Living Space

       This is a drawing done in paper on a decently sized piece of paper (cannot remember exact dimensions) of my own bedroom.  We were given the assignment to create a space that demonstrates perspective and shading accurately given a fixed point of view and light source.  Some objects in my room proved more difficult to put on paper such as the floor boards, guitar, and the desk on the left.  I gave them a significant effort however I am not too proud of the result.  Looking back on this drawing I can find other flaws such as the amount of blank space near the top, the size of the window, etc.  But nothing can be perfect unfortunately.
        Otherwise this project was pretty fun, because I was working from memory in an attempt to recreate my own personal living space.  I had fun sketching my dresser because it is covered with stickers that I have been slapping on there since I was a little boy.  Had this been a piece using color it would have taken much longer and I would have found many more troubles in accurately depicting this location.  Overall this project was not my favorite but I still feel accomplished in drawing a scene from my memory.

Missing Pieces

         Recently we designed an abstract skateboard graphic which demonstrates the concepts of color use and balance.  This project was particularly fun for me because I have grown up with a skateboard under my feet and have seen more graphics than I can recall.  I've noted colorful ones, dull ones, abstract ones, and realistic ones, each time imagining what I would do to make them better.
         I brought in an eight inch wide by thirty six inch long skateboard deck and traced it onto a large piece of paper, then cut it out.  I started out drawing on it with pencil so that I could brainstorm my ideas, and after about two to three days in class I ended up with this final product.  It's brightly colored with orange and blue marker and some black outlines to make it stand out.  Ultimately I was proud of these puzzle pieces.

David Gilmour

       This is part two of the previous post concerning shading and the use of value, while using a pencil.  No he is not Jesus, although strikingly similar in appearance, this is David Gilmour, lead singer and guitarist for the band Pink Floyd.  I was inspired to draw him specifically because of my interest in him as an artist, and the music he produces.  This was more difficult than the profile view of James Hetfield because it was a close up, detailed photo to begin with, not to mention the amount of hair I had to work through.  I ended up giving the basic shade with a pencil and using the eraser to lighten the lines in his beard, as well as the rest of his hair.  Although I had very little experience drawing people (let alone their faces) coming into this, I was even more satisfied with my end result on this second time around, making this my favorite art work I have done in a while.   

James Hetfield

       This is a large-scale pencil drawing of James Hetfield done by gridding the origional photo, and scaling it up for the final picture.  This project was intended to provide practice in the use of value while shading the human face.  This two-part project began here with the profile veiw of James Hetfield, lead guitarist and vocals for the band Metallica.  Part two will be posted later with a frontal view of a different artist.  It was cool to attempt something like this that I had never done before, and ultimately I was very proud of the result.

a welcome...

My name is Graham Smith and I have been attracted to the concept of art my whole life.  Anything with color in it automatically draws my attention, however a style of art that I appreciate can still be formed through the use of black and white.  Wether it be painting, sculpture, pencil, or ink, I hope to use this blog to keep track of everything I have created in any medium.  Through the internet I will be able to share and present anything and everything I am proud of.  Hopefully by the end of my senior school year I will have a full and impressive collection of my personal artworks...