Week 9. Location Drawing at the Hive

Please meet at the Garage for a briefing on todays class...

Week 9. Location Drawing in the Hive.

This second week of location drawing takes place in the University and City Library, the Hive.
This task is about how you will decide your self to interpret the brief and your response to it independently, with minimum input from the Tutors.

Instead of using a typical sketchbook to draw in, we'd like you to make and use a maze-book. A maze-book is made out of single sheet of paper, folded and cut, and refolded to become a book with no discernible page order, nor top or bottom, so hence its name. This unusual format will not only change the sequence of your drawings, but how they are viewed as well.

We would like you to fill the book with drawings of the people in the building an also elements of the building itself.

·       Visitors moving about - (walking up and down stairs for instance)

·       In groups, students, families, library employees.

·       Library staff, librarians, café staff, cleaners, security etc.

·       People interacting with each other (putting up exhibitions!).

·       Young or/and old.

Remember how important it is to include the context of the HIVE, so include the;

·       Stairway,

·       Bookcases,

·       Café

·       Architectural fixtures, etc.

Consider all views, (not just eye level), such as;

·       Look through the library window to the outside world. 

·       Looking up to floors above,

·       Looking down to floors below

Use a viewfinder to help frame interesting and dynamic compositions, remember you can;

·       Zoom in, looking at detail

·       Zoom out, to include context

Use the maze book inventively,

·       Consider drawing across double spreads, or even several pages.

·       Use both portrait and landscape

·       Compare and contrast busy compositions with simple minimal compositions.

·       Quick, speedy drawings and longer duration, slower drawings.

·       Pace the book with pages of context, then pages of people in context.

Employ a variety of suitable techniques and approaches introduced during the drawing module.

You may also use any dry media. 

Write a list of potential drawing techniques and materials you'll likely to employ...

Maze-Book instructions

Week 8 Location Drawing, River Walk

Location Drawing River Walk

"I never really expect to find my subjects ready made. Effective drawing outdoors demands the imagination to reorganize and regroup scattered elements. For instance, I may be stopped by a landscape of undulating yellow corn fringed at the top by a strip of mountains. On reflection, however, I may feel that this looks a little monotonous. So I scan the terrain to see what other elements might be added: an engraved milestone, an artesian well, a tree or two, might make this into a more dramatic composition."

Recomposing Nature, Creative Pencil Drawing by Paul Hogarth.

The aim of this week's drawing session is to capture in your sketchbooks 4 contrasting areas of interest along Worcester's river Severn.

Inspired by the reportage illustrator Paul Hogarth's (1917-2001) drawing approach of 'recomposing nature', we'd like you to make 4 composite drawings - one for each area of interest.

These drawings should aim to convey something distinctive about the selected environment/landscape.  e.g. the beautiful and jetting architecture surrounding Worcester Cathedral, the weirs and dams of the industrial revolution's canal system, or the currents, floating debris, the wildlife (such as the swan sanctuary, cormorants and king fishers) of the Severn,  it's up to you, we're looking forward to seeing the river and surrounding area through your eyes !

To achieve the best results, start by making lots of very quick thumbnail sketches of  the area, these might be architectural detail, or trees, people, etc - whatever captures your interest. This will help you work out the central points of your drawing, or/and what to include or leave out.  Next, draw the key subject areas in your sketchbook page/s, then add other elements, making a conscious decision where to place them in relation to the rest of the drawing composition, be it foreground, middle-ground, background etc.

It's important to consider what materials, techniques, and tactics you'll employ to best convey the characteristics and mood of the area. Don't just use pencils! Remember all the approaches you've used during the course of the drawing module. What are they and how best could you employ them for this assignment?

Victorian Cemetery, Cambridge, England.  The wide variety of ornament in any kind of cemetery makes an excellent exercise for the artist who wishes to understand architectural detail. The cedar trees which dominate the composition were moved in to relieve the rather gray linear quality of the tombs. This is also the purpose of the figures in the center and immediate foreground.  
Paul Hogarth, Creative Pencil Drawing.

River Walk Map