For this part of the workshop, while classes were online, I went around the area of the Belfast Campus and St. Anne’s Cathedral. My first piece was a coloured study using pro markers of the Ulster University campus building. I feel my use of colour is effective as I used the grey and blue markers to recreate the reflections on the glass as well as the shelters that come out at an angle from the windows. Reflecting on it now, I would have added a wash of colour or more marks in the background so that there was as much white space.
While creating my first piece, with the construction site of the new building beside me, I thought the areas of different coloured panels could be very effective if completed in the pro markers. So, once I had finished my first piece, I created this quick A3 study which I am pleased with. Similar to before, I would have added more colour to the background to make the piece more complete.
While the subject of this piece isn’t the most obvious, I feel the simplicity and the amount of negative space is effective. I decided to create a linear piece instead of a more detailed and structured study as I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone as it is not as easy to hide if an angle is off or a line isn’t straight. This piece really made me look at the shapes within the structure of the building.
This A2 piece was created both at the cathedral and at home. Using a ink pen, I drew out the outline and areas of shadow of the building, then once I got home I added water to the pen and let it run to add create a more grayscale piece rather than black and white. I surprised myself with how accurate I was able to get the lines and angles and then where I added the shadows makes the piece look three dimensional which I am pleased with.
The MAC gallery has always been a building that interested me due to its unique architecture. I began by using the charcoal to create the lines and shadows, then I used watercolour paint to add a wash of colour to represent the red bricks. By doing this the charcoal and pencil I used before was lost underneath so I had to then add more again on top.
On my way round to the back of the MAC, one thing that stood out to me was the columns that were part of the surrounding buildings. So, using light and dark blue markers I created a quick study of my perspective looking up at the columns. This piece turned out to be a lot trickier than I originally had thought and while it may not be the most accurate piece, I feel the simplicity and colour scheme are quite effective.
I used coloured pens to create an A3 quick, continuous line drawing of the back entrance to the MAC. I decided to use purple and blue as a way of brightening up the building as I felt using a black pen would be as effective. I was pleased when the piece was finished, but when I placed it next to my other pieces, I felt it seemed too simple so similar to before I used water to blend out the ink and create areas of shadow and reflections.
My final study came about on my walk home, where I simplified City Hall down to the bare minimum shapes and created almost a stencil with pencil. I was planning on using markers for this, but I wanted to create a more expressive piece. So, I filled each shape with a layer of water and then used black Indian ink and dotted it around which created random shapes and movement.
