As part of my focus on looking at trees, I had some dried leaves to hand. So I set them up on my desk and used them as a still life for some rapid sketches. I started with two 3-minute sketches, then two 2-minute sketches, and finally a 1-minute sketch.
I was using coloured pencils so I could discern some differences between the leaves. This added in an additional constraint, as I had to switch colours in a very limited time box. As the sketches progressed, I notice that the drawings started to concentrate more and more on the essence of the shapes and textures I was seeing, rather than an accurate representation.
There is something quite liberating in that, and I think it made me appreciate modernism a little bit more. In being free to experience, we record something that might be more truthful as a result.
As I mentioned in my research task also was inspired by Sophie Peanut's sketching of daily life. I've been trying to use my little sketchbook while waiting in cafes, waiting rooms etc. It's been really useful to try lots of different rapid sketches. Some more rapid than others, but for all the time constraint has really helped me to focus on capturing essential elements.
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