Hebden Bridge: Colours in Spring

This drawing was created using 2H, 2B pencils and a variety of coloured pencils. It is a scene that deals with colour in the town of Hebden bridge and contains lighting that is created through the vibrant colours.  The countryside is nicely captured in the varying textures and shades of green with the bare trees scattered throughout it. This foliage works well and helps to show the brightness of the day. The bridge itself took some time to get right as one half is straight and the other half curves. With the addition of colour, the entire bridge does seem to curve incorrectly which is an issue that could only be rectified by straightening the edges with darker lines.

The contrast of textures between the cool trees and the warm building is also evocative of the colour of the day. There isn't a cloud in the sky and its clear message of a sunny day in Spring is one that definitely shines through. The buildings are all straight and have a sense of depth volume and weight. The texture of the water seems to have worked as well as it is a combination of crosshatching black, brown and blue which gives a somewhat watery look. This has also translated well in the blackened areas that convey shadow in and around the sides of the water.

The rule of thirds is present in this drawing and there is a convergence of vanishing points in the distance. The eye is also drawn to the center before the outside, something that was intentional through slight tone variations. In conclusion, this excursion allowed for a drawing that depicts the warmth and beauty of an exterior natural setting and the use of colour only enhances this further.    

National Media Museum: Modern interior

Today's drawing was at the National Media Museum in Bradford. It was difficult to find an interesting composition that would form an attractive piece of interior architecture. This staircase was chosen and purposely cropped in order to fully highlight the spiralled nature and textural variety whilst still managing to keep to the rule of thirds. Different tones and areas of rubbing helped to depict textures. This is evident mainly on the reflective glass around the staircase and on the thin strip of light running down the length of the rail. 

As far as shapes go, it is a very linear composition but it does also contain many squares which add to it's variety and realism. The shading that was incorporated is also a contributing factor to the form of the objects and give them a less flat and more pronounced feeling, There is clear implied line running from the bottom left foreground to the bottom right foreground and around in a circular path to the top left background. The jagged nature of stairs adds a nice contrast and balance to the flat walls and glass of the rest of the drawing. Finally, the overall drawing, completed using dark and light pencils and some small areas of marker in darker sections, conveys a sense of depth and volume thanks to the lighting in the image. There had been many other areas in the museum where lighting played a factor to the drawing but this was the best one due to the reflective elements and shadowed areas. It was also directly facing a large window which brightened some parts, most notably the bottoms of the steps in the left of centre. 

This drawing was inspired by having to look deeply for places of interest in a building that was relatively dull architecturally. When this was found, it was successful because it helped to create beauty in a scene that I did not originally see beauty in. It broadened my perspective on searching for scenes and the best possible drawing in a given space.

Next week: Hebden Bridge        

Cartwright Hall: Classical interiors

The layout of this drawing was chosen after careful consideration if the hall's interior and how the various different shapes within it, complemented each other in the best possible way to create an interesting balance of weight, depth and attraction. This scene, of the staircase, which in some ways reminds me of an old castle interior contains various textures and elements that draw the eye. The cup, the stairs and the walls all have different materials that make them but they all work together to allow for a better finished piece.

Looking at the idea of symmetry and the rule of thirds, this scene was also chosen for it's various angles and perspective lines such as the way the two halves converge on an imaginary line in the central distance and how the staircase and it's banister help to give a sense of depth and volume to the lower floor and itself. One issue is that of the ceiling and its angle. Due to the slant on it, it makes the picture look slanted and this optical illusion is an annoyance of the picture.

Elsewhere though, the addition of smudging and tone also help to add to the overall idea of depth and volume with smaller, more detailed designs having been added to areas of the pillars which emphasise the building's architectural precision. There is a nice variety of shapes in this composition as well such as in the square windows in the centre, the rounded edged cup in the centre foreground and the arches in the left and central background all of which help to ensure that the scene has a point of interest in every third of the drawing. Pencil was the chosen medium for this as it allowed for the effective representation of those sharp boxed lines around the stairs and pillars. Starting with a lighter 2H for general mapping and sizing, before moving on to a B for shading and relining the piece was the best method that I thought would capture the architectural realism of the hall.      

Finally, the lighting in the room came from the window, with a small amount of light coming in from the left and right sides of the image. This added to the composition but made it more difficult to fully capture some smaller element near the base of the window. Overall though, this drawing has worked with various levels of success. There is a clear sense of balance and depth but there are certain issues in the way the perpective works on the tops of the pillars. They were angled slightly off of where they should be but it isn't a major issue and doesn't draw the viewer's eye away from the overall drawing.