Animal anatomy

Sea Eagle

1 hour

Here is a pencil drawing of a taxidermy eagle at the Leeds museum, drawn with a mixture of hard and soft  pencil. Notice the use of speckling achieved by a careful use of the eraser to create an effect of feathers on the specimen. The anatomy was taken into consideration as well as the proportions of the wings and body. the stand was added to add staging. The expression of the face is well defined capturing the majestic nature of the solitary bird. The lighting lighting and shading add a feeling of imminent  motion. The bird appears at rest yet there is a hidden readiness for the hunt.

Still lifes

Autumnal display

2 hours approximate

The arrangement of organic materials like the fruits and flora give this still life an autumnal theme. This could be stronger if the piece had a splash of colour to capture the mood of the autumn season. On the other hand black and white makes it stand out more, as the focus is on the shapes and shading. The use of reflective man made lamps and vases contrast with the earthy organic shapes of the plants. The set up of the implied line and rule of thirds draw the eye across the display. however not everything fits into the picture e.g the end of the handle on the mug is halved. This detracts from the display as it is all pushed to one side in a bunch.

The flower in the vase appears not to be carefully observed as though drawn from the mind instead of from observation. This could be solved by moving closer to the subject for more detailed observation.

Explorers Loot

1 hour approximately

This piece shows an attempt at adding colour using pencils, The focus of this still life are the features that make these objects special. These have been slightly abstracted to make it less complicated and more appealing to the eye in its simplicity. For example, the wax on the candle exaggerates the dripping nature of the material and the use of shading highlights the thickness of the wax, Another example of this are the different layers in the crystal. Unlike the drawing 'Growth' this piece applies colour very gently which adds more intrigue. The implied line gives a feeling of perspective with this piece, however the horizon line does not have enough detail in the form of shading. The practice is in the top left corner draws the eye away from the main subject.

The shading on the lamp and candle holder uses cross hatching, this makes the objects appear to almost leap off the page and also represents the perspective.

Reflection

1 hour approximately

Paint Palette Still Life

2 hours

This still life has a good focus on composition and shading. The implied line follows with the perspective, which allows the eye to follow a path of interest. There has been a key focus on creating a clear perspective, this has been achieved with an application of the rule of thirds and the staging. However the one aspect that is less accurate is the table, It appears to bend. This is the drawback of the picture. Notice the use of texture created using an amalgamation of cross hatching and other shading techniques. The only other issue with this drawing is that the end of the left paint tube could be more clearly defined, this could be achieved by filling in the line work more.

Figure Drawing

Family sketches

2 min sketches

These sketches show figure drawing practice using members of a family to discover drawing a range of poses. The sketches were done with soft pencil, this shows the mood of the family being relaxed in the living room. The sketches were drawn quickly to focus more on the shapes, poses, expressions and personality. The line work is simple to focus on the main details. The spacing of the sketches are very even and have a solid structure of organization behind the free flowing forms. The size and mannerisms show the age of the subject, for example the exhausted mother sitting by the tv or the cosy toddler taking a moments rest.   

Growth

30 mins to completion

This picture was made with a more expanded choice of mediums. A varied choice of coloured pastels brings the motion of the model to life. The use of earthy colours like green, yellow and turquoise give the canvas an organic appeal of flora. This adds an element of fantasy because it appears like a woman made of plants, gradually growing from out of the ground. Using a slight smudge technique it gives the poses more motion and raw energy and black highlights make the image stand out. The free and open strokes of the pastels make this piece very expressive and surreal.
The back of the woman standing up almost appears as a portal to another world, hence what looks like a waterfall in a rain forest. The scapula has the appearance of mossy rocks forming a waterfall to the forest floor. The only critique is that the arc of motion could be a bit smoother in the way that the poses flow together.

Frozen Hearted Soul.

30 mins exact

This image was one of the first to incorporate acrylic paints. expanding the choice of mediums. Notice the simplicity of primary colours, the blue represents shade while the yellow is light. The colour and positions of the model create a feeling of sadness and depression, The use of body language conveys this. Blue and yellow are also opposites on the colour wheel allowing a strong contrast. Other mediums involved using a variety of brushes to convey different shapes and patterns, Note how a fan brush was used to add pointillism on  the lighting and shading adding some abstraction. The use of colour could be interpreted as water or ice.

                  

Fiery Mountain of Life

25 mins exact

This image was the first experiment using very limited colour to convey a mood. The painting shows movement of a man getting off the ground and standing up. In this example the painting could be interpreted as the use of fire and its unpredictability. Notice how as the model gets further away the colours become paler and the fiery man gets less powerful as he fades like a blown out candle. The dripping effect adds a slight sense of macabre perhaps showing fire can become uncontrollable and dangerous. The critique for this piece would be to add stronger highlights to make the man stand out.