Naomi an Illustration Sketchbook

 2.6 Pareidolia A collection of inanimate household objects, photographed:   Part of a shower, basket handles.  A glass of drink, a razor, a brass bin, a vintage money box, a toilet roll, desk drawers, a tall lamp, textures of wall tiles:  Justin Sutcliffe 'Objects are people too' A collection of photographs exploring facial pareidolia. He states that he did not set up the shots, all photographs were of faces "unexpectedly observed in life".  Bold and brilliant. No editing or embellishment. The faces are so obvious in each photograph. Yet in reality, one could easily miss the face as one would probably not be looking for it. He  managed to capture a phenomena, most of us would miss.  Keith Larsen  Colourful illustrations of characters, created out of everyday objects.  Very cleverly, Larsen not only copies the object, but brings it to life as a real, living thing.  The colours are enhanced. Bold and confident. Fun and playful. ...

 2.5 Drawing with objects: A journey scrapbook  My journey today was limited to my home. However, I was able to collect a number of objects to work with.  An example of Christoph Niemann's imagination at work. A simple drawing of a dinosaur, half made up of a pair of socks.  With what appears to be a thick marker, a running dinosaur has bought the sock to life in such a creative way.  With what even appears as a nose and eyes the paraeidolia effect in the texture of the sock. I wonder if Niemann saw the head in the sock initially, and that what led him on to draw the dinosaur? Or was it the other way round and he drew the dinosaur first before looking for something to include.  Simple and wildly unique.  Equally as playful is this illustration by Steinberg.  Even though not a physical object as such. Steinberg has created the mood of the word he has worked with, EAT. The word is the illustration.  Again, in only a simple line, such a striking...

 Research Task 2.2 Christoph Niemann and Saul Steinberg  The portfolio of work by Christophe Niemann and Saul Steinberg is extensive. I have decided to study 'The New Yorker' covers, by the illustrators and compare their practices and ideas.   Saul Steinberg Christoph Niemann Steinberg's covers are colourful and bright using an extensive palette, as does Niemann. Steinberg's colours are delicate, softer. Niemann's much bolder with heavier blocks and clear cut lines between colour.   Niemann features blocks of black, striking. There are no stark, black blocks in Steinberg's work, rather a thin use of black line.  Both illustrators have a harmonious relationship with the colour palette. The colours are bright, but they work well with one another on the page. Both illustrators have covers that are saturated in colour and in contrast, those that are muted.  I like the way that both illustrators can also produce a satisfying, simple colour palette, such as Stein...

 2.4 Drawings with tea bags  Simple study tests Teabag Positive:   The teabag was saturated. I applied it to the wet paper. It leaves the most gorgeous burnt sienna watercolour effect.  The colour is plentiful.  The teabag is a large implement, so the strokes of colour are large and thick.  Easy to apply and covers a large area very quickly.  Negative: The teabag is so saturated that it does leave pools of water on the paper. A thick, watercolour paper would be needed to create a successful result.  After three strokes, the bag wore away and the tea leaves start to appear on the page. Limited opportunity.  Stone:   Positive: It leaves a solid and interesting texture.  I can control the amount of colour as the stone doesn't absorb it. The colour remains easily on the surface.  Negative:  Difficult to hold for long. Limited opportunity.  The surface is so uneven and unpredictable, it's impossible to know if you are goin...

 2.2 Investigating a process  I'm going to focus on one object to draw for this exercise. I have a simple desk lamp that I will use as my subject as I investigate the process of using different materials.  Lucy Austin's work is dynamic and experimental.  Layering of different media, adds density and interest.  The use of black is striking against the under layers of colour. The white adds transparency.  The mediums Austin uses, don't appear to mix at all. They are kept separate.  My own process. Micro studies.  Chapter 1: Pencil.   I explored part of the lamp using HB, 2B. 3B & 5B pencils.  I applied the pencil differently in different areas of the sketching.  Side application covered large areas quickly, leaving a really soft affect.  Cross hatching adds interesting texture, and too made covering the area easy.  The various hardness' of the pencils added various tones throughout.  Chapter 2: Felt tip pens. C...

