In this session we began to respond to a text that we read called ‘sell your house and buy gold’. We did this through figure drawing where we had a live model. The text presented many prevalent themes such as fear, dystopia, paranoia, shadows, and disaster. I used these themes to try and shape my work in order for it to better represent the ideas, emotions and atmosphere of the text. Through these sketches I experimented with tone, shape and media.
This is my favourite of the quick sketches. It was a 5 minute sketch so I had the time to add more detail. I chose to use charcoal as it is a good medium to use when trying to achieve solid black tones. I began to add in tone, something I explored more later, to capture the dark, gloomy atmosphere of the text. Also I think this pose is very good to reflect to fearful and sad tone of the text. These images were done with chalk and charcoal on a mid tone charcoal background. Again, these where done from observation and I began by drawing in the highlights then went in to add the shadows. I think the darker background and dramatic lighting of the figures reflects the tone and atmosphere of the text. This and the next image are both done exclusively with chalk on a dark charcoal background. I used a piece of tissue to smudge and swirl the background to create a dramatic and chaotic atmosphere. For me the pose reflects the themes of isolation and fear. I think just drawing the highlights was an effective technique to create the drama I wanted. This is a more abstract piece as I did draw from observation but adjusted and emphasised certain features. For example I only focused on the mannequin and the hands of the model. By leaving the hands black it creates an ominous and elusive feel to the image. These pieces where heavily inspired by the traditional painting technique chiaroscuro which is all about using intense light and dark area to create the appearance of a three dimensional object.
I enjoyed this workshop as I like figure drawing and am confident with the media I used. I will continue to develop my response to the ‘sell your house and buy gold’ brief.
Samuel Green Illustration 