Sketchy sketch

Bit short of time this week 'cos of playing catch-up and getting ready for Lille so I'm 'cheating' and posting an old charcoal sketch of part of the chapel at West Dean College, West Sussex.  Slightly wobbly lines to the chapel tower but it's not as bad as recalled, maybe I shouldn't give up on the sketching just yet ...

Not giving up or in

Another wobbly day, seem to be making a habit of it lately.  Maybe it's the problem of accepting that I can't cram everything in at the last minute and I'm no longer able to go for days without sleep ... 

Despite everything I seem to be playing catchup at the moment so here are my revised masterplan efforts.

Plan
Still a long way to go but definitely improving

Sections

Still lots to do to improve these, like adding background depth ...

Sequential sketches

Getting there ... albeit painfully slowly

Now I just need six months solid sleep ... I (heart) my duvet

With thanks to my sister (and her boss) for coming to my rescue through provision of emergency plotting services; not taken for granted and definitely appreciated.

Completely irrelevant

By chance I've just stumbled across a definition of my name in a version of the Oxford English Dictionary (circa however long ago it was that my mother last updated her own copy and 'handed down' her old one).

Like probably everyone else on the planet, I've looked up the definition before in books of names and it's usually along the lines of oath (or word) of God.  So far, so unexciting but according to the OED it means greyish yellow; no further explanation.  I now feel oddly subdued ...  and increasingly greyish yellow.  Thanks parents, insufficient research undertaken with that choice.

Still, could be worse, my elderly niece came close to being named Quenburga (my sister was keen) and her mother narrowly escaped the cruelty of Cordelia Cordwell.  Such is the harshness of life ...

Masterplanning crit

Where to begin?  Before the Christmas break I worked on into the evenings (at my, unrelated industry, paid job) partly to keep on top of the workload and to prepare as much as possible for the new year, our forthcoming VAT return and year end accounts, etc.  Thought I'd clear the decks to allow as much time as possible for any last minute panics with my masterplanning A1s.  Similarly, at home I stocked up on essentials to cut down on shopping trips and told people that I'd be working flat out over the Christmas break (as per the norm since beginning this course).  Remind me to invest in a social life when the studying ends ... I may need to start from scratch!

Anway, so far, so organised.

With everything apparently under control I sat down to formulate my plan ... damn.  No inspiration.  Less than a week and a half before the crit, and after weeks of frustration (including two whole, luxurious, days of using the age-old method of simply going out, doing something else and ignoring the problem in the vain hope that something or someone else will stimulate creative brain activity ... nope, that didn't work either) finally a seemingly workable idea formulated.  Unfortunately, I was now back at work (work), already overtired and rapidly running out of time.  As a result, a number of 'compromises' (i.e. just get something, anything down) had to be made.


Despite spending time looking at and attempting different rendering techniques I ended up with an extremely abstract looking plan with an unexpected nod to Picasso (look at the two lakes in the valley basin area and the shape of the natural playground on the former bowling green area ... and then squint a bit at a funny angle ... just me then?).

Plan

Two sheets of sequential sketches accompanied this, one ridiculously sparse and especially dull.  At too late a stage I realised that I'd picked some particularly bad examples but time was pouring away before the deadline ...

Sections

Oddly enough, I wasn't too unhappy with the sequential sketches (Photoshop used over more a collection of scribbles than actual sketches) but was told that they lacked atmosphere.  Couldn't see it yesterday but, apart from the 'prairie-style swathe' one, I'm now inclined to agree that there is a flatness to them.  Slightly surprised that no-one pointed out the most glaring error ... that nobody, with the possible exception of two small children, is actually looking at the view in 'highest viewpoint' (I struggled to find suitable images of peoples backs in time).  No questions either on what Johnny Depp was doing walking in Calverley Grounds' new sandstone valley.  Probably shouldn't have used that image but it's full length with feet ... surprisingly hard to find (clothed) images of people meeting this criteria just searching the web.

Sequential sketches

Nevermind ... maybe if I receive enough critical comments some of them will eventually be sufficiently absorbed that I'll learn from them!  Actually, apart from the 'atmosphere' remark none of the criticisms were unexpected.  Just need to act on the feedback ... tomorrow.  I've made a few more notes and a plan of action but am determined to have an early night (i.e. before midnight) ... after all, the VAT return still needs checking before submittal and that's better done with an unfuddled mind!

Reuse & recycle

Indulged a bit too much over the festive period and can't face a trip to the bottle bank?  Prepare for the summer and make a seat with the empties - it's sustainable and good for back ache (albeit more cause than cure).