Monday 20.9.10

Monday was the start of measured drawing, where a unit of measurement is used to find the right proportions for the rest of the drawing, usually using a pencil held at arms length to measure (with one eye shut). We also used frames made from cardboard to help see the area we were drawing.

I found this pretty horrible but persevered with it and definitely saw improvements in my awareness of proportion and space, and the measuring improved my drawing. I talked with one of the tutors about my concerns with my drawing skills, and that put my mind at ease, he didn’t think my drawings were so bad, and added that it didn’t matter anyway, that I would obviously achieve more in my areas of expertise and enjoyment.

The afternoon was a long (2-3 hour) measured drawing of an area of the studio – or outside of it – that I found interesting. I didn’t really get far in it, I tend to lose concentration on drawings after about 10-20 minutes, and I’d also foolishly chosen a pretty difficult outside area to draw.
I found the frame useful as it helped to pick out the exact area of a drawing and therefore visualize a grid inside the frame to work from. I expect I’ll use both techniques again to improve my drawings.