Week 12: Colour in Spring

This image is primarily focused on using a small amount of colours to generate a landscape with a good amount of depth, this is achieved through the use of various green hues, a nice white highlight and a brown and black colour. The white and lighter green have both been used to show the tonal value of the hill tops, and in conjunction with the sun, they give the scene more volume. There is a nice saturation between the greens and white also, and with the use of directional marks to imply a slight incline to the small hills. There is a small amount of burnishing displayed in the grass too. The entire image successfully stays in the warmer half of the colour wheel, with the dark blue backdrop the only negative, perhaps implying there was cloudy or dull weather at the time of drawing. The brown used on the stairs is also nicely contrasted with the green of the grass.

Week 10: Classical Interiors

Although not strictly an interior, this church window has a nice curve to it and its sheltered appearance makes it feel like it would not look out of place inside a building. There is a nice intentional curvature to the wall which mixes very well with the pillars leading outwards, a nice shaded depth to the corners helps emphasise this more, this shading also being present in the inside of the window frame also. The mark making used on the window panes themselves give the impression of depth and detail, and even though this is using conte crayon, a nice amount of detail is present. 

This graphite drawing of a classical church organ and altar has a very balanced look and a is a strong centre of interest to focus upon, with a nice variety of textures, from the plain, smooth organ pipes, to the curved altar sections. The pipes themselves suffer from being a little too messy and cluttered. There are some nice small details to the composition, such as the crucifix and book, and the small wooden slats on the altar.

Week 9: Shadow and Tonal Values

The perspective the artist has used here is very effective for making sure the main elements of the scene stay centralized, and also, the almost tunnel layout of the drawing gives it a very nice depth of field. The tones of the image compliment each other well in certain spots, like the tigers back fur and the elephants rear. There is a well observed lightness to the ceiling, that gives it an almost glass like quality, the angles of the chairs and table seem very well done also. The doorways on the left are excellent, though the doorways on the right suffer from perspective and the constraints of using a wide tipped medium like a well worn conte crayon. The image is nicely within the rule of thirds, which helps balance it as well as leading the eye around the image, which has enough detail spread throughout to keep the eye busy.

Week 8: Scenic Composition

This pencil drawing exhibits some very nice composition, and makes sure to place the tree as the focal point of the picture. There is a distinct lack of depth to the background due to the little effort focused on the scene behind the tree, but this doesn't detract from the scene too much, as the tree has lots of detail used on its shaded pencil lines, and even the smaller branches. Its a well observed scene on the whole, though there is a lack of detail in certain parts. The dustbin could have used better shading, to give it the feeling of being a round object. There is also poorly defined lines for the railing, and these could be straightened more. Too much dark shading on the dustbin and the railing is also quite a distraction. The small shadows the artist has sketched on these objects are well done, but maybe a bit too underwhelming, the tiny tree also has no visible shadow.

Week 7: Perspective of Curves

What is immediately noticeable from this image is how little depth it has, this is due to very little effort in shading. The focal point appears to be the trees and seats, which when compared with the very sparsely detailed door windows, leaves the image a little unbalanced. There is good line work on the curves of the roof, but again more care could have been taken to ensure the lines are equally spaced apart, and tidier in general. The ellipses are slightly unparalleled and could have used better plotting by the artist. More time spent adding some weight to the lines would have equalled a much more vivid piece. Detail on the plant section is well done, with the tree bark in particular showing good detail. Nice angle use on the other aspects of the scene not yet mentioned such as the right sided pillar and the roof X supports.

Week 6: Landscape, Angles in Architecture

This piece is a display of a landscape, including the angles of the architecture surrounding it. The structure of the overall piece is well done, but there are instances of lines that should be more straight, particularly on the roof and base of the building. There is also a slightly too crowded element at work in the window shade frames, the lines here are messy, and could have used a much more defined pencil stroke, as opposed to the cluttered strokes the artist used. Not much shading is present, which presents a lack of depth to the whole image. There is a nice focus on angles present in most of the outer bulding, aswell as the left sided grass area. More care could also have been taken to clean up the scene somewhat, with the smudges detracting from the picture, rather than enhancing it, as is sometimes the case with sketches. This mainly comes down to a poor choice in pencil. The architecture as a whole is a little uneven, and more effort should have been made to make sure the different sections of the building had the right proportions.

Week 5: Non-human Anatomy

The two images of non human subjects focus on firstly, accurately depicting a birds likeness, feathers, beak etc, and secondly, focus more on the skeletal aspects of an animal, including the jaw structure, teeth and general bone composition. The parrot image has very accurate depiction of the way the feathers flow and curve around the skull, and the artist has used the pencil well in dealing with the tufts of feathers at the top of the beak and underneath the patch of eye feathers. The tonal depth of the lower beak is well exhibited using pencil strokes and shading. The detail of the eye is a focal point to the picture, and captures the personality of a parrot well.

This large skull of a bear captures the essence of such a ferocious, wild creature, particularly with the sharp teeth still kept intact. Using pencil the artist has highlighted these as a focal point, whilst also adding detail to the small cracks and smaller teeth on display. There is good depth to the eye and nose sockets, though the artist could have used more curved shading to give the picture an extra dimension. The image is well balanced, though the white space in the mouth could have been utilised better.