RosArt Painting1

Formative Feedback

Student name – Rosalind Townsend
Student number – 516187
Course/Unit -Painting 1:The Practice of Painting
Assignment number -5
Type of tutorial -written report work viewed on line

PART FIVE Personal Development
Overall Comments

Your blog is still under one continuous category – this is something you need to address
before you apply for assessment.

PROJECT 1 Different ways of applying paint
E1) Impasto
I’m not sure you have found your way to incorporate these techniques into your own practice yet, but it is evident that the experience is opening your mind to the possibilities.
E2) Dripping, dribbling and spattering
Working in pure abstract, where imagery is not the entry point, requires the artist to use
colour, colour relationships, paint application, and composition alone to evoke an
engagement with the viewer. Every aspect has an important part to play. The artist’s
intention is not always conveyed to the viewer, and indeed this may be unimportant to the artist – however, it is important that the artist consider their intention for the work as it is what centres all the decisions that need to be made. I feel you made these works as explorations to see how applying paint in this way would work. This is fine as a starting strategy. In order to explore the possibilities more rigorously however I would suggest you identify an intention more clearly. For instance your intention could be ‘to produce something pleasing and friendly’, it could be ‘to produce something sinister and dark’, ‘something energetic’, ‘something calm’ or ‘something that evokes tension and conflict.’ This would then determine your choice of colour relationships, you composition, your application of the paint. And in this way you could to see the potential for this way of working within your own practice.

PROJECT 2 Adding other materials
E1) Preparing textured ground
You used a lot of different materials and created a number of different effects. Each stage
you posted evokes a different mood. In my opinion the most effective was the very first
image. Its simplicity allows the viewer to really explore the difference in the textures and
colours you have created – the relationships are very intriguing and therefore engaging. As you went on you added more and more. While this is good experience, I feel the more you added the more you lost the coherence and it became less focused.
E2) Mixing materials into paint
You made some good explorations.

PROJECT 3 Towards abstraction
E1) Abstraction from study of natural forms
You made some interesting work and made some good observations about the results in
order to find the direction you wanted to go. However, I feel you started the journey but didn’t complete it.
E2) Abstract painting from man-made form
This is a very interesting piece and I think rather successful – well done. The distortion
creates an interesting ambiguity in the scale of the object. And while recognisable as a
pencil sharpener it is easy to interpret it as a building. The background lines create a
dynamism and evoke a sense of stage lighting. Having created an impactful image however it then becomes ‘used up’ rather quickly. This is the danger of bold graphic images – they do not lend themselves to lingering consideration.

ASSIGNMENT Five
You have embraced this assignment with enthusiasm and determination and as a result
produced some good work – good for you!
The three pieces are connected by theme but not so much by style. However, at this stage
on your journey, it is so much more important that you explore and experiment than restrict yourself to a particular style, so I applaud your diversity. It is evident you are learning a lot and coming up with interesting and successful solutions and strategies for making your work.
The first piece – You employed a lot of different techniques to get the textures and colours
you were after and came up with a convincing image/sculpture of limpets on a beach.
However, the overall feel is a little one dimensional and crafty, and there is little room for interpretation – it is what it is. This is an aspect of how an artwork operates that is important to understand – often it is the ambiguity and incongruity which is most appealing for a viewer as they try to untangle the mystery. This piece is quite impressive with its depiction of reality but is not particularly engaging.
The second piece – This piece has something much more mysterious and therefore
engaging for the viewer. The fish feel like they are alive and caught in the act of breaching the surface of the sea – yet the ‘sea’ becomes a solid wrapping on a table top. You have distinguished the textures of the fish, the newspaper and the table top in a way that is exciting and beautiful – well done.
The third piece – It is good that you have searched the work of others to discover your own tastes and to inform what it is you want to make. There are lots of different elements in this piece and it would have been easy for it to become fragmented and disconnected or confusing (as your earlier piece) – yet, you have managed to pull it all together with your strong colour scheme. The orange on the foreground texture plays so nicely with the more faded orange in the sky; and the rich blue on the boat on the foreground connects so well with the less intense blue of the water. These strong, bold elements allow all the other different textures and collaged pieces to recede a little and be discovered slowly. Well done.

