Still Life Drawing - C+

In my still life I used an apple. a pear and a pair of scissors. I chose to frame the scissors between the apple and the pair to show an image with a simple yet stylish display. It was difficult to show the framing in the image because of the large amount of shadows present.  When I began working with these items I found myself using rounded lines to implicate a variety of curves and shapes. I also used light shadowing to make the 2d image appear slightly more 3d looking. I found my struggles came most when attempting to draw the pear, the variation in the pear with the curved rounding in multiple directions. The apple had two main curves to it, up to down and left to right while the pear appeared to have three or more the left and right, up and down and the multitude of diagonals made it difficult to fully make the pear seem like a 3d shape in 2d form. The scissors had a strong light and dark tones where within millimeters it could go from nearly pure black to nearly pure white. I used the graphite stick, my pencil, vine charcoal along with white pastel to present these abrupt changes. Before I began the contour shape, I placed the key light and dark places, but as I went along I found myself finding more and more places where it was dark and light. The apple was a major part of this with the bottom being a weirder shape then the rest. I found myself struggling to fully place all of the black spots, but I believe that in the end, I completed my work to the best of my ability.

Artwork: The example of framing is not demonstrated as overlapping of the objects are meant to be used in surrounding the chosen main object. This example has all three objects lined next to each other in a row which creates a very boring layout. The rendering of the shapes (apple and scissors) can still be seen and should be erased. The pear outline is too dark as objects in real life do not have a dark outline to them.

Blog post: The image can not be enlarged to look at the drawing in detail, and the text is not properly formatted in paragraph form. Separate ideas with full stops and in paragraph form is easier to read and more organized.  

Still Life Drawing- Grade C

 The steps to drawing still life are: 

1. Set tonal ground by using charcoal and blending it before starting the objects  

2.  Sketch loosely the main shapes of the object (triangles, circles, squares) 

3. Then when you begin to shade make sure your eyes are on the object and paying attention on the lighting and how it reflects onto the objects. 

4. When you find where to shade first do the lightest and darkest values first and then add the middle values 

5.Then once you finish shading add curves to add realism.    

In class we learned about cropping, framing, sketching, and shading. i used framing for my still life by having the main object being in the center. It also adds a over lapping effect which makes it look real. Before we rendered our objects we covered the entire page with a light coat of charcoal to use as a background for our objects. But i then realized that i shaded a little more than i should have and chose to erase around the objects to show contrast.  For shading i found that it was easier for the shade of the objects, but as i went to shade for the reflection of the lights onto the object i struggled with the stuffed animal and the purse.  

Artwork: Following the contour in shading with the stuffed animal, shadows, and erasing around the objects would need further refinement. As you can see in the stem of the tomato, shading and details have yet to be completed.

Blog post: This student did not properly crop the image to the edge of the picture plane (where the edge of the drawing ends). Formatting of a consistent font and the grammar in using 'i' needs to be addressed within the writing. In addition, the student did not provide successes and challenges to the project.