Sunday, April 21, 2013

Deskilled drawings - with projections.

To continue exploring stenciling as a process within traditional drawing, I am using an overhead projector to form the original image. 

I discover that this method helps with the layout but does not take skill out the drawing process! It is difficult to draw from a projected image and observation skills still apply as much as they would in any traditional drawing. 

I experiment to find objects that are more than silhouettes. Clear plastic and glass work really well on the overhead as seen below - this is a projection only. No drawing as yet.

 The arches paper roll is 42 inches wide. The image looks great as a projection, so...off I go.
Roughing in was the easy part!  Now with the image generally in place, things get interesting... 

The image below shows projection and drawing occurring at once. As you can imagine, its hard to see what is projected and what is actually drawn. Its essential to evaluate them separately so I use a piece of blank paper to shield the drawing or to reveal the projection by turns.  

I also make many trips back to the projector to switch it off and on, to compare. You really have to scrutinize the drawing to give it the same values and nuances as the projection.

A drawing  is simply a collection of information that echoes optical reality. Put the right combination of light and dark in the right places, in the right shapes, and the illusion "magically" appears. Its a question of getting the exact relationship between these elements.  



Eventually I even projected the image onto the wall next to the paper (this is not shown) and checked it that way too.  Add, erase, adjust. Repeat... 


Finally...its as close as I can get to the original. 

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