 2.3 Blind contour drawings  A blue and green felt tip pen on white paper.  Portrait attempts.  Hands.  A female figure with her knees up against her chest.  A male figure reclined, using a laptop.  My legs crossed.  Reflection A really fun exercise.  I chose to use a coloured pens as I felt they would flow well as a fluid line. The line would also be permanent, so despite my inexperience with this practice, I couldn't correct what I had done.  The challenge here was not being disappointed with the sketches at first!  Sketches 1-6 are clumsy, I was lost in the blindness. Even though I think that the viewer can see what I was attempting, the drawings are childlike and displeasing. The lines are disjointed as I kept stalling the line.  However, sketch 7 to 9 do appear much better, with a fluid and more confident line. The pen didn't leave the paper and the sketching was much smoother. The overall appearance of the drawings are mo...

2.1 Research Task  Lucy Austin  Compared to John Lovett   Both Austin and Lovett sketch in an abstract way. They suggest subjects and objects that are there, without spelling it out. There is room for the viewer to decide their own interpretation of what the drawings depict.  Both artists use a way of layering a drawing, shapes and colours create larger shapes and colours. There is depth to the layers. This layering effect creates interesting drawings that require study, oppose to a quick glimpse.  Both artists use shapes and lines to build a sketch.  Both artists also use shape and line to create an interesting background to the sketches. The background is as interesting as the subject. The colours from the subject, flow into the back ground, and vice versa.  Both artists use muted tones as well as bright and vivid colours throughout the sketches.  The use of white features as a practice by both artists. White that is significant to the eye, and ...

 2.1 Limited line drawings  My foot in a pencil line, with an ink line 1-5:  I limited myself to the outline of the foot, trying to resist adding too much detail within.  Sketches 1-3 have lines, detailing in between the toes and the lines of toenails for each toe.   Sketches 4 & 5 only have the line of the big toes and the toe nail of the big toe. Cleverly though, I think my eye can still understand that the lines are that of a foot, even without the definition of all 5 toes. The curve and the shape of the lines do appear enough for an understanding of the subject. A surprise? Perhaps this is because of the inclusion of the shape of the big toe nail? Perhaps, without this detail it would be harder to understand the sketches. However, the five sketches became even more limited as I went, and I feel all are recognisable.  I have been studying the drawing 'Young Woman Sleeping' by Rembrandt Van Rijn 1654. With the tip of a brush and with a brown wash, Rem...

 2.0 Rapid Sketches I collected together a plate, a can of baked beans, a mug, a knife and folk. I didn't think very hard about this choice, I acted spontaneously in my decision making, determined to make something out of anything.  3 minute sketches. I chose to use an old sketchbook and a 3B pencil:   2 minute sketches: A green and black felt tip on white paper.  1 minute Sketch:   A green and black felt tip on white paper.  Reflections:  I felt  like this exercise wanted me to not concern myself with a tidy drawing, but as it stated, loosen up.  The green felt tip was very effective at distinguishing the baked beans, and did stand out from the page as a consequence. The timed element very much forced me to get a move on! This was a good thing.  I was starting to loosen as I approached the 1 minute sketch, however on reflection, my lines are still rather stale and I do need to work hard at relaxing into this.  The pen, being a per...

   2.0 Research Task  Sophie Peanut  I study a collection of people, faces and portrait illustrations. Sketches made with pencils, pen, watercolour and gouache.  The faces are lined in black, a fairly thick line with the most bright and vibrant colours within, the blonde of the hair is bright yellow, the contour lines of the skin are bright, pinks and browns, the eyes deep blue and brown. The images are striking. The colour of the background also seems intentional, as vivid as the face. The faces show such expression, in the eyes, mouth and lines of the face, wrinkles or laughter lines. In a room you would struggle to walk by, rather stop and take the image in, even if an unintentional viewer.  Words do accompany some of the portraits, "How Miranda had become so miserable?" "Orange President" in reference to a portrait of Donald Trump. The words are also an extension of the portraits. The typography is interesting and fun, the words are easy to read and dig...