Exercise: Using Colour

My models were not available on the day that I did this exercise so I used an online pose generator and myself as references. I started off by using colour just for its tonal value or to suggest movement rather than as a realistic illustration of the colours observed. I did some very rapid sketches in my A3 Sketchbook using coloured ink and then moved on to Inktense bars and watercolours. 

A3. Ink.

I like the sense of movement in these initial ink and brush Drawings. I have also continued to try out foreshortened view for extra practice.

A3 Ink

A3 Ink

A3 Watercolour

I drew a rapid sketch of Luigi leaning his teeth and used watercolour to establish the main tonal values. I think I've captured the pose quite well. The drawing was looking good until I decided to restate and darken the shadows with Payne's Grey. This completely killed the freshness of the colour I had used and I really wish I had left it at the very basic sketch I started with. 

A3 Inktense Bars

I moved on to use inktense bars. I am still struggling with this medium - not sure I'll ever get to grips with them. I think they have great potential as they produce some great vivid colours. However, in this sketch I have struggled so much to handle them the I've lost sight of the proportions of the figure.

Next I moved on to using my own face as subject. I decided initially to look in detail at the texture and colour of individual features. I used a magnifying mirror and described all the details including thread veins. I used coloured pencil. I'm not very good at leaving white highlights so I had to go back in with white gouache to place highlights at the end to give an idea of the reflections and moistness of the eye. I think these drawings are quite successful and could be built up into a piecemeal portrait. 

My final drawing for this section was a collage self portrait. I have posed myself for a 'selfie' holding my chin up to disguise my double chin and to emphasise my cheekbones. I've created the collage by 'painting' with pieces torn from a women's glossy magazine with adverts for cosmetics and skin creams which I think fits with the fact that in the selfie I am posing to try to make myself look younger and thinner.

A2 Self Portrait - Collage

I thoroughly enjoyed making this collage, searching through the pages of the magazine for scraps of the appropriate colours to build my face.It did feel a bit more like a craft project than a drawing at times though. The large amount of yellow here reflects the fact that I was illuminated by a yellowish toned electric light. This is the first time I have tried working in collage in this way. Overall I think the drawing is quite successful. Unfortunately, it is not entirely accurate in that one of my eyes has drifted somewhat down my face. I could have constructed another one over the top in a better position but having lovingly constructed the eye from tiny scraps of torn paper I couldn't bring myself to cover it up. This may be a mistake but it isn't always easy to be objective when you've spent a long time on a piece of work. 

This collage is really quite illustrative in nature. I have basically painted with torn paper. I would also like to try using collage in a more abstract way - something to look forward to.