Drawing Skills: Part 3 Project 2 Ex 2

This exercise should take me into the countryside but I have been unwell and it is bitterly cold so I am going to rely on photographs I have taken over a period of time.

I live in rural Nottinghamshire and take lots of walks in the area. One of my regular routes takes me past a 200 year old windmill that has been grinding ever since it was built. Locally it is frequently photographed because from certain angles the huge cooling towers of the power station dwarf it. Beside the Mill is a small brick building that now houses a museum that I suppose was once used for storage.

North Leverton Windmill (1)

My idea is to use photographs that get closer to the Mill; as though I was walking towards it.

1. North Leverton Windmill approaching from the east

1. This is standing facing the mill with the museum to the right. I did this in pencil and it felt very ponderous and it looks half hearted. I didn't get the Mill tall enough. I couldn't get the windmill the dense black it really is with the sketching time I had allocated. The horizon was the fence just behind the Mill so there was lots of blue cloudless sky.

2. North Leverton Windmill looking towards the power station

2. This image didn't scan well so I photographed it and it's not much better.

This is view that encompasses the power station cooling towers. Because of the difficulty I had with pencils I changed to charcoal and got a better result. It was easier to make the Mill look dense black. I tried to use tone to indicate what an ominous presence the cooling towers are. I wasn't sure how all the mill machinery (called the fantail) fitted together so I just drew a few lines as indicators.

In the distance the towers have trees in front of them and then a field with trees in the foreground. The light is coming from the right of the drawing.

3. North Leverton Windmill standing close looking up

3. I like this sketch much better because it has some character. Once again I used charcoal and managed to make marks that covered the Mill area quickly and then change to using it on its sharpened side to make the sails. I think the sails work well. The light is coming from the right of the image and there is just sky in the background.

4. North Leverton Windmill standing close looking up (cropped)

4. This is a crop from a photograph and looks almost abstract. Much of the paper is covered in black but it isn't the intense black I used previously because the light is reflected off the paint just off centre and this somehow gives it depth. This close up the slats on the sails look triangular with light reflected off the top edge. This is my favourite drawing because I think the composition is good and it is less literal.

The amount of tone I can get with charcoal is amazing now that I've got the hang of it. The top windows in the Mill are really intense and I feel I can look right inside.

Some days later....

I made some small tiles from this image and played about making patterns.