Final composition Part 2

Final composition - part 2

 

I struggled with this final piece of work and for a number of reasons. Initially, this was set up on the window sill. The windowsill is 'white' and so is the jug containing the flowers. With the light of the glass behind, the whole composition would be very high key if I left the colour as it was, which I considered doing in shades of grey with a contrasting strong colour for the flowers. However as this is an exercise in colour I decided that this would be unsatisfactory and so started thinking about colour schemes.

I had decided upon colour pencil as detail was required and tried this on smooth Fabriano paper. However, the coloured pencils I use are Faber which are oil based and harder than other wax based pencils. Consequently, when I tried to depict the glass with large hatching strokes the whole thing looked too busy and was competing with the flowers.

Because of this I tried a quick sketch in different coloured inks with pen but found it too insipid so went back to my first choice of medium but decided to include watercolour pencils for the larger background areas and for some detail on the petals in order to try to gain a looser, transparent look. Consequently I used a watercolour paper to take the washes.

Before moving to my final choice as above and to overcome the lack of 'colour' I thought it would be interesting to try the drawing on grey pastel paper but this made the whole thing look too heavy. So as well as deciding on the coloured pencils I decided too that white paper would be best.

The next concern was the colour palette. I wanted to limit the colours but stay with the local colour of the flowers. As the flowers were drawn in a blue red I thought the tone on the window frame could be done in blue in order to keep a harmony. The jug was done in shades of brown for warmth and contrast and complements the blue as does the wall colour of a slightly lighter shade of brown. I was hoping that the colour of the jug would bring it forward but not detract from the focal point of the flowers. The background glass is done in a very weak blue wash over which I tried to hatch white colour pencil to create an effect of glazing. This was unsuccessful.
I'm not sure if the back of the window frame is correct?
Although aerial colour perspective suggests that colour should fade as subjects move away this part of the window was in the deepest shade. I've looked at this part of the work often but cannot decide whether or not the colour is too strong here.
For some reason I had it in mind that the object for this assignment was a vase of flowers and I became keen to portray the lilies. However having done much of the work I realised that other objects were meant to be part of the composition. And that the other objects should be 'found' as were used earlier. Considering this omission and how to rectify it was difficult as I thought the picture could look too cluttered. Also, because the lilies are fairly exotic looking I thought that English countryside items would look out of place- I did put one other object on the shelf and left it at that.  

I hope that the perspective as well as the colour gives an impression of depth. The vanishing point was off the paper and I tried to work it out correctly which I thought important as I knew that buildings were coming up in the next part of the course.

Overall, I believe my work has improved during the course of this unit and I have learned a lot about colour theory and different media. 

Animals- Leonardo, Durer.

 

 Durer

 

 

It's hard not to like this splendid specimen which Durer drew without having seen a rhinoceros but from a description given to him at third hand. What it shows is Durer's close attention to the detail of his drawing which is similarly evident in this famous drawing of a hare.

 

This drawing reveals Durer's reported interest in science and was completed in 1502. The fur detail was painted over a colour wash to give an impression of fur and underlying structure. Apparently, Durer usually worked in three stages. First brushing in outlines, then colored areas finishing with the more detailed work.

 

 

 

This 'Wing of a blue roller' was completed in 1512. It is watercolour and opaque on parchment. Wing joints are rendered anatomically correctly and it's thought that he may have used this study for modelling angels' wings.

 

 

Finally I've included this almost walrus drawing; a 'Head of a Walrus' in ink and brown Indian ink. Durer is quoted as saying 'the more accurately your work represents life, the better it will appear...' Durer's love of detail is shown in this drawing which appeals to me in different ways. At times I find the expression almost fearful and at others almost comical. This drawing together with several others is held in the 'British Museum' though I suspect not on display as they are probably too light sensitive.

 

 

Leonardo was a scientist as well as an artist and his drawings of animals show this interest in the same way as do his studies of human form.

 

This drawing of a horse is one of many studies made but his interest was all embracing and he drew dogs, cats lions and grotesque animals.

 

 

 

The study of horses is indicative of Leonardo's ability to convey movement whilst the lower image of a page from his sketchbook captures characteristic poses.

