Exercise: Stipples and Dots

I completed this exercise on 25th Feb 2013

I chose a sprig of dried chillies from last year's harvest that I hadn't got round to stripping off and grinding up. I thought that the deep creases in the surfaces of the glossy dried surface would be interesting to try to capture.

The technique of building up tone using tiny dots created with a drawing pen was time consuming. Initially I found it quite relaxing and meditative with the silence only interrupted by the gentle tapping of my pen on the paper.  After about an hour, it started to become tedious. I kept taking breaks and coming back to it as I really didn't enjoy this painstaking work.

The final result, however does show some potential. I used two different types of marks one for the object itself and one for the areas of shadow to try to differentiate the two. 

The composition is not great. The sprig does not fill the paper well. This may be partly because I tried to start off straight away in stipples without mapping out the form in pencil first. I have cropped the photograph which improves the situation slightly but I think the composition lacks impact.  I am quite pleased with the folds and creases in the leaves and the chillies themselves though.

On the whole I don't think I have the patience required to use this technique on a regular basis. I'd prefer to work in a larger and bolder way.