able to generate an idea. Draw a diamond in centre page and use it as a compass. A diamond in which signifies riches and success, for me these riches and successions could be for anything, it could be for a job, love, life etc, therefore it's not specifically aimed at anything in particular.

The comment under it 'The gamble is what happens next...' tells you that anything could happen, of course depending on the roads you choose, paths you take and choices you inevitably have to make is nothing but a gamble. The hand below it points to the cards littered on the side of the book, this is to make it apparent as to what its pointing to. The cards. The gamble. The next page. The future.

Concertina Sketchbook. It starts...

This is my concertina sketch book so far. Its currently in the process of being made.

In my sketchbook, I have a bit of 3D work and textiles work. I hope to expand on this and include some sort of graphic type work and incorporate alot more colour and symbolic items in this in which relate to me and bring interest to others.

This is my 3D work at the minute. I drew on sparrows on black and white card varying in size and position, i had to bear this in mind seeing as once they were cut out, they needed to be assembled and stuck into my sketchbook, through the key shaped hole i cut in the first page in which links it to my other page. The key hole, represents a way in. A way into 'my world' if you will. Meanwhile the sparrows coming out of the keyhole symbolises my freedom; to choose what i want to do, to go anywhere I like, to fly wherever I want to and all in all be free, spread my wings and fly!

On the right is my textiles work. The aim of this was for it to reflect the present, the happening, the NOW! the heart moniter type lifeline connotates as time. The items i have selected were applied in chronological order, the time 9.11 was the time i started it, the free hand continuous line styled drawing was sewn in just after 9.21 after i had pinned in the image of the random guy i was told to cut out around 9.15. I included my screen printed fabrics and letraset wording as well as a thumb print of mine -in which easily perceives as a representation of my identity.