Playing with Mark Making

I have been having fun during the last two weeks playing with various drawing implements and with different examples of mark making. I have made many sketches using diverse grades of graphite pencils, colored pencils, colored markers, Micron and Pitt pens, pen and ink, Conte Crayon, brown pencil, water soluble crayons and both hard and soft charcoal. I have held these implements in various ways and have tried stippling, hatching, blending and erasing to create a range of effects.

I enjoyed working with pen more than I thought I might. I am more used to pencil and shading in a graduated fashion. Using the different pens was a challenge and turned out to be very enjoyable. I particularly liked an experiment I did on the Metro train coming home from work one day. I held the pen gently touching the paper and let it mark the paper according to the movement of the train. See the last two examples of the photo below:



















To test out different drawing methods and materials, I sketched a garlic bulb. See the image below:
















I then experimented with charcoal. I wanted to see the range of light and dark tones I could achieve. I let myself draw in a larger format than my other sketches. This freed my movement and enabled me to play with the material. It has been several years since I have worked with charcoal and I am enjoying it more than ever.



I look forward to completing more of my assignments and beginning my still life drawings.

--Anne

Drawing 1: My Goals

I just signed up for my first class at the Open College of the Arts. I am taking Drawing 1:Drawing Skills.

My goals for this course are:
1) To greatly improve my drawing skills by becoming more adept at rendering different subjects (landscapes, still life, figure, portrait, etc.)
2) To begin to develop my own style of drawing
3) To explore a variety of drawing media
4) To learn more about the drawing styles of other artists
5) To be able to create quick sketches as well as long, detailed drawings, with more comfort and ease
6) To see the world in a new way through the act of drawing

I am very excited to begin this course. As I progress, I will use this blog to evaluate my progress and to post my writing assignments. I will also post samples from my sketch book, as well as other drawing exercises.


Since I am very tactile and enjoy working in an actual book, I will also use the small book that came with this course as my learning log. Each form has it's positive aspects. The book is more immediate and private. I can glue in additions if I wish, and not worry about what someone else may think of my opinions. The blog does not require postage :) and it is more formal. I can focus on my writing and my critical thinking more effectively. I can also create links to works of art that I discuss. Between the two, I should be able to effectively accomplish the requirements of a learning log, and get a great deal out of the process.