I chose three different pictures of mine to begin with as I wanted to see how the charcoal would be with each image. I practiced with the charcoal in my sketchbook alongside my pictures. I had a few different varieties of charcoal to use so that was good.
The first image of the bamboo, I used 3B, H and HB charcoal pencils with the use of a stump also to shade or characterise the drawing. I found that these pencils were very easy to control. I had to keep reminding myself though that Franz’s work of abstract was not all about sleek lines. The 3B pencil helped with filling in the bamboo and the H pencil done the line work.
The second image of a bridge in London was done with both charcoal pencils and sticks. I drew the wires with the pencils and filled in the drawings with the sticks. When I look at the drawing, I see that it could be much more than just wires on a bridge. It could be ray of sunshine or power lines. It leads your mind to many objects which in a way is what Franz’s abstracts does also.
In the third image of two trees in a woodland, I used charcoal sticks. The trunks of the tree were used with the widest of charcoal sticks and the branches with the thinnest sticks. I applied a little smoothness to the drawing also with the stump tool. It reminds me a little of a scarecrow.
For the next experiment I decided to choose an image I took back in 2018 when I went to London. The image was of a building at Canary Wharf. I believe that this would be a good image to paint from as it has strong lines from the buildings and a few different angles.
I thought I would do a little try out first so I could get used to the paint and it’s consistency when water was added to it. I chose acrylic paint for this exercise. With the first painting I chose a dark grey to go along with the white. I thought this would be a good starting point as Franz initially used black for his abstracts. I thought the outcome of this piece came out really good. It has an abstract feel to it and the cross of the grey and white formed different shades to the formal lines of the buildings.
As the grey mixed in with the white, it became a gloomy colour of maybe a weathering storm. I felt like that gave a good contrast to the painting.
After my try out with a smaller piece of cardboard and colour, I then went onto doing another piece of work but on a larger scale. I tried a couple of colours out for this one. A light blue and then turquoise. I chose the turquoise colour as I remembered that Franz began using colour in his later years rather than the traditional black and white. I knew that this colour would also contrast very well with the white and blend well too.
I made sure that I added water to the acrylic paint to thin it out and make it easier to blend with the two colours. I was quite happy with the outcome of the painting. Maybe the lines could’ve been a bit thicker just like Franz’s work, but you can see the different shades between the bold colour lines of the building.
The paint reacted well when it was crossed over. The white and turquoise paint mixed and a light blue colour was formed. I think if I was to let the paint flow a bit more by adding a bigger amount of water I could’ve put a bigger stroke through to the effect of Franz’s paintings.
On reflection of the marks which I made, I maybe could’ve chosen an image with more a harsher affect. Possibly a lightening strike or piled up chairs. I could’ve used more of a powerful mark on the cardboard to make the painting stand out more. I think if I was to make it more subtle it would loose it’s meaning of a powerful abstract and Franz’s paintings were much more expansive and dominant than subtle.
Out of the two paintings I think I may prefer the first one. It feels a little more messy and the colours of grey and white makes it a good abstract painting. I believe the paintings are of an abstract expression but I possibly could’ve made them a little more powerful.
Aaron OCA Fine Art: Drawing 1 