Denise Clarke

Scheme: Still life drawing

2014

Subject matter: The remains of the meal.

Experiment and manipulate the drawing tools to create as many different types of marks,
challenges to how the mark-making tool is held, to capture structure, light and dark.
Develop new skills, concepts and techniques through drawing and sketches.

Aims
To help pupils to:
Examine ordinary things from a different perspective, describing, investigating and
conveying the qualities of the still life through drawing.
Develop new skills, concepts and techniques through drawing and sketches, to
capture structure, light, composition, angular and organic shapes, scale, framing,
perspective, light/shade. To help students to see the potential to use drawing to
inform and develop future work.
Experiment and manipulate the drawing tools to create as many different types of
marks to create tones and textures and develop a language of drawing. Using
pencil, biro, charcoal, erasers, soft chalks, inks, ink and egg, wax pastels.
Introduce the use of viewfinders to frame sections of the still life.
Examine the still life arrangement placement of objects, perspective, distances
between objects, overlapping, in front of, behind, higher, lower, and the textures of
objects. In the double class the students will set up the still life, taking in to
consideration the points identified above.
Explore the history of still life drawing through the introduction the work of other
artists, Morandi and Thiebaud.
Overall Learning Outcomes for the Scheme
On completion pupils should be able to:
1 Investigate the subject matter through observational drawing, a written script and
photographs.
2 Compose and construct drawings with consideration given to composition,
light/shade, scale and perspective through mark making.
3 Developed a language of drawing through the exploration of different types of
mark making using the different media, starting with pencil. Use different drawing
techniques and mediums to reproduce textures and tones.
Manipulate the viewfinders to create different perspectives of the still life.
Investigating/Exploring/Creating
Sunday afternoon after a big lunch, sitting sleepily at the dinner table, ready for the
postprandial snooze, gazing at the clean up. The light is strong, causing us to squint, and
the table transforms in front of our eyes. Looking around through our squinting eyes it
becomes a series of angular and organic shapes, with different tones and textures.
The shadows are patterns, created by bottles, milk jugs glasses and the other debris left
over from the meal.

Exploring
The students will do some quick timed drawings of still lifes
concentrating on looking and how they hold the pencil or
chalk. Some are drawn while sitting and some while
standing. The difference in standing and sitting shows in the
make making. The idea is to encourage the students to hold
the pencil in a different way from when they are writing which
is about control, and that only the tip of the pencil touches
the paper. In this way the student can manipulate the pencil
to achieve different line/mark weights widths and have
greater freedom of movement.

Drawings of my fathers house

Creating
The students will create a series of drawings of different sizes. The first drawing will be
done as they wish, draw as they normally draw. The next drawing will be standing and
holding the pencil as if they were buttering bread, Harry Potter with a wand or drawing in
the sand with a stick. The first series of drawings will be quick 5mins. Over the period to the
Scheme the students will create drawing of different sizes and time duration. At various
stages they will be given obstacles, drawing with the hand less used or drawing blind, with
paper blocking the view of their drawing so they have to draw while looking only at the still
life.
History and Critical Studies (include illustrations):
What is the subject matter? Identify the variety of marks are used to make the drawing?
Comment on the composition, where on the page are the objects placed?
Compare and contrast two of Morandis drawings.
What are the main differences between two of Theobalds drawings?
Home work: Sketch book

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)

Objects in drawing?
Composition of drawing?
Marks used?
Which direction is the light coming from?
Positive and negative space
What is the difference
between these two
drawings? Same objects,
different composition
Squint at first drawing now
what are the differences?
Italian painter, draughtsman and printmaker. At the age of
17 he enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna
and discovered contemporary art in books on
Impressionism, Paul Czanne, Georges Seurat and Henri Rousseau.
Wayne Thiebaud

Use of Digital Media:

Encourage the students to use cameras to explore different viewpoints of the still life and to
record their work.
Differentiation:
Use of viewfinders for students with ADD/ADHD to aid concentration by blocking out the
surrounding areas. All students will use viewfinders.
Angled drawing boards for students who cant stand up to work.
Literacy:
Encourage students to describe the still life in terms of composition and how the objects
relate to each other. To describe what their breakfast remains look like.
Encourage the students to verbally appraise their own drawing, comparing and contrasting
the progression of their drawing so that they can see the changes that occur.
Numeracy:
Explore the depth of field, perspective, measuring with the eye to establish distance
between objects. Students will get an opportunity to set up the still life, they will have to
take into consideration the placement of objects, perspective, distances between objects,
overlapping, in front of, behind, higher, lower, and the textures of objects.
Materials/Renounces/Facilitates:
Pencil, charcoal, paper. Still lifes covered until drawing begins. View finders.
Safety Precautions:
All materials used in this scheme are non-toxic. Instruction on how to hold the camera.
Instruct on how to sharpen a pencil with a knife. Hands behind blade.
Timeline/Sequence of Lessons:
The first class will be quick drawings of a still life using pencil. Discussion of the
composition of the still life. If the first class is a double class then the students will have an
opportunity to set up the still lifes. In the next class the students will use charcoal and
erasers.