Below is a full image and series of closeups. Inspired by 2 cinema stills of Toni Collette in Hereditary, the below is an abstracted portrait. The centre portrait is flanked by the character’s horrified expression. Cracks appear wherever the canvas base is visible, and also over the entirety of the centre portrait.
Draft 1 – Geometric Without Colour Draft 2 – Simplified the shapes to tessellating triangles and concentric circles (Colour in dry watercolour pencil) Draft 3 – Stacked and concentric circles (Colour in dry watercolour)Draft 4 – Alternate stacked and concentric circles (Colour in wet watercolour pencil)Draft 5 – approaching final draft, returning to draft 2 conceptDraft 6 – Warm colour wheel on canvas board. Was originally the final resolved work, however I didn’t like the purple/purple-gradients that it created. Decided each primary colour should be divided into warm and cool, then mix colours in a way that made more pleasing colours.
The first 3 weeks of Semester 1 of VIS1010 were made up of Foundational Drawing. Each week was a series of exercises, and a resolved work based on the preceding exercises. The resolved works will be presented in a separate entry, and the exercises for week 1 were as follows;
Week 1
Exercise 1 – Lines: Study the lines made up by the borders of the objects
Line Study 1Line Study 2
Exercise 2 – Shadows: Study only the shadow tones that make up the objects
Shadow Study 1Shadow Study 2
Exercise 3 – Erasure: Study only the highlights by applying charcoal to paper and erasing with kneadable eraser
Erasure Study 1 [Note: did not remove excess charcoal, resulting in clotted eraser and shallow highlights]Erasure Study 2 [Note: removed excess charcoal but used a firmer, lighter charcoal. Did not like the depth of shadow and had to add darker charcoal.]
Exercise 4 – Perspective: Study the relation of the objects to each other.
Perspective Study ReferencePerspective Study 1Perspective Study 2
Exercise 5 – Gestalt: Combine the variety of exercises.
Gestalt Study CoverGestalt Study [Note: Combined the erasure and shadow exercises. Noticed the boundary created by the square of charcoal against the negative space.]
Resolved Work Drafts: Create a quality piece based on the exercises above.
Resolved Work Draft 1 CoverResolved Work Reference Resolved Work Reference [Note: Rather than using my own objects, I went to a close friends home where I feel comfortable and used objects I previously found visually interesting. They were a faux-crystal night light, water jug, and small vial of Patron.] Resolved Work Draft 1Resolved Work Draft 2 CoverResolved Work Draft 2 [Note: Took the framing in the Gestalt study and changed if from square to round. Thoroughly enjoyed the telescopic effect it took by framing in a circle.]Resolved Work
The following is a class exercise in which we lay a grid over the image of a face, create our own grid and replicate the portrait. I have selected the climactic scene from the 2019 folk-horror film ‘Midsommar‘ for my portrait. The theme of the scene is the main character releasing grief from their old life while witnessing their partner’s ritualistic sacrificial burning. Having recently divorced, undergoing a (non-violent) ritual burning of my own, creating this piece of sombre beauty was a cathartic exercise.
I admit that I struggle with floral and botanical subjects. The exercise this piece was for allowed for either a botanical or portrait resolved work, but I decided to challenge myself by incorporating both (as I have a history in portraits, allowing me to complement a weaker skill with a stronger one). The process of gridding the space was an effective way of addressing this challenge, as it turned the botanicals into smaller shapes that relate to each other.
The below is the source image, initial draft in pencil, topographical line study in pen, and resolved work in watercolour and pen.
Reference image: MidsommarDraft: HB graphite pencil on paper Draft: Topographical Line StudyResolved Watercolour on Paper