Exhibition in Turin ''Degas. Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay''

I went to see the exhibition of Degas in Turin in January.  It was freezing but I love the works of Degas so much that I had to go.  I was very disappointed at the venue and the volume of works by the artist.  The Venue for the exhibition was very small and very dark.  The had a system of ticketing which encouraged people to book for a certain time which I did, but I guess as it was the end of the exhibition they let everyone come in at once so it was almost impossible to look at any art with out getting continually bumped by someone else.
The two paintings below are two of my favorite pieces of all art so I was fortunate to see them.

 Dancer with Bouquet 1877

Oil on canvas with pastel.

Tests Ballet Scene1874

Oil on Canvas

The Dance Class 1873

Oil on canvas

This painting was not at the exhibition, sadly, but I love the colours Degas has added to the blue white of the costumes and the different sections of the room and the different little areas that you can look at and see something unique to that section. 

Assignment 5 - Observation from Nature - Final Drawing

Final Assignment Observation of Nature

Watercolour and coloured pencil on watercolour paper.

Assignment 5 Torn Paper Collage

This is an attempt to try to recreate the drawing I did for ''Looking Closer''.  I quite enjoyed the process of cutting, tearing and gluing the paper to the background.  I am not sure I achieved much of a likeness to the original.  I think it would take me some time to create a piece of work that I considered to be good using these methods of application.  I felt very chaotic trying to make some sort of sense of the paper to get some sort of resemblance to the previous drawing.  I did add a paint and then the felt pen lines but I think I preferred it before I added anything extra. I do not think this type of art is really for me.

Assignment 5 - Looking Closer

Taking a ''closer look'' was drawn on buff paper using coloured pencils.

I was forced to simplify what I saw in my previous drawing (tonal drawing) even more than I did when I did that drawing.  I seem to want to put every detail in which is not always necessary.  The more I look at other artist's work the more I see that a simplistic method of drawing is just as effective as trying to draw every detail.  This exercise has been instrumental in forcing me to simplify my drawing methods.  When I completed the drawing I really enjoyed using the pencils to build up different layers of the colour in different areas.

Assignment 5 - Introducing Colour

The following works are a series that I did to ''Introduce Colour'' to my floral subjects.

The drawing was done over water colour that was applied randomly leaving holes to allow the white paper to show through.  I used pastel pencils to show the different tones in the flower.  I like the concept but feel it needs more work and perhaps using plain coloured pencils could have improved the work.

No. 1

The following drawing was done on a similar background of watercolour and I lifted out some of the colour to show the lighter petals.  I added depth using a darker watercolour pencil. I like this interpretation very much and feel I could do more with in future works.

No. 2

I enjoyed drawing the tulips from this angle as the flowers seem to be growing as you look at them.  Using coloured pencils I feel I have captured a good likeness of the flowers and leaves.

No.3

I used Inkense watercolour pencil and added water to only those couple of flowers on the left so see the difference compared to the others.  I think the white background distracts from the the composition.

No.4

This attempt at the watercolour with pencil did not work that well at all.

No.5

A similar result from the last, not so good.

No.6

A better example of using coloured pencil over the watercolour.  I think this has possibilities for further development.

No.7

This did not work at all well, the outlines were too much and the colours were not very compatable in their current tones

No. 8

I used oil pastels which are water soluble.  The colours of the purple and blue are very strong and harsh,  I do think however, that the pink flowers have possibilities of future development.

No.9

I consider the differences how I draw when I use colour to be similar to when I draw with only a pencil or similar.  I would like to think I do, but I must admit that sometimes the colour confuses the drawing so what I eventually end up with is not quite the drawing I began with.  I will keep this in mind for future work.  I think the method that was the most effective was in my drawing number 2, I liked the minimal lines and the lifting out of petal colour.  I also like my drawing number 4 of the tulips.  The inktense coloured pencils are very enjoyable to use as when you wet them you get a different depth of colour.  I liked the effect of some areas being wet and allowing the colour to intensify and some areas being left with the colour pencil only.  I think also to use this technique on smooth water colour paper would be a different finish to the one I have used which is a little rough.  In my drawing number 7 I enjoyed drawing over the watercolour that had dried on the paper.  It gave a very textured look to the petals of the flower.

RESEARCH POINT - David Hockney, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Camille Pissarro

David Hockney 

Born in 1937, is a very well know prolific painter living in England.  His massive amount of works can be seen on his web-site http://www.hockneypictures.com spanning from the 1950's until present day.

The first of the three drawings by David Hockney was done in 2000 and it shows a very simplistic example of drawing using different marks and lines.  I think that when I draw I seem to see so much detail, which of course there is in a view of anything, instead of just breaking down the view to basically large shapes and different tones.  This example shows with simple lines a very effective way to emphasis only the important parts of the scene or at least only the parts that drawer wants to be seen.

''The drawing for the painting - The Gate'' 2000

The finished painting of ''The Gate''  The design and execution of this painting is almost naive but very effective, you easily feel like you are looking down on the gate because of the light coloured pathway being inclosed by the darker colours of the wall on one side and the garden on the otherside.  The branches of the trees force you to look at the gate also.  I think that this particular style is probably very easy for the viewer to understand and enjoy, I like it but do not see it as a great painting because it  probably seem so naive.