Sketchbooks
You didn’t put images of your sketchbook under a separate heading on your blog (as I
asked), so I cannot offer you specific feedback. Please do refer back to my previous
feedback.

Research
I am glad to see you are noting your own responses to the work you are looking at – this is helping you discover your tastes and find your own direction. In addition you are clarifying for yourself the experience of how an artwork can operate on a viewer. This is so important and will help you understand how artworks can operate specifically and in general – keep this up.
Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
You are noting what you are doing, what is working for you and the different strategies you are using. In this unit I can see that you are directing yourself and finding your way to making work that is meaningful to you.

Well done Ros – I feel you have made particular progress in this unit. It’s been a pleasure
working with you. Good luck with the assessment process!
Tutor name Ilsa Brittain
Date 28/11/2018
Next assignment due Well done with this module!

Formative Feedback

Student name – Ros Townsend

Student number – 516187
Course/Unit – Painting 1: Practice of Painting
Assignment number -4
Type of tutorial -written report work viewed on lin

Assignment 4

Assessment potential
I understand your aim is to go for the Painting Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I believe you have the potential to pass at assessment. In order to meet all the assessment criteria, there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my feedback.
PART FOUR Looking Out
Overall Comments
Your blog is arranged as one continuous stream of posts – this becomes less and less
practical with the more posts you add, making it very difficult to navigate through your work. I would suggest that you make separate categories/headings – e.g. ‘Assignments’ ‘Course Work’ ‘Research’ Sketchbook Work.’ (I believe you are in the process of doing this.) This will make access to your work much easier for your tutors and for the assessors but also, most importantly, for yourself – this is an important body of work which will be useful for you to reflect back on at later stages in your artistic career.
Also – please be aware that you are not allowed to present the same pieces of work for two different courses. I noticed in your blog that you had presented the same portrait drawings for your drawing course part 4 as well as for this painting course part 3. I am sure this is simply an oversight, or perhaps you are unaware of the stipulation – I can see from the work you are producing that you are properly embracing each exercise and making good progress. It would be a shame then to be penalised for something unnecessary.

Writing a review
I didn’t see this piece of work
PROJECT 1 From Inside Looking Out
E1) View from a window or doorway
You mention the fumes from the spirit – are you using turpentine? there are odourless spirits available that are much healthier to use – for instance Windsor and Newton ‘Sansodor’ low odour solvent.
You have mastered this underpainting technique with oil very well – managing the overall tonal composition of the piece very effectively. You have also indicated something of the surface textures of the different materials.
If you are interested – there is another technique for this stage of a painting: you cover the entire canvas with a thin coat of paint thinned with oil and spirit, and then you wipe out areas to indicate light. You can use different tools to wipe away the paint – brushes, cloths, plastic etc. (I have included a short video link below)
E2) Hard or soft landscape
You have approached this painting with a clear intention of how to proceed whilst also
allowing yourself to respond to what is happening as you go. This seems to be a good
approach for you. You have managed to depict a clear sense of space and distance, with
the foreground coming forward and the background receding into the distance. You have
also managed to get something of this perspective in the sky. The area that I feel distracts a little is the dark linear patch of grass coming in from the left – because the contrast here is the most acute in the composition it leaps forward and distracts from the soft grasses in the foreground. Also – you have not depicted receding tones in this area, which is again, distracting.
PROJECT 2 Perspective
E1) Linear Perspective
You have chosen a complicated scene to depict in perspective and have done well with the buildings – good for you. The road, however, seems like it is tilting. Drawing parallel curving lines in perspective requires real attention to the exact moments of the maximum curve.

Also- using diagonal brush strokes on the road gives the impression it is tilting

E2) Aerial Perspective
You have a clear understanding of the rules of linear and aerial perspective, and are
showing an ability to control your medium to apply sharp to soft focus. However, in the
foreground – the speed of change from sharp and focused on the left to soft and diffused
focus on the right is faster than the way you have depicted it from foreground to background in the larger composition. This is an odd inconsistency and doesn’t read well.
PROJECT 3 Expressive Landscape
E1) Creating mood and atmosphere
You approached this exercise with enthusiasm and careful thought – good for you. You also strategised throughout the making of it, thinking about the changing light and the
concentration of greens – this is good practice. You are showing a strong sense of colour
and how to manipulate it to get the effects you want.

