Abstract Matchbox Drawings

    Before i realised the drawings were suppose to be abstract i drew an acorn i found with a HB pencil. I used a messy cross hatching technique to create tones of shaded areas and where the light hit the acorn. I did part of the drawing on a ripped piece of paper from my diary. I quite like the layering and i find my messy notes add a sort of ordered but stressful emotion to the piece. It contrasts with the acorn as it is a reminder of life and peaceful nature, It's a simple form in shape showing less stress with the simple construct of life.
   Underneath i did an abstract version of the top view of the acorn in blue biro. The blue is quite strong and really attracts the attention of the eye onto that area of the page. I began doing scribbles in the middle so it began layering; eventually becoming the darkest area as i moved out. Then i used the biro to create dramatic lines coming out from the middle. I quite like the gradient tones in this as it's quite soft and i enjoy using biro. I used this acorn as i thought about how i use to pick them up when i was younger and also when kids play games with them.

   The other drawing i did non abstract. I used the remaining ripped page from my diary to rip into three pieces and layer on top of each other. This helped it look more chaotic, like the sea which was on the matchbox. I love using backgrounds like this for simple drawings or painting. This time using black biro i simply drew out the outline, the box was done using continuous lines but as i moved on i began focusing more on detail. I added light shading to the sides of the box to highlight the top area. I enjoyed doing the little detail on the ship and i added highlights with blue biro on the boat, sea and shadow underneath the box. I decided to draw this as the imagery on the box was interesting, the idea of ships made me think about all sort of water related myths and stories, additionally the film franchise pirates of the caribbean came to mind which involves these myths and imaginary sea monsters.

    The top drawing was of the ribbon and bell from a chocolate bunny. Using my ink pen i drew lines then smudged them in one direction. When i reached where the bell was attached i started going up and smudging the ink in the other direction. I quite like this effect as it adds light shading and lightens the dark, controlled lines. Overall making the piece more subtle and connected. I chose to put this ribbon in my matchbox as when i was a kid i would always keep the ribbon from the chocolate bunny/reindeer and as my journey is to do with fantasy i thought this worked well with the idea of the easter bunny and santa being apart of a shared society fantasy story told to children.
   The drawing below was of a transparent button. I began using blue biro doing tight scribbles, eventually becoming looser and lighter. I thought it made it look quite fluid like the transparent colour of the button. Around the edge i did the same but with black biro as the edges of the button picked up darker shadows.