Landscape drawing: Scenic composition

This week, we drew scenic compositions from inside. From the window of the university library, there was a visibly beautiful scene that could be drawn. Using a variety of pencils to experiment with layering and hardness of line, the scene came together. The pencils used were 2H, 2B and 6B. This difference of pencil lighting is most evident in the left of centre where the edges of the roof is darkened and the trees contain various levels of light and darkness in order to create the illusion of depth.

The vanishing point of the piece is in the center background and so a lot of work was put into making the various lines converge on this piece. Many small details were added for texture as well in order to create more three dimensionalism and form to the smaller objects of the drawing without taking away from the overall composition. The roof in the bottom left area moves nicely off of the page. It works to give a sense of continuation to the viewer as there is an implication of further scenery to the left of the canvas. The small details on the brick walls are powerful in adding depth to the shape too. This worked as the bricks were naturally around the same size and shape and so, this symmetry is pleasing to the eye.

More work could have been added to the tone of the grass in order to further the implication of a grassy area to the left of center but it isn't a huge problem as the trees draw the eye away from this and make the viewer automatically respond to it as grass even if they haven't necessarily seen the real scene.The use of the rule of odds came into play when choosing this scene as I made sure that there was a point of interest in each ninth of the picture. This has worked well for the overall composition and has provided a lot of interesting textures, sizes and tones that work individually as the eye looks around the drawing but also as a whole, complimenting each area. This has been a successful drawing but there are some noticeable issues such as the flat 2D nature of the building in the background. This was a perspective issue that came from my vision obscurity through looking from a small, high angled space.

The composition does well to fill up the space without seeming crowded or under used. As this was early morning, the light was quite evenly spread but it did come slightly more from the left of center which I incorporated into the tone and shading aspects of my drawing. There is a definite implied line as one looks at the drawing and automatically follows the path of the zig-zag building roof before looking at the back right and looping around anti clockwise to the bottom left. Finally there is a very still and calm mood that suggests peace and tranquility even though it had rained earlier that day. One thing that doesn't work as well is that some of the pencil quality is quite blunt which limits the realism in places. This does however, make it stand out in others such along the outline of the path.

In conclusion, scenic composition has provided me with a chance to experiment with layout, lighting, tone and general drawing ability which allowed me to create a composition that was inspired by a nice scene that combines both rural and urban elements.