An Aiyoku Proverb

To run a great distance, you must leave everything behind.

in perspective, pretty shameful

So back to the studio then, after an extended absence. We're doing a lot of quick sketch ideas- similar to what we were doing in first year- and I'm well embarrassed by what I've produced so far!

This was for a straightforward (ahem) exercise in perspective- first, draw a plan and lay out 17 trees using any system desired (as long as there is a system!)

As usual, I spent ages thinking about what to do and had just begun laying out my grid when the order to finish was issued, leaving me next to no time to quickly place my arboreal units....

Next task was to pick a point on the plan and render a quick perspective sketch from that viewpoint:

In the words of Cleveland Brown: "Oh, that's nasty...."

Two major flaws, I guess (aside from the scratchy lollipops, three-your-old sketch of human scale element and extraneous setting sun- hey! it was a five min job!), the first being the asymmetric vanishing point- I really struggled to visualise it. Second issue was that whilst a made the arbitary (or arbor-tary... tree puns. Got LOADS) decision to make all the trees equal height and place the base of the crown at eye-level (thus level with eye-line I failed to incorporate this into crown size and kept that at same level too!

Nob-head. (Or knobhead?)

So, reeling from the pungent stench of my own failure I immediately launched into the third exercise: producing a birdseye view. From the lookj of this one, I need to eat more fishfingers:

I think we can all agree that after three years of drawing trees I have demonstrated no improvement whatsoever.

So- here is my task for next time: reproduce a plan and these three images using proper, mathematically calculated perspective. Post here. THEN: try the same exercise in sketch form (as I have done here) and hopefully we will see vast improvement!

Don't count chickens/ hold breath/ etc.

I have a few more things to post between now and then- other classroom exercises etc.

Looking forward to being pilloried.

Until next time, camaradas...

Anselm Kiefer- Lilith

Anselm Kiefer- Lilith was hanging in Tate Modern, not sure if still there but part of Tate colection. A brooding, apocolyptic presence looks down on contemporary babylon through strange eyes. Or something.

Week One- Dynamic squares

Homework for this week was to draw a seires of eight squares- each one intersected by three lines. I used coloured oil pastels... probably won't again... see where my portrait has been impressed upon the first square? Pretty spooky.

I like the red one, even if it is a bit on the vaginal side. Not such a good idea to put the pastel on so heavy, nor on both sides of the page!

i tried out some coloured charcoals my sister bought me for the next four... I liked using the white first, then drawing on top.


Thopught the bottom left was successful as a design and in terms of rendering, but I liked the top right too, for being a little Mondrian... do I even like Mondrian? Don't know.

Sadly I missed the next studio session so have no idea what the purpose of this exercise WAS. Still, it was fun. I think...

inspire.boranikolic

Some interesting quotes regarding design, creativity and process can be found here:

http://inspire.boranikolic.com/

I paricularly appreciate Andre Toet's maxim Fuck design lets dance

Worth a butcher's hook.

The Interior Landscape of Joey Donovan

An exercise for Paula, which I did not hand in... me in text and then illustrated. Tried a self portrait as it's been a few years... not a particularly convincing likeness (kind of looks like my bastard lovechild with my pal Fergus Channon).

Thing is, did portrait with mirror so thought if I did horizontal flip (thus putting me the right-way round) it might look more like me. Just looks odd! Still, couple me weeks of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and I'll be sketching like Matisse. Or I will demand my money back.

Sorry for the pretentious [literal] mind-map, but I am a pretentious [literal] person. Should have read the sketch I made prior- "My principle interests are collage, sex, violence and detournement". Actual lies! I have no interest in sex whatsoever. It just sounds cool and avant garde...

Week One Design Exercise

We were given minimal time to survey an area next to the main lecture hall- outside, I hasten to add- then come up with a design. I manage to replicate the layout fairly accurately but my final designs... let's just say I ran out of time...

Can't actually scan now so will add at later date!