Project 3: Exercise 4 - Monochrome 
For this exercise I wanted to combine a natural object, ripe plums with a man made object, a plate. I was drawn to the plums because of their colour, so dense and deep. I placed the plums on a red plate and looked at the colour, shape and form. 


For my first sketch, having enjoyed the freedom of working on brown parcel paper, I decided to work again using this material. I used a purple biro to sketch out the shape of the plums. I used red and purple watercolour to block in the colour. When I squinted my eyes, I placed white paint where I could see the reflection of light on the fruits. I quite enjoyed how this bought the light and the white polka dots or the plate together. 

I left this sketch to dry. When I returned to it I felt concerned the colour of the paper was too close in tone to the fruits and plate. The colours on the page look unintentionally  muddy and unclear. This drawing is missing clarity: 



This time I opted for a bright white sheet of water colour paper. I also remove the red blanket from beneath the plate. I sketch out shapes again with a purple biro. I also sketch out where the shadows of the fruits fall: 



A line pencil study of shape: 


Using a limited palette of red, blue and violet I block in the colour. I focus on tone and use blocks of colour to help capture the largest and very lightest parts: 




Reflection: 

This was far more challenging than I had anticipating. My challenges were my paper choice and clarity. 

I found the plums gorgeous to work with, I loved their shape, the depth of colour and the way they sat together on the plate. 

I found sketching in biro successful and satisfying. My simple pencil line drawing of the shape of a plum really helped understand the shape and form of the fruit. 

On reflection I chose the wrong paper for my first attempt. Working in monochrome I should have considered the tone of the paper I was working on. 

For my second attempt, my mixed colours do appear much brighter on the paper and I can now see the shape and tone of the shadows. 

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