Reflection on Part 4.

 

Dear Diary,

I have just finished part four of drawing two, and I found that it was nothing like I had attempted before. I found myself thinking more outside the box as I am used to drawing/painting with the use of a medium and flat support. This section made me think more about my surroundings and the materials that could be found there, in order to create something more spontaneous than my usual style of preplanning everything. This meant that I became quite involved with the task at hand rather than worrying about “getting it right”.

It was interesting to see the different outcomes when it came to using different mediums for ” Found Images”. I really enjoyed finding elements outside that were naturally taking place rather than having been manipulated in order to make the image that I wanted.  It also gave me a chance to use different mediums like inks, biro, charcoal and oil pastels and use a variety of mark-making.

When it came to “Interacting with the environment” I thought that I would take advantage of the fact that as a family we were going to Tenerife and use the areas surrounding us to complete this exercise. Initially, it was a struggle with it being a completely new area so I decided to stay close to the hotel at first before branching out further. I found my confidence growing due to the fact my family was with me but I was still free to create what I wanted and it soon became a fun and interesting exercise.

I found “Installation” extremely fascinating and had to be my favourite section of part 4, I’ve always wondered how artists were able to create these 3D illusions, unfortunately in the past I never seemed to be able to find the time to attempt it, so luckily for me that this was included in the exercise. Not only did this exercise allow for me to learn the technique of anamorphosis but it also allowed me to further my knowledge on Trompe l’oiel. I loved working out the correct angles and shapes in order to create a 3D illusion even though at times it was frustrating, I also enjoyed trying to make a realistic image without the use of anamorphosis.

Assignment 4, I found it difficult, not because of the task per se but because I had to work outside again which is difficult for me with my mental health issues however, this time it needed to be a specific place that I could go back to several times. I chose my parent’s garden because it was familiar, had a large open space to work on and somewhere I could visit on a regular basis. However, the downside could be said that this meant the materials for creating were sparse, which could be seen as limiting. I feel that this helped restrict my thoughts due to the limitation and also forced me to think harder and push myself further in order to come up with something. Even though the task was difficult overall I still enjoyed the learning process and part 4 has helped me to understand that a drawing can be what you make it.

Till next time….

Tutor Feedback part 3, including my reflection on it and notes made.

(My response to the feedback is in speech marks, bold, italic and in blue).

Overall Comments
Thanks for sending the latest batch of work. You have submitted this section ahead of
schedule. I am a little concerned that you are rushing. While you are making more work, you need to spend more time considering the work and developing your ideas and contextual understanding. Returning to remake things might also help you. You’re learning stuff. Processing that learning and applying what you’ve learned it REALLY important. If you feel that you wish you could go back and do something again because you now better understand what is required then do so. Work ought to feed on work and be part of a constant cycle of making and reflection.
I mentioned the following blogpost in an email when you enrolled, but it worth revisiting it, I think: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/creative-writing/life-level-one/
Looking at the work of other Drawing Two students would also be useful for you as it will give you an indication of what is expected of you at assessment. This link takes you to the work of a recent student of mine who’s also concerned with the domestic: https://
drawing2blog.wordpress.com/

” I hadn’t really thought that I was rushing my work at the time but looking back I can see that it does look that way. I think this is because I have focused on the idea of going for March assessment which I can now isn’t possible without rushing and my work being compromised because of it. I will take the time I need in order to complete the course to the best of my ability and once finished then go for the assessment closest. I will revisit the site suggested, although I already have it’s a good idea to freshen up on things. I will also look at the site suggested of my peer’s blog in order to see what they have accomplished and how they have done so”.

Feedback on assignment
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of
Creativity
You loosened your approach to working high I know isn’t easy for you. The work submitted is more energetic than in the past. The blind drawings build up to be bold visions of their subjects. The large three colour superimposed images works best. It has more control than the large pencil drawing. While it’s good you’re working more freely, keep control of the marks you make. Control should allow you to vary the kind of mark you make. Leaning on, or lifting off the different media will result in different weights of line. At the moment it’s a big one dimensional.

Well done for pushing the link between the blind portraits and Picasso’s work. This could be exploited further. The ‘experiments with mark-making’ section is a bit safe. You need to push yourself to be more experimental in your responses. It’s hard to tell that they weren’t made in a conventional way. The chairs drawing has a good composition though. I like the way if chops up the space of the paper. Think about how the shadow could be employed to work as forcefully as the legs. At the moment the shadows peter out a bit.
I hope you do come back to this. Think about how Matisse worked with VERY long sticks
from his bed.

