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Month: July 2020

A Looser Way of Drawing

A Looser Way of Drawing

Self-Portrait Pencil (2020)

Sometimes when I’ve had enough of spending hours on an artwork I like to speed up the process and work more spontaneously. Continuous line drawings do have structure but the marks you make can surprise you and remain fresh (especially if you don’t over-work them!). This self-portrait took me probably 10 minutes if that. I also did a couple of ‘warm-up’ sketches before this where the proportions went a bit haywire and I was able to re-train my eye and focus (something I’d recommend you do before each drawing session). ‘Warm-up’ drawing is great to do in the classroom and it builds confidence in a group by taking the pressure off during the first task.

By Emma Such

Paul Klee- Inspired Drawing Tutorial: The Formal Elements

Paul Klee- Inspired Drawing Tutorial: The Formal Elements

My version of Klee’s Park bei Lu

During the first Term in September our Year 7’s explore line and the formal elements in Art. However I sometimes struggle with an Artist reference for this Unit- I wanted a change from my usual format so I asked myself who would fit the bill this year? Paul Klee wasn’t an Artist I was initially drawn to as an NQT but as my teaching years have gone by I see that when chosen carefully- some of Klee’s work is very accessible and engaging for young people. He hits the nail on the head when addressing the Formal Elements in Art.

(FYI: The Formal Elements are the parts used to make a piece of artwork. The art elements are line, shape, form, tone, texture, pattern, colour and composition.)

Below is a video tutorial I have recently created to introduce students to Paul Klee’s abstract symbols used with colour to create his famous Park bei Lu (1938). In September we’ll likely be working in non-art classrooms and unlikely to be able to use paint for a while which is why I chose to use pencil crayons.

By Emma Such

Drawing Demonstration: A Clenched Fist

Drawing Demonstration: A Clenched Fist

Today I did some more teaching from home and after speaking to one of my dedicated Year 10 students I found out that he was struggling to draw hands- namely a clenched fist with tone. So here (3rd time’s a charm) I drew this more advanced fist with tone after looking at the fantastic online Artist tutor Proko (one I’ve only just discovered but who breaks down the anatomy of the body to help break down a drawing). Below the first is a more basic instruction video- I may do an intermediate fist drawing next so there is a stepping stone to the more advanced drawing.

By Emma Such

Lock-down Beard Portrait

Lock-down Beard Portrait

Lock-Down Beard Portrait of my husband- looking very noble here!

Hello! So here I’m posting another Lock-Down portrait because we are living in unique times and my husband’s beard progression symbolises this well (he’s usually clean-shaven!). For this portrait sketch I started with an even pencil scribble across the whole page. I do this sometimes to get rid of the white space which can be really off-putting at times. I then worked into the ‘scribble’ (or ‘dark tone’) with an eraser picking out the rough outline of the nose, forehead and lips. I then worked into this with pencil. This is a sketchbook study so I’ve left it quite rough around the edges. I’m fairly happy with the proportion- there is definitely a likeness to my subject although there is probably some room for improvement(what else are sketchbook studies for?). Hair is another area I’d like to spend some more time on. This may come up in a future post!

By Emma Such

Late Night Portrait Sketch

Late Night Portrait Sketch

July 2020

So tonight I created this Self-Portrait…late at night…because my daughter is 3… and now asleep… so it’s Mummy’s time to make some art! (Nevermind that I’m Teaching online tomorrow as we’re still in UK COVID 19 Lockdown and the news is looking more dire by the minute).

So how did it go? Well on reflection, this portrait; which was worked from a breezy and light sort of image has morphed instead into how I am feeling now- tired and glassy-eyed. Weird how at times your drawings transform into how you are feeling in ‘the moment’- probably more acceptable as it was me that I was drawing! I wonder how people feel about the Artist becoming an intrinsic and subconscious part of the artwork?

By Emma Such

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