Tight rigorous work/Expressive styles of artists' work

Ingres- Toulouse Lautrec

In the 19th century divergent views of art were leading to different styles. The academies continued to teach drawing in a traditional way which was supported by Ingres amongst others. However there was a growing number of artists such as Courbet who thought that the schools were superfluous. By the end of the 19th century fresh ideas were developing as the modern era of photography and psychology brought  new styles into the world of art. The Bauhaus was opened in 1919 in Germany which united art with design. The revolution in materials helped create new works and mark making became sufficient in itself as a reason for a work. In Vienna, Schiele, amongst others, was thrown out of the Academy for demanding reforms in teaching. 

As Ingres supported the classical methods he could be said to follow a disciplined classical style or neo-classical style. This style is one that carries the idea that 'art imitates life'. The ateliers taught drawing by asking students to draw plaster casts of figures or sculptures until they reached a point when their skill was refined which entitled them to enter the life room.  

However, there is no doubt when looking at Ingres' portraits, and there are over 400 extant, that we feel that we are looking at a true likeness of the sitter.

 

This portrait by Ingres of Alfred Emilien typifies his work in that it draws our interest to the subject's face. It is darker and drawn with finer detail than the rest of the figure which seems more loosely drawn, with hatching strokes clearly visible, and has  less tonal variation. However, the clothing serves to reveal the underlying form of the subject. The curve of the cuff and the tightness of the jacket, showing the material's creases, reveal to us the shape of the man's body. Apart from the precise features another typical characteristic of Ingres' work is in the firm outlines, quite clear in the lapel of the jacket.

This  drawing which I was fortunate enough to see this year at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is in many ways similar in style to the one above.  I was surprised when I saw it at how delicate it seemed in its execution. Ingres enjoyed using graphite on wove paper and often squared up his images for final execution. The detail of buttons on the right hand jacket is remarkable in its detail.

As these drawings show there is little difference in the way Ingres worked on the portraits which he supposedly disliked doing, but which earned him a living. I like the way the faces are the centre of interest and command our attention and note that this technique has been used by other artists such as is seen in the one below by Hockney.

margaret                                ken

 

Toulouse-Lautrec.

 

I've chosen Toulouse Lautrec as an artist whose work shows a more 'expressive' style. However, the line from Ingres through Degas to Lautrec in a way epitomises the way art styles were developing at this time. Degas very much admired the work of Ingres and followed his style under the guidance of Lamonthe at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. As time passed Degas' subject matter changed and along with this so too did his techniques change. The colour of his palette gave way to brighter colours and the naturalistic style of former works became  looser, with bolder strokes and more abstracted form. Degas used photography and would use this to capture the images of dancers for which he is renowned. It is in this respect that it could be argued that Lautrec followed Degas by becoming a painter of ordinary life.

 

'He wears my clothes, but cut down to his own size,' is a quote attributed to Degas about Lautrec. A somewhat cutting remark?

 

Lautrec's subject matter was modern life; the world of ordinary working people found in laundries, brothels and, of course, the dancers. And similarly to Degas, it's possible to see the influence of Japanese art on Lautrec.

 

 

This influence is shown by a lack of shadows and the diagonal split of the picture plane, both of which can be seen in the composition above. Lautrec's family were keen riders of horses and he grew up in an environment where horses were commonplace. Consequently many of his early works were of horses but it's the energy of the image that stands out in the depiction of the horse above. The exaggerated angle borrowed from the Japanese woodcuts can create a particularly expressive effect which Lautrec utilised to full advantage.

 

 

 

 

                                                       Yvette Guilbert

 

The subject of the above work was frequently drawn by Lautrec. The black gloves became a defining and stylised feature of his drawings of the singer. Whilst Guilbert initially disliked the images of her by Lautrec because they did not prettify her it is now considered that Lautrec captured the essence of his sitters in just a few strokes.

 

Photography provided an accurate or objective representation so it was the job of the artist to convey 'thought' and 'feeling'. Distortion and leaving pictures unfinished or loosely done could reproduce this 'truth' more than naturalism.

 

Being blighted by ill health and  alcoholism it's thought that Lautrec was fascinated by the energy of dancers.

 

                       Chocolat Dancing in the  Irish and American Bar

                                Indian ink, crayon watercolour on paper.

 

This drawing has been achieved with very few lines, very loosely drawn and most of the paper surface is showing through. It is not an attractive drawing in the conventional sense but it captures the elegance of Chocolat, the animation of the musician and the tedium of the barman. I like the way Lautrec is able to suggest emotion whether it's boredom, despair or debauchery. Also, I really like the colours used by him. The intensity of the nightclub scenes is shown in blues and blacks often with touches of orange hair. Whilst the faces of the clientele are stark white under the artificial light.

