School demos

Lesson demo 1

Teaching how to use graphite powder in drawing. This is more a painterly approach. Lay out blocks of tone softly with a cloth. Work in highlights with a putty-rubber. Only then dive is with ever softer pencils. This is a top-down method that parallels painting a ground, under-painting, over-painting then glazes.

It’s a way of thinking that avoids errors introduced by filling in an outline that so many children use. This offers a clear route in via broad tones towards fine detail last.

Lesson demo 2.

So many children get in a fix and want to start again. Sometimes that’s because an outline is off. Sometimes they have represented a boundary with line that they can’t even see. For example, a face outline partly covered by hair. I teach them to build up details starting from the eye-line. That way, the eyes get the most attention; they are, after all, the most important feature ina portrait.

Biro III.

Bic Biro on A5

It’s not quite finished, there is something wrong and I’m not sure what. This letterbox view on this landscape book doesn’t help but the solution may lie in careful hair measurements. The original photo has a twist – the model is looking 3/4 to her right. In this view, the isn’t enough information, maybe that’s why it looks odd.

Biro drawing again.

Heavy rain and not warm any more.

A5 hardback sketchbook

I’m struggling with re-learning old tricks. A few drawings have eye-line faults and some skew. It’s coming back though.

Fylde Sunset

12°C, light wind.

Biro drawing

Bic yellow biros are my favourite, this one is well broken in, so is probably half used.

DofE 23: Solihull Bronze Practice.

14°C, little sun, grey later but the rain held off.

Walk 6 Y10 girls across Warwickshire to a scout camp. We walked for 7 1/2 hours under grey sky and slightly muddy ground. I’m feeling the effects of a few late nights. Last night was only 5 hours sleep. Those days accumulate and my head felt like a dull lump inside.

A landmark electricity substation on the route.

Day 2: checkpointing a circular route. I worked with Paul sharing 3 groups. One was the same group as yesterday plus a group of boys and another of girls.

The gaps between groups opened quite quickly as my group went wrong early on. They took a spagetti route and couldn’t tell where they’d been. Later their journeying got better and quicker despite being overloaded with uncomfortable packs. Other things went wrong for them too. The finish was changed while they were near the camp. An error had occured in comunicating with their parents who were to pick them up. All in all, that.l meant we didn’t finish until 17.30.