Research on objects.

Research on the objects portraying the theme of texture.

To begin my research over this half term I decided to change the subject of my observational drawings to something with more texture and that would have a stronger ink to the overall theme of faded, trace and memories. As it is nearing closer to the remembrance day and a period of time that holds powerful memories for thousands of people the poppy is a trace back to this time for the masses. I was lucky enough to have poppies in my garden, in many stags of their development. I used this to my advantage and took these variety of stages in the life of a flower to develop an understanding off. Before starting observational sketches of the poppies I took pictures of all of the individual buds. 

These two images are both at the first stage of the poppy, the bud before they flower. At this stage the poppy hows a great deal of texture as the tiny hairs that cover the plant. these hairs are there as protection for the plant, both keeping the reproductive parts of the plant insulated in the colder weather, and as a protection against animals that attempt to feed on them. These hairs, only around 1mm in size are generally quite difficult to capture when drawing as I found when I was completing observational studies on these plants.

These next three pictures are the stage in-between budding and flowering. At this point a new dynamic is added to the plant as leaves begin develop. The top of the bud also becomes to rot and change colour and it pulls away from the flower inside, this adds to the variety of colours within the plant making it a more interesting subject to draw. As with the previous stage of the plant the whole thing is covered in tiny little hairs. This creates a juxtaposition between the delicate flowers poking through, the wilted nature of the outside of the leaf and the sharp looking nature of the hairs. 

These two images show what is left when the flower of the poppy dies away. The top of the seed pod creates for an intricate shape where the centre of the seed pod become a vanishing point. This stage of the poppy has vast contrast between the very dark top surface which is rough and raised to the very smooth and soft sides of the pod.

In this last photo of the poppy I cut inside a bud of the poppy to reveal the delicate pink petals inside. By leaving the inner pink exposed but still having the bud around it fabricates the illusion that the petals are emerging naturally from the pod much like it would do over time if left to its own devises.

After studying both of the picture of these poppies and the plants in front of me I completed some observational drawings based on mainly the second stage of the poppy. I mainly focused on the second stage of the poppy as it showed both the contrast in colours from the rotting skin to the flower inside and also the contrast in textures.

I found when completing the initial sketches it proved difficult to capture the tiny hairs on the surface of the poppy. I used the technique of using a rubber to rub away tone and to drag tone out of the image in order to create the idea of the hairs on the surface. I used the technique of cross hatching on the biro sketch which worked well as the nature of this is quite scratching much like the texture of the hairs and many lines together make a smooth texture, much like how when many hairs join together on the surface make the pod look smooth. I feel that the charcoal sketch was the most successful image, however it would have benefited from a white chalk as the actual poppy doesn't have a harsh outline similar to how I have portrayed it.

After completing these sketches I chose to revisit the techniques learnt in the collage lesson. Following the same steps as the previous lesson I completed two collages.    

I chose to do two collages in this style as they create a vast amount of texture mimicking the the textures of the surface of the poppy. By working onto a wet medium you develop a range of shade, depending on how wet the surface is, making this a fairly quick technique. I also find with working in this style the quite expressive nature of the image makes it a rather interesting piece to look at as your eyes travel with not only the general trend of the line but the shape of the collage. It also produces a 3D image with the raised paper created from pulling paper room from the page.

I intend to carry on studying texture throughout my work as it lends it self to trying many different mediums which could be beneficial when choosing the style for my final piece. I also enjoy studying poppies for their deep connection to the soldiers that have fought for our country.They are very intricate subjects and could be very suited to many different mediums. As the poppies I am studying are fresh flowers I could encounter the fact these particular subject may wilt and die and no longer give the effect I desire.