dailyprompt – Visual Skills 2

The brief

Option 1: Illustration

Take a blank piece of paper, ideally A2 size, and an ordinary HB or 2B pencil and begin to make marks in the top left-hand corner of the paper. At first make small, short marks, but as you begin to work across the paper start to make them larger, stronger, and more varied. Continue to work across the paper and begin to fill it with these gestural marks. Vary the length, density, and shape of the marks as much as possible as you draw across the sheet of paper. Perhaps small ‘zones’ of the paper will consist of short, vertical marks, while another area might be formed of curling doodles or small circles. Fill the whole sheet of paper with marks, lines, and shapes, although you may need to sharpen the pencil as you go. It might take some time, maybe a few hours or even a day or two, to completely fill the paper. Don’t try to fill the sheet of paper in one go, you can take breaks and return to the paper over a period of time. The intention of this exercise is to reach the point where you are not thinking about the next mark, but simply enjoy letting the pencil and the marks you have made guide you along with no conscious effort.

When you have finished, and the sheet of paper is filled with detail and variation, take two ‘L’ shaped pieces of card and frame five sections of the paper, about 12-15cm square. Think about the variation of marks, density and visual content of each of the five selected squares. Take photographs of them and give them one-word titles that relate to the emotional or sensational affect you think they have.
OCA Text book, Visual Skills 2, Assignment one, option 1.

Keywords from the brief

A2 paper
Make marks top left corner
Small short marks
Then make marks larger stronger and varied.
Very length, density, and shape of marks
take two ‘L’ shaped pieces of card and frame five sections of the paper
Take photographs of them and give them one-word titles that relate to the emotional or sensational affect you think they have.

Despite the fact that the brief stated that this task should be completed with a pencil. I did not want to because that is my safety net, something I am used to and find simple to use. Pencils are also my safety net because they allow me to erase any mistakes. As a result, I wanted to test myself by making marks that I could not erase.

Looking around, I picked up some coloured markers and sat down in front of the card.

As you can see in the photo below, it was quite intimidating.

However, when I reread the brief, it stated to begin in the upper left corner and make small marks. I did this by making small dots, and as I did so, I became more daring to try different strokes, patterns, and shapes. I also listened to music and occasionally made marks in relation to the song’s beat. Below is a photo of the filled-up card.

I then scanned in the drawing and cropped five sections of the image in Photoshop. I used Photoshop to measure and rotate the canvas because it was easier.

The selected five images and one-word titles I have given them are listed below.

Anger

Depression

Happiness

Dizzy

Stress

Reflection

While drawing, I kept thinking about the artists I had previously researched and tried to remember that this was a playful exercise, not a beautiful drawing.

As previously stated, I purposefully used pens to challenge myself not to be afraid of making mistakes. This was a significant challenge for me. However, once I put pen to paper, I realised it was not as bad as I had imagined, and it did not matter what mark I made anyway.

What I liked about this work was that it took what I thought was a lot of scribble and turned it into some interesting. Smaller images were made that now show deep emotion. These smaller images could be developed further in the future, for example, the image of Dizzy could be used on a mug that says Don’t worry, it is almost Friday. Alternatively, the happiness image could be printed on children’s tops.

It would be interesting to compare it using different mediums if I did it again.

I have learned from this assignment that being playful can open my mind to innovative ideas and creativity, as well as help me not be afraid to start a project. This is something I will keep doing when I am stuck for ideas.

It was fascinating to see how, when I created new images from one drawing, there could be an emotional response to the image that had not previously existed.

Exercise 1: Thinking about your workspace

For this exercise, the OCA asked me to think about my creative workspace and answer the following questions.

Do you already have a studio or a space where you can creatively experiment and make your artwork?

At the moment, my creative space is under my stair case. This is where I produce all my blogging and any computer generated designs. For other more practical creative works such as painting or drawing, I use a drawing board that is in my children’s playroom or sometimes at the kitchen table. However, in the next few weeks I will be converting the children’s playroom in to a studio.

Below is an image of my studio-space that I use most of the time. This is under my staircase and although it is small it fits my laptop, Huion drawing tablet, some reading books, sketchbooks, a daylight lamp and note-pads.

Under the stairs office

When I need to have a creative space to draw or paint, I either will set up my drawing table or work at the kitchen table.

Kitchen table

Drawing table

Below is a sketch I drew to show what my typical day working in my studio can be like.

I then developed the sketch further with water colour and pen and changed a few things such as the scale and positioning of my dogs and added my youngest son who is never far from me.

I have been thinking about what type of art I’ll produce in my new studio and the items I’ll need to make a comfortable workspace. Below is a list of things I have considered for the new room.

Good Lighting. I have blinds which I can open to allow natural light in but it can get quite dark so will need to think about alternative artificial lighting too. A bright light that won’t create shadows in my workspace.
Comfortable Seating: I have an office chair which is adjustable, but I would also like to get an adjustable stool to support me while I work at an easel.
Storage: Currently I have a kallax unit from Ikea but it is old and needs replacing. I will probably will get the same as it has lots of storage to organise my art supplies and tools. Around the room, I’ll also be adding lots of shelves. I would like to get a drying rack too, as I have found it difficult to find places for prints to dry.
Inspiration Board: Around the room I am going to hang artist’s work that inspire me and put up a corkboard to display my ideas, sketches, and images that inspire me.
Sink and water: Thankfully, I have a utility with an old sink where I wash all my pallettes and brushes.