HOW TO DRAW
W
hilewitnessingthe
passingoftheseasons
froma placeofrelative
consistency,I havegaineda deeper
appreciationofnatureoverthe
courseofthelastyear.Aswinter
stripsthefinalleavesfromthetrees
I tooktheopportunitytomakesome
large-scalecharcoaldrawingsofthe
paredbacklandscapearoundmy
homeinNorthWales.MakingaCHARCOAL
ThewintryWelshlandscapenear
hishomeinspiredJAKESPICER
toexperimentwithcharcoal.
Learnhowto createsimilartextures
andeffectsinyourownworkdrawingofa well-knownviewbrings
withit allofthepitfallsoffamiliarity- it is tooeasytofallbackonprior
expectationsandtoforgetthe
principlesofstringentobservation
andresponsethatshouldinform
a gooddrawing– sotoheadoff
complacencyI decidedtoexperiment
withsomenewwaystousecharcoal.
InthisarticleI’mgoingtotakeyou
throughsomedifferentapproaches
torepresentingthetexturesofa rural
Welshlandscapeinbothwillowand
compressedcharcoal,focusingon
drawingasa meansofexplorationas
muchasa methodofpicturemaking.
I’llbeexploringseveraldifferent
techniquesina singledrawing,each
respondingtoa differenttextural
aspectofthelandscape,relyingon
thevelvetyblackcharacterofthe
mediumtounifythedisparatemethods
inthefinalimage.Thedrawingcame
aboutastheresultofa longsketching
walk– a walkbesttake
providethespacetofeelpresentin
thelandscapeandtobeabletostop
anddrawwithoutneedingtoconsulta
walkingcompanion.
I madea dozenshortdrawingsin
charcoalinmysketchbookandtook
a fewmorephotographsasreference
oflightandshape.Bynecessityofthe
inclementweather,I hadtoworkon
themajorityofthedrawingathome,
reducingthesenseofpresenceinthe
drawingbutalsoallowingit roomto
beitsowncompositionratherthan
justa recordofitssubject.I used
thedrawingsmadeonthewalkfor
referencealongsidemymemoryof
thespotandthereferencephotos
thatI hadtaken.
Followingadvicefromthe
landscapepainterHesterBerry,
I mostlyusedphotographsonmy
phoneforreference.Workingona
largedrawingfroma small,poorly
definedimagestoppedmebeingtoo
reliantonthelimitedperspectiveofa
singlephotographandmadeit easier
forthesketchesandtheexperience
ofthesubjecttotakeprecedence.HOW TO DRAW