Monday Drawing Composition Placing things on the page 13th October

Placing things on the page 13th October

Today's drawing lesson focussed on composition; a continuation from last week. We started with a quick talk about the handout on composition we were given last Monday. This was to make sure we all understood how composition works and the methods some artists use to achieve a unified and interesting composition.

After the talk was over, I was set the task of completing two drawings from the large scale setup that was in the centre of the room. I had to draw one large A1 drawing and one smaller A2 drawing. This was different from last Monday's lesson as today the subject was already there, but I had to pick a section draw.

Starting with the smaller drawing, I considered the assembly of objects in front of me. In my mind I tried to frame each part as if it was already a finished drawing. With composition in mind, I searched for a visually pleasing arrangement of shapes and lines. There had to be a focal point and an structure of elements to lead the viewers eye around the work. I looked at symmetrical balance, and the flowing lines and patterns in the objects. These can help or hinder the composition of the drawing. The elements within the frame must be arranged in a balanced compositional way.

There are many things to consider when starting a drawing; one should be the arrangement of objects, as well as what's surrounding them (the negative space). Is there an even or odd number of objects? An even number gives the viewer a calmer feel, as does symmetry, but it can be boring. When we look at a drawing, painting or photo, or any group of objects, our brains automatically pair things up. This give a sense of order and calm, but doesn't necessarily create interest. However, when faced with a odd number of objects, our brains can't pair the objects up, which gives a more dynamic feeling, making our eyes move around the work. In nature there is very rarely an even number of anything, so to draw an even number of trees would give the drawing an unnatural look. We would instantly notice something odd about it. This is something to bear in mind when drawing a natural landscape. There has to be variety of shape and size to create interest.

I made a start as I wanted to get both drawings finished by the end of the lesson. I chose the dry bit of wood as my focus. I thought this would be a good starting point because of it's interesting shape and the surrounding objects. I restarted a couple of times to rethink what was going to fit within the frame. I wanted enough objects in there for it to be interesting, but there also had to be a balance of space.

While I continued measuring and adding tone, I had to think about what points of my drawing the eye would be drawn to and if it fitted in thirds, or the "visual grid". I also had to think about how tone, especially contrast of tone, can visually draw attention and make the viewer move their eye.

I finished my first drawing then moved onto the second one; the larger A1 piece. This time I decided to focus on the negative space. I moved around viewing the objects from different angles, keeping composition in mind.

In this drawing I would work quickly, and concentrate on the outline of the negative space. Once the line work was done, I added texture and tone to the areas of negative space. I added darker tones near the outlines of the objects, then had it gradually fading further away from the positive shapes. This was a good exercise for adding tone and texture to the negative space and making the positive shapes appear.

At the end of the lesson, we had the opportunity to look at everyone's work. Each artwork showed a different style and technique. The interesting variations gave me several ideas on how to represent the same subject in different ways.