Part Two: Project 4 - Stage 2: Exercise 3

Looking for Shapes and Drawing 
So far, in project 4 we have looked at composition and developed a design.
I have looked and worked on the colour, shape and texture of an image.
 
Exercise 3 takes the development stage further.
We are to make three more drawings based on the drawing that has been finished in exercise 2.
Trying out:

• dry media - colour pencils, crayons, pastels
• wet media - gouache, watercolour, ink
• collage materials

I have decided to use the collage I made in response to the lavender fields as the drawing that I will develop.
I liked the shape of the row of trees; the way the line is drawn across the page where the trees meet the sky.

Collage of lavender fields and trees

 I also liked the textures that were drawn in the texture study:

Texture study: lavender fields

Image 1: 
I started by concentrating on the shape.
I decided to make a monochromatic study to emphasise this aspect.

Originally I painted black acrylic ink onto a heavy weight cartridge paper.
The black acrylic ink looked quite flat at this stage - whenever I have used Indian Ink or Quink Ink, the finish has always had a sheen to it.
I decided to introduce white acrylic ink drawn with a mapping pen.
I also added more lines and marks in black ink, to the central white area of the image.

Image 1: Black and white acrylic inks

I really liked the outcome of the piece.
I viewed the image from another angle, and it began to resemble a torso.

Image 1: Rotation

The lines that run down the centre could almost represent a spine.
The marks that move out from the centre might represent the nervous system
Using white ink at the edges of the image helped to emphasise the shape.
The image no longer looked flat.

Image 2:
I used the same shape as before.
It worked really well for the first sample.
This time I used black Quink Ink and bleach.

Using bleach with this particular ink helps to separate the pigments contained within the black ink.
Once the bleach is added, a sepia colour begins to appear.
Using the bleach when the ink is wet creates a softer line; a much crisper line is produced if you add the bleach when the ink is dry.

Image 2: Black Quink Ink and bleach

I also liked the outcome of this piece.
Adding bleach to the ink at the top and bottom of the piece helped to soften the edges.
It almost created a 'glow' around the central shape.

I decided to view the second image from another angle:

Image 2: Rotation

This image also resembled a torso.
The bleached marks that had looked like reflected trees, started to look like the spine and nervous system when viewed from this direction.

Image 3:
Using the same image with a dry media - charcoal.

Charcoal was smudged away from the edge of a paper stencil.
I deliberately left a gap around the central shape, as well as in the centre of the image.

Image 3: Charcoal

The image that was produced using this technique is very dramatic.
The white areas really emphasise the shape.
The central white line helps to draw the eye in.

In conclusion:
I thought I had exhausted the development of this image when I worked my way through exercises 1 and 2.

I am really glad I continued to experiment with different media, this exercise has resulted in the creation of a very different image to the one I started with.

It is a much stronger piece than the images I originally produced.
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Finished Page: