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Perspective – a re-blog from The Conversation

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I was looking for something handy to say on perspective; preferably something that might also illuminate my approach to a technique that foxes me, visually, every time I try to complete a perspective-directed exercise; then this article rolled up right on cue. The Conversation permits re-blogging on condition that the article is not edited, so here’s the whole piece. Comments when I’ve read it properly, but here for reference too. Four ways in which Leonardo da Vinci was ahead of his time Leonardo da Vinci had a seemingly inexhaustible imagination for innovation. Hywel Jones, Sheffield Hallam University; Alessandro Soranzo, Sheffield … Continue reading Perspective – a re-blog from The Conversation

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Part 3 project 5 exercise 1 townscape

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I’m using my own photos for these as standing still or sitting in unsuitable seating is problematic due to a back injury, and keeping hold of items such as drawing implements and sketchbook tricky due to Dupuytren’s contractures in both hands. I also need glasses to see the page and sunglasses in bright light which is an incompatible combination. These are largely inconveniences most of the time but, in these circumstances, comprise an impediment to on-the-hoof sketching. Luckily, I often take photos and I have quite a few suitable ones. This first sketch though, is from a paused dashcam video … Continue reading Part 3 project 5 exercise 1 townscape

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Part 3, a perspective on perspective

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Throughout the perspective exercises, I’ve been haunted by Escher and his impossible stairs and landings. I’m fascinated by them but they make my eyes ache and the thought of trying to do anything comparable brings on a mild panic. Why don’t I find it possible to keep track of lines and angles when I’m quite capable of interpreting them both in images and the physical world? Clearly, that information is available to me in a form that allows me to make sense of what I’m seeing (step back, Escher, you’re different!) so why is it so difficult for me to … Continue reading Part 3, a perspective on perspective

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Part 3, project 4, exercise 3 – aerial perspective

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Almost missed this – slip of the page or my head telling me only what I wanted to hear, that there was no such task? Anyway, after establishing I wouldn’t need to risk assess myself for sketching while strapped to a chimney, I had a look through my google photo store to see what I might have in there that would meet requirements and there was a fab little snap of a section of Brighton beach, the lower promenade, where construction was taking place and the sea and sky and the pier took up most of the space. Not a … Continue reading Part 3, project 4, exercise 3 – aerial perspective

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Parallel perspective

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Supposedly easier than the angular variety but oh no! I seriously needed to get the white crayon out to make those lines explicit so I could eventually come up with this. It’s oil crayon on A1 cartridge that I’d pre-prepped with acrylic gesso, using brush strokes that would create the textures of the objects in the picture. There’s also some ink, pastel, and a lot of blending, and scratching with a stylus. Quite a work out! Some of the prep images are below.   Continue reading Parallel perspective

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Angular perspective

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I sometimes think angular momentum might be easier and I don’t even know what that means – sling shots round the sun to blast through the Kuiper Belt? Anyway, whatever sort of perspective you need to deliver, it’s going to involve a vanishing point, lines that, at root, are parallel, and an eye that knows how to see things side on. I don’t do any of that naturally. Nor do I make easy sense of lots of lines. These tasks are a flippin’ nightmare! I’ve had to do two: parallel perspective which is the one that goes straight ahead and … Continue reading Angular perspective

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Part 3 project 4 exercise 1 – parallel perspective

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Parallel perspective is the one that goes straight down the middle of the ‘page’ towards a vanishing point somewhere uncomplicatedly just ahead. The task is to draw an interior and, as luck would have it, I already did. It formed part of a series of indoor sketches and I chose to develop one of those on A2 cartridge. These were 5-10 minute round-the-house sketches; quick and dirty, as it were. I used Prisma colour pencils for this first one. This is white charcoal on pink sugar paper, looking through the doorway at my sofa. White charcoal again on purple sugar … Continue reading Part 3 project 4 exercise 1 – parallel perspective

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Part 3 project 4 exercise 2 angular perspective

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This is the one that sweeps across your line of sight and off into the top left hand (or right hand) corner. I found a couple of suitable photos (my own) to work from. This first I took some years ago on a wild day in Brighton with the sea pounding up the beach. The second is more recent; a street scene locally. I thought I knew where this was but I realise I don’t! It’s somewhere nearby but my capacity to recognise views without the whole context is appalling. Driving along a regular route, I can only see what’s … Continue reading Part 3 project 4 exercise 2 angular perspective

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OCA BA hons Painting – some exercise tasks

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I’m right at the beginning of what could be a five to seven year haul towards the degree and, coming as it does some fifty years since I did the Foundation year, I need to get a shift on or I’ll be grabbing that scroll while they’re nailing the lid down! My blogs (learning logs for the course) are elsewhere but, as it’s going to take up much of my artistic effort and there might not be much else to post, I’ll be popping some bits and pieces here from time to time. Maybe there’ll be visible progress, you never … Continue reading OCA BA hons Painting – some exercise tasks

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Art, meaning, and communication

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This is a reblog (a copy actually as you’re only allowed one reblog and I’d already parked this on my other arty blog). It’s the result of some mental scratching around, trying to understand the incomprehensible in art and literature. Buckle up. I’ve been having a think about art and creative output generally, and two things strike me, the first being that I like all sorts of things and I appreciate others even if I don’t like them. The difference? The first will likely be attractive in some way – a well written, zipping along story or an immediately engaging … Continue reading Art, meaning, and communication