” I will do more experimentation with varied lines and movements as suggested and revisit this part of section 3 in order to see if I can be a drawing that is less safe and shows my use of elongated pencils. I will edit the shadow regarding the chair drawing so that it matches with the forcefulness of the chair legs. To help me further I will research into Matisse use of very long sticks that he used when he was in bed to see if it inspires and helps my work go further”.

The results of the Drawing Machines are varied. It’s interesting that this work (and the
assignment pieces) sort of obliterate and depth and all (well, nearly all) produce dense
surfaces of marks. I don’t know what that means, but it might be a step forward. Something to think about anyway.
You write well about these drawings and how you’ve overcome technical problems .Perhaps you work best when you aren’t free to do what you like. Working within a restriction might be the way forward… Seriously consider how you could incorporate this kind of work into other things. It might be that you make these and then cut them up and collage them together to make new work, you could also print out the photographs and experiment with them. The emotional response is s strange piece. By using different media on the same drawing it has produce a fragmented collage-like appearance. The exercise is geared to getting ten different drawings but this response is also valid. There collision of media is jarring, but at times (especially bottom left – statements 1 and 2) this works. The conflict in the statements contributes to the image. Most of the image is made up of similar mark (though in deferent media) which flattens the effect a bit.

“I agree that I work better when I am restricted as it allows me some form of control even when trying to work freely, it’s just getting the balance right between working freely with control and not tightening up. I hope to go back and redo this piece using more varied lines to stop the effect on the drawing looking flat”.

The Assignment work is linked – I think – to the machine drawings. The comments about
varying you mark (above) are relevant her. I recommend you experiment with getting loads of different marks out of each media. Think about works like light, soft, hard, fat, quick, slow, side on, pointy, sharp, blunt. Force yourself to twist and turn you arms, wrist, shoulder, elbow, slowly (and quickly) when you drawn .This should price a wider vocabulary of marks. I’d be interested to read about how these reflect the music. Do the lines match melodies? How does rhythm inform your movement? Are the colours selected reflective of something? Are the resulting drawings documentation of a performance? The final piece – the ‘splatter’ portrait, is the beginning pf something else entirely. If you feel you want to pursue it, then do. I suspect you’ll have to make loads of drawings to develop it.

” I will definitely go back and experiment further with my mark making, it may seem obvious but I have never really thought about moving parts of my body in ways to see what I create with my thought process being to just move the media that I was using at the time so it will be interesting to see what this process creates. I will then reflect on the process as suggested. Regarding the portrait I’m not entirely sure whether I wish to pursue this or not, I may create a couple more to see how I feel, which may turn in to many more or non at all”.

In summary, I pleased that you have worked in a more carefree manner. You need to exert more control over the mark-making without tightening up.

Sketchbooks
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity
You’re using these quite freely. Keep filling them with tying that catch your eye, and allow visual ideas to collide and bounce off each other. This might include the work of others (or drawings of the work of others). Try and make visual connections between things as well as ‘answering‘ the exercises. Sketchbooks should become rich and complex and provide you with loads of things to follow up. They aren’t just places to practice stuff.

“I will definitely keep up my use of drawing and creating in my sketchbooks as I feel that it has helped my learning process quite a lot. I will also try to make connection during this process.”

Research
Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis
Well done for looking into some of the artists I suggested. The Lee John Phillips work
seems to have struck a chord. The Parallel Project work you’ve made in response to this is a good start . I hope you keep it up. Once you have completed a drawn catalogue you can think about how to show it. The Vermeer, Hammershoi and Gilman pieces are focussed on biography, but I think it would be useful to think of how they show intimate domestic interiors. Comparing them, one with another would be useful. At the moment this section is a bit too ‘art historical’ for a practicing artist. What can you steal or adapt for your own use? You mention in the Rauschenberg text that you are, to paraphrase, wary of stealing from others for your own work. Don’t be. Rubens stole figures from Michelangleo and much Renaissance art is based on Greek sculpture. Andy Warhol used commercial photographs to make his own work. No-one minds – especially at student level – if you ‘borrow’ from another artist. You’re not passing it off or conning anyone. Look at more contemporary art and see how people re-purpose things all the time.

“When it comes to my research and parallel project Lee John Phillips work has helped to focus my work on my parallel project my only concern is how to connect my parallel project based on this to my critical review, hopefully as I progress I will find a way to do this. I admittedly prefer working on my catalogue as opposed to doing drawing on intimate interiors. I will make sure to compare chosen artists to each other. I will try to get past my concerns and borrow from other artists using them as inspiration to help create my own pieces of work”.

The content of the glossary of terms is – I think – cut and pasted from the MoMA site. I know that you have credited MoMA at the foot of the glossary, but you need to demonstrate that you understand the terms. To demonstrate that you understand the terms, add some of your own texts along with relevant images to show that you understand the terms and can apply them, where needed, to discussions about your own work. It might also help to compare the Tate’s definitions with MoMAs to see if they match up.

