Sketches

My Favourite Day.

Experiencing Westminster Abbey and having the freedom to pick my own museum and explore the city for the rest of the day was the best part of this trip for me. That day was also a big stepping stone for me because I switched from using pencil to pen and allowed any mistakes speak for themselves. From the beginning of this semester, I wanted to improve my drawing skills. I had never taken an art class (except for studio) before this one and I was excited to see myself learn and grow. I am normally very precise and careful with my drawings so when I was able to just go straight in with pen, I felt as if I accomplished something big for myself.

A quarter of Westminster Abbey!

Experiencing London

My Experiential Map!

By far my favorite sketch that we have done from this trip was the experiential map. I liked it because it helped me to reflect back on the day and remember exactly what we did. It also gave a new perspective to just how much are we covered, and helped me relate a map to the experience of walking through a space. I also enjoyed making quick little sketches of the places we visited, and accompanying them with longer descriptions of my experience in that space. I think this is the sketch I’m most proud of, and I am really happy I learned about this type of sketch in this class.

A Take On Stonehenge

Our visit to Stonehenge was one thing that I looked forward to the most out of everything we had planned on this trip. When we arrived at the parking lot, the stones were nowhere in site, but a short bus trip down the road revealed the stones slowly as we went over the hill. It was a windy and rainy day, but that did not stop me from taking in the amazing view of the stones that stood in front of me. In my sketch I wanted to capture the massing of the stones and how they relate to each other in size and shape. I also wanted to capture the different shades of darkness, which included shadows and natural darkening of the stones. Luckily I had a lot of time on the site and I was able to capture most of the details with out having to use a picture. Finishing the sketch on site meant I had to sit in the rain to get it done, but it was worth it!

Henry Moore’s Mother and Child in St. Paul’s Cathedral

One of the most interesting pieces I found in St. Paul’s Cathedral was Henry Moore’s Mother and Child: Hood. Moore’s semi-abstract sculptures helped create a very specific form of modernism in the United Kingdom.

Completed in 1983 out of travertine marble, Moore’s take on Michelangelo’s Pieta is able to convey the grieving Mary after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ using minimal detail. The characteristic disparity in size between the Madonna and Christ becomes further exaggerated through the abstraction of form. The way Moore nests the two figures strengthens the maternal relationship by creating an almost wombic cradle.

Seeing more contemporary works of art in such historical spaces highlights the interconnectedness of their simultaneous presence in the city.

Henry Moore’s Mother and Child

British Museum Sketch Analyisis: Blog 2

British Museum, Asian exhibit

This piece of art intrigued me because it was a piece of Asian artwork. I am normally drawn to Greek art because of its fluidity and it’s portrayal of the natural body. I would consider myself a feminist when it comes to body positivity and the idea that the human body should not be something to hide or be ashamed of. That is the main reason that I appreciate Greek sculptures, because they represent the natural human body and present woman as full bodied, with curves and fat. This opposes the current ideal woman which is typically seen as thin and skinny with little body fat. After venturing out of the Ancient Greek exhibit, I entered the Chinese/Japanese culture area. It is here that I found the sculpture that I decided to sketch. This sculpture was very curvy and appeared as an erratic woman. I have not studied much Asian art, but I was very interested in a sculpture that had so many familiar qualities of the Ancient Greek artwork, but was originated from a very different culture. This is why I chose to sketch the woman statue. I was able to contribute my interest in the art of the human body while viewing it from a different culture which offered slight differences in how human sexuality is view across cultures.

A Rocky Situation

Sketch of 3 sarsen stones.

On our visit outside of the city, Stonehenge popped up almost at random out of the rolling green hills as a ruin made of a pile of rocks. Before coming here it seemed so much a mystical site that tv and historians tell an impossible tale, however upon viewing It for myself, I realize that though the stones are huge, it seems possible with enough man power. The organization seems reasonable for a time when people wanted to congregate around something as powerful at the stars and the sun. Being able to understand formations like this as a man made form begins to dissolve the improbability of some of these structures we aren’t used to seeing outside of a history book. The complex is quite big, but at a small enough scale that it is plausible. Surely not as big as the pyramids, so I can more clearly confirm that aliens did not create Stonehenge.

Detail meets function

Sketch of a column detail in the Natural History Museum

Photo of a detail on a column in the Natural History Museum

When we visited the Natural History Museum I was immediately struck by the beauty of the building on the inside and outside. I was even more intrigued when I looked closer at the walls columns and ceiling and noticed the immense, and purposeful, amount of detail that was present. The stonework in particular contained lots of small surprises that could be easily overlooked, such as this monkey that was clinging to the column. I thought that these details were great because they correlated with the function of building, which was a natural history museum. Just as a religious building would have religious iconography engraved in the stone, this museum had its main characters carved into the building, acting as a constant reminder of the space that you are in.

Stonehenge Shenanigans

Quick sketch of Stonehenge

Our visit to Stonehenge at the end of a long day was unfortunately pretty rainy and windy. I was able to get a rough outline while on the site, and then I was able to add details and color later on from a photo. My goal with this sketch was to capture the texture and shadows of the stones, which I think I accomplished pretty well. I do wish I had more time on site to complete the drawing instead of referencing a photo. I’m glad I chose to use color for this sketch, I think it adds some more description and depth.

Blog 1 (B)

For our first day it was great to kick it off with a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral. While here, to witness the architecture of Christopher Wren was breathtaking above the ground, however during exploring the entire site I ventured down to the crypt and found some equally inspiring architectural moments I wished to sketch. In this sketch I wished to capture 2 key elements. First, the vaulting structure of the supporting ceiling captured my attention. The way in which the vault itself meets the elements of the column displays an interesting juxtaposition from a streamlined architectural support system into a detailed one. Second, the shadows created by the light in the crypt I personally found to be extremely beautiful. Practicing shadowing in sketches is a keen interest of mine and I hoped this sketch would provide the opportunity to further explore and perfect my technique.

Specifically the area sketched in question was the central space in front of the back chapel altar