PROJECT 4 Painting Outside
E1) Painting a landscape outside
Good for you working outside! It is difficult to feel exposed while you are working. However, the only way to get beyond this is to do it as much as possible, and the fear quickly disappears.
You have shown a good sense of linear and aerial perspective in this painting, as well as a sense of breeze and water. Where you could push this further is to make a little more
variation in colour in each of the main areas.

PROJECT 5 Working From Drawings and Photographs
E1) Painting from a working drawing
Well done! – taking an uninspiring subject/view and turning it into something interesting and engaging. This is a very successful painting – your mark making, colour choices, and
composition are all working very well together. You have managed to convey as sense of
drama with the downward pull of the objects and the marks, with the hanging bottles
providing a kind of ‘cliff edge climax’ !

E2) Squaring up E3) Working from a photograph
This is a fairly straight forward response to the exercise. In some ways this is the opposite of the previous painting – here your subject/scene was already a successful image, and so all you have done is make a paler version of it. This is a good lesson to learn – in can be a disadvantage to use an already successful image as it leaves little room for you to add anything of your own.

Feedback on assignment
It is good that when you came across a difficulty (how to depict the sky) you went in search of answers. This shows you are in charge of your learning and establishing practices to overcome your challenges – keep this up!
It is interesting you happened by chance to incorporate the rule of thirds into your
composition. You do seem to have a natural sense of composition. The next step then is to
consider what you want from your composition – do you want it to be harmonious, pleasing? what would an awkward composition convey? Look at work that has an impact on you and see how the composition is being used to deliver that impact.
Strong horizontal lines, as you have used here, tend to convey the feeling of balance and
stability. Diagonal lines tend to add a feeling of motion and instability – but here your
diagonal lines seem to be working in perspective with the opposite bank and therefore read as a reinforcement of the calm, flat, horizontal lines. The suspension cables of the bridge seem to be relaxed and looping, again reinforcing the calm. As a counter to this calm depiction it seems you have added tension in your treatment of the water and the sky, and I think this makes the painting rather interesting. While all other aspects of the painting recede from demanding attention, somehow the colours you have used for the water and the sky demand attention – but in a quiet brewing kind of way, as if there is something happening beneath the surface. I think this is a really quite successful result to achieve – good for you!
Sketchbooks
I can see from your work that you are engaged and progressing well – but I haven’t seen
your sketchbook work itself. Please make this available by adding a category/heading on
your blog ‘Sketchbooks’ – here you can upload pictures of your sketchbooks so I can see
how you are generating a momentum for yourself.
We talked about it in my last feedback during the google hangout but I will re-outline it here:
These first courses are about organising yourself to capture as much of your learning as
possible and to provide yourself with spaces designed specifically by you, for you to be as
creative as possible. Your sketchbooks are an important part of this aspect.
• You need a place to keep all the drawings you make for the various exercises with each of the assignments.
• You need a place to collect all the experimentation you carry out with different media – this may require written notes alongside to remind you of what you were trying to achieve or what you learnt.
• You need a place where you can jot down quick visual responses to things you see
around you, as you are on the go – this would probably be a very small sketchbook that
fits easily in a pocket or bag.

You need a place to collect anything that you come across that you find visually
compelling – often you see something but don’t have the time to do anything with it right
at that moment – you need place where you can collect these things to look at later when
you do have time.
• You need a ‘you-friendly’ space where you can let all these different inputs come together – a place that is just for you, where you can doodle, study, experiment, try out an idea, see what happens, mingle and mix things – whatever it is – a place where you can be creative without needing to get to a successful outcome. This is a very important space – it’s a place where your intuition, your inclination, and your will, can meet – a place that allows you to discover who you are as an artist (this is not always the same as who you are as a person).
How you organise your sketchbooks to make sure you cover all these aspects is up to you.
Each person is different in the way they work. It is important that you organise it in a way that suits you best and is the most useful for your own personal needs. You may not get it right straight away – don’t be afraid to change how you set up. What is important is that it works best for you.

Research
You did look into the rule of thirds and provided a clear explanation. However you did not go on to reflect about it – do you think it is useful? would you use it? have you used it? Do the works that you admire use it? How can it and when can it be broken?

