Assignment 2

Ive finally done it and thought this time would never come but assignment 2 is complete. It  took me about a week to decide what to draw and then I had the decision of the composition. I thought this would be a good opportunity to show how much I have improved since the last assignment. I wanted to challenge myself and go out of my comfort zone by using a medium I don’t have much practice with and prove to myself that I can get to grips with it. My instincts told me to play it safe and use coloured pencil as I am relatively confident and have control with them. I wanted to portray the vivid and bold colours of the objects and I think oil pastel does this well, it also pushes me to have more self belief and push myself. I also wanted to add a couple of other mediums to my piece, I opted for coloured pencils for the orchid as they are more delicate requiring definition and I felt that they were the best choice, I also used white acrylic paint to emphasise the highlights and reflections and finally a wash of black ink for the background. I am pleased with this drawing, although looking at it now, I feel there are a few things I could change: the angles of the peppers as they look a little uncomfortable and deepen the colour of the orchid (the camera flash makes this appear lighter that it is).

Preparation

To start off with I just did a few ideas in my sketch book to try and help me decide what to draw. I went with the peppers mainly because they were bold and vivid in colour and were perfect for my chosen medium. Next I had to decide upon an interesting composition, not my strong point. I sketched a variety and usual I went back to my first idea. I liked the idea of the background been solid black as I thought it added contrast to the colours of the foreground and wanted to leave  a negative space to keep  the interest and detract from the main image. Composition is the part I always struggle with and no doubt  will come with more experience. I added more to it and changed things around as I went.

I decided on my composition and next double checked my medium so did a rough practice run of oil pastel and coloured pencils. Once layered I knew they would be right to show the depth, form and tone that I wanted to achieve. I then practised drawing the actual peppers and realised that the paper was too smooth and the the colours were slipping around so for the final piece I decided to use water colour paper to give it some grip, it also offered a nice texture which was perfect for the basket. I did have to do a lot of layers to cover the grain but in turn this showed depth of colour and tone to offer a 3d effect. This is also the point where I decided to add the white acrylic to emphasise the highlights as white oil pastel wasn’t bright enough and barely visible. I also decided to crop parts to create an interesting composition.

I wanted to add something a little more delicate to add more contrast and to be a focal point so I added an orchid flower to the equation. Compared to the bold, strong peppers and the dominating black I wanted to add delicacy and detail to complete my final piece and show how different natures objects are. Oil pastels were too bold for this so I used coloured pencil as they are easier to control and show fine detail clearer.

testing oil pastel

The end result took me a couple of days and I was pleased with my choice of the black background as this helped me to show the peppers in their true form and there weren’t too many reflections. The reflective skin was quite difficult at times to draw because I was also trying to show the unusual shapes of the peppers. I chose 3 different shaped and sized peppers and positioned them at different angles. The red and green one are leaning to the back of the bowl and unfortunately I feel that they look a little uncomfortable. I am however really pleased with the orange pepper and I this is the first one I did so I am a little disappointed that I did not carry this consistency through. I found the shadows hard to show as the oils kept going brown, I definitely think I need more practice with them but considering my experience with them it could have been worse. The flower was supposed to be the focal point but it doesn’t look quite right and sits awkwardly on the red pepper which is out of proportion and the green one is a bit too sludgy in colour.I got a bit carried away with the mark making that I lost track of the proportions and didn’t notice until it was too late to rectify (the peppers are correct in size and proportion but on paper it doesn’t fit right and I should have altered this)On a positive note I am happy that I have shown a good understanding and application of tone and form with my medium by layering different colours even if it is just on the one pepper, but I do fear that the challenge I set myself might have been out of my reach. The finished piece looks quite amateur but I chose to set the challenge so no point in getting upset as I knew there was a chance it could go wrong. I think that I need to work more on composition and understand that sometimes less is more. The main thing is I did my very best and with this piece I know its not perfect but I know I couldn’t have given any more effort and I cant be disappointed with that.

Summary

I am happy with the level of technical I have shown and I  am getting more confident as the days pass. I feel I chose the correct materials however my observation and compositional skills haven’t really shone through but I did try my best. I did my best to plan but sometimes I can over-think and talk my self out of the sensible options and instead set my targets too high. I am a creative person with a vivid imagination and sometimes this can stray from reality. I am not necessarily disappointed with my final piece as I know I gave it my all and unless I try I wont know my capabilities and where my skills lay, including my current skills level.Its just a case of pulling it all together and I struggle to perfect everything required at the moment. There is a long way to go and I am aware that things don’t happen overnight but I do feel happy with my progression through the course and I know I will improve with time as the basics are there; its just a case of practice and patience.I am relatively new to drawing but I wont let that stand in my way and I hope as the course goes on my skills will improve and continue to show in my work. I believe I have come along way since starting the course and if I continue learning and improving I should be a competent and skilled artist by the end of the course.