“I will change the glossary of terms so that it reflects my own understanding”.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis
The learning log is improving. You write clearly about what you’re doing. Analyse the results of your layouts more. Be more critical about success and failure and always link to the work of others. The text for the Critical Review is, at the moment, very brief. The question (‘Is there a connection between Harold Gilman and Edouard Vuillard in the way they paint their interiors?’) is a bit simplistic as you could end up saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Rewrite the title so that it allows you to explore how they might be connected. Find some published texts (not internet sources) that will help you. Make sure you define the key terms. Don’t waste much time on their biographies. Only include what is absolutely relevant to your enquiry.

” I will be more critical when it comes to success and failures, linking my work to others also. I will also redo the title to my critical review to come up with something that is a more complex question therefore needing a more complex answer. I will try to find books on the chosen artists if this is possible and I will try not to go into too much depth regarding biographies.”

Suggested reading/viewing
Context
There are a few references from previous reports you have yet to pursue. Take time to
address this and to reflect on them and how they might inform your work, especially in the Parallel Project. Also, go through the reading list and pull out a few artists and idea that excite you. Think about the domestic when looking for influences.

“I will reread previous reports to see what I have missed and work on them”.
Pointers for the next assignment
● Reflect on this feedback in your learning log.
● Follow up on the suggestions I have made.
● Keep making lots of work.

● You can consider your home the ‘environment’ if that helps, but do try and approach
making and showing the work in ways that are new to you. Don’t just make drawings
of your home. Be bold.

Well done, I look forward to your next assignment.
Tutor name Bryan Eccleshall
Date 21/7/19
Next assignment due 25/10/19

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Notes of Feedback.

Response to notes.

• Have reflected on my feedback.
• Have redone the shadows on my chair drawing for “Experimenting with mark-making”.
• Completed research on Matisse’s use of 2 meter long brushes.
• I have updated my glossary of terms so that it is in my own words.
• Have done mark making practice using different mediums, twisting my wrists, arms and elbows so see what effect they gave as well as applying the mediums to create soft, hard, thin, thick, slow, fast marks.
• Have completed further work on assignment using these techniques and have made a video doing so.
• I have reflected on this process: lines match melody, reason for colour choice, rhythm and movement and documentation of performance.
• Have revisited: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/creative-writing/life-one/ to remind myself of these points;- “In summary here are a few helpful points which I have unearthed:
  1. Listen to my tutor.
  2. Accept criticism and actively learn from it.
  3. Explore scale.
  4. Take risks.
  5. Take charge of own learning.
  6. Keep reflecting over past mistakes and yes, learn from them. Don’t let them go to waste!
  7. Convey a sense of clarity through each assignment.
  8. Don’t let professional presentation of outcomes deflect from personal voice.
  9. Draw, sketch, plan….dont forget to investigate styles and unusual methods!
  10. As Karen Nicol (designer) told me when I interviewed her recently: Be “irreverent” with textiles, disrespect known uses for materials and use then to our whim, our way.”

Reflection part 3.

 

Dear Diary,

I have not long finished part 3 of drawing 2, and I absolutely loved this section of work, I do feel that this shows in my work. I found myself experimenting and pushing further with different mediums, supports, and ideas. This meant that I became quite involved with the task at hand rather than worrying about “getting it right”, I also feel that this made my work more open to ideas that came along through the creative process.

It was interesting to see the different outcomes when it came to “drawing blind”, how the resemblance to the subject being drawn changed depending on how many looks were taken. Going from looking like an elephant to looking close to a dinosaur or a creature from a fantasy film. I also liked that I was able to bring forward previous knowledge of drawing with my eyes closed as I had completed drawings using this technique in a previous course.

When it came to “experimenting with mark-making” I did struggle a bit because the position I had to hold the elongated pencils in made my fibromyalgia flare-up. Regardless of this, I did try to push through this. I felt that this exercise helped me to learn to draw in a different way, having to be more aware of how the marks would look on the support and being more sensitive to their application.

I found exercise 3 “Drawing machines” fun but also frustrating. The fun element was seeing the outcomes of the drawings after using the “machines”. Each way created different types of marks such as the car created straight sharp lines whereas the electric nail file created the opposite with spirals and wiggly lines. However, it was frustrating when it came to attaching the drawing mediums to the applicators such as the cotton around the marker pens in order to make a pendulum, it just didn’t want to wrap around with it being quite smooth in texture. Due to the fact, I am a determined person I eventually managed to work it out.

