Review of the last week, studio practice 4, interpretation, adaptation, appropriation

It's been an interesting week.  At the start of the week I was feeling quite low and somewhat confused.  However having now had time to think about the project before me, and having reflected on some simple words that clearly had quite an effect upon me, - namely that I can be likened to a pub comedian, correction, a "very nervous pub comedian" who does not get a response from the audience, my mind is set to create a piece of art which I shall try to achieve with as much accuracy, depth of vision and technical mastery as I can muster.

The object that I will now research is tumbleweed...

I believe that the representation of this organic life form, which has no roots, is free from time, and in some sense free from dimensional constraints, but also lives out its existence in what can be imagined a two-dimensional plane, - (that being the Earth upon which it roams), makes a perfectly interesting object of my curiosity.

My declaration to study "Tumbleweed" is a little tongue in cheek, my real intent is to look at any airborne flotsam &  jetsam... Particularly organic, but not necessarily confined to that.  I think this links well with the concept of bad jokes, as I'm often left 'staring' at the tumbleweed moment, so why not play on that idea?

Michelangelo, 1505, Study for Battle of Casina

In the meantime I have done a couple of drawings of a study by Michelangelo, in preparation for his later painting, which was the Battle of Casina.

My first sketch copy attempt to get the flow

2nd Attempt, with more accurate shading, but legs are too thin!

I have also started to create a large drawing with the faces torsos of each of the students within my year of the degree course.  I want to continue to carry out such exercises, particularly of figurative drawing, throughout the rest of my term, as I said before, I think that drawing is an essential foundation to all my work.