Snippets of my sketchbook

The project I am currently working on is based around Piccadilly Gardens. Using this as my starting point I have felt comfortable creating drawings, mainly from the photos I took as I find it harder to draw when visiting the place. I started my work in a small scale sketchbook as I don't like working large when I'm not certain on my subject. I did quick sketches in pen when I visited Piccadilly, they're pretty rushed and not very detailed.

 

Out of the quick sketches in my small sketchbook I am most pleased with this one of a metal tree. I started with continuous circular lines to give the effect of the layered metal. I prefer to work with wet materials instead of dry, the work I create with pen/pencil is very flat and uninteresting. This drawing however reflects the object well for a quick sketch. The work that is produced with quink I feel works better for my project.

These studies are from very mundane parts of Piccadilly Gardens. The metal railings are all battered and layered with peeling off paint. I've attempted to capture this with the different densities of ink. I am pleased of the way the birds came out when drawn wet on dry. I've incorporated the white of the paper as the light and used the ink in different strengths to create the image. The bird in flight works well as the blurred ink represents the movement in the wings.

The more I worked into my project, the more my focus changed. I have been looking more a the ground and the reflections after it rained. The water and the shadows created really interested me so I have focused my work on it. As I am more confident with my subject matter I have started working on a larger scale, in an A3 sketchbook. Using wet on wet has worked well for replicating a wet floor. I've worked into this piece with bleach and graphite, the outcome is a lot more interesting the the plain quink images.

After using the quink a lot and creating a meter by meter drawing in that style, I moved onto paint applied with pallet knives. It creates very different textures and a completely different interpretation from my photos. The way the knife applies paint to the page in an uneven style works well with my theme. I am enjoying working in black and white with grey styles, using a lot of colour in the past its a nice change to explore the marks I can make with a very limited pallet.