EXAM (ANNOTATION): Observational Drawings

Page One of Observational Drawings

Yarn Spindle

This page of observational drawings features 5 drawings which all came from the same object. This object (photographed below) was a spindle of yarn which was made of various colours and this made the object very exciting to draw. The item relates to my exam question of Weathered and Worn as this object is something that is often used by the elderly to knit with etc. so despite the object not being worn itself, it does have a very strong connection to something being old. Also many elderly ladies may use this yarn to knit clothes such as jumpers and scarves for family etc. and this means that the object created from the yearn will be 'worn' by the recipient. This object will also eventually become weathered and weak if used too much. 

To create three of these drawings (two at the top of page, one at the bottom of the page) I used a cross mark making technique, as this would create the crossing yarn look that the spindle has. For the top left hand corner drawing I used pencil and this was a nice effect as it also allowed me to get to grips with the item I was drawing before I attempted to use another medium. I drew the spindle as well as the rope which was laying around the yarn (part of the still life composition I was drawing). For the top right hand corner drawing, I used a combination of graphite and charcoal to create different tones within the drawing. I didn't want to overuse the medium therefore I did not create all of the crossovers in the yarn however I think that this gives the drawing a nice effect. For the drawing in the bottom half of the page, I used a variation of coloured chalk, in the colours; light blue, dark blue, orange, yellow and purple. For this drawing I did add more crossovers as the different tones created by the mixture of colours made sure that the drawing wasn't too overpowering to look at.

The other two drawings on this page are of the top of the spindle as there was a stick coming out of the top of it when we made the still life. I did two very quick one minute drawings of this. The first which is located in the lower left corner was drawn with charcoal which I smudged and used to create marks with. However I ran out of time during this drawing as I was attempting to draw as much in 1 minute and I spent too long on the smudging and detail. The other drawing which is located on the right hand side of the page was a 30 second drawing which, again, I spent too long attending to detail on. As a result of this, you are unable to tell what the drawing is meant to be of.

Page Two of Observational Drawings

This page of observational drawings features two drawings of very different things. 

The first drawing (on the bottom corner of the page) is a charcoal and white chalk drawing of the rope which was surrounding the yarn spindle in the still life composition. I used dark, harsh lines of charcoal to emphasise the sections of the rope and more charcoal which had been smudged to fill in and show the vertical strand texture inside. I also used smudged charcoal to create shading below the rope as there was a light source above the composition which created a shadow. I used a small amount of chalk to highlight a few areas where the rope was lighter, however they are not easily seen so I think I needed to use more of this to make it stand out more. This rope was fairly weathered and had a few stains on it therefore this links in to my exam question of Weathered and Worn.

The second drawing on this page is a motorbike glove drawn with graphite, white chalk and charcoal and set with hairspray, however I do not like this drawing much as I ran out of time to draw it and I did find it fairly difficult to draw. The motorbike glove does relate to my exam question as this is something that is worn a lot whilst riding motorbikes. I think that I may need to improve this drawing by adding rubber marks to it and this will add more depth to the drawing. 

Page Three of Observational Drawings

This page of observational drawings features a large drawing of an old glass bottle drawn with charcoal and set with hairspray.  This drawing's purpose was to cover up a previous drawing of three christmas baubles which was part of another still life that I was drawing. However I think that this now shows reflections in the glass and I like this effect. I do think that by adding rubber marks to this drawing would have created reflections of light in the glass and this would have made the drawing better. I created this drawing by having the stick of charcoal flat and then moving it in the direction of the glass to make it look slightly three-dimensional. If I added more rubber marks, or white chalk, this three-dimensional effect would be significantly better. I would like to work in this size more as I can be more expressive and free with the marks that I make and I prefer this style of drawing.

Page Four of Observational Drawings

On this page of drawings, the drawing at the top of the page has been replaced as I found it difficult to draw. These drawings are of film cameras which is the theme (old films) I want to look at whilst exploring this exam question. Many of these cameras are old and aren't used anymore therefore this also relates to the exam question of Weathered and Worn. 

The drawing on the left hand side of the page is of a camera lens which was drawn with charcoal and white chalk and hairspray to set. After the hairspray set the drawing I went over the white chalk with more to emphasise the reflections of light in the lens. I used different amounts of charcoal to create the different ridges of the lens and this was successful. 

The second drawing was of the corner of an old film camera. I used charcoal and chalk again to create this drawing and I used a similar technique to the drawing of the glass bottle (above), as I lay down the stick of chalk and used it to create texture of the camera. I used a combination of charcoal and white chalk to create the top half of the camera as this was lighter than the body. I also used the white chalk to create the raised lumps on the main body as there were reflections of light in the corners. 

The drawing I did to replace the top drawing was of a fairly old Canon camera.

 This drawing was drawn with pencil and this allowed me to create depth with different amounts of line.  I like this drawing as it is simple yet effective. I think that the detail of this drawing is also very good. I think that I should have used more rubber marks than just in the lens as this would show the reflections of the metal in the camera.