Concentration 11

The Lonesome Child   

Pencil 

7" x 10.5"

For my 10th concentration, the medium I used for The Lonesome Child is pencil.  I took the picture of the statue and added a different background.  This background gives depth to the entire picture.  The diagonal wall points toward the statue, which shows the importance of the statue. The flower petals at the bottom of the page also point towards the statue.  The Pencils I used for this piece is a 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B. I also used a shading utensil, which gives a smooth look to the dark shadows.  I used the stippling method to give a worn look to the statue. I used a kneaded eraser to lift parts of the pencil to give a lighter effect. This adds to the statues worn look.  I really enjoyed drawing this picture mainly because of the detail in the statue.

Concentrations 10

The Shadowed Man   

Pencil 

6" x 8"

For my 10th concentration, the medium I used for The Shadowed Man is pencil.  The Pencils I used for this piece is a 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B. I used a shading pencil to give a smooth look to the suit.  To give a harsh aspect to the face, I used a kneaded eraser to lift parts of the pencil.  This also gives the statue, a worn look.  The darkened eyes gives a sullen and scowling expression.  For his mustache, I used a kneaded eraser again and outlined the organic shapes to give texture.  I also used this technique for the beard.  The shadows of the trees add to the erie atmosphere of the entire drawing and overall completes this drawing. I really enjoyed drawing this picture mainly because of the statues eyes.  I like the invert colors with his face in contrast with his eyes.  

Concentration 9

A Dancing Angel  

Pencil 

9" x 11"

For my 8th concentration, the medium I used for A Dancing Angel was pencil.  

Because the face is almost completely white, the darkness of the background balances it out. The different values of the flower are repeated in the folds of the statue’s hair.  For this piece, I used a 2B, 4B, 6B, and a 7B.  I used the 7B for the background to make it dark.  To lift the dark spots in the hair, I used a kneaded eraser.  I also used the kneaded eraser to give a worn and weathered look to the statue.  I overall really enjoyed drawing this statue because of the unique proportions of the face and the extreme lighting.  

Concentrations 8

A Solitary Messenger  

Painting 

7" x 11"

I decided to branch out from scratchboards and pencil and use acrylic paint for my 7th concentration.  For my background, I decided to give a gradual lighting to the foreground which progressed into black.  The lighting is very harsh which gives an unearthly feel to the angel’s face.  For this painting, I only used black and white acrylic paint.  The highlights in the clothing gives importance to the angel against the dark background.  The fingers are pointing upward towards the main focus which is the face.  Also, the shadows in the folds in the hair are pointing towards the face. 

The Cloaked Woman

The Cloaked Woman 

Scratchboard 

8" x 10"

With this concentration, I chose to scratch another scratchboard.  I decided not to add anything to the background of this piece, which gave a sort of importance to the statue.  The isolation around the statue draws the viewers eye to the statue.  The different values in the folds of the statues dress draws the eye upwards and points to the darkened face of the statue.  I used an exacto knife to scratch away the black paint.  I also used a small rough brush to give a smoother and softer look to the folds in the clothing.  Before I scraped away the black surface, I drew a sketch on another piece of paper and transferred the contour lines to the scratchboard as a guide to help keep the statues proportions accurate. 

The Mystery of Mary 

Scratchboard 

8" x 10"

The isolation shown in this piece of work draws the eye toward the focal point which is the statue.  The birds help balance out both sides of this scratchboard.  This is called symmetry; this allows the viewer to look at the entire picture rather than just the center of interest.  How I did this piece was by using an exacto knife to help scrape away the black surface which reveals the white beneath.  As shown in the first photograph, I drew an outline of my picture then transferred the contour drawing to the scratchboard with white chalk.  This contour drawing gives me guidance as to where I should scratch to keep the proportions correct.  

A Shadowy Silhouette 

Drawing, Pencil

8.5" x 11"

This is also another form of isolation.  The bare background emphasizes the dark statue.  This also shows the center of interest.  Because the head is looking down, it draws the viewers eye downward also.  For this reason, I drew small trees to capture the viewers attention.  The trees slim limbs gently urge the viewer to look up towards the dark branch which brings the eye around back toward the statue.  This is called visual movement which captures the viewers eye to circle around the entire drawing.  Though there is not much excitement of the statue because of its dark shading, the branches at the top of the page show negative spaces which points toward the statue and gives it a more inviting quality.  I used in this piece, simple materials such as leaded pencils, 2B, 4B, and 6B; and a kneaded eraser that easily lifts pencil, giving it a lighter color.

First Four Concentrations

Pencil

16" x 12''

Charcoal 

15.5'' x 12''

Pencil

10'' x 13''

Pencil 

10'' x 9''

A concentration is a collage of pieces of art based off of a specific topic.  My concentration is based on cemetery statues.  I chose this specific topic because I like the different positions of the statues and the emotion they show in their faces.