Observational Drawings

Essential Question 

How do artists create a dynamic observational drawing that also demonstrates individual style?

Drawing Objectives

Reinforce observational drawing skills

Explore and/or Identify a personal style

Create high quality work 

Reflection on my work...

I think a lot of individual style in observational drawing comes from the materials we use, as well as the compositions we create and the stories behind them. For instance, all three of us created very different and distinct pieces of art even if they were all still lifes. Even if the materials are not incredibly exciting, we can make them exciting by having a story in mind when we put them onto a piece of paper or a canvas, and we can also make them interesting with our line work. I didn't really do anything exciting with texture or line work besides the popcorn, but I added color to my first one which I think makes it much more interesting to look at. The imaginative aspect to it also brings it to life and makes it a lot more personal, because that aspect comes from the artist. It is imaginative and comes from the soul, and brings a distinct style to every piece the artist makes. It shows the way they think and the way they create, and makes for a very exciting piece.

For my first piece, I drew a skull with a moth on it and a flower coming out of the nose. Moths, especially lunar ones, are very representative of putting old things to rest and coming out of them transformed and renewed. With this drawing, I wanted to represent putting old things to die, quite literally with the skull, and having new things and experiences grow out of them. Flowers are also very symbolic of growth, and typically we hear the metaphors of roses growing out of concrete, or roses growing out of ice. I wanted to draw a flower growing out of a skull to represent growth out of very difficult things. I really like this piece, and am particularly proud of the shadows and the detail on the skull. Although I do really like this composition, I wonder if it might be more interesting to play around with how close I can get to the skull, or how I can place the butterfly or bring it closer. It does seem very zoomed out. Looking at it closer, I also think the sense of depth is lost if you look too closely at the left hole for the eye. Overall, though, I am very happy with this piece. 

For my second piece, I drew a set of flowers behind a mirror with an eye pictured in the mirror. Mirrors only show outward appearance, and with the flowers growing in the back, I wanted to represent how sometimes, when we only look at outward appearance and take someone at face value, we can miss someone’s individual growth and inner value. I am happy with how this one turned out, particularly the eye in the mirror which was a lot of fun. I think I was able to get good contrast and a well blended background with the vine charcoal. One thing that I would improve would be the flowers. I think that far away, they look fine, but up close, they do not look as realistic as I would have liked them to. I feel like they look far too simple, which I think is a weaker aspect of this piece. 

For my last piece, I drew a piece of popcorn using stamps. I am really happy with the texture of this one, and the fact that I actually got it to look like popcorn slightly rather than a pair of lungs. I enjoyed using stamps, and like the texture that it gives the popcorn. I did not really have a meaning behind this one, and instead was just observing, but I would have liked to give this one an imaginative aspect. I also think that, especially when photographed, the background looks very light. I would have liked to make it darker to really make the popcorn stand out. 

I would have liked to do an observational drawing using ink. I think that would be really fun, as shells have many interesting nuances with their colors (which in turn become values in the grayscale) and patterns. With the use of ink as well, it would have given it an interesting flow, similar to water, giving the shell and material a connection. I feel like I also could have found a fun and interesting meaning in the metaphor, “the world is your oyster.” I think that could have been really fun to explore.