Week 10: a fantastic term for everyone!

In our final session of the term we enjoyed some rather crummy nibbles (thanks Yvonne!) and brilliant work by all. No comments this time as these were given in class. Watch out on this blog over the coming weeks for a short fun movie of your work! Meanwhile enjoy the paintings and drawings below...

Yvonne

Andy

Andy

Caroline

Claire

Dot

Ella

Graeme
 

Graeme

Jeff

Rebecca

Week 9: fabulous observation skills

This is our second from last session of 2018! Everyone is starting to get to grips with proper observation in their drawing, in their understanding of the shapes that make up their subject and in their understanding of colour and tone.

Andy: so good to see you working with better quality original images - it shows in the quality of your drawing.  Keep adding tones to the faces using pencil - try a softer pencil eg 2 or 3B. Then paint the background in several colours.

Claire: superb light in your colours (tints) with skilful contrasting dark colours (tones). Your soft blending is starting to work (right hand sky) so stay focused on that and make all your sky edges, where colours meet, to "blur" together. 

Dot: brilliant control of toned (greyed) colours yet achieving an atmospheric light. Keep gently adding layers of pastel colours to enrich the surface.

Ella: your sensitive and careful approach is working beautifully even at this early stage, This is a slow technique but you be hugely rewarded by the end of the drawing so do not worry about how long it takes and stay focused. Look for at least three basic tones in all the shapes to change the outline flat shape into rounded "forms". Increase the darkness in the darker areas of the drawing to heighten the contrast with the middle and light tones. 

Graeme: excellent painting technique. Now that you are using more paint on the surface your skills are having more room to develop and improve. Think about every shape and try to give them a consistently painted surface so the one shape does not look unfinished compared to the rest.

Jeff: excellent progression of technique and observation, especially your understanding of light and colour temperature. You don't need to make your shadows quite so dark. Look at how the main tower shadow has light in it (well done!) and use that as your compass for shadows in the whole picture.

Rebecca: this is really coming together now! Your trees are very well observed and with excellent light touch to the shapes and colours. The outer edges (contour) of the trees are especially well done. Perhaps for the final stage add more ranges of blue and purple to the sky.

Yvonne: early days but you are now starting to tame the beast!  Your use of studies for the various areas (and challenges) is a vey powerful and effective learning tool and it shows (as can be seen below). In the large picture, continue to work on those areas where you have solved the puzzles in your small studies. 

Yvonne: see comments above. Look carefully at how the colour can change as the stone turn towards the light (right end edge near the door frame.

Week 8: fabulous work

Everyone is working really hard to develop their project paintings and drawings. It is paying off with great progress by everyone.

Yvonne: excellent small scale study with good observation of close, deep tonal relationships. To increase the definition of leaves at the top, add dark blue/brown between the leaves to increase contrast between wall and leaf.

Yvonne: good start to your next study for your main painting. Look for shapes within each stone including the contrast of the earthy tones.

Andy: excellent continuing development of your skills.  Perhaps add a second tone of yellow on the guitar body to suggest reflection of the varnished surface.

Caroline: strong start. Keep shapes fairly simple. It is dark tones and cold versions of colour that make a scene like this work to create that cold, sharp feel.

Dot: such a great start with bold confident shapes and curves. You are on the right track with the overall darkening of the colours, keep doing this. They will look a little flat perhaps because of the dark tones but don't worry, you need to do this to be able to then maximise the colour effect when you add the final brighter colours

Ella: a very good start. Try to be more confident with the style of line you use. It is okay to start with feathered lines like now to feel your way towards accuracy but then decide on the final accurate line within these feathered lines and make them a bold and confident with sufficient hand pressure.

Graeme: your best painting yet. It feels complete and well thought through in terms of the objects which tell the story. Have a look at the way Georgia O'Keefe paints her animal skulls against New Mexico skies for new ideas on how you could paint yours in your next painting.

Jeff: brilliant start with the tones and soft blending on the Angel statue. Look at how rusted metal has a very warm, deep look and see what colours you can see that make this effect and reproduce them in your painting. 

Rebecca: this is so great. You are working really well with dark moody colours and the variety of contrasts you are achieving give it a wonderful sense of drama, two types of drama in fact - in the light areas and in the close dark, more subtly contrasted areas.