 

Looking at Lautrec's work encouraged me to look again at the work of Egon Schiele. His work is similarly loose and expressive. But in contrast to Lautrec,

 

 

 

 Schiele's work is often harsh in it's emotional depictions. While Lautrec may not prettify his subjects he does show us them with  more empathy which it's possible to see in the tender attitudes of pictures of women together in bed; quite often the prostitutes he so often painted.   

Challenges of drawing animals

The main challenge of drawing animals, for me, is being able to draw sufficiently quickly. Unfortunately, too, I am not in possession of a pet although I did manage to borrow one for a few hours only. This was the dog belonging to my neighbours. He is a Jack Russell terrier and I found it difficult to draw him as he is constantly alert. In watching him, I decided that his ears were key to his behaviour in some way as they were constantly moving even when the rest of him was quite still. Anyway, I tried a few sketches but was not able to complete the final piece of work on large paper as I couldn't spend more time with him.

 

                                                          Sparky

Knowing that horses are in a nearby field I went there but they were some distance away except for one whom I photographed to produce the drawing that I later did at home. Finally, I decided to 'copy' some of the drawings by Ambrus in the set text. 

His drawings are full of character and I admire the way he captures the essence of them with so few strokes. Also, I tried to draw our garden squirrel. However, at some distance away he was quite small drawn 'sight size' and I felt unable to enlarge the size as I was not sufficiently confident in what the shapes might be.

 

 

Fish on a plate.

For this I looked at the fish counter regularly. I bought a rainbow trout and sketched it with its mouth open- I pushed putty into its mouth to keep it open. Looking at this way I thought how much like a reptile it looked. The colours were amazingly varied and depending on the light source changed.

For the final picture I decided upon mackerel.

 

I tried the composition in portrait and finally decided upon landscape format. Having looked at many 'fish' paintings I wanted to try to inject some 'life' into the fish - and that's why I tried the 'open mouth' approach but whether I succeeded is another matter. However, I like the colour palette in this drawing which I did with colour pencil. The onion at the rear is probably too intense a colour as I was trying to keep it more to the colour on the fish themselves.  Many still lifes from the past succeed in really strong, dark backgrounds and I like the richness of these old paintings but I am unsure as yet how to successfully draw this in and recognise that I am, perhaps, playing safe with background colour by keeping it fairly neutral.

 

There are, of course, many places to draw animals. The zoo comes to mind but also Natural History museums as well as farms. When I get a spare day I will try to do more animal drawings as I feel that I've merely touched a tiny surface. 

 

Stubbs

George Stubbs

Stubbs is well known for his paintings of horses. Less well known is the fact that he studied the anatomy of the animal assiduously. In fact, Stubbs had a childhood preoccupation with anatomy that developed into a major interest.

Stubbs apparently skinned horses and then studied the muscle structure in order to produce drawings that were representative of the animal's body. Further he looked at the skeletons of animals which he drew and eventually published for others to observe and use. Stubbs hoped this would be of benefit to artists but also to people who cared for horses.

Stubbs considerable knowledge of anatomy, gained in ghastly conditions, over several years, enabled him to bring a new standard to horse painting.

                                                    Drawing by Stubbs

 

 

 

It is considered that Stubbs knowledge enabled him to paint horses showing the effect muscles would have in tensioning the body in its different poses. This vitalises the animal whereas earlier paintings may make the horse appear more static. A comparison has been made of Stubbs' work with a painting by Van Dyck, for instance, an equestrian portrait of Charles1.

 Depicting a high spirited horse and at first sight convincing, critics have said that further study shows the Van Dyck  horse to be somewhat flaccid in its hindquarters and lacking conviction in that no underlying muscle activity is represented. 

'Whistlejacket' 1762 is a lovely painting of a horse by Stubbs. According to some critics this painting is an accurate representation of the horse that lends authority to the work. However it must be true that however much knowledge Stubbs gained of the horse his paintings represent more than accuracy, rather artistry is also at work. 

Stubbs was asked to paint other animals and his work contains a wide variety of dogs, as well as more exotic animals.  I particularly like this 'Zebra'.

 

 

 

 

Overall then, whilst accuracy may be an objective aim in animal studies, capturing the essence of an animal is  also important and Stubbs seems to have had both these abilities as well as helping others to achieve them. 

