Detailed drawing. Transferring dimensions back onto paper.
I then traced this drawing with clean newspaper paper, and cut around it so I had a template for the next drawing.
I reduced the detailed painting down to lines.
It’s interesting how this drawing is so different from the original design for the sculpture below. The new drawing is far more organic than the design.
The problem with drawing this sculpture looking straight ‘up’ at it, and not including any shading, is that the shape loses all of its dimensional qualities that are so crucial to these structures. I thought drawing things looking straight up would help me work out the design of the structures better, but it now appears that just drawing the sculptures looking straight up misses half the point, since these sculptures are meant to be drawn from angles and have real dimension I shouldn’t just be drawing the sculptures like this.
I had one more go drawing the sculpture looking straight up. This time I wanted to block in areas that the sculpture would cover of the sky / canopy above. (The painting underneath is also of looking straight up at the sky / canopy) This shows how much of the sky the sculpture covers! In my next design for my next sculpture I need to make sure there is less planes that block out the sculpture.
Also, adding lines as if the legs branched out was useful in imagining the sculpture standing up high. I definitely need to add legs to my next sculpture.
Learnings
Draw the sculptures from different angles of standing underneath, not just looking directly up – this is why I’m making these sculptures!! – to paint from angles and create dimension in my paintings, so PRACTISE THAT!
Less coverage of the sky and trees above the sculpture with finer coverage and more just lines.
Add legs! – This will mean I can draw the sculptures from angles more easily. And also photograph the sculpture in the woods!
I want to experiment with blocking in white areas in drawings when drawing the structure from different angles. Would it add or subtract from the finished painting? I haven’t done that before so would have to see.
Georgina Harris 