DRAWING FROM REFERENCE
Considering the qualities of a drawing, working across reference, life and memory, I have produced a range of responses, and qualities. Beginning with a reference task, attempting to draw from a picture we had seen but could not refer to during the drawing process, my image making took a rather inaccurate approach. From the first image to the last it is clear that more and more details have been observed, but these don't necessarily appear understood until the image is in front of me for complete reference. I found that attempting to translate an image from memory restricted the detail in my drawings as I seemed to sacrifice details in an attempt to try and perfect the ones I had miss-communicated previously. For this face I struggled to translate the angle of the chin and the concealment of most of the right side of the face. The outcome of the complete reference drawing (top image) demonstrates a much more realistic record of form without being overly representative in line quality. From this task I feel the value of drawing from reference has become more key to my visual language. Observation reveals details that imagination cannot and so even to devise a non-representational drawing, an understanding of what is being altered and omitted is key to the image being of quality.
Working from life was a great exercise in rejecting preconceptions, observing again and again to create a body of studies that translate a wealth of interpretations and mould a more informed outcome. Drawing with ink, I felt I was able to work more fluidly, thus my drawings taking a more gestural aesthetic. Layering tone and textural qualities, the drawing process encouraged me to observe more of the tone and line information than the immediate figure of the plant, allowing these observational drawings to become less about representation and more about translating clues to the audience. From these exercises I feel I neglected my concerns with what the object looks like photographically, and focused more on what the plant looks like to me as the artist.
PEER REVIEW
Looking at the work of my peers, it seems some of the most successful images are those that observe form through quick gestural lines, relying on the process of brush on paper to translate the shape and movement of the plants in a more interpretive sense. I like the way the first image relies on the grey textures to decode the yellow imagery, showing how the artist has interpreted the plant to a stage where shape is the only concern, allowing the observation to be unique of a photographic observation. Alternatively I feel the graphic quality of the bottom image is charming in its use of more angular marks on the leaves, issuing an element of style, again offering an element that challenges a photographic translation.
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