Final Assignment 3 - A Townscape View in black pen and coloured pencil

A third and final attempt at Assignment 3 entailed a return visit to the Townscape in Line exercise, prompting my decision to pursue another (similar) version. At first I placed it  almost at the end of this blog because I completed it between finishing the rest of this course and sending off the work for assessment. But somehow it didn't seem appropriate as, being Assignment 3 it should probably be at the end of Part 3. I guess it's a matter of opinion.  I was well into selecting the drawings to send away for assessment before I finally chose to do this townscape drawing and only after  I’d already made, in preparation for a third version of a view of my garden, several more sketches from various vantage points in the house. I came to the conclusion that it was a little safer to use this piece for assessment, owing to the earlier version having already received (mostly) positive critique from my tutor - that isn't to say that this version has anything more going for it, but at least there's a slightly better chance. 

Some preliminary sketches

Conversely my previous two Assignment pieces for Part 3 had received unfavourable feedback from my tutor. Another important factor in my decision was that the tutor had previously suggested I could use an alternative drawing from one of the exercises in Part 3 as the assignment piece. The idea of attempting a totally different drawing clearly felt to me like taking a step into the unknown.

All the same, it was difficult to decide between the Study of an Individual Tree or the Townscape. However, on studying the brief once more for Assignment 3 the townscape drawing seemed to contain more elements that fit the bill than the Tree study because, being a built environment, the townscape scene offers linear perspective, with some natural foliage in places and a small amount of colour.

The viewpoint for the initial sketches was from a slightly elevated position overlooking rooftops and the backs of buildings. They were done while I was looking out through the window of my car, parked in a car park.

I was also quite keen to try and include  a range of subjects and media, including  architectural, for assessment. The main reason I didn’t submit the first version was because I had spoiled it through getting carried away on the hatching under the eaves of the two most prominent buildings. Although there is an obvious similarity to the first townscape, this drawing is treated in a slightly different way.  The new version looks slightly softer than the first, due to the incorporation of coloured pencil, albeit mostly black, with just a hint of colour, which I think gives the composition a bit of lift and added curiosity. I found using coloured pencil lent itself more easily to adding general tone to this drawing than the first townscape in line. Initially the colours were too vivid and dominant over the rest of the composition, so I erased them a little to lessen their impact. As the weather was quite overcast, there's a small amount of subtle shading. The resulting shortage of light and shade made tonal contrasts relatively difficult to pick out and I had to repeatedly screw up my eyes - all surfaces seemed to be in mid tone. Apart from this, and some artistic licence, the best I could do was to rely on my knowledge of the position of the sun at that time of day - it was slightly behind the main buildings and to the left. 

The media I used here is mostly a combination of the same media I had used in two earlier exercises on the course. The coloured pencil is reminiscent to me of the other (limited palette) streetscape I did in coloured pencil in Part 3, particularly the shading, though the colours aren’t blended in this one. The line and some of the textures remind me of those in my drawing of Still Life Fruit and Vegetables in Line with a hint of colour from Part 2. Using line in this way, to give only a suggestion of the surface texture really appeals to me. The slates on the roof of the nearest building are an exception. Here I initially tried to only partially complete the detail but it didn't appear to look right. It might be due to the fact that the roof was very close. All in all I did find it was enjoyable to try out the techniques once more. However, I do have the feeling that I may have have been a bit  clumsy with the pen when I put in some of the background textures such as the buildings. The impossibility of erasing is the major drawback of pen to me, so I will just have to live with that. 

Eventual final drawing - Pitt artist's pen and coloured pencil

Also see the post A Townscape in Line

Assignment 3 first attempt

Please click on this link to go to the Assignment 3 piece I eventually chose to submit for assessment

The project for this assignment piece contains preliminary sketches and a final drawing of a view of a rather overgrown driveway at home.

From my position just inside the window of the front porch in the house, I began with a few small sketches, moving some objects around a little to position them more to my liking (see sketches). I went on to check out the perspective in the gate and the driveway by first establishing my eye level and a vanishing point . From this it was easier to place the angles. I tried to encourage a look of aerial perspective by using overlapping forms in the trees and shrubs and a very pale area behind the gate.

Preliminary and perspective sketches

In the colour sketches I tried out watercolour pencil washes under dry shading, also wet tipped pencils. In another, I used felt tips brushed over with water to smudge in places. I didn’t feel happy pursuing any of these avenues and was becoming weary by this stage. Then almost as an afterthought I very casually had a go with oil pastel, chiseling out the shapes with the side in different directions and was surprised by how liberating it felt. So now there was no contest for what media to use for the final drawing - oil pastel, although in some areas I did use some felt tips a little and coloured pencil, but they aren't very visible.

