Observational Drawing

The other day, I spent some time doing some observational drawing around the college. I mainly focussed on line. Here, I have drawn the outside of the college and used short, fast movements to create a jagged texture of the trees and made smoother lines for the metal fence. I used a 2H pencil as it has a harder lead and would reflect the sturdy nature of the objects that I have drawn. Focussing on line, I then continued to experiment with different types of line.

I have drawn using continuous line in my next studies which I did from a photograph that I took in Tenbury Wells. I also have used both hands to do this drawing, 2 minutes with my strong (left) hand, and 1 minute with my right hand. Due to using continuous line and my weak hand, this drawing is very loose and has an expressive feel. I chose to stick brown paper to the background as it reflects the age of the small market town. Having chosen to have this in the background, I used biro to draw with instead of pencil as it would be easier to see as it would contrast the paper more. If I had used a pencil, which is soft, the drawing would've appeared faint, as I found out from using it on top of the brown paper. To combat this, I used biro as well in these studies to add detail or shape.

Next, I began experimenting with how I could add tone to my drawings. To do this I rubbed cotton wool on charcoal and used it to apply tone to the page. I found that this gave a soft texture, which I contrasted by adding detail with a pencil or biro. It also allowed me to easily build up tone where necessary. A pencil allowed me to add lines which formed the shape of the street, whereas I used biro to add sections of the street as the black biro would've been to harsh against the soft tone.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach - 27 August

Over bank holiday weekend we went to stay at my Auntie Diane and Uncle Mark's house in Lancashire. We travelled up on the Saturday afternoon, after Dad had finished playing golf and got there in time for dinner, where Darren, Fiona and Iris also joined us.

Most of the photographs I took on Sunday at Blackpool Pleasure Beach were of everyone that went, but I did manage to get a few relevant ones whilst having a very busy day.

Photograph taken from 'Flying machines'

I took this photograph whilst waiting for the ride, 'Flying machines', to start. I like this photograph as there is harmony between the white aeroplanes (the ride), the clouds and the white structures around the place. As it is quite light, the red "engines" on the back of the carriage in front offers a sharp injection of vibrant colour. As this ride doesn't begin at ground level, you can see more of the park in the distance.

On the beach front

After having a busy and fun day at the Pleasure Beach, we bought some rock and walked along the promenade for a little while. This is a photograph of (left to right), Uncle Mark, myself, Alfie, Richard, Mum, Dad, Auntie Diane and Darren. It was just reaching dusk when this photograph was taken and so the colours of the sky look calming to me. I like this soft colour palette that contains light blue, white and lemon. As the sky behind us is very light, there is contrast between our dark clothes and the sky.

Tenbury Wells and Ludlow 19-20 August

This weekend my Mum and I went visiting her side of the family. We managed to see more of the family than usual which was lovely.

Richard's Castle village hall

On the Saturday evening, myself and Hollie went to a party where her boyfriend, Jake, was playing in his band. The colour of the dark wood indicates how old this building is, which is expectable giving that it is a village hall in Richard's Castle. It was strange to be at an event where you had to take your own drinks as there wasn't a bar, I don't recall ever going to a village hall. This got me thinking about how different venues are still around in the countryside compared to in towns. My town doesn't have a village hall and the one in Richard's Castle is still frequently in use. It turned out that the night was an evening for jive and I got taught how to jive by one of the teachers. It was great to learn something new, however my heels were a bit too high to be moving around the dancefloor so quick.

Hollie, Jake and I

On this night, Hollie and I accidentally wore outfits that included the same colours- white and nudes. These plain, soft colours accentuate Jake's illuminous green suit jacket and tie, even if it didn't need any more attention being drawn to it. This was what Jake wore in his band, his other band mates wearing illuminous orange and purple. As this photograph was taken in a room with little light, our bright and light coloured clothing makes us the focal point. If I could take this photograph again, I would make sure there was nobody in the background as the flowery patterned top to the right detracts some attention away from the subject.

