Time Capsule Observational Drawing

Artist Statement

For this project, we were instructed to create “Time Capsule” drawings that included three different finished pieces, a cropped self-portrait of myself, my hand in an interesting position, and an object that I depend on regularly. Ideally, we would take 20 minutes to complete all three. For my first drawing, the goal was to focus on a specific part of my head or face and draw my features, something I have always struggled with. I have found the gridding technique I learned last year very helpful for me, but this assignment was simply a project to display the skills that we have now so we can see the areas we need to improve on. For my second drawing, I created my hand in a gesture that looked as if it is reaching up to grab something. It was difficult to draw at first, but a position that created more wrinkles and divots in my hand to help make my drawing appear more detailed. For my final drawing, I drew my backpack, computer, and phone charger, three objects that I depend on both at school and at home. My goal for this project was to try to use shading and different values with the time I was given and try to make the drawings look alike, almost like a series.

For this project, I did not use many materials. It was not required that we add color. I used basic 9x12 watercolor paper, 2b pencils, and a blending tool. I began each of my drawings with a rough sketch, then went back in and darkened lines, added smaller details, and added shading to certain areas.

For these sketches, I focused on value, mostly seen within the three objects of my still-life drawing. I shaded in areas to help create the illusion of form, space, and light. I also experimented with texture, which can be seen in the wrinkles in the hand drawing, and the hair on my self-portrait. Another important process was finding the right positioning for my objects and my hand. I had to play around with different angles and where I wanted everything centered on the paper. Finally, I went through a few revision and experiment stages, I had to restart on the fingers of my hand multiple times because the proportions were very off. Overall, I have discovered that I enjoy doing art that requires us to “draw what we see” and I am happy with how these came out considering the very little amount of time we had to spend on them. Although it is probably the most simple of the three, I believe I like my hand drawing is my favorite.