I was confused slightly about exercise 4 “An emotional response” as I was unsure whether I was supposed to do ten drawings, each one representing each statement or if I was supposed to combine all ten statements into one drawing. I went with what I felt was best at the time creating one drawing. Although the content is less than other exercises, I liked the variation of marks and mediums that brought the whole piece together.

Assignment 3 was admittedly my favourite part of this section of work, combining music with drawing. The calming effect that came with the classical style of music allowed me to get lost in the moment and melted my anxiety away about if the outcomes were going to go the way I wanted them too. I think that if I had gone for music that was rhythmically complex but less calming, I may have not opened myself up as much hindering the creative learning process. I’m hoping that this section of work is better than the last and will receive feedback that is more positive towards my future prospects.

Till next time….

 

Reflection Part 2 (including reflection on feedback).

Dear Diary,

I have not long finished part 2 of Drawing 2: Investigating Drawing, after my tutor suggested I push myself further with experimentation and to think less about trying to be perfect I had doubts as to whether I could complete this part to a good standard. However, I really enjoyed this part of the course the exercises made it possible for me to complete the experimentations that had been asked of me although the first exercise was difficult in order to show details, I found it easier to work on a larger scale and take my time. The mark-making exercise made it possible to see how more than one medium works with each other and how the use of different tools created a variety of marks. My favourite one out of my experiments is the oil paint over acrylic paint as the oil paint stayed wet long enough to create some interesting marks.

Admittedly I found it difficult when it came to exercise 3: Narrative as I wanted to do my subject justice, I thought about my children and their first shoes however I had already done some similar in previous work and wanted to try something new. Although my collages aren’t great, I do feel that through experimenting I was able to complete the brief. Completing research on other artists is always an interesting task, to find out about who they are, how they got to where they are with their work and their work itself, especially if the artists are unknown to me at the time. However, I do need to use these artists as inspiration for my own work more than I have done.

My Assignment was the most interesting and enjoyable of all the tasks in part 2, being able to use the subject as an applicator for ink like Cornelia Parker used her subject to create her subject was a completely new experience for me. I started by just dipping my strawberries in the ink to create the shape of strawberries however I pushed myself further thinking about how I could make them look more realistic by adding tone. Cutting the strawberry into pieces helped with this technique and I managed to create a sense of form.

Although I feel I have done ok in Part 2, I am concerned about my personal project which I have been adding to throughout the course so far. I have my theme and subjects in mind of what I want to incorporate into my personal project but I feel I am struggling to convey these ideas and work out what the best mediums are to do so. Hopefully, as I progress through the course, I will be able to add more and more to my parallel project to make it become a decent project.

Moving forward I intend to carry on with my experimentations and push myself further and try not to let my OCD tendencies hold me back

Till next time….

 

Update 20/5/2019

 

Dear diary,

Today I received my feedback from my tutor and I have mixed emotions about it. I feel like I am trying my hardest yet it still isn’t enough, although this course is listed as a part-time course I feel that this is not realistic, the amount of work needed is certainly more accurate to a full-time course.  I was told my experimentation is better than before which is a plus but still not enough for what I need. I need to continue to experiment further and delve deeper into research. My tutor has given me some really helpful suggestions and hopefully, I can do enough so that it will be possible to pass my assessment which I intend to still go for.

 

Till next time….

Reflection Part 1 ( Including reflection on tutor feedback).

 

Dear Diary,

I have just completed part 1 of this course. Although I found the idea of starting this course quite daunting, as I knew it would be harder than before (especially to get higher marks than before) I was still excited to continue my artistic journey. I have enjoyed creating drawings from unusual subjects such as my extension cable containing plugs. I also found it very intriguing to learn about artists that I hadn’t already done research on such as Elizabeth Blackadder and Prunella Clough. My favourite part of this section was “Changing the scale” as it gave me some insight on how perception works. That if the viewer is large in size things can look small however if you shrink the viewer, they then become what is small and the small object becomes larger. This technique reminds me of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, where Alice drinks the special liquid that shrinks her so that surrounding objects appear larger.

I was quite concerned about getting my first report from my tutor as I always am, especially with it being my first body of work for this course. However, I was pleasantly surprised, the work I have created so far was well done in parts. I have found the report extremely helpful in the comments and suggestions that have been made and I thoroughly intend to act on them. I know that I need to create more and see all my work as work rather than preparation and a final piece, which is what I have been accustomed to. I think that I have proven that I have the skill and ability to draw well but as my tutor has also said it’s time to push this further. The course is called investigating drawing after all, which is what I should be doing, working things out and exploring rather than trying to get that “perfect” drawing. Moving forward I intend to be less obsessed with perfection as it’s not helpful nor needed in this course and move towards creating a larger body of work containing my explorations.

Till next time….