Time Capsule Drawings

Artist Statement

For each these three pieces we were given twenty minutes to draw with whatever medium we wanted. Starting off with a cropped self portrait, then a drawing of our hand, and finally an object that is important to us. In the first drawing, I decided to draw my eyes and include the edge of my mask. Especially in these times, where masks are obligatory and necessary, our eyes speak words behind the mask. For the drawing of my hand, I chose to make it look as though it were grabbing something, and exaggerated the lines and creases. For my last time capsule drawing, I didn't really know what I wanted to draw so I initially chose a small wooden figure that was given to me. Most of my prized and important possessions are small and dainty, so I chose this round form to draw.

For the first drawing, I chose a black micron pen and just started sketching. As we drew, we had to look into a mirror and draw from life which was very difficult as the shadows and angles of my face shifted everytime I turned away from the mirror. I chose to do some cross hatching and just sketchy lines in general as I am not very good at drawing facial features. This technique allowed me to play around and make mistakes, yet still being able to easily alter them. I continued to layer lines to add shadows and creases and layered on lines to add texture. I used a similar technique for the hand drawing. First I sketched a rough outline with the micron pen, following the curves of my hand like a blind contour. In this drawing, I wanted the lines to be a bit less random at first and made them all go in one direction. However, I felt like I needed more value so I layered over the lines again. I tried to add realistic shadows with really dark sketchy lines. I also focused on the bones, veins, and wrinkles in my hand to get the most realistic texture. I over exaggerated this part a bit, but I think it still looks very neat. For the last drawing, I drew an object that is important to me. The wooden figure is quite a simple shape, however I did not want to use black pen again so just for fun I used some blue pen and red and blue marker. This drawing wasn't very creative and certainly does not follow a style I typically want to follow, however it was still interesting to try and draw in color from life.

For the first two sketches I focused on value, texture, shape, and form. Especially for the hand, I focused on getting the right texture to make it look like skin. I tried to incorporate movement into my drawing, once again focusing on my hand drawing. For my last piece I experimented with the same technique I used for the hand and for my eyes, however it did not look right. I decided to try something completely different and used primarily colorful markers. I tried to incorporate color and value by layering the marker, however I'm not super happy with it. As these sketches were only quick studies, I am glad I tried some different things, however my favorite sketch is definitely the one of my hand.