Part 4 - Project 1 - Found images

I found it difficult to get a reasonable photo of this piece of wire that had broken loose from a concrete fence. The line changed depending upon which angle it was viewed from.









Below are marks I found on the tarmac at Silverstone which I suspect were made by someone spraying something from a car and were incidental rather than deliberate. I'm not sure that they count but they seem primeval almost like cave paintings so I'm including them.

The silhouette of tree branches was given as an example in the brief for this project so I feel a bit that I'm cheating here but I was attracted to the dark lines of the branches against the canopy of leaves here.

I found these fantastically twisted branches.

 There were these fallen logs with lines of peeling bark.

and sweeping lines on the top of this tree stump which looks as though it has been painted though I'm not sure whether its some sort of rot or fungus.

Tree roots

Ivy growing up a tree.

This is another incidental man made image.

 It looks like an a semi abstract landscape. Again possibly stretching the brief a bit here.

The wind blowing the grasses and nettles at the base of this fence make sweeping lines as it scratches the weathered wood.

 

Another fence running over uneven ground reflects the line of the land beneath. (sorry not a great photo here)

This field runs alongside a small stream which burst its banks in the recent heavy rains and drew a line of leaves and debris in the grass.

If Donald Urquhart can draw in water with poles then the pillars of the Charring Cross Railway Bridge in the Thames must count as drawing too.

I made some drawings from my images. First some simple experiments prompted by the loose wires.

 I feel that there is some potential to do something with these but I haven't found it yet

The tree stump which looks like a flower, there are many repeated patterns in nature.

 the twisted branches 

 and the ripples from the bridge supports

I liked the twisted branches best so I developed the drawing using charcoal and a rubber

Best with a hint of green pastel for the background I think.

I'm quite pleased with this. It does have a rather illustrative quality, I could see it as the cover of a book or part of the forest from a children's book with furry characters hiding. It is quite old fashioned in feel, sort of Toad of Toad Hall.

Reflection

I didn't expect to but I've really enjoyed this exercise. It's a good way to find inspiration for new work and I think it could be a useful exercise when I'm uninspired and blocked to get me working again. The marks in nature are actually quite difficult to reproduce without making them look stilted and selfconcious, this is an encouragement to relax my hand and loosen up with my mark making.

Tutor feedback
Suggested that I asked myself questions about the works;

Why do I consider this a drawing/or not?
This is contentious and the answer will depend on who you ask, but for me at the moment I define a drawing as being primarily about line. Something that is created by the artist thinking about the boundaries and edges rather than mass and volumes. This is why I don't classify the side of this lorry as a drawing.

Am I looking at the landscape differently?
Yes. I'm drilling deeper into what I see, not just looking at the surface and the overall view but isolating elements and assigning different values and meaning to what I see there.
What is the difference between a found drawing and a studio drawing? 
In a found drawing you work with what you have. The art is in spotting the drawing, like a hidden shape in a children's comic. It's more like photography in that the basic elements are there whether you see them or not, they depend on the way that they are interpreted. A studio drawing is about control inventing shapes and lines, making decisions. The studio drawing may be of a found drawing but if that is the case then there is still potential for the artist to change the lines, adding something in or leaving it out. There is more choice, the lines are interpreted and translated with varying degrees of accuracy, either accidental or deliberate.