Fill it up – FAST!
First, I created some mini sketchbooks using pieces of A3 coloured paper. I folded each piece into 8 then cut down the middle to fold into a ‘foldy zine’. This gave me 8 little pages to fill. I headed to Meadowhall, Sheffield – a huge shopping centre, with restaurants, cafes and shops – and gave myself a fixed time of 90 minutes to fill my sketchbook. I chose to get a cup of tea and sit in an area in the middle of the walkways, so I had a view over the balcony of escalators and people walking in and out of shops.
Did you use any new media approaches?
As I was working so quickly, I think I kept my media approaches quite simple and familiar. In my bag, I had brought along crayons, fine liners and biros. I kept layering images, to fill the page with multiple drawings, and sometimes used techniques such as cross-hatching or dotting to create texture or tone.
What did you discover about working fast on the same theme?
I discovered that it is invaluable in order to get a real understanding of your surroundings. I looked, not only at the scene as a whole, but also towards the little details, like decorative light shades and the layers of glass, wooden beams and marble. I was in a great position to draw people going up and down on the escalators, which restricts how long you can draw them, because they soon get off and walk on. I found that I established a colour scheme through my sketchbook, inspired by my mood and my surroundings. The sketchy nature of the figures in the book gives the impression that people are on the move. Working fast also forces you to collect information quickly and effectively; you only have a limited time to look, absorb and record.
Did you get as much done as you expected?
No; the time went by so quickly. Even though I tried to keep my style quick, I found that I rushed a little to fill in gaps and create full pages of drawings. I’d like to try this again, somewhere else, for the same amount of time and see how different the results are.
Would trying this in a different environment or at a different time make any difference?
I think so. It was midday on a weekday in Meadowhall; at a different time of day, it would have been either much busier or sparsely populated. I’m sure with more people around, the atmosphere would have been slightly louder, chaotic and bustling. I imagine it would have been easier to fill a page with more people around – rather than drawing individual figures, I would have been seeing crowds, seas of people moving together.
What will you take forward from this task about how you might draw when you’re out and about in the future?
- Overlap and merge images – it creates interesting results
- Take enough materials to choose from
- Find somewhere comfortable so you can settle, look and draw
- Draw big scenes and little details to get a full picture of the environment
- Don’t be precious; get as much down as possible
I tried this task again in another location to see how the results would differ. This time, I went to a café inside a building called ‘The Quad’, which is also a cinema, art gallery and performance centre, in Derby. I also decided to go on a Saturday afternoon – potentially a busier time – to see if a change in day and time would have an impact. Once there, I bought a drink and settled in a corner of the café so I could see the whole room and see outside the building into the square where people would walk by.
Interestingly, I found that this was, although packed, a calmer atmosphere. People were not passing by, as they had been doing inside Meadowhall; they were settling for a drink or some food and so I felt myself relaxing and spending a little more time concentrating on each person, rather than having a limited time to quickly capture a passing hand or face or pair of feet.
I spent the same amount of time in The Quad as I had done in Meadowhall, but I can definitely see differences in the results. Some of my sketches this time look more considered and have much more texture and tone. Figures are usually fully formed, or at least a face and upper body, and lots of the items give the impression of this café atmosphere. It is worth noting that I have picked out items and people and objects, rather than showing the space, the windows etc. because the objects seemed to build up the space. I did not feel that the windows or the walls had much of a role; most of the exterior walls were windows, so it felt like a continuous space. I was much more interested in the people and the items.
Still, I did not get as much done in 90 minutes as I thought I could; I think the Meadowhall sketchbook looks more ‘complete’. That could be a reflection of the busy nature of the environment and that I filled pages more easily with passing people and shopping bags. In contrast, The Quad was busy but relatively still and calm. Perhaps the spaces in my sketchbook illustrate this.
Jade's OCA Learning Log 