Surrealism – here is the first time I have encountered you opinion. It is good to hear your
engagement with the artworks you have posted.
Landscape research – Your research is thorough and is helping to equip you with a solid
understanding of the changing roles of artworks and different genres throughout history. BUT I don’t feel you are discovering much about yourself in this process – what do you respond to? what has an impact on you? what are you impressed by? what do you have difficulty appreciating? what is your taste? which aspects of the work you are looking at would you like to bring in to your own practice? Art operates in a subjective way – while it is useful to read other people’s informed opinions, you also need to engage and investigate your own responses. It is only in this way that you can begin to discover more about yourself and also gain first hand experience of how an artwork operates.
Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
Your thought processes are very clear and you articulate them well. An aspect you need to develop further, and this ties in with my comments about your research, is the consideration of the effect of the imagery and techniques you are using. You need to start questioning more about what it is you want to achieve – how do you want your work to be read. This is not something you need to decide a this stage – but it is something you need to reflect about once you have finished each piece of work. Is this the effect you intended? would you rather it be something different? which aspects particularly please you. In this way you will begin to discover more about who you might be as an artist.
Suggested reading/viewing

The wipe out technique for underpainting in oil

Here is a little video considering the rules of composition (with photography but still relevant)
– it’s more complex than the rule of thirds, you also need to consider the weight of tones, and the reading of the story:
https://fstoppers.com/education/breaking-rules-composition-make-your-images-moreinteresting-130878
And here is a wonderful podcast with Tamar Avishai looking at art throughout history one painting at a time: http://www.thelonelypalette.com This might help you consider the
different ambitions artists have for their work.

Pointers for the next assignment
• Reflect on my written feedback in your learning log
• Separate your logs for each course, and arrange them with sub headings to make it
easier to navigate.

Well done Ros, I look forward to your next assignment.
Tutor name Ilsa Brittain
Date 23/08/2018
Next assignment due 28/11/2018, written report to be provided (please confirm this
suggested date)

14/2/18

Formative feedback

Because the report was conducted via a google hangout I will simply summarise here the points we covered.
PART THREE Portrait and figure
Overall Comments
PROJECT 1 Observing the Human Figure
E1) Drawing the human figure
I can see that you are considering the volume of the figure – this is good
E2) Linear figure study
good start – your brush strokes are a little heavy handed and all similar stroke size which
tends to flatten the image.
E3) Tonal figure study
Nice drawings, fairly loose but descriptive.

Final study in colour – While there are some lovely moments in the colour work, there is an inconsistency in the tonal structure, e.g. the dark linear tones distract from the subtle colour tones; the hair lacks the same tonal range as elsewhere
E1) Self portrait
The neck is complicated – it’s worth studying the anatomy
Obvious progress through the exercise – good
E2) Head and shoulders portrait
Some lovely colour work in the skin tones – really feels like skin in different light situations -well done. Be careful of edges – consider the effect of hard versus soft; if there needs to be a transition or shadow.
E3) Creating Mood and atmosphere
Little too evident that it is a photographic copy
E4) Conveying character
We talked about the ‘uncanny’ – a fleeting moment captured with very considered brush
strokes. Good that your intention is clear – i.e. to learn from analysing – but having done this it is necessary to consider the effect of the result.
PROJECT 3 People in Context
E1) A Figure in an interior
This works so well because you drew from life and used photographic reference after.
We talked about warm/cool colour use and how to explore ways of laying down the paint so that brush strokes are evident or not.
E2) Telling a Story
We talked about the focus of the composition being so much about the gesture of the
upward thrust of the arm – almost an abstract composition and therefore have to deliver each aspect more fully in terms of their abstract qualities.

Feedback on assignment
Portrait
Good likeness – I can feel the person there. Great that you have found a way to get the
acrylics to work for you – showing your self led motivation – well done.
We talked about the effect of using sketchy lines, how they distract from the areas done with more care.
We talked about colour theory and being more considered with your use of colour overall, in the same way that you would consider composition.
Sketchbooks
We talked about how to make them useful to you to ensure you are building your momentum and capturing your learning.
Research
Although you are gaining information and understanding from your research you are not identifying it. Your comments are factual and neutral. You need to use your research to help inform your own practice.

Use proper Harvard referencing
Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

We talked about identifying your learning in order to capture it – be specific.