Perspective sketches - pencil and watercolour pencil

Felt tip pen and wash

Oil pastel

In the final drawing I found it took a long time to build up depth in the trees and shrubs and I used lots of layers. At one point I thought it wasn’t working and becoming muddy in places, especially on the left, but I persevered with varied tones of colours and techniques, using lighter flecks to help bring out where the sunlight was catching some lighter areas. I remember using my non dominant hand occasionally – particularly on the corresponding side of the paper – the right hand side and noticed the resulting lines were freer in appearance. A trick some Impressionists used for shadows was to use purples and blues in the shadows, so I followed their example and it seemed to work well. I also erased certain places, which I thought needed lightening, such as the pink flowers on the left and a thin sliver of light to the right of the gate, with thinners on a cotton bud. If I was doing another landscape in oil pastel I would consider doing an underpainting with diluted thinners on a brush or rag to give more intensity to the colours. I stumbled across this tip in a book after the drawing was completed. I would also try tinted paper, perhaps in another drawing. Using oil pastel for a finished drawing was to me a challenge I’m now glad I took on and will try to continue using more often.

Assignment 3 Final Drawing

I found it difficult to find a view incorporating many of the elements suggested in the instructions from what seemed a limited choice available to me; I found that this view came closest to fitting the bill. At least it has depth being a driveway and contains a straight lined object - a gate. It also has plenty of trees and shrubs around the sides - giving a layered look, with a gate at the end together with a glimpse of a view beyond.

It came as a surprise to me that as the drawing progressed I began to see more interesting things in the view than I ever did beforehand. It's a pity the result didn't reflect this new found enthusiasm, turning out to be so disappointing and artificial looking considering the amount of time I put into it.
It was not put together in the same spirit as the sketches and as such is not successful. Unfortunately I was blind to this until my tutor pointed it out. I will make another attempt, so watch this space!....


After yet another attempt things still didn't prove successful - another 'overdone' drawing. Image as follows:

To describe it further, this is an excerpt from the tutor's report after the second attempt:
Both finished versions look over finished and somewhat sentimental and fussy. You are trying to make a picture here instead of investigating your subject/view through interpretive drawing; these are the same issues as when you first sent me assignment 3.
I think that says it all really, needless to say it has become a real thorn in my side as I think I'm starting to develop a complex about this assignment piece and I will be happy when I've got the third one over with. That will be the final drawing no matter what..

Above - a few preliminary sketches for the second attempt. I dare say these turned out better than the final drawing.



I did further sketches for a third try at a view of the garden, but after some deliberation I decided to make another version of a townscape drawing from this assignment (Part 3).

Pat Moran

Unfortunately I didn’t get to an exhibition this time, but as I’m going to London next week (and hopefully a couple of exhibitions!) this should help to fill the void. 

Pat Moran (1961-1992). I remember visiting a retrospective exhibition of Pat Moran’s work at the Crawford Gallery, Cork with my dad in 2003. It made a lasting impression on me because I was so captivated by the look of sheer spontaneity and freshness in all the drawings and paintings on display. It is probably a reflection of the way he lived his life.  Looking at his work is further proof to me that almost any view can be made to look interesting and one doesn’t need to spend hours searching for that ‘perfect’ subject . It is what you make of it, something I need reminding of now and again, and to me he certainly had a talent for making the ordinary appear fascinating in the entirely unique way in which he interpreted every day scenes. They seem to show a deep appreciation for the place he captured on paper or canvas. 

Gardner Street - charcoal 1984

His career was spent in Dublin, Italy and Cork and he did many paintings of Cork City scenes. The same exhibition was shown also in Dublin, where he spent most of his career, and Portlaoise where he was born.

