Assignment 5 - Conclusion

These are my preferred drawings

The original large charcoal and conte drawing 

 The pastel version.

 The small pencil sketch of the spin, which is loads better than the tidy crayon version. Though maybe the crayon versions a future as a logo somewhere....

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. 

Assignment 5 - Part 7

My daughter preferred the earlier attempts with lots of lines.

and suggested a line of smaller skaters.

These guys on a background of ultramarine and permanent rose wash (the line of the barrier was blocked off with masking tape) I wanted to keep the freshness of unplanned drawing but I'm not happy with the layout of the figures. I added movement lines in plumb coloured ink which I'd like to remove - too late now - so I added a wash of permanent rose to hope you wouldn't notice....
Maybe better cropped?

This second version had too much background paint and again the figures aren't coherent.

I added someone detail and used a rubber to create some highlights

When cropped you get this

Or with a really close crop, this

Assignment 5 - Part 6

More experiments with felt tips. This is has turned into the entry into a spin though it started with drawing random marks.

I made a larger drawing on A3 which I quite liked, but it's a bit static. The paper goes further over to the right (with nothing on it) but I couldn't fit it in my scanner and this gives you a much better view of the drawing than a photo.

Ice rinks aren't beautiful places but one of my challenges which I have yet to face was to think more about the background. I was inspired by Laura Ferguson's prepared backgrounds to get my watercolours out.

I tried splodging ultramarine paint (for the coolness of the ice rink) and permanent rose for warmth and contrast. I also splattered a large sheet of paper and tilted it to get colour runs and lines.

This looks like the arms and body of a skater so I aborted my small figures and did a test drawing in my sketchbook.

 I wasn't initially sure which way her head should be hence the extra lines.

It doesn't show movement and I couldn't fit the legs in. My tutor has previously commented that I should leave more to the viewers imagination. I may have already done too many lines so I'm stopping here. Is that copping out?

Assignment 5 - Part 5

More experiments with felt tip pens.

 Although I admire the work of comic artists I fear there may be a danger here that the images are becoming too "cartoony"

This picture is a bit disappointing, I'm starting to repeat the poses. Its on an A2 sheet because one of the criticisms from my tutor was that my drawings are placed on the middle of the page with nowhere to go.

Assignment 5 - Part 4

To try and build on the energy created by hunting for the right line I did some drawings with a dip pen and coloured ink. I intended to start with a light colour and add a darker colour once I'd sorted out where I wanted the line to be but I got carried away with trying to capture the right pose.

My daughter thought that the small blue figures were my most successful. Dip pens tend to blob occasionally and the ink bled through the cheap paper.....

 As I went on the figures became more static. I was trying to catch a point where the figure is unbalanced to see if this gave more of a feeling of movement.

 This picture is on an A3 sheet. I found it difficult to maintain the energy at this size but I did manage to use more than one colour. I like this paper but it gives off artefact's in my scanner.

 With this picture (also A3 size) I used felt tip pens to add more colour and tone.

and then tried just felt tip, using water to manipulate the extra lines.

Assignment 5 - Part 3

One of the limitations of my drawing practice is that I am too dependent on copying the scene I see in front of me. That's fine if I'm drawing something that stays put, but if I want to capture a fleeting moment I need to use my memory more and that means I need to use my imagination a bit to fill in the bits I either can't remember or couldn't see. With this in mind I changed tack on my moving skaters and tried conjure them out of my memory/imagination in my sketch book.

 I started by doodling with a blue fibre tipped pen

 Then changed to black biro.

 Then pencil and felt tip

 and ended up using a fine liner.

 I think that this sheet contains some of my more successful efforts. The process of hunting for the right line adds energy.

Formula Student - Drawings on location

I feel that I've drawn myself into a corner with the skaters and I'm not quite sure where to go next. I took my sketchbook to Formula Student at Silverstone to follow on with the theme of drawing action from life.

 There were lots of people ranging around working on the cars

 Or just chatting. I added colour to this when I got home - I was attracted to the lady in the coloured shawl who stood out like a peacock in amongst the student crews who were predominantly dressed in black.

There were a lot of people sitting around waiting for their cars  Above is a small sketch of a group where I experimented with a semi continuous line.

Spectators with colour added at home. Not much movement here.

Drawings done at home from reference photos taken on my phone. Again not much movement.

Although I enjoyed drawing and trying to capture the event on the whole I've not managed to place my figures within their environment. Apart from the last drawings I don't think that there is much sense of narrative here either.

Continuing my research I found that Lucas Museum in Chicago is dedicated to narrative art.