Project : Detailed Observation P.52

Project : Detailed Observation

In this exercise, I wanted to experiment with Oil Pastels a bit more, to see how the colours worked together so I set out by getting a selection of leaves, Autumn being a good time. I was purposely looking for leaves with a certain characteristic. I wanted it to have more than one colour, preferably changing from green to brown as the leaf started to die off.. I wanted it to good visible texture, a stem, veins running up the leaf, interesting edging and a curvature in which I could use to draw perspective and shadow. 

My subject for this exercise. I positioned the leaf in front of the window to  get some reflection off the varnished table, I like how the reflection of the stem gradually disappears towards the bottom left. 

Finished sketch. 

I am half and half with the completed piece, there are bits I like and bits that I don't. I wanted to pick out the greens, orange, yellows and brown of the leaf and I think I have done a reasonable job there. I struggled with shadow in the center  where the leaf curves as I wanted to go much darker, but I resisted the need to reach for the black and chose a dark blue as my shadow tone. The same goes for where the leaf touches the table, I can't help but feel it looks like it is floating slightly. With the background, I put on the layer of brown which immediately looked too rich so I tried to erase behind the leave, thus bringing the forefront much darker. My favourite part is probably the reflection of the stem which adds a bit of symmetry to piece. The completed piece looked bland somehow so I made the decision to try the scratch technique to add a kind of rustic texture. It was useful in diffusing the reflection slightly although I think I should take better care in the direction that the strokes go.

I looked at putting leaves together as part of a complex group but decided that there was not enough colour or shape to the leaves that I had, and that Oil Pastel was probably the wrong medium for delicate leaves. I wanted to try something a bit more interesting with negative space as, and thought fruit and veg were a better option for me to try.

I felt as though I could do more with the Red Onion than with the smooth apple. The Red onion had a shiny surface in places as well roots protruding from it. I was able to scratch out the highlight in the root as well as the light from the window.

I did a few single pieces to see how Oil Pastels worked on the fruit and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome, particularly the Vegetables. It seemed that the rougher texture of vegetables worked well with the rough paper and scratch technique I was using. It was at this point that I knew I would be working with just Vegetables on this piece.

Here, I was trying to use the scratch technique not to add light but to emphasis the wrinkles on the carrot, again avoiding the use of black in my work.  

Although drawn from life, a photo taken as reference. 

Completed Piece.

I am undecided on this piece, sometimes it looks ok and other times, it feels as though I have lost a bit of my identity in terms of how dark my shading should go, or if I have gone far enough. I did not want the background to distract the viewer so I really simplified it from the still life. Overall, I think an improvement on tonal values would make this a better picture, so that vegetables stand out more and in focus.