The four people who turned up were brilliant just to stick with it, and get something out of the day - well done.
ELIZABETH said :- "We had lovely weather again so were very lucky.
The only problem being half term it was very busy so I was not able to sit
where I planned. I tried to be big and bold as you asked. The last one is
how I felt at the end of the afternoon with everyone standing in my way and
moving while I tried to draw! It was nice to meet up with the others and
exchange ideas and gossip. It was also encouraging to get comments from
them."
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| Elizabeth - Greenwich Cafe |
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| Elizabeth - Greenwich Cafe - Choas |
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| Greenwich View |
Oh Elizabeth, you are brilliant! Each of these stands on its own, and need no further expansion. These are not 'initial studies' - they are statements in their own right.
The blue one is fabulous, mainly due to its very, very clever use of counterchange. The lights against darks, and darks against lights - even down to the one dark blue dot in a row of light dots. THIS IS WHERE YOUR NATURAL STRENGTHS LIE. The black and white one has similar skills, with a fascinating rhythm of light and dark across the paper. The difference in the line qulaity is a joy, and terribly clever.
What both of these do is offer a really refreshing statement about human interaction, what happens when people come together - as couples or as groups. I want you to think about why this can or cannot be 'IT' - the voice of Elizabeth Court. Does it need to be painted? Does it need to be 'more finished'? To be discussed. What do other people think?
Having said all this, I also really like the view across the park, with the very expressive long shadows, and the soft, runny foreground trees. I KNOW what struck you, and that's what counts. Agaian, i'm not sure what more you could do to this.
However, the main joy are your two figure studies. They are a unique voice, and very accessible.
GERALD then said :- "Not a very productive or creative day I'm afraid, too much wandering around looking for inspiration and not enough drawing.
No 1 The propeller looks particularly lame, like Mickey Mouse ears! So I took on board comments and have done a further thumb-nail to just suggest the turning blades.
No 2 The view across the park to the Observatory. I was attracted by the rhythm of the tree trunks and will try to work this further into a painting.
No 3 The hanging lanterns. Possibly most successful drawing of the day. I was attracted by the points of light in an otherwise dark passageway and hope this can be developed. "
The propeller is particularly tricky, and last time Penny struggled with it. The blades are such bulbous shapes, it's very difficult to do anything much with them.
You seem to be quite hooked on the strong dark shape of the horizontal beam, and the blades are almost embarrassed to show themselves against it. What if you added some of the blades, or a portion of blade, to the black and white patterning. Just because we all know that the blades were all made of the same material, and belonged to the same machine, doesn't mean that they HAVE to all be treated the same way. That single black line across the picture doesn't help very much, as it is at the moment.
The landscape piece has promise. as you say, and the rhythm of the trunks is indeed interesting (with subtle changes of rhythm across the span of them). Consider also the rhythm of horizontals - grass, hill, trees, sky. Could they enter into the rhythmic options? I can see you've toyed with the possibilities of what to do with the stretch of open grass - a rectangular block, or a diagonal lead-in - hmmm - so much to consider!
Your no. 3 has great promise, too. Again, rhythm will be the main motivating influence on what you do with it. Isn't that interesting
Why not think of the 3 pieces as being a set, all about rhythmic possibilities. So your subject is not the 'thing', per se. It is RHYTHM, and what you can do with it. Up to you.
Well done though, in those tricky conditions.
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| Gerald no. 1 |
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| Gerald no. 2 |
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| Gerald no. 3 |
The propeller is particularly tricky, and last time Penny struggled with it. The blades are such bulbous shapes, it's very difficult to do anything much with them.
You seem to be quite hooked on the strong dark shape of the horizontal beam, and the blades are almost embarrassed to show themselves against it. What if you added some of the blades, or a portion of blade, to the black and white patterning. Just because we all know that the blades were all made of the same material, and belonged to the same machine, doesn't mean that they HAVE to all be treated the same way. That single black line across the picture doesn't help very much, as it is at the moment.
The landscape piece has promise. as you say, and the rhythm of the trunks is indeed interesting (with subtle changes of rhythm across the span of them). Consider also the rhythm of horizontals - grass, hill, trees, sky. Could they enter into the rhythmic options? I can see you've toyed with the possibilities of what to do with the stretch of open grass - a rectangular block, or a diagonal lead-in - hmmm - so much to consider!
Your no. 3 has great promise, too. Again, rhythm will be the main motivating influence on what you do with it. Isn't that interesting
Why not think of the 3 pieces as being a set, all about rhythmic possibilities. So your subject is not the 'thing', per se. It is RHYTHM, and what you can do with it. Up to you.
Well done though, in those tricky conditions.
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| Jane - staircase drawings |
Next we have JANE, who wasn't there last time. She said :-
"Here are my sketches. I was rather taken by the spiral staircase and shadows.
I took photos from Observatory Hill. Too many people there to feel comfortable sketching.
Lovely sunny day."
Well done Jane. I'm glad you found somewhere to hide in the Queen's House, at least.
Very interesting set. What is so good is the transition through the studies. the first one is fairly obviously stairs, and shadows on the wall. As we go through the drawings, the two things (one hard and tangible, and the other transient and insubstantial) morph together. It all comes down to the quality of the curves, in the end, and no. 6 shows them off to great advantage. No. 5 is different, because the stair-pattern has become a central rectangular block. Clever.
One thing though. The main compositional motifs are the curves against the rectangles. I worry about the diagonal nature of the shadowed 'grid' in the top right quarter. Diagonals don't really come in anywhere else, and it strikes a rather jarring note against the elegance of everything else. What can you do - square them off? reduce them?
When you move into colour, remember what we were saying last time. I'd like you to do some in colours mixed as neutral as possible. Try mixing 5 versions of grey, all from different starting colours - you'll get lovely blue-greys, yellow-greys, pink-greys etc. which will blossom when placed against each other. Once you feel comfortable with these, inject a bit of purer colour into one of them - and remember your tones - keep to your drawings. Good luck.
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| Pat 1 |
Finally, we have PAT, who said :- "Yesterday was sunny and warmer than our first visit I decided to work on the interior space of the Queen's House this time. Working from the new drawings I aim to loose much of the detail and hope to find the sense of place-using colour to reflect the grandeur of the house."
Pat, I really like this set. You've really thought about the SPACE - both the real space, and the space within your frame. I like the fact that you can go into the picture space, and enjoy jumping across the surface, too. 2D and 3D in perfect harmony, different layers of looking. Really good. So, consider that when you are working them up. That play on space can still happen, however abstract the piece. I can't wait to see what you produce! No pressure!!
Well done the 4 of you. Lots of ideas.