 

 

Images of a dog's muscle structure together with below the image of a cat's skeleton.

 

Negative Space and plants in A2

Negative Space in a plant.

 

It proved difficult to draw the negative shapes as I constantly wanted to revert to drawing the positive shapes. Looking at negative shapes will help in drawing because it enables further measurements to be made regarding proportion. As negative shapes do not have 'names' as such it makes you look at the shape itself rather than using the preconceived ideas that language labelling is capable of doing. Because of this accuracy is potentially made easier. Not only that but negative shapes are an important part of any composition. Looking at the image of a tree for example, the spaces between the branches are as important in the overall picture's design as the branches themselves. I think it's hard to remember the importance of negative shapes but recently read 'Lessons in Classical Drawing' by Juliette Aristides wherein she admits to having to constantly remind herself to do this despite knowing its importance. This is a reassuring admission as I know it's something I need to improve upon.

 

Three plants - proportion and 3D spacing.

 

For this part of the course I decided to draw two pots in my garden. I took my easel into the garden as I had  decided to draw whilst standing and looking down upon them. In order to create depth I placed one pot behind the other and worked hard to try to achieve the correct measurement for the ellipses on each as the forward pot would have the widest ellipse. It was also fairly foreshortened and it took me some time to work this all out. Having recognised that I wanted to draw the stones upon which the pots were standing this involved using perspective and I decided that the vanishing point would be off the paper. Consequently I tried to estimate where this would be and draw it accordingly.  In order to draw the plants in proportion I did several sketches first to work out where the pots would locate on the picture plane.

 

 

                                                 A2    Colored pencil 
     

This first attempt in pencil was quite daunting to me as the fine points mean it takes some time to build up the colour. The course instruction book suggested three hours or more but in the end I spent nearer seven hours on this. 

 

To help with the 3D effect I attempted to draw in the form tone on the pots and in keeping with colour theory made the front pot darker than the rear. At one point the whole thing looked really flat to me so I intensified the colour of the front pot by adding red to the brown and this, I think, helped bring it forward.  Initially I wanted the red peppers to be the focal point but, I think, the composition failed in this because of the pot  being more prominent than the plant and this is due to its size and colour strength.   However, the hosta does draw some attention as the light works across the leaves. I tried to make the front leaves on the pepper larger and more detailed to show they were further forward and in similar manner left the rear pot less detailed and lighter in colour.

 

The light in this was quite disastrous as I placed the pots in a position to draw and anticipated that the light would be right at the time that the initial drawing was done- during this time the plants were not in direct sunlight. However, at the time I expected the light to be coming to the left the sun in fact got too low to be on the plants. At this stage I decided to try to imagine what the light would have done and finished the drawing  in this manner. Consequently there are several errors. I couldn't do the exercise again using the same plants as I had managed to kill the hosta by putting it in a hot spot on the patio.

 

After this  I reproduced the drawing in pen and ink and then oil pastel.

 

 

I feel that neither of these is successful . I decided on the oil because I thought it would be easier to cover A2 paper size with better effect. Of course, this meant that fine detail was missing. The pen and ink was meant to be the best of both worlds, a pen for fine detail and a wash to cover broader areas. However, the paper was not a good choice as the washes were overdone by me and the paper buckled and what was meant to be a light effect was overworked by me.

Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson

(For the purpose of information in this research I am indebted to Norbert Lynton for his book titled Ben Nicholson, published by Phaidon and to Jeremy Lewison for his book of the same title published by Ediciones Poligrafa SA).

Why does he simplify still life forms and negative space and superimpose them on the Cornish landscape?

Ben Nicholson was the son of William Nicholson and Mabel Nicholson (nee Pryde). This start to Ben Nicholson's life, (hereinafter abbreviated to BN), has more than a small effect on his life and artistic work. Both parents were artists, and his father's collected  objects for still life works of his own; objects that BN not only grew up with but also inherited and used in his own work.

This is not to say that BN worked in a similar style to his father, far from it. In fact by the time BN was born an artistic world was being created in which a campaign was being mounted urging simplification in drawing. Tonks at the Slade was in favour of this and although BN was not long studying there under Tonks his work shows this influence in being less detailed.

