This is my still life piece for Assignment two.
Subject
I chose subject content that I like and therefore prefer to draw. I chose vegetables that I like to cook with and that I think are interesting in shape, colour, form and texture. I have added rosemary and a carafe of wine too with the aim of adding more variety and interest.
The aubergine are smooth and have a long oval shape, the peppers are more irregular in shape and create an opportunity to develop tone to achieve the effect. The onion has a papery outside texture but has a rich sheeny colour and inside the onion there are regular but subtle lines of colour. The lemon has a bobbly texture which catches the light. The rosemary is spiky and so provides good contrast. I think the carafe presented a challenge in terms of achieving a smooth reflective surface with the same medium in which I am trying to achieve a variety of surface textures.
Media
I chose to use oil pastels as I like the richness, depth and vibrancy of colour they offer. I wanted to explore more the technique of layering them up and scraping off to achieve finer detail. I decided they suit the subject matter in terms of giving the rich deep and vibrant colours of the subject matter I have chosen and the ability to give impression of detail. I did try out the media on a number of the items in the final piece to satisfy myself of this.
Composition
In selecting the variety of objects already mentioned, I was thinking too about the fact that together they would make for an interesting and cohesive composition. I did try out different compositions by setting them up and photographing them to see if they worked. I did sketch a couple of different compositions one using conte and another using oil pastels In the end I changed it somewhat to take out a very complicated basket and I loosened up the composition and added the herbs. I was satisfied with the composition at this point. I added a strong light over the top to create interesting shadows.
Preliminary work
My view on my final work
I really enjoyed working on this piece and hence spent far too long on it. I am still not entirely happy with it but I do think I have demonstrated the following:
- I selected the subjects with colours that I felt were a good and vibrant combination. I tried to use what I had learnt about drawing with tone to depict the shadowing.
- I believed I could do this compoition successfully in oil pastel and it was my choice also because I like its bold nature. Had I done this using, say, coloured pencils I could not have achieved the richness and vibrancy I wanted though I may have been able to achieve better detail. But I understood that from the beginning.
- I think the composition is interesting not just because of variety of form and texture but because it is cohesive. It tells a story of a lifestyle, a way of cooking, my personal taste etc.
- I used a variety of mark-making, hatching, applying the pastel thickly at times, blending, layering and scraping off. The rosemary was drawn with single flicks of a variety of shades of green and there was some delicate removing here and there too.
- I think I achieved a depth in the picture with my composition, good contrast in terms of colour, shape and texture and impression of tone by use and removal of particular colours which contrasted with the subject matter and suited the task of creating shadows.
- I think I was successful in accuracy of form.
My one problem area was the garlic in the middle. There is a bulb, two sections of garlic next to it and behind there is just the papery shell of the garlic that comes away when you pull it apart. Being such a delicate subject and so subtle in colour I deliberately placed it in front of the courgettes and onions with their strong colour to use the negative space to bring out the garlic. But it was hard and I think I wasn't successful on close inspection though when you look at the final picture overall it doesn't stand out as a problem.