Suggested reading/viewing
Look up about colour theory.
Here is a little video that may be useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj1FK8n7WgY

Pointers for the next assignment
• Reflect on our video chat in your learning log
• Embrace the outdoors and the environment

Well done – you have produced some good work for this assignment. I look forward to your
next assignment.
Tutor name Ilsa Brittain
Date 14/02/2018
Next assignment due 12/04/2018, Google Hangout report to be held at 3pm

Tutor report

Overall Comments

You have completed all that was required of you in this second assignment.

You have many strengths which you must nurture. There are issues in each exercise which you must strengthen. I am sure you can deal with these issues by the final assignment.

You have worked hard and your work demonstrates this commitment.

Assessment potential (after Assignment 1)

(After Assignments 2)

Select one of the statements below:

 *delete as appropriate

I understand your aim is to go for the Painting/Textiles/Creative Arts* Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I believe you have the potential to succeed at assessment.  In order to meet all the assessment criteria, there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my feedback.   

You have confirmed your aim is for the degree. I do think that if your work progresses at the pace it has started off at you will be successful.

Feedback on assignment

Small painting on hardboard. (Drawing in paint)

The thumbnail sketch is A3 whereas the painting is virtually A5.

The thumbnail is not in the same proportion as the final painting and omits certain important issues such as background details and the enclosing of the design within a boundary. Thumbnail sketches should be smaller.

These points might seem rather trivial but for the assessors you do need to evidence your understanding of preparatory drawings and their importance in planning your final work. Frankly it is a very important pictorial issue which you must use with every exercise. It is so helpful and is a constructive stage to your work process. It is a devise that will help you in all your future designs so you have to take this on board.

All your final work must have accompanying preparatory sketches.

The composition of this small painting could have been more interesting. That horizontal and vertical arrangement is rather formal.

The ellipses are improving but there is still signs of a point at each side.

Objects do not have one particular color. As soon as you place a form between other forms –their color changes. They take on the hues and tones of adjacent objects- light and dark reveals other colors emerging. The green jug would have affected the red glass because the two objects are so close. The background is rather dull and attention should have been made to create a more effective composition.

I would advise you not to use black – use the complementary of each color. The impressionists thought there was no black in nature. You have used black in a generalized way to depict the shadows of all the forms.

The shadows would have not been one color- do observe these differences more.

You need to look more- observe more. You need to break down the objects- thoroughly investigate the colors and tones that make up one object.

I know that you have been instructed to use white as the lightest tone in your final exercise but the most important issue at the moment is to be able to mix many tones.

The sun flowers.

You have really looked inside the objects and found texture and patterns. You have really observed the edges of the flowers which do reflect the texture of the object. You have broken down the background to investigate different hues. You seemed to have been looser with your brush strokes and created movement and liveliness.

The vase reads as a flat object- more attention could have been given to this.

This painting has much potential.

The oil pastille and white spirit.

A good experiment.

Your negative image is good – but you have the ability to take on a far more complex arrangement. I would have liked to have seen you push yourself to demonstrate this ability.

The brown monotone

Good you have understood the exercise. You have investigated the inside of the round fruit but their hard edge flattens them. Look at edges more.

The painting with bananas and a hard brown background.

This is adventurous arrangement. Joining up quite rounded forms with that flat background. This arrangement and mixtures of styles could have been exploited.  Again though – not enough looking at the objects – not enough tones patterns – textures.

Still life with natural object.

Good- you have stretched yourself and evidenced the standard of work that you can achieve. Well- done.

You have seen the background and the foreground as one design- uniting the two elements.  You seem to have thought of them as one entity.

You have worked   hard to investigate surface texture- to achieve a feeling of solidity to the fruit and overall a three dimensional depth to the composition.

The background however is rather oppressive and could have been less strong and lightened up.

Still life with complementary colors.

The forms are strong. Again the composition is rather unimaginative. Do be more creative with your compositions.

Still life to evoke color.

I would have liked to have seen a more adventurous composition without that parallel line separating the height from the width. You are capable of creating a more complex arrangement that would really push you. Do stretch yourself to create more complex compositions.

Still life to evoke mood 2.

You should have included the background which would have played a great part in the depiction of mood. You must get into the habit of taking into account the whole surface. Spaces in between your objects are just as important as the objects themselves and must be designed with the same attention. That bright yellow background reads as completely separate from the objects. The objects are well constructed- ellipses good – solidity and three dimensional quality good.

