A Limited Palette Study From Sketches

I used my drawing from the last exercise to develop in colour to give some depth to picture using a limited palette in pencils. The primary colours of red and blue were perfect for the stripes on the ambulance, sky and the added detail on the shop fronts and gave contrast to the neutral yellows and browns of the building. 

I took a photo to show the view I was looking at. This was very useful later to compare my drawing and and detail I could improve on. Looking at both in the comfort of my home, I could have given more time to draw the windows and brickwork in the main building to the left and the pavement to show it had been raining. I could have also drawn much deeper, richer colours to give contrast in the shadows. I changed the angle of the pavement in hope it would balance the picture which I am very pleased with. 

        

A Sketchbook of Townscape Drawings

I am lucky to work in a historical market town where the buildings have great arcutechture. I have never really looked in detail until now. It was challangeing drawing the buildings looking at the different building materials, the bricks which are weather worn in yellow and red and the new addition to the town finished with wooden cladding to the exterior walls. Such a peaceful place but still having people shopping and rushing around from place to place. 
I couldn't resist sketching the bank. Barclay's in Enfield Town, the first bank with an ATM machine. I draw some quick sketches of different views in close up detail in the first picture before deciding on a more detailed drawing which included the entrance to the bank with its columns and arched concrete canopy which mimics the structure over the windows to the building. I included a row of shops, the old vestry office stepped back a little from the row, the pavement in front and an ambulance parked outside in the loading bay.
To simplify the drawing I left out the details of the windows above the shops and shop signs, road markings and some iron railings in front of the vestry office. I felt they would take the eye away from the Barclay's building where I wanted to remain the main focus. 

Study of Townscape Using Line

Using drawing pen and a thicker Stabilo universal marker, I drew a scene of the town centre from my office building where I work. The main focus was of the middle of the picture using the darker more solid lines. 

The day was dark, cloudy and had been raining. The town which is normally crowded with shoppers was empty other than a handful of people. I sketched a general shape of these bodies, not wanting to give any emphasise on them but of the buildings behind them. The whole picture was dark and very little shadow could be identified. 

Being just before Christmas, the lights were up and hanging from the building across the road. I had to remind myself that I should not be giving much detail to them lights hanging in the foreground and the buildings were the main focus. 

I used a ruler for the larger lines which looked a bit strange so I overdrew freehand to give a lighter feel to the shapes of concrete and stone. For the wooden cladding I used fine lines to show the planks across the front of the middle building which I think worked well. 

Check and Log

The problems I had with perspective drawing became very clear once I drew the eye level and angle lines on my drawings. After the first exercise, I became more aware of having to be precise with the size and proportions of my sketches. Any slight variance can made a big difference so I need to take more care with this.
My lines are not very straight and my preference is to use a ruler. Although there is merit in drawing lines freehand as they look softer and more natural. The angular perspective is made easier when using a ruler as the lines are easier to see and any corrections can be made quickly or avoided all together. 

Angular Perspective

The exercise asked for me to draw a row of buildings from a corner, so I stood on the pavement of a sharp bend close to my home. 
Once at home I drew my eye level and lines to see how accurate my angles were. I am happy with the lines from the left hand side, which I drew in green pencil. They all seem to meet in the one space as it should directly at my eye level where I was standing. The other side I show with red pencil. These lines are not very good at all. Although I'm not sure which angles I should have been following as the road and buildings seem to curve. 

In reflection, after revisiting the space from where I drew the picture, I am happy with the overall result. The old houses are not in a straight line and bending round a corner. Should I redo this exercise I would select a different corner from which to draw. 

Parallel Perspective - an interior view

For this exercise I had to select an interior view from room to room to draw and check the vanishing points of my drawing.
I drew from my kitchen to my bathroom as this gave me a range of lines of a door frame, the open door, tiles on the flooring running into the bathroom and tiles on the bathroom wall. 
I could not stand exactly square on as these was another door frame next to me in the way. I did not realise until later how this very slight angle would affect the angel of the vanishing point which I drew in later with red lines. 
No rubbers or rules allowed for this exercise, not as scary as it would have been a few months ago. My lines are not as straight as I would like and need some practice. My eye level was two thirds the way up the door frame and I was standing level with the right hand third section of the doorway.
When checking the lines in comparison of what I was looking at I was quite happy with the results and did not feel that I needed to redraw any parts other than the tile line on the right of the floor to take the vanishing point to my eye level. 

Check and log

Looking back over the last few exercises I found various techniques useful to create a sense of distance and form in my sketches. 


Until recently I had always looked at drawing/painting and photography in very different ways but now I can see at least one aspect which is similar in the focus and depth. A camera allows a setting to focus on a particular part of the frame giving clarity to the item selected. When drawing or painting, the same principal can be used to give depth to any picture the only difference being the focus would be in the foreground. This foreground needs to be the clearest part of the frame, the middle with not so much detail and the background should show very little detail and a more foggy appearance. The colours are also a helpful tool to show depth. The foreground being bright and rich in colour giving the appearance of clarity, drifting towards the background with a lighter, greyer more pastel shade of blur. This principal can make the eye transfix to the artists selected piece of the frame. 


All preliminary work is useful and should be done before a larger piece of work is attempted. Using a small sketch I discovered that various watercolour pencils from the same tin worked in different ways. Some gave way to the water very easily others kept the line and the pigment needed harder brushwork to move the colour. Without this preliminary work a large amount of time and effort could have been wasted on a large scale drawing. 


It is preferable to simplify most views focusing and giving attention to a single or a selected number of items in the frame. An artistic interpretation gives way to select a part or to remove undesirable pieces from the finished work.