16 December 2015

Using two chunks of empty time

Eyes shut - on the left, on a tube journey, some blind drawing - from the imagination (tea set) and then in patterns, switching the mind's eye between keeping track of the pattern and keeping track of where on the page the pen might be - a process that might get easier with practice?

Eyes open - on the right, hanging around the V&A, a hasty observational drawing of a marble carving. My pen started in the middle, or rather with the helmet above the shield, and as I worked outward the other details emerged. It was surprising that th piece wasn't symmetrical, and it was very surprising to find the eagle in the background!

Once past the nice little helmet I didn't find the rest particularly congenial - the carved leaves within the scrolled sides were particularly hard to find the edges of and keep in proportion, and then all those shaggy feathers on the little eagle could have been fiddly - but what fun to discover that the lumps at the bottom were bird's feet with talons, and those side bits were feathers, and finally the fierce head of the eagle - all these details had been buried in the monochrome of the marble. Eyes very open now!

1 comment:

Missouri Bend Paper Works said...

I love this idea of gathering with friends to spend the morning drawing at different museums! You are so fortunate to live in city with access to such gems! Love the drawings here in this post. Delightful!
Best to you, Patti