Still lifes with scenes beyond windows were important in BN's work throughout his life and Lynton makes mention of the long tradition in Art of views outside windows as part of secular and religious paintings. Interestingly, although there are differences in BN's landscapes of the 1920's the picture space shows the traditional recession whilst the still lifes explore the flat plane of the Cubists.

Lynton goes on to argue that while landscapes have their own light still lifes have their own light although possibly artificially arranged so that the two genres can be seen as complementary.


Having been married to Winifred  Nicholson, also a painter, BN later formed a relationship with Barbara Hepworth and the 1930's were to be important for BN in many ways.  It seems that the work of this period combined BN's reliefs as well as painting.  The abstract reliefs convey a formal white purity that may demonstrate an adoption of Modernist trends and personally I do find these stark works especially satisfying. Later, BN said that these works were basic still lifes, the cut out circles representing a cup, the rectangle a bread board, a newspaper, a table top and so on. This fusion of abstract relief, apparently adapted from Mondrian, with still life show that BN was being experimental and would so continue and paves the way for further fusion of landscape with abstract relief.

'Au Chat Botte' is considered to be another important development in BN's art.

Apparently whilst looking into the window of this cafe BN became aware of the three different planes of space that were simultaneously located onto the one plane. In other words he could see the objects inside the cafe, the writing on the glass as well as the reflection of the things behind him. BN said it was impossible to see what was real and what was unreal and that this created some kind of space or imaginative world in which one could live. This led to the painting above and it's possible to see the potential that this, with the aforementioned relief work, could have on some of  BN's subsequent  works.

                                                St Ives Version 2 (oil and pencil on board)
In this work the cup and mug are shown in line and shadow recalling the reliefs combined with the simplified Cornish scenery beyond. Again, according to Lynton what BN enjoyed enormously in St Ives was the quality of the light, at one point in his life he had thanked Winifred for the luminosity of her work and now the light and landscape of Cornwall were again part of his life and one that he seems to have enjoyed immensely, even spiritually. Lynton says of this work:

'Apart from the motif and space game of the double subject there is, more vigorously than ever before the play of line against plane, pencil against paint.' And adds how much difference there is between the lines and the fatness of the grey cloud.

St Ives, version 2 was completed in 1940 and compares to Trendine (1947) and Mousehole (1947) in that all three are fusions of still life and landscape. However they differ in that in the latter there is not the clear distinction between the background and foreground objects as there is in St Ives.

Mousehole 1947

This is quite apparent in the work above and the still life objects look imposed onto the background scenery. Colour of palette unite the two but there is more confrontation here between the two genres

During the 1940s BN continued to complete work that shows sharp lines and soft tones with flat surfaces, apparently he described his own work as 'both musical and architectural'.

December- St Ives oval and steeple 1951

Looking closely at this work it's far more allied than confrontational - the soft grey blue tones and the pencil lines work their way across the whole picture and rather than being set against a window the familiar rectangles of the reliefs and earlier paintings are in evidence. I like this work immensely, to me this picture is calming and yet lively at the same time. 

Another work I really like is this:

                                          1955 Torre del Grillo, Rome- Pencil and wash

This depicts fruit and urns together with a balustrade and buildings with a wash of soft ochre.

Continuing to pare down his details Lynton argues that 'clarity and the great art of omission' are key to BN. 'A few lines can offer space, light and scale.' BN mentioned at one time that he found Mu-Chi's work to be most poetic.

                                                            Six Persimmons

It's certainly easy to see the economy used in this picture. But beyond that BN had a great love of landscape and said that the sky is not up there above us but rather it 'comes in and out of one's windows'.

He also is quoted as saying that rather than denying that anyone had influenced him he was willing to admit that he had been influenced by many people. And it's true that when reading about the life and work of BN so many important names from the history of art are encountered. In this short exploration of BN, I came across, and this is apart from his parents and wives, the names of Paul Klee, Cezanne, Picasso, Miro, Paul Nash, Kit Wood and not least, perhaps Alfred Wallis in Cornwall.

It's hard not to like BN when reading about him; his statement that an artist should make an object as 'living and as good as a poodle' and that art should be an 'active force in our lives'.

It seems he was born into not only a family of artists but at a major time in the history of art. So overall it's impossible in answering this question about BN's work to simplify, as he did in his work, an answer. Clearly his work developed as a result of several personal influences, his love of spiritual life and the era into which he was born which seems to have been one of great innovation in Art.   

