Landscape 2

This winter urban landscape painting was done using watercolours on A3 paper in around 2-3 hours. The main idea was to experiment with impressionistic techniques and colour when dealing with a highly detailed scene (city roofs, details on buildings).

The image has several points of interest and the colours on the top right seem more saturated, which might indicate the location of the focal point. Perspective wasn't the main focus of the painting, but it should have been worked on more.

Portrait 1

This portrait was made on A3 paper using pencil and took around 2 hours to complete. The focus was on drawing the model so other details weren't added, such as the chair or background.

The composition was finalized after measuring the model and using sketchy lines, until the portrait started to take shape. The proportions seem fairly right, though certain parts of the body need correcting such as the left hand which looks slightly smaller than it should be. More attention should have been paid to the facial details. The shading is too light but it does create the impression of light coming from the right.

Shadows Study

This picture shows a painting in watercolour on A3 paper which was completed in one hour and a half. The focus was to study shading in colour, and to experiment with impressionistic techniques.

The light source is located at the left. The highlights and dark areas were painted using different values of the colour (in this case yellow, red and green), instead of using black and white for shading the hot peppers. The darker shades also manage to suggest the wrinkled texture of the subjects.

Still Life 1

     This picture shows a still life drawing in pencil that was completed in 40 minutes. 

    The asymmetrical composition manages to create a sense of depth and to offer an expressive quality to the drawing. The focal point of the drawing is located on the right half of the page, the tall vase being the most detailed element of the scene, and also highlighting the use of the rule of thirds. There isn't enough variation in values, and therefore the direction of light seems unclear but the shadows still give a good idea of the variety of textures present in the image (natural and man-made).

The proportions were kept right with the help of measuring and construction lines. The elements are spaced well and vary in size and shape, but give a good sense of unity.

Life Drawing Sketches 1 (Pose)

This is a series of one minute sketches in charcoal in which the main focus was to study basic human poses and anatomical proportions. 

Construction lines manage to give an idea of angles formed by the human body in certain poses, while also hinting where the joints are located. They need to be used as there is no time for measuring and detailing while drawing in speed.

Textures 1

This image shows a series of sketches in pencil (5 minutes each) in which the main focus is studying two different textures - glass and corduroy.
The glass vase has many highlights, and is also a reflective surface. Probably the best way to create the impression of shine is to use straight parallel lines while applying shadows to the drawing.
As any fabric, corduroy is a very detailed matte texture, and therefore it should be tackled in an impressionistic way, by just hinting the parallel fibers.

This still life drawing is a study of the two textures put together in a scene. It was done in pencil and took 30 minutes to complete.
The fabric isn't fully drawn, containing many empty areas, but the drawing still manages to give the idea of vases placed on a striped material. The scene needs more details and shadows though, because the glass doesn't seem as shiny as the real thing, and the cloth in this drawing seems really light, while corduroy is a thick material.
Composition wise, the scene seems balanced and the objects interact in a visually pleasing way. Planning was done with the help of construction lines which are still visible on the paper. This also helped with getting the proportions right.

Landscape 1 (Perspective Study)

This is an urban landscape drawing in pencil on A3 paper which took 30 minutes to complete.

It shows a two-point perspective scene in which the horizon line is located on the lower half of the page, and the two vanishing points are at the left and right of the picture. The construction lines and measuring helped with positioning the building on the page and keeping the proportions right. Some of the orthogonal lines in this drawing aren’t well made, for example on the upper right corner of the picture where the edges at the top of the building aren’t pointing towards the left vanishing point. The image feels a bit unbalanced, because of the amount of detail on the right side of the page, and the lack of it on the left side. This composition creates points of interest on the left side of the paper. The main focus of this drawing was to study the principles of perspective, and therefore details such as windows or shadows were just lightly sketched.