Indoor painting.

A good complex well balanced composition. I would have liked to have seen the view through the door- it would have given the composition more interest.

You have used black to show the shadow of the yellow wall. That is why the shadow is green. Black contains a lot of blue. If you had used a purple /mauve color with the yellow – your shadow would have been much more accurate and it would have worked better with the rest of the colors.

Do look for more tones. I would have liked you to have continued with this painting- to define the forms in the foreground and to be more accurate with the light and dark.

The painting with two jars.

This is a more complex composition. I think it needs something of interest in the middle. One jar is at the left hand side of the painting and the other reads as the right hand side of the painting.

I see your photo of this arrangement in your blog. It is a beautiful arrangement which has been altered in your final painting.

This is where preparatory drawings are important. The arrangement is well balanced and very harmonious in the photo. Small details such as the left hand jar is much nearer the top of the photo- whereas in the painting there is a greater gap there. These small details are important. I think you could have experimented more with the arrangement.

The photo is serene- warm and the lighting is subtle.

A quite hard challenge to marry the vast empty space of the box and the very delicate patterns on the jars and the flower.

However I do like the angle of the box as it breaks the surface of the paper and brings depth to the painting.

Again do look for reflected color and reflected light. It would have brought other tones into that heavy blue box for example.

I wonder if you would have seen that decoration on the jars as clearly as you depicted them. Did you paint what you saw or what you knew was there? I do not think they could have been seen so perfectly- only you know that though!

Did you use just complementary colors? Again the use of black has made the shadow of the left jar green.

All in all you’re drawing is progressing well. Your forms are stronger- ellipses well drawn – you stress thickness by drawing the rims of objects.  You have started to investigate the inside of objects to discover how they are constructed. You break up forms to look for patterns and textures.

You must now take your investigations further. You must push yourself to experiment more – your confidence must be growing now so there is no reason you do not explore out of your comfort zone. You must produce more intense painting investigating and observing more.

The interiors of your house.

These are good and varied. Do use more media and alter your angle of viewing- some looking up- other drawings looking down.

Sketchbooks

Your pen work is good. You have some really lovely sketches in your book. Try to vary your pen movements. You tend to draw round cylindrical objects- following the curves with curves of your pen.  Try to loosen your pen marks and sketch with a more varied marks.

The sketches of the abbey are sensitive and subtle. Well- done.

You must sketch more. – Every day. You need to build up resources. You need to demonstrate your own personal voice – evidence your own research other than the exercises that the OCA demands.

Experiment more in your books- try collage- try constructing images with newsprint- cut out forms from magazines. Use a greater variety of media.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

These are honest and well written. It is obvious that you are a committed student who is intent on developing skills and creativity.

Suggested reading/viewing

Have a look at the work of Patrick Caulfield.

Have a look at the work of the impressionists.

Try and get a basic book on color.  Do continue to research other artists.

Pointers for the next assignment

This is the first assignment which counts towards the assessment. My review is tougher than the first- but it has to be. Do not send the large drawings for your third assignment. You must begin anew and deal with this painting module as a separate kind of learning.

Do not send drawings rolled up- it is perceived as bad practice and is not really professional. It does damage work- which is the important thing. I have made a kind of a folder to return your work in as I said your wrapping broke.

The next assignment deals with the figure and portraits. It would be a good idea to get hold of a sitter – a friend or family member.

I would like to see more sketching in your books and you must take on all the issues that I have brought to your attention.

However you have worked well and your work has progressed. Do keep it up.

Tutor report

Overall Comments This is a very good start to the module. As you know this assignment is not submitted for the final assessment. You have impressed me with the effort and commitment you have shown in this first set of exercises. You have completed all that was required of you.

Assessment potential (after Assignment 1)

You may want to get credit for your hard work and achievements with the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the end of the module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning seriously by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain qualifications. Please consider whether you want to put your work forward for assessment and let me know your decision when you submit Assignment 2. I can then give you feedback on how well your work meets the assessment requirements.

I would like you to confirm that your aim is to submit your work for final assessment.

Feedback on assignment

The trees. The darkish grey exercise is the more successful as you have managed to give a slight sense of disappearing tones as the branches diminish. You have used the tone better.

