I began my reading about Ben Nicholson with a Wikipedia article. It mentions that he had been married three times. His third wife was German photographer Felicitas Vogler. I was curious about her but despite her reputation as a landscape photographer, no photograph of herself was available on the net. From the Wikipedia article I […]
Author Archives: patriciakarsten
Research Point: Ben Nicholson
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Drawing fruit and vegetables in colour, Research points Comments closed
Check and log: Still life – line and tone
What aspects of each drawing have been successful, and what did you have problems with? I think I managed to place the objects well on the paper and arranged them into interesting compositions. Proportions are ok, textures are only sketchy but enough to recognize the objects. For the first still life group in tone, I […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Check and log, Still life: Line and tone Comments closed
Still life: Line and tone
This project was about drawing two still life groups, one focusing on line and the other focusing on tone. I did two pairs of drawing: First I worked on an arrangement of vegetables and made two drawings (line and tone), then I did two more on an arrangement of fruits. Still life of vegetables – […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Still life: Line and tone Comments closed
Miscellaneous: Charcoal self-portraits
After the oil pastel peanut which compensated for the stipples and dots experience, I felt inspired to draw two self-portraits in charcoal, also into the A3 sketchbook. They were fun to draw. They don’t particularly resemble me so there’s room for improvement but nevertheless I like their expressiveness. The first one has a somewhat sad […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Detailed observation, Miscellaneous Comments closed
Check and log: Detailed observation
Which drawing media did you find most effective to use, for which effects? In this project, I didn’t use many different media: Just felt pen and pencil. To my surprise, felt pen worked quite well for stipples and dots. Pencil was good for subtle shadings from light to medium dark. For darker tones and strong […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Check and log, Detailed observation Comments closed
Stipples and dots
This task was about drawing another single natural object, but using stipples and dots as mark making technique. I drew a peanut in this technique and enlarged the object for better fit on the A4 sheet. I did not manage very well to capture the texture. I did several pencil drawings afterwards, but feel that […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Detailed observation Comments closed
Getting tone and depth in detail
This task was about getting practice with drawing greyscales, using pencil and hatching/cross-hatching techniques. The focus should be on a single object’s pattern and texture, drawn on A3 paper size. We were supposed to try to create good contrast, use a variety of different marks, combine different soft and medium grade pencils and hatching stroke […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Detailed observation Comments closed
Tutor correspondence: Resolving a mental block
During Part II of this course, I had to take a break from the course because my cat was so ill that she needed much care, and I was also extremely overworked. When I finally got back to course work in June, I found myself completely blocked by difficulties with the natural observation tasks. It […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Detailed observation, Miscellaneous Comments closed
More artists: Piotr Sonnewend
While searching for studio equipment, I came across a drawing book by Polish artist and stage designer Piotr Sonnewend (*1953 ). His drawings are very experimental and painterly in approach, very dark and conveying an atmosphere of mystery and pain. The artist’s topics are sinister, but this drawing techniques are impressive. He is also a […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Detailed observation, More artists Comments closed
More artists: Karl Blossfeldt
Karl Blossfeldt (1865 – 1932) was a German artist, art teacher and photographer who became known for his detailed photographs of plants, which were used as educational materials in his drawing courses. I discovered this artist when searching for guidance and inspiration while feeling stuck with detailed observational drawing. A quick Wikipedia picture search brought […]
Posted in 2: Observation in nature, Detailed observation, More artists Comments closed