I drew a chair with a striped blanket draped over it using charcoal on a 22in x 33in sheet of arches. This drawing this chair has been a long journey. There were many preliminary studies and drawings before starting the final. I have spent at least twenty hours on the final alone. While this project has been very time consuming, and also physically strenuous, it has proven to be very rewarding.
For my chair, my goal was to put it in an environment similar to itself, by putting it in a room with striped walls, almost similar to the stripes on the blanket on the chair. I want to show that the stripes on the chair and the walls can still contrast each other and complement each other. I did this by paying close attention to folds and creases in the blanket and maybe even exaggerating them, in order to contrast the strict, straight lines on the walls. The main idea behind the striped walls and the striped blanket on the chair was to use it as a metaphor for trying to fit in. I wanted to depict the chair as trying to fit in with the wall, and although it succeeds to a certain extent, it’s still not quite right. I showed that by making the stripes on the walls darker than the stripes on the chair, and the sizes of the stripes are different.
I think my details are certainly a strong point in this work. The attention to detail in every stripe, fold, or crease is what really brings this work to life. I also used many values of black and white to create depth and contrast. I actually initially did not plan on using the white charcoal on this project, but once I saw what the white could do for my work and how it could interact with the black, I changed my mind.
I think that I need to improve my line work. For example, it’s always difficult to draw folds and creases and stripes, and there were many times when I would be looking at the chair, and my eyes would get lost, and I wouldn’t be able to transfer what I was seeing onto the paper, so I would end up with a lot of eraser marks. I also think that I need to work on my atmospheric perspective. My brain is so in love with contrast, and having the darkest darks to contrast the whitest whites, that I might forget to make objects that are meant to be depicted receding into space as lighter or hazier.
Provided below are photos taken at different points during the final drawing, preliminary drawings, and file management:
This work has been titled "Fitted," framed, and sent to Albany for a Spring Student SUNY show!