Tonal study on a dark background

You have observed that the ellipses are not as strong as they should be. However you have broken down the two objects into tones and given a very strong representation of light and dark. This is a strong statement showing a good understanding of the exercise. The preparatory drawings should have been enclosed within a boundary – in the same proportion as the final drawing. Don’t fold paper – it is bad practice.

The painting with wine bottle.

You will need to develop your sense of composition – which was not specifically mentioned in the exercise. However I do want you to observe the direction of the line that separates the width from the height. Do you see how it falls virtually along the line of the label of the bottle? This emphasis takes your eyes right out of the paper. A higher label or lower label would not have strengthened that direction line. It would have allowed your eyes to remain within the two dimensional surface.

You write in your logs that you knew the objects were glass. This fact side tracked you. Try and draw only what you see at that particular moment- and do not draw what you know (from previous experience) this is very hard to do but only by training yourself in this way will you develop your visual sense. Simplify your response to only observing what is in front of you- it is almost a process of “unlearning”

All in all the painting is a good start- a strong start. Your brush marks are loose and unselfconscious- you have discovered different shapes with shadows and lights.

I am glad you enjoyed tasting the still life- it’s a good job you did not decide to use a bottle of whisky instead of the wine!

The studies of the apple – again a developing visual sense and colour definition. The many tonal exercises show a sure hand and good control. I read how you worked your way through each colour exercise .Sometimes your confidence falters- do not allow it to – you are working well.

The pastille exercise You have demonstrated a real ability to move yourself out of your comfort zone. From being apprehensive about oil pastilles you have forged ahead – appreciating their qualities- well- done. Keep being adventurous and getting out of your comfort zone.

The small painting by memory – It is a gentle painting and you have been quite creative in your interpretation of the flowing hills and the flowing lane bringing a unity to the design

Sketchbooks I would like you to send me your sketchbooks in full. You have torn pages out but I would like to see how you are using your sketchbook- and see some of your drawings in hard copy. I know this was suggested in the instructions but I do prefer that you don’t tear out pages. Often drawings shown on- line can be distorted and such qualities as scale –texture etc. can be confusing.

The experimental drawings of the cup and saucer and bowl etc. These have much more creativity than the preparatory drawings you have sent to me. Were they created in the round? – Right from the beginning? I find this an interesting composition. You have been inventive and creative with these little sketches (how big were they?) You have used an eraser positively. Don’t confine yourself to thought of cross hatching- draw what you see – don’t use a recipe that you feel is the right way for an artist to draw. Your own way of interpreting images will be much more interesting!

The drawing which you had least confidence in-the drawing which you struggled with the most – is the best and strongest of your drawings. The firm round shadow that covers the background and part of the foreground- the roundness of the objects these forms echoed in the shadows all make a really strong creative image. The ellipses are rather weak – but that will come with practice. It is an interesting arrangement where the shadows and forms unite and create harmony and balance. I would have liked to have seen these drawings so that I can verify how they appear. I do hope that you will send your sketchbooks in next assignment.
The paintings just for expressive marks and ways of using the brush- good .Keep that flexibility of movement with the brush.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

These are comprehensive – you write well and take on all aspects of the written work. Try not to include paragraphs taken straight from text. This is discouraged – write in your own words.

Keep visiting exhibitions and museums- developing your own interests and writing about them. You are able to view your work objectively – though sometimes you are unable to see where your real value lies and you tend to judge yourself as you think “art “ should be- what it should look like. Avoid this – forget this thinking.

Suggested reading/viewing Look for a book called “Drawing on the Right side of the brain “-by Betty Edwards. “Ways of Seeing “by John Berger.

Pointers for the next assignment

1- Preparatory drawings should be enclosed within a boundary in the same format as the final drawing- painting.

2- Please send you sketchbooks in tact- don’t fold paper.

3- This is a good start to your painting module. Keep the flexibility with brush marks.

4- Use all the surface of the paper- board – canvas.

5- Be watchful of composition- and scale of objects in relationship to the whole surface.

6- Forget what you think art should be like – discover your own way.

7- Keep being adventurous and getting out of your comfort zone.

8- You have started well- gain confidence from this first exercise.

9- Do confirm if your aim is for the degree.