FA5005 - Drawing Evaluation

Textural drawing - white emulsion and charcoal

Drawing and the word ‘nemesis’ spring to mind! A major breakthrough in my mind-set during this module has removed the nemesis from my approach to the practice of drawing. I have over the past few months allowed myself to appreciate that it’s all about supporting the development of ideas. At last embracing the concept of drawing, and yes, I agree, it is critical in the development of abstract art.  The old school approach of drawing with pencil on paper is still extremely relevant but the contemporary approach to drawing embraces photography, inks, paint, technological approaches, sound, and light among others this realisation has freed me from the mental constraints of the world of graphite.

My natural working practice is the abstract form. I struggled with the confines of pencil as my work is all about colour and evoking emotion. Experimenting with photographic drawings of light and mark making has been the trigger in achieving the movement and colour in imagery to explore form and ideas, enabling me to develop greater depth with my final pieces of work.

Technical notes on design 

Photographic development

Glazing

One of my biggest challenges has been to allow myself to slow down development, to allow time to play with image and different mediums, thus allowing my work to evolve in a more thoughtful way. It has been interesting researching inspirational artists such as Turrell, McCall, Hockney, Newmann and Suzi Morris among others. They all approach drawing really differently depending on what they are out to achieve. Lighting sculpturalist James Turrell has a very precise, diagrammatic architectural approach which I embraced for designing the technical lighting for my exhibition, in contrast Hockney who has revolutionised the acceptance of drawing on the iPad. This has been the key to slowing my thinking down, I have totally embraced this medium and it will play a major role in development of ideas moving forward. Barnett Newmann actually failed his drawing exams (in the traditional sense) but using charcoal in a non-figurative way developed his iconic abstract work, this has widened my self-imposed boundaries of drawing. By understanding the extremely varied drawing approaches these artists use I have been able, for the first time, to really ‘get’ what this drawing is all about.

Development of the filament concept through photography of light sources (naked flames, bike lights and a blowtorch) enabled me to explore mark making and colour in a different way, I developed the ideas further, building on this imagery and drew with paint, experimenting with glazes and most critically brush techniques. Undoubtedly this approach led to an increased quality and thought provoking end piece.

Graphite and printing ink

Texture and drawing wasn't something I thought possible until I started to experiment with thick emulsion paint and made marks with the end of my paintbrush creating a textured surface, by rubbing soft charcoal over the surface the lines and tones you can achieve overlaid by the texture are inspiring. This approach will be valuable for developing greater texture into my paintings, something to work on. Using the printing press to overlay printing ink over graphite imagery to facilitate blending of lines bringing movement into the drawing is certainly a development process for building abstraction into a picture.

iPad drawing

Dereck Jarmans drawings were described by Tilda Swinton as - “The very battery of his working process” I think these words really capture the essence and importance of drawing in art practice. Recognising the breadth of the multitude of drawing techniques has certainly moved my own practice forward; highlighting the important role it plays in the development of ideas and pushing me to the next level of maturity on my art journey.

Dinosaur I
iPad

'Why not?'
iPad 

Pushing and evolving my art moving forward I have realised drawing will, and has, started to play an integral role in this. I plan to develop my skills using the iPad and photography; it provides me an immediate feel for the use of colour in my work, understanding how colours interact with each other and the balance of composition. Whats really exciting is creating unexpected and exciting images, which makes room for discovery and further exploration. Working on larger pieces of paper with charcoal and inks provides a freedom and spontaneity of movement that I don't get from smaller scale work, I can use this medium to channel my instinctive ideas to develop and shape concepts further. I do however feel there is also a place in my work for the more technical sketches in the planning of space especially if I decide that lighting is going to play a part in my presentation. In summary, it's going to be important for me to continue to build on my current skills and techniques whilst remaining open to 'playing' by doing this I feel the future is extremely exciting..... another door has just opened!

References

Butler, C. H. (1999) Afterimage: Drawing through process. Cambridge, MA: Museum of Contemporary Art.

Davidson, M. (2011) Contemporary drawing: Key concepts and techniques for today’s fine artists. 1st edn. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications Inc.,U.S.

Farthing, S. and Webb-Ingall, E. (2013) Derek Jarman’s Sketchbooks. London: Thames & Hudson.

Govan, M. and Kim, C. Y. (2013) James Turrell: Seeing yourself see. Germany: PRESTEL ART BOOKS.

Jones, W. and Sagoo, N. (2011) Architects’ sketchbooks. 20110307th edn. London: Thames & Hudson, London.

New, J. (2005) Drawing from life: The journal as art. 1st edn. United States: Princeton Architectural Press.

O’Neill, J. P. and Newman, B. (1992) Barnett Newman: Selected writings and interviews. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.