Environment townscapes

For my studies of my local environment I wanted to be as ambitious as I could with the media I was using. I therefore considered if I could use any combinations of mixed media that I hadn’t tried before.

I wanted to see if conte crayons would apply well to the texture of cardboard. The pigment caught well whilst still being easy to blend with the grooves of the card creating a nice effect on the metal. The background was less successful as the watercolour pencil wash simply soaked into the cardboard leaving little colour; this is still useful to know and despite this I’m really pleased with the outcome.

Normally I would continue to blend oil pastels together but on this study I wanted to try a sketchier style showing some of the sugar paper behind. This allowed me more freedom to try to capture the shape and perspective rather than agonizing over unnecessary details.

I wanted to try a collage using black paper, and the sharp shadows of this doorway was perfect to achieve a more abstract effect. The rest of the door is defined with chalk pastels providing a softness in contrast to the black. I’m really pleased with the outcome, and I would put this as one of my favourites from the task.

In this study I started with white crayon in the lightest parts. This meant that when I used a wash of water and started to apply charcoal the parts with crayon remained white with no charcoal bleeding over. The charcoal on wet paper meant I could achieve some good dark lines on the wood, though I was careful not to tear the paper. I really like the difference compared to charcoal on dry paper.

Using PVA glue and string on sugar paper I sketched out the lines of a chimney. I used the remainer of the glue to indicate the bricks then, when it dried, applied a watercolour wash. I really enjoyed experimenting with an entirely new media that I hadn’t considered before.

For the sky and streetlight in this study I used acrylic paint, and the sign was made by using a metallic sharpie on the green sugar paper. I think this worked really well as it created a reflective quality as the light hits it similar to the sign.

When using indian ink I would usually do a watercolour wash; in this study I instead watered down acrylics which made it a lot easier to show the darkness and vibrancy of the dusk sky. The ink was applied with a dip pen followed by a light ink wash and black acrylic to create the pebbledash effect.

Working with white crayon is challenging but rewarding; it’s difficult to determine if the perspective is correct when working with white on white but it’s very satisfying to see the study come together when the watercolour is applied. I let the paint pool and dry as it wanted which created an interesting effect in the sky. This is definitely one of my favourite studies in this task .