Annaghmakerrig Path,
 oil on paper 1989 (60x50cm)

Gardner Street, Dublin, 
oil on canvas

Bernini Fountain, Rome - pencil 1984 

South Gate Bridge and Beamish & Crawford Brewery, Cork - oil

Italian landscape - pencil on paper 1984  (21x30cm)

"Pat Moran painted pictures and he painted pictures of what he knew and experienced. The honesty to paint cars - no one paints cars in the romance language of cityscape. Giddily leaning lampposts clawing in to blue and green streetscapes - black and white expressions of inner city grubbiness. Pat painted as he lived with vitality and directness, and of course in the usual confusions of our being" (Richard Gorman, 2001)

Claire Spencer - The Charcoal Forest

Recently, I re-discovered an article in an old copy of  The Artist magazine.
I recall saving the article because I found these charcoal drawings, by the artist Claire Spencer, so compelling -  I could literally gaze at them for hours on end. The drawings
were inspired by the Wyre Forest and two books written by 19^th century naturalist/philosopher Henry David Thoreau - The Maine Woods and Walden. They are based on his diary of thoughts and observations of the wilderness and nature, when he lived for a year by Walden Pool in the Maine Woods.

The first thing to strike me about these drawings is their dark brooding, yet alluring presence and strong sense of mystery, intensified by the strongly contrasting values. An amazing variety of mark making brings out wonderfully well the form and textures of foliage and tree bark, revealing the character and atmosphere of the natural woodland - graceful sinewy branches of trees appear to be alive and moving. Some ancient parts of this forest were managed over many centuries for charcoal burning, so charcoal is, I think, a perfectly fitting medium to use for this series. Apart from the way it lends itself so well to the subject, I think the artist has paid a great complement to Thoreau’s writings and to these woods by interpreting them in such a sensitive way.

Trees continued - Study of Several Trees

Group of trees 1 - pastel

Group of trees after
adjustments

I tend to feel that things can get out of control so easily when I use soft pastel, ending up in a powdery mess on the paper, so I had a bit of a battle to overcome my fear with this drawing (study of several trees) but after I had finished, I think it had helped to restore my confidence a little. I think it is potentially a good medium to convey soft tones and aerial perspective and I might even use it again, for a subject such as this.
Despite hours more work on it, I'm not at all sure I made much improvement to this drawing. Although enlarging both version by clicking on them shows up the differences quite well. There was a lot of light filtering through the trees from the left and I tried to depict this more convincingly but it now appears a little washed out around the middle section, although the light glows more in the background (lower right), so I'm pleased with that at least. Perhaps I went overboard with the white and grey. I tried to vary the tones further but somehow the photograph doesn't seem to illustrated this. The greens and yellows look rather too acidic. I can  see more depth of tone here and there but it doesn't appear to have a great deal of impact. Perhaps using a toned ground would have helped to give the colours more impact. I will try to bear that in mind next time I do a pastel drawing. What I  found remarkable was how dramatically the experience boosted my confidence  when I came to the later adjustments on the Still Life Natural Forms in Assignment 1.

Drawing Trees - Sketch and Study of an Individual Tree

1. I wasn’t sure what type of tree was in the sketch of the individual tree, so I took away a small branch to identify it later. With the help of a park guide and the internet I managed to ascertain that it is most likely a Cork Oak. The tree in the larger study is an ancient Sweet (or Spanish) Chestnut and in the third drawing in pastel they are Alder and Osier Willow, located in a wetland area of the park.

2. To distinguish each type I tried to use the most appropriate technique I could think of for the individual subject, closely following their growth pattern. For example in the final study of the Sweet Chestnut: to bring out the prominent spiral ribs on the trunk I loosely held the pencil at least half way along applying loose tenuous flowing lines and filled some of them out using the side of the pencil.  For the branches and outline of the trunk I applied broken light and heaver lines.  I used loose thin lines with the side of the pastel tip for the trunks of the Osier Willows on the left side of the later pastel drawing and a very dark brown pastel on the side for the dark trunks of the Alder trees in the middle ground. I made a conscious effort to look intently at the subject rather than the paper for the most part and I feel this has helped me, as it is so necessary, to pick out the individual tree type’s distinctive appearance.

Study of an Indiviual Tree

5. To select and simplify I tried to see things as shapes in the scene rather than as particular objects, which was not so easy at times. Constantly trying not to get bogged down in too much detail (a recipe for disaster) I blocked in the larger shapes, then the smaller shapes, again squinting often. I think it worked mostly, apart from the leaves on the individual tree (Chestnut) - I had a problem conveying these simply yet convincingly and I ended up overworking them. If  I was to do them again, or similar, I would be more mindful of taking the  time to study their characteristic growth pattern by building up with loose very light pressure in the early stages. One problem here for me was obtaining a 3D look and I thought I could solve this by enlarging the closest leaves more, while giving just a vague suggestion of the leaves further away. I put too much in at the early stages and couldn’t alter this successfully later on when I had realized my mistake.