Exercise 4:1 Description and Depiction

This one started with the same issues I that faced in 4:0 fill it up fast.
Like the prior exercise I thought likely will have to do in two parts, however one morning on the school run I took my sketchbook with the intention to practice – along with the “list” of what I needed to do.

I had no intention to make this the main focal point of my sketchbooks.
*This is due to me wanting to sketch something “new”.
*I was worried it wouldn’t be exciting enough.

But again, this was a trip in the moment and something very real to my everyday.

I sketched as much as I can in the moment, I wasn’t out as long as I had planned due to started to be sore physically.
My “boxes” are not clear cut – due to trying to balance my sketchbook and draw (ideally I should have found somewhere I could sit down)

I started writing short hand words/thoughts
this naturally started to grow into the “second box” followed by drawings (thumbnails) and loose sketches.

I ended my trip out with a words & illustration mix.

I took photo as well of the scene and found the main thing of interest is the start of the changing of the seasons.

I tried from photos, memory and my words to get a working illustration to show how I felt/my words.

I really wanted to explore the words and illustration, I thought of two songs while doing this so wanted to see the song lyrics with illustrations, nothing much intended of it as my “final” I wanted my own words foremost.
More a moment I just explored.

Next pages taking some of the elements that really stood out the most
School run
Autumn low sun
Crisp soft gentle wind
Falling of leaves
back to routine
Soft and warm feeling.

I guess I wanted to express the normal that has been missing for six months, such as a mother returning home after dropping the kids of at school.
Actually have five min peace and enjoy the simple things that very likely took for granted before COVID-19.

This exercise gave me more narrate, more sense of purpose and a louder inner voice almost directing my thought process.
“try that angle”
“colours what will reflect this mood”
“do you feel that?”
“pay attention to this deal”
Guess in a way helped me see the “bigger” picture. Since this exercise I’m very serious I have this inner “film” director that is almost trying to create a movie now.
I’ve started to see the world differently of late, no longer keeping this all inan inner secret world of my won and more and more I want to share my world and I want people to feel the rawness of my work.
I’m now starting to see how I can express this, from colours, to lines, to word and illustrations together… This is very new to me and almost feels very nosy in my thoughts as everything I tried to keep “quiet” now wants to scream to be heard, I’ve been given my voice again!
So this exercise was good at getting me started, taking the smaller steps with my personal narrative so I’m not driving in head first!
This is the start of breaking something down in a way to be able to illustrate, helps makes sense of everything in the moment that you feel.

In summary.
While I think I answered the “questions” though out the exercise.
I wanted summarise my thoughts.

Which approaches did you enjoy and which will you take forward from this task?
I enjoyed a lot of it, again not being planned and in the moment, I can see how this fits into my future sketchbook life. I can also see how to pair and use words as I work… Something had being lacking before. It gives me a narrative method, something again I lacked.
What happened when words and images interacted; did they reinforce or play off against each other?
I like to thing they work together, as the words I wanted to give images to them, give them colours and textures. I’m not always sure I found the right words, but this is something to explore and discover, so this is exciting.
Did describing the scene using words first affect the way you drew afterwards?
It made me think more about how to express myself via illustration more, like how can I enhance this feeling or that one. Not just about what I can physically see but how can I show what I feel… I actually also understand on a deeper level some of the master works in a whole new light, such as Van Goth’s sunflowers.
Did what you described using words help you to decide the emphasis or your image?
Yes, it gave me direction, like I was trying to film the scene from inside my head, not about how can I make this image nice, but how can I make the viewers feel these things?