drawing board
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In the next body of practical work, I want to challenge myself to create a collection of true reportage drawings. Perhaps it is my own unshaken scepticism but I tend to look at my previous projects, not as reportage but as 'good drawing', as though at some point, early in the process of creating the collections, my motivations shifted from one thing to another. From reportage to showing people I can draw well.
One of the ways I want to challenge myself is in the physical way I approach my work. Drawing on location in the hospital already forces me to reconsider how I go about putting drawings on the page, other than when sitting at my desk. It stands to reason that when drawing on location, the materials I pick and the way in which I use them will not only have an effect on individual drawings but will flavour the collection. If I intend to bring some new aspect to my work, then considering the materials I use it the logical place to start. Drawing in the hospital is going to require far more drawing on location than previous projects - I'm conscious that it might mean ONLY drawing on location as I'm pretty certain taking source photography will be prohibited. |
I aim to make a drawing board that is suitable for the job in hand and that makes life a little easier. This is a good opportunity to incorporate some new materials into my approach to reportage drawing. With that in mind I'd like to make something that keeps materials, old and new, close at hand - if putting some brush marks down on the page becomes a real hassle, then I'm likely to stick with a single Lamy fountain pen. I still intend to keep my tool kit very simple but introducing an expressive line or wash from a brush pen, as counter to my drawn line, will only add one more pen to my carry whilst altering the quality of my work quite drastically. Keeping this and any other materials close at hand and easily accessible whilst drawing is an essential part of making them a natural part of the drawing process. Reaching for them, using them and replacing them should be something I do without giving it a moments thought - this will, of course, require practice, in use, so I will need to find opportunities to get practicing.
I also intend to take advantage of a range of paper stocks and sizes in addition to my usual Leuchtturm1917 180gsm sketchbook. A large pile of Muji's cheap, newsprint sketchbooks has already been ordered - including a new large, landscape version. This paper encourages quick marks as it is very absorbent and pulls the ink out of pens quite rapidly. I'd also like to add some of Moleskine's brown cover sketchbooks, again for the way in which it encourages quick and expressive drawing with the Lamy. (Note: do these come in anything other than the pocket book?). |
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Kaweco Sport, fountain pen. Very small and subtle (105mm, as pictured) but the real benefit is the easy to replace cartridges, meaning I don't have to worry about a pen running out me needing to bother with refilling - it takes a minute to be back up and running. I've yet to have one of these block or stop working (other than when they run out). They seem to work particularly well on the Moleskine paper and quite well on the muji pad. Not so great on the Leuchtturm1917, where it seems to get embedded in the paper's grain - leading to uncontrolled line.
With a Moleskine pocket book and a couple of cartridges in my pocket, I can literally have a workable kit in my inside pocket. Picture here has been augmented with a Pentel brush pen. Again, small and reliable. |
