These are my preferred drawings
The original large charcoal and conte drawing
The pastel version.
The lower right hand figure in this fine liner sketch
These pen and ink drawings
This felt tip sketch which is about A4 in size
This felt tip drawing of the entry to a spin
and the splodgy watercolour figure who isn't really moving
I think the drawing that best captures movement is this small sketch
although of the bigger more finished drawings I think this is the best
Maybe this cropped has more punch
Artists Statement
I want to use drawings as a way to make time stand still so that the uniqueness and beauty of the moment can be captured to be examined and fully appreciated. To do this, for this project, I choose to use ice skaters as my subject because they move rapidly, but in a predictable pattern with repetition. I have had plenty of opportunities to closely observe how they move, and as an amateur ice skater I have myself experienced many of the movements that I have drawn so that I can include my own feelings of how the pose works as well as how it looks to an audience. The subject of my drawing becomes such a focus that I often forget to consider the environment that surrounds them, I need to address this by including some background. I aim to make my drawings bigger than I am comfortable with and to be more creative with how I place the figure on the page.
Before I started I looked at videos of ice skating on YouTube to try and break down the elements of action, and made drawing based on what I saw however I found that I made better drawings by using my memory and imagination which was based on my earlier visual studies.
My work has been influenced by my research into other practitioners but particularly the carefully executed dance drawings of Karolina Szymkiewicz and the multiple overlaid lines of Jane Waller. Also the paper preparation techniques of Laura Ferguson.
I have tried to experiment and take risks with all the drawings in this project so most of the drawings weren't planned. The liveliest drawings happened when there is evidence of my search for the best line and when I didn't know how the figure was going to take shape or what they would be doing. Ice rinks are not beautiful places but I imagined some background for the main drawings to give the figures a sense of place. A variety of media was tested but I think the most successful drawings were made using felt tip pens or with ink, either applied with a dip pen or from a fine liner.
On reflection I don't think that I have yet drawn movement in a way that I am happy with but I have improved my figure drawing. I didn't expect to be working from my imagination when I started this project but I have found the experience very liberating. I would like to do more reportage style drawing and oddly I think that working from my imagination has improved my visual memory which will help me to capture images of people as they move past me. My composition still needs working on, most of the figures are whole and are placed centrally on the page, some cropping may help but in future I need to think more about the layout before I start.
