Project 2
Exercise 1
For this exercise we were asked to concentrate on drawing clouds in the same way as we when we concentrated on trees, creating tonal studies using a range of media – charcoal, oil pastels, conté sticks, and other medias that we have access to.
In true British style, I was able to create a range of skies and cloud formations in just one day, as the weather was feeling a little temperamental throughout the day.
I found this exercise extremely fun and really insightful. I was able to experiment with a great deal of media and styles. Similar to trees, no two clouds are the exact same so it was really enjoyable to be able to experiment with a range of media to see which best suited the subject at hand – the clouds.
For these I used a range of media and tools, and had a great time in the process.
I created the first two using a range of pastels. You wouldn’t think it but these were created at pretty much the same time of day. One half of the sky was perfect blue with a dappling of white clouds, and the other half was grey and overcast, so it was really useful to just sit for a moment and compare the two.
My tutor advised me that using lindseed oil and turps or a cotton pad to move the pastels around was a really useful blending technique, and for these two I used cotton pads, which was so useful. Oil pastels are tricky to move around as their thick and waxy. I’ve tried to smudge and move pastels around before using my fingers or kitchen roll and it just doesn’t work, however, the softness of the cotton pad just spreads the pastel without picking up too much of it, whilst collecting any excess.
For the lighter tones in these two I used a rubber eraser alongside a white pastel to accentuate this areas. My tutor also advised me to not let the edges of the page or area that I’m working to limit me, so I was mindful to allow the colours and tones to spill over – the cotton bad helped a lot in allowing me to do this.
The edges of the clouds were far lighter, and very wispy and transparent in parts. They were also changing every time I looked up which is interesting. I think I’ve managed to depict the movement in the clouds with the accuracy of the shape of them, especially in the darker of the two. Sweeping the cotton pad in the direction that the clouds were coming from was also helpful in supporting this as it gives the impression of the clouds edges blending out into that direction.
Also, using a slight touch of a darker tone added a lot of depth to the clouds. I found this in the cloud formation on the left. The cloud in the middle looked basically like a flat patch of white nothingness until I added a slight blend of a very light grey, to show the areas where the light wasn’t quite showing through.
With these two I went a bit more out of the box and out of my comfort zone.
The left-hand piece was created just before a thunderstorm hit, and I was able to see it brewing and darkening right there in front of me. The clouds grew darker and thicker and became more angry, which is what I wanted to show in this piece. I thought I’d experiment with a combination of line-work and blending, to show the severity of the clouds and the different tones within the tones.
I’m still not sure how I feel about this piece. I think I’ve captured the tonal range of this cloud formation quite well as I can see that the tone ranges from black to white and all the colours inbetween, however, I’m not sure that the lines are very effective. It’s definitely an interesting take on the creation of a cloud formation, but I think I prefer the soft blend of the pastels and the cotton pad.
This was created using oil pastels, however, I also used charcoal and conté sticks. Whilst charcoal and conté sticks are easily blended, the combination of the two and oil pastels thickened and set pretty quickly, therefore, after a few seconds I was unable to shift the mixture.
Whilst I’m unsure on this piece, I do think it displays the movement and shape of the clouds. I think it also reflects the mood of the sky, and the uneasiness and tension that builds when a storm is brewing. I’m not sure this would be useful for this particular exercise, but it was an extremely interesting experiment.
I was really lucky to catch this sunset. I was making dinner and looked up out of the window, saw it, and dropped everything that I was doing.
The combination of the sunny day and the thunderstorm had clearly taken its toll on the day and somehow I was able to catch the perfect mix of the two. The sun was setting behind these large rain clouds, which somehow seemed to enhance the darker tones of the central area of the cloud. To me, this was extraordinarily beautiful but also a little spooky.
I simply began by adding in the colours that I could see within the sunset before it disappeared. I felt that I could work around these with the darker tones so I wanted to add all that I could see whilst it was fresh and right in front of me. After adding these I grabbed a cotton pad and blended them altogether to show the transition of the colours of the sunset. This technique is one of the best that I’ve learnt and it’s so simple. It’s completely transformed many of my pieces and made them into something far more interesting. Without the blending above the colours are very severe and scribbled, however, once blended you’re able to see what they could be and the way the colours complement each other.
Next, I added the colouring of the sky surrounding the dark clouds in the centre. I didn’t realise at first but what I am doing here is starting with the lighter tones and making my through to the mid tones and then onto the darker tones. The colours of the sunset were the lighter, softer tones, the mid tones are the shades of blue in the sky and the darker tones are the clouds and the wisps across the sky.
I combined four or five different shades of blue pastel to blend together using a cotton pad, as the range of colour changes from one patch to the next. I thought I would roughly add the blue colours and then go over them again after the clouds were added. The dark clouds took up much of this area of the sky, so I felt that the blue would be blended out and in with the dark colours that I chose to create these.
For the clouds I used a combination of charcoal and conté sticks.
I began with charcoal to map out the area of the clouds and to layer the darker tones in. The edges of the clouds were still dark, but far lighter than the thicker areas of the clouds, which were predominantly in the middle.
As charcoal is extremely moveable and soft I was able to spread this with my fingers. I also felt that I was able to get a more accurate idea of the view I was looking at by using my fingers. I looked at the sky in front of me and then moved my fingers around without even looking down at the page, simply following the direction along the area of the page.
After this, I used a conté stick to layer upon the charcoal to depict the thicker, darker patches of cloud. I think this was really supportive in showing the texture in the clouds. The conté sticks are denser than the charcoal and less spreadable, so they were perfect for these thick, strong patches of dark, however, the charcoal was easily blended out so it worked really well for the wispier edges of the cloud.
I’ve recently bought some brown paper so decided to experiment on this.
It was fast approaching nighttime when I started this experiment, but I’m really pleased with the way the sky looked and the effect that I was able to capture. I think the brown paper really adds to the drawing, and made me feel more comfortable in not taking the piece right to the edges.
I used conte sticks and a small amount of charcoal for this piece. Simply scribbling the light tones into the centre, the mid tones around the area surrounding the white, and then the darker tones around the edges of the paper. I think these scribbles were an unusual but intriguing take on cloud formation but I decided against it because it just didn’t feel final to me, and looking at it made me feel slightly uneasy. I also wanted to catch the spookiness in the sky above me, and I felt that blending all the colours together would show that ghostlike scene before me in a more powerful way.
I think this piece is my favourite of the five, as the brown paper really enhances the tones, especially the lighter ones. I’m now feeling really keen to experiment further with the brown paper and to investigate all the different ways in which it can strengthen and maybe even improve my work.
Jesy Gilkes 