Composition – An Interior
After carefully reviewing and considering all the possible interior scenes that I might like to explore further, I decided on the very first one I drew because I thought it had really challenging angles and interesting shapes, materials and tones.
This exercise asked me to consider the subject from various viewpoints and to create four sketches outlining basic shapes and tones.
This first drawing does not have enough visual interest. The angles are too straight and head on. There is not enough depth or variety of angles. I did try to explore using a lighter tone to create some depth to represent the room beyond this corner, but as the near bookcase and the far away DVD/CD case are all at the same angle the drawing fails to grasp attention.
The chair being cropped as it is, adds nothing to the clumsy drawing and composition. There is no balance or sufficient negative space. Tonally it lacks variety.
So, I need to move further back from the subject, that is clear. I also want to look for more interesting angles and have less of a focus on the chair itself.
Sitting on the settee opposite the chair I found that this viewpoint really interests me and is preferrable to a couple of others I have explored by simply just ‘looking’. The busy positive spaces are balanced by the negative space afforded to the tiles and the blank wall with the lone picture frame. The tile pattern leads the viewer into the focus of the picture. At this small scale the tonal contrast created with the pen looks exciting. I wonder if I can transfer this quality to a much larger scale drawing.
I do like this mini toned drawing of my living room because it is such an accurate representation of what I like about the room. I did it quickly, standing up and it has a vibrancy about it.
However, realistically I think it is way too ‘busy’ to work as a piece of art for this particular project. There is very little negative space and although there is lots to see, and a good sense of perspective, depth.and suggestion of tone, it is visually quite exhausting. I know there are artists who use that as a device to hold attention (eg. Bratby) but I do not think this is relevant for this exercise where we have been asked to consider ‘strong positive and negative shapes’.
Returning again then to a similar but slightly different view of drawing 2, I wanted to explore it in a different media. For this drawing I sat on the coffee table. This drawing is completed using the nitram charcoal I had first experimented with in the kitchen sink drawing from the previous exercise. I chose to draw it on coloured paper so that I could explore dark charcoals and white chalks for highlights.
I was disappointed with the ‘greyness’ of the tones and there did not seem to be enough contrast. The darks were not dark enough.
Looking at both drawings I prefer the ink rendition. It is more dynamic and has more interesting tonal qualities. I appreciate these are small scale drawings, and I hope the ink one will work at a larger scale for the next exercise.
Value of exercise
- Pushing beyond any percieved ‘easy option’
- Ensuring that you have explored the area from lots of different perspectives and viewpoints and not simply the most obvious ones.
- Begin to consider media choice for next exercise
What I learnt
- Once again, I think pen and wash is a great medium for exploring composition and tone in thumbnail sketches. It allows for a fine line and a build up of tone as the sketch develops
- Take a photo as a reference to ensure consistency of light and shade throughout time span of drawing, but draw scene from life.
Wonderings
- Will I be able to recreate a similar effect, quality of drawing, proportion and interesting tones using ink on a large piece of paper.
- What pens should I use for this? They need to be non permanent.
- What paper will be suitable? Paper will need to be smooth for a fine pen, but also thick enough to withstand washes without buckling.
Cathy's OCA Drawing 1 Blog 