Drawing fruit and vegetables

Compositions should take up most of the paper's surface. I didn't achieve this always and left negative space. From what I've read regarding color theory it seems that white always comes forward more than any other colour and therefore may become an undesirable focal point. In my defence I wanted to concentrate on the forms in front of me as working on the various planes within each item and not forgetting the overall tonal values was something I had to constantly think about.

Apart from learning, as mentioned above, that overall form shading must not be sacrificed I read that local colour is not always possible to depict if form is to be represented. It's quite amazing the amount of colour in objects when looking closely and I'm more than sure that I have further to go in seeing these hues. I have read that the highlight on a fruit or indeed anything else will not be white and that sometimes artists use the complementary colour in the highlight as well as in the shadow. I'm not sure of this yet as if this is the result of what we see in ordinary circumstances why do if  the eye will do it for us? Hopefully, this will become clearer in time and with further reading.

                                         Fruit bowl -oil pastel with 'sgraffito'

                                   Cooking apple, courgette -oil pastel

Another aspect of representing planes in items is that sometimes they shouldn't all be drawn. This is part of the selection process that needs to be made by artists and is crucial as part of the simplification process that stops 'overfussiness'.

Many fruit and vegetables are cylinders or spheres and are toned in the similar way of depicting the form for these. Ellipses often show themselves as part of the structure as at the end of carrots or strawberries.

                                             Pears- coloured pencil

Challenging aspects of this part of the course include what I have written above as colour theory together with using different media were tackled at the same time as 'looking hard' at the planes in each object. It's almost as though instead of drawing, say one pear with form you're drawing several forms on the one pear but having to remember the overall tonal value at the same time. Doing this whilst trying to technically manage colour media with little experience meant high levels of concentration were required. Hopefully this forms part of my 'learning to see' that will improve my skills and while I don't like all my work I am able at times to imagine I see an improvement.  

I've added these two drawings as although neither fruit nor vegetable I was quite pleased with how the coloured pencil seemed to work well for this subject. Unfortunately, although I liked the stark white background I was aware of the need to think about adding a background and decided on a soft lavender colour. In the process I spoiled the effect and in consequence the drawing.  

Still life using line, tones, stipples

Still Life using line

 

 

This drawing was a selection of objects from the beach at Mersea.

 

Aware from my reading that masters such as Ingres and Matisse could increase the pressure on a line I decided to use a dip pen and attempt the same.The composition was set up by using the pebbles from my drive placed on a baking tray with the objects on top. I begged some rope from a local hardware store and added this -it was thick and I coiled it around about. 

 

This didn't work- for several reasons- I decided that the rope should diminish in size as it went away but I wasn't sure by how much. Consequently when I drew the two stones the whole image changed to look like a beach scene and the stones looked like distant cliffs. This looked even stranger as the rope looked as though it was out to sea.

In an attempt to compensate I increased the line on shells but then noticed that I'd placed some objects 'kissing' instead of overlapping which is a basic mistake. Despite all of this I quite like the finished drawing as the strong pen lines around the shells have a clarity that is pleasing to my eye.

 

So, all in all, lots of errors in perspective and could have been much better.

 

Still life in tone

 

 

For this I decided upon coloured pencils. I chose rounded objects that wouldn't require much line work. However I found it almost impossible to draw the ellipse at the top of the jug without resorting to line. I depicted the flowers by toning the background area and left the petals as the paper showing through. I felt I created a sense of depth by placing the pears as overlapping and by shading down the jug. I decided on the colours first by working in the sketch book.

 

Working in tone without line is difficult if fine detail is desired and working in line without tone creates problems of light and shade contrasts and perspective. Seeing the work of master draughtsmen shows, though, that  these problems can be resolved with the requisite skill, not necessarily to the level of the masters.

 

 

Leonardo and Paul Bartlett -2 masters of detailed drawing

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo (1452-1519)

A renowned master, Leonardo showed talent for drawing at an early age and was apprenticed to a studio in Florence. Apart from drawing wide ranging subjects Leonardo is famous also for his designs and inventions which together  show his genius. Apart from drawing he was, too, a scientist, sculptor and teacher.

At the time of the Renaissance drawings were not valued in themselves but were seen as a means to an end. Leonardo's sketchbooks and notebooks show an unlimited curiosity in the world around him as he made copious notes.