The following two drawings were done at an early time by David Hockney using the same technique for both drawings in charcoal.  He has great control over the charcoal and is able to get great visual depth by using it to create light and dark areas.  I would like to work more in charcoal and need to practice and using this technique would be a good way to start.

''Cut Trees - Timber''  2008

''Trees Near Water ll'' 2008

I was actually fortunate to see a documentary on the television recently about David Hockney and the work he created for a very large exhibition.  His paintings were based on very simple line drawings of trees.  I was impressed by the simplicity of being able to duplicate similar drawings of trees over and over to create extremely large canvases which when all joined together filled a very large wall.  

Charles Rennie Mackintosh 

Born in Scotland 1868, he was an architect, designer, water colourist and artist.

''..ecconomic hardships'' (wikipedia.org) forced him to close his architectural office in Glasgow and he and his wife were took an extended holiday in Suffolk in 1914 where  he ''created many floral watercolours''  (wikipedia.org) such as these beautiful drawings below:

I particularly like the Cactus Flowers that he has drawn using minimal colour to show the shape and form of both the leaves and flowers of the cacti.  

Camille Pissarro

Born in 1831 and according to www.arthistory.upenn.ed states the  drawings Pissarro completed in is life ''a conservative estimate puts their number at well over three thousand'' many, many more than other artists of that period of time.

''View of Trees'' 1859, Pen and dark ink over pencil on grey-blue paper.

Assignment 5 Tonal Study

The tonal study which I think compared to the line drawing I find more interesting.

Assignment 5 Line Drawing

I used my computor program to enhance the drawing as it was done on buff coloured paper with a graphite pencil.

Assignment 5 Different Angles

 I used a buff coloured paper with graphite pencil so it does not photograph very well.

This photograph I tried to improve with the manipulation of a program and it is a little better to see perhaps.

Assignment 5 Draw and Select

This is the first drawing in the series of selection a subject.  I liked the composition but feel I could have placed it a little more to the right of the page.  I think was able to get the the colours correctly with graphite pencil.

When I initially looked at the plant I thought I would find it impossible to draw but by locating just one small section I was able to find a reasonably successful drawing.  The work on the left is the same as the right but the left seems lighter because of the photograph.

A similar view of the plant using charcoal.  I like the look and texture of charcoal but feel I cannot execute such a precise drawing with it.

I must admit these are my favorite subjects because of the intricate shapes of the petals and the way they all fit together in a unique and different way with each rose.  Even the same type, size and colour will have a different unique design. 

Using graphite pencil allows me to build up the tone and shapes of the individual roses which I really enjoyed.

I tried to do the Cyclamin plant and enjoyed drawing the flowers with all their unique shapes but when it came to the leaves I was a bit overwhelmed by the differences in tone and texture and layering of them.

I really enjoyed the process of drawing and selecting these subjects.  I liked process of drawing the garlic but for a final subject to draw I wanted something larger in scale which is why my final choice was to draw flowers.

Assignment 4 Tone Model in reclining post redo

Graphite pencil on white paper.

Assignment 3 - View from a Window or Open Door (re-do)

This beautiful archway is located in a small ancient village called SACROFANO, just outside of Rome, Italy.  Coloured pencil and watercolour on watercolour paper.

Assignment 4 Line and Shape Model on hard chair - (re-do)

This wonderful elderly lady sits in the piazza near my house often for long periods of time.  I was able to draw her quickly and then take a couple of photographs.  Her hands and feet are one the small side but she is very rounded in the body.  I like the contrasts of the differences.
Graphite pencil on white paper.

Sarah Simblet: THE DRAWING BOOK

''The journey of every artist demands hard work and discipline but it does help to set out facing in the right direction.''  Great words of wisdom from Simblet. But how to we know which is the right direction?  So many other things enter your life and make it difficult to concentrate enough to find the direction.  But as she states hard work and discipline is the answer.  In the words of the art historian Ernst Gombrich ''There really is no such thing as Art.  There are only artists.'' And I am hoping that is true. I still find it difficult to decide on what size sketch book I want.  A great big one, which I have, which is too big to drag around, a smaller one, which I also have which I find restrictive with not enough space.  Perhaps soon I will find the exact size and it will bring instant joy to my life for my work.  Simblet states ''The chapters of this book represent 90 different artists' ways of seeing,'' so there must be something in this book for everyone who wants to improve their drawings.
The first subjects Simblet suggests we draw are animals.  This drawing by Albrecht Durer in 1515 of the first Rhinoceros in Europe which came from India.  It was sent to Marseilles as requested by the King of France from the Portuguese King.  It was to be sent to Rome but unfortunately the ship sank and it was washed up on shore.  It was then ''carefully stuffed'' states Simblet and sent on to Rome.  The interpretation by Durer was to be the only likeness of this animal for the next 250 years. When new drawings of the Rhinoceros were made they were deemed