Notice the smooth broad strokes in the objects on the table and in the table edge itself. This effect is created by using the broad side of a graphite stick, not the tip. With one well-placed stroke the artist can state the whole shadow of a round form, as in these fruits and a little less so in the cup. It’s an elegant, classical technique. Notice also, that the contours of the objects are partly given with bold lines (at the bottom) and partly by having the background push against the form (at the top), a contrast that adds drama and three-dimensionality to the form, as we’ve seen earlier.
https://artamaze.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/still-life-with-peaches-pear-mug-and-knife-1/
As for the background, if you review the three drawings we’ve studied so far, you’ll notice that they all have backgrounds that don’t go to the edge of the page and in that sense they make the drawing look unfinished. You can see that in this drawing, too.
Whether a work is called finished or unfinished is a touchy subject. Who makes that call? It’s a function of expectation, isn’t it? Now, why would you expect that dark, agitated markmaking in the background to go to the left edge? If it did, you would call that finished. But, this “unfinished” left side has tension and mystery. I, for one, love the suspense. It draws me in, as if I were looking over the artist’s shoulders, entering his process.
What about the cup? As in the previous drawing, the cup is not as convincing as the peaches and pear. Once again, we’re looking at the ellipse. The cup swings a lively ellipse, but it deviates from your expectation of symmetry. Can you therefore call it “imperfect,” or even “bad?” What if you just exhaled and allowed yourself to be amused? As with the “incompletion” in the background, you are invited to enter the process.
Process is a central concept in modern art.
Speaking of the cup, I invite you to look at the following pottery pieces.
Since clay work is so very tactile, it will be easy to empathize with the physicality of its process. Practice seeing clay that way, then perhaps seeing a drawing in its physicality will become easier.
https://artamaze.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/still-life-with-peaches-pear-and-cup-1/
https://artamaze.wordpress.com/2020/05/13/still-life-with-peaches-pear-and-cup-2/
https://artamaze.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/still-life-with-peaches-pear-and-cup-3/
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
http://www.katherinehilden.com
artamaze by Katherine Hilden 