Media

Apparently Leonardo combined media and would use charcoal, chalk, metalpoint, pen and ink,  a damp brush for shading and white chalk for highlights. His most significant usage was pen and ink on unprepared paper.
Chalk was favoured for landscapes or he used  pen and ink. For human heads and hands he would use red chalk on pink paper. Paper was an expensive commodity at this time and Leonardo crammed as much use as he could into each page.

The quill pen that he would use was sharpened with a knife and could be used to make a broad down stroke and a finer up or side stroke.

To his line, tonal washes were sometimes added to emphasise detail but this wash was kept lighter than the shading line. Similarly subtle tones were created with a damp brush to chalk drawings whereas drapery folds were shown with deep black.

Metalpoint is used on a prepared ground and the work is drawn by going over the same line frequently. It cannot be erased but nor does it smudge and this method was used by students who once they had finished a piece would reground the support for a fresh drawing. Silverpoint turns to a deep brown over time so is not similar to graphite.

Movement

Many of Leonardo's drawing convey movement and this is obvious in these works below.

Christ figure

 

  Star of Bethlehem

 Both these drawings show the use of spirals which figure often in his work and convey great energy. Line was a fundamental part of Leonardo's technique and he made great use of hatching either in straight or curved lines as well as crosshatching. In some works it's possible to see the effect of bringing a line from the background across the contour of the subject in front which helps to distance that part of the subject matter and thus create distance.

Leonardo wrote six books on light and shade and the use of perspective reached a peak during his lifetime. Foreshortening and aerial perspective, whereby  colour diminishes as distance increases and less focus or clarity is shown on background objects in proportion to depth required, was brought into his work.

Leonardo was not shy of using rulers to draw perspective lines and to square up a piece of paper. Some of his work show the measurements that were put beside subject matter.

 

 

Many drawings evidence the painstaking detail undertaken by this man.

 

Finally, regarding chiaroscuro, light /dark shading, many of his works show a soft blend of shadows rather than an extreme and it has been written that he coined the term sfumato, to suggest that changes in tone should be invisible.

 

Diverse and comprehensive books have been written about this man and his work so this is a very short post . Hopefully it covers many aspects to be considered when looking at the works.  

 

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 Paul Bartlett (1955 -)

 

Initially I found it difficult to decide upon another artist showing mastery of detail. Looking at many images in books and on the Internet left me wondering where they were. I could see that in the US many artists choose detail but many of these works did not inspire me because they seemed rather flat and lifeless ( this is a huge generalisation based on limited research). However, when looking at Ian Simpson's text on drawing skills I noticed Paul Bartlett's name next to an illustration and decided to look further.

 

Based in Birmingham, Bartlett has studied art at various schools and has produced work in a range of media. There is definitely detail in his work as this drawing shows.   

Lynda in the Life Room

However having seen it only on screen it's hard to see the techniques used. It certainly makes use of tone as well as line and there is lots going on in the surroundings. In the drawing below there are certain similarities to the swirling hair seen in Leonardo's work above.

  Patricia with hair up

 

This drawing too has a similar sense of movement .
 

 

 This is one of Bartlett's prints and is a mass of detail with a strong sense of 
pattern. The line work is apparent and the tonal work varies to a rich darkness in places but again it's the sense of everything moving into the circular centre that gives it such vitality.

 

Bartlett is a member of the Birmingham and Midlands Pastel Society and the above two works are in this medium. Bartlett says that he likes to portray family life and he does this with affection in 'Main Mother' and 'Father Sunday Papers'

They are quite different in their treatment and this seems indicative of Bartlett's work - ranging from charcoal to pastel, printmaking and graphite.

 

Finally this portrait entitled 'Astronomer' which is in pastel pencil and colour pencil.



 

This shows again an artist varying his style and the subject portrays a mixture of emotions to me. Seeing the telescope in the background, where the title undoubtedly comes from, the naked man looks vulnerable and wistful as though he's been stargazing and is disappointed that he's not reached the stars 'in life'. The hair is straighter in this depiction and it's just possible to see the dark shading around the rib bones which, with the shadows under the deep set eyes, add to the atmosphere. Unfortunately I cannot quite decipher the two figures apart from recognising that a man and a woman are represented but this would accord, perhaps, with the subject's regret. Finally this work is interesting in the choice of crop and the angle of the head. The foreshortening brings the chin to the front plane of the picture frame so we are looking down on a downturned chin and closely closed mouth again adding to the emotional atmosphere. Overall I like it immensely.