Research Point - Mastery of Drawing

Classic Artist - Leonardo Da Vinci

http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org 

For me when asked to specify a classic artist who is a great example of someone who demonstrates a mastery of drawing, there is no better example than Da Vinci - One of my all time favourites!

Peter Paul Ruben's copy of the lost Battle of Anghiari, c. 1603

Now the expression goes - 'Jack of all trades, master of none' might apply to many, but not Da Vinci!

Architect, inventor, artist, plumber were just a few of his skills. How someone can achieve what he did in one lifetime is beyond me. LDV was simply brilliant, and a true Master!

His compositions, depth to his images, the range of types of artwork from sketches to full on aster pieces are astonishing.



His drawing though was second to none, using a range of materials and mark making techniques to research and develop his studies.

An Artillery Park, c. 1487

LDV's skills of proportion, depth and accuracy are something to aspire to. Hatching a technique seen in many of his drawings is one I would love to get better at. I feel I haven't really given it time enough to create a competent piece so this is something I intend to rectify.

The piece above, Artillery Park demonstrates his accuracy of line and shape in his drawings, as well as some hatching to show some tonal values. The battle scene at the top shows that he was more that capable of taking this further to create a full master piece using subtle colours. He wasn't afraid to really go dark when applying the darker tones and a picture, something I've noticed that I should also do. This tends to make the other tonal values stand out and give the piece as a whole more focus and presence on the page.

I like how he created study pages using different sections of the same subject, sometimes not even completing the whole subject 100%. I guess this shows what he was truing to develop without writing anything. I have to wonder if he actually made any mistakes?

Modern Artist - Paul Cadden

http://www.paulcadden.com

Now this guy can draw!! Artist who can achieve hyper-realistic results like this I take my hat off to.

Where do you start, it looks like a photograph it that good! It begs to question- If Da Vinci had a set of super fine high quality pencils and the same paper as Paul Cadden, how good would his art be then? I guess however the beauty of classic art is that is looks like art. You are never really fooled into thinking its a photo, as back then, they didn't exist. The likeness that artist like LDV achieved don't get me wrong are outstanding, but if I had the choice of a Da Vinci hung on my wall or a Paul Cadden which would I choose? Something to consider!

The seemingly faultless execute of skill in these pictures are amazing, but I guess have a photo to work from would help as I guess some of the great classic artist had to work from quick sketches and memory a lot of the time. So weighing it up, who is better?

Still unsure!

I have to admit to having a great admiration for work like this, the variety of tone achieved and pin point detail and textures. The lack of dark black in the left piece (NVA16) almost gives me the impression of a dusty, scruffy remote area and adds a unique effect that the other 2 don't have.

When asked to look at modern artists, I take that to mean anything from today and back over the past century. Was this right? Who knows but I'm sure a good debate could be had considering
Leonardo Da Vinci VS Paul Cadden.

 Some other pieces to consider!

 

The variety of marks, techniques involved in producing work to this standard is mind-blowing. So much so that I'm really now sure where to start when breaking it down!!

Exploring Coloured Media

Experiments with Ink and a brush. I found this quite a lot of fun to do. Having seen work by an artist called Lora Zomie http://lorazombie.com/ where she uses runny media, usually paint or inks to produce very different look to art. A more abstract take from her point of view and a signature 'runny' style and technique. I found that ink was a quick, wet, and very fluid media to use. Goes on the page easy, but is more suited to larger format work for me, unless you use a dippy ink pen. (Which I have ordered to try) 

Ink and salt

I also, after flicking some paint onto the paper decided to splash some salt down onto the paper having seen the effect it had on another artist work. (Dry salt technique) I haven't read up on it yet so just thought i't experiment and see what normal sea salt would do to the ink. I was hoping for a texture to the piece, which I got, and patches where the salt had absorbed the ink/ fluid to leave an almost tie-dyed pattern. This didn't quite work! Don't think the wet/ salt ratio was right! Might try again another time.

Pencil Crayon

Random experiment with lines, dashes, dots, circles and any other random scribble that came to mind. The pattern I started with kind of reminded me of a bird. So implied the shape of one and let it just flow with lots of lines. Inspired by the marks Van Gogh used in his work as this medium was more easy to control due to the small point of the pencil. 

More suited to more detailed smaller pieces and for applying over the top of water colour to tighten up a piece and add more fine detail and definition. 

Doodles, hatching and more of a variety of marks. On from the last piece I tried to use a more controlled approach to this test piece. Haven't really to be honest discovered anything about pencil crayon that I didn't really know here. 

Watercolour base with a bit of crayon over

Pencil crayon

   
I purposely left this piece part finished to show my experiment and the differences. The nearest ball I put a bit of pencil crayon over to show have even the smallest amount of crayon over the top makes a different. I really like how it tightens up the drawing enabling you to cover a large area with colour firs before then adding more detail to it. The light effects have been brought out by adding some smooth dark tones. Obviously a lot of work still to do for it to be completed.

Oil Pastels

 Have never used Oil Pastels before so didn't really know what to expect. Better for larger pieces from A3 upwards for me. Due to the chunky pastel, fine detail is just not possible. Very good to blend, smudge and manipulate. I get the feeling it would be good for bright vibrant pieces such as fruit or even landscapes.
Very relaxing media.

Chalk Pastels 

Chalk Pastels are very messy if not controlled from the start. Easy to smudge again and can be rubbed out much like charcoal using a good rubber or putty rubber. Easy to blend and get a cloudy, soft effect. Good for landscapes and larger portraits. Detail could be achieves using pastel pencils or even a sharp bit of charcoal.

Something I've used before including the conte chalks. Used to be one of my favourite mediums. I find it very relaxing.