Olives in Ludlow Food Centre

On Sunday, Mum and I met up with her family that live in Ludlow at a summer fun day. For lunch, we picked a selection of foods from cous cous to scones. However, I have included this photograph of olives in my blog as this is a new food that I have enjoyed over the summer in various places; Barcelona, many restaurants and in Ludlow. Olives are a food that I never used to like as they have a strong taste, but now I love them.

Boardmasters 9-14 August

This year I went to Boardmasters festival in Cornwall with my friends for five days - we arrived on Wednesday 9 August by coach and left the following Monday. As well as enjoying this experience, I have managed to capture some incredible moments and also relate them to my personal investigation.

Interacting with a composition against sea pollution

Here I am stood on a surfboard that was part of a composition that included a sculpture of a wave made out of waste. As Boardmasters hosts surfing competitions at Fistral Beach and has many links to the seaside, this wave sculpture was made out of plastics that are commonly found in the sea as a reminder of the pollution in our oceans. Whilst I was there I loved dressing in more obscure clothing and covering myself in glitter and jewels. It was great to see everyone's sparkly outfits and I even received the odd compliment here and there. This outfit in particular got me thinking about one of my artists, Chila Burman, someone who uses mixed media in her work. Coming from an Asian family, some of her work, for example, 'Sugar love', includes items such as bhindis. When I was at this festival I wore face jewels and glitter and this gave me the idea that I could use these in my work when I start looking at Burman in more depth.

Sugar love

Chila Burman

oil paint and bhindis on canvas

2013

Corona Sunset stage

In this photograph of the Corona Sunset stage, the stage acts as a divide across the horizon between the sky and the ground. I think that the navy sky looks quite intense, especially when it is contrasted by the bright lights to the right of the photograph. The colour of the sky is also harmonious to the green grass and these colours both belong to a colder colour palette. This cold colour palette is then contrasted by a warm yellow which slices the photograph horizontally. As this photograph was taken at night, the lights are much more prominent than if it was taken in the day. Along with this, there is also more tone in the sky where the clouds have lined the sky at night time, allowing some light to seep through in more places than others. I like how the amount of tone in the sky contrasts the little tonal representation in the sky, making the sky more attractive. I think this concept of warm and cold colours is something that I can experiment with in my artwork.

Ellie, Reigan and I at 'The Point'

Alfie and I at 'The Point'

Trentham Gardens 6 August

Over the weekend, my family and I stayed in a spa hotel in Stoke-on-Trent, as this place is halfway between my house and my Auntie's. On the Saturday evening we went out for a lovely meal at Nom restaurant to celebrate my parents' and my Auntie and Uncle's wedding anniversaries, where they received complementary drinks.

The next day, we went to Trentham Gardens which was a short drive from where we were staying. I was pleasantly surprised about how much there was to do there, as I expected there to be just a garden with flowers in it. However; there was a courtyard full of shops (spanning from well-known brands to independent businesses),there was a fairy trail on the way round to interest children, a walk around a large lake, a café to get lunch from, a stage where a brass band played - as well as the expected aray of flower beds.

Whilst walking round, we noticed a tree to our left which looked unusual. Upon further inspection, there was a carving of several otters in the wood. These were incredibly detailed and I expect they chose to carve otters as there is a family of otters that live nearby which can be viewed (if youre lucky enough to spot on) from the otter hide which is within the trees. In this photograph, the tails of the otters are the focal point as they have the plain sky behind them which creates a contrast between the plain background and the tails. As the otters face downwards, the eye then follows the direction of where the otters are heading.

We walked past one patch of land that was entirely mud, rather than grass like in all the other areas of the gardens. From this land grew jagged trees which created interesting lines. One thing that particularly drew my attention to these trees is that the branches form quite angular shapes, whereas usually you expect branches to be relatively straight and branching out from the centre. With this tree, there is no defined trunk and also no leaves which, giving the time of year that it is, gives a colder atmosphere rather than that of the day which was warm and filled with a content vibe. The sporadic branches form lines that I could link to Mark Tobey's work as the lines he uses in his work overlap and vary in thickness, similar to the branches in the above photograph.