Artist Reflection #1 - Accidental Mark

The assignment was to look for “accidental marks'' that have become part of our every day lives,

so for example stains, chips, holes, rips etc. Although I did find several stains on my desk from

paint and marks on my wall from screws and nails, I decided to go with a chipped mug. I decided

to look up some artwork on the website of the Art Institute of Chicago. Because I had chosen a

mug, I looked for some still life examples that explore different lighting. When I started the

drawing, I started with a graphite pencil to sketch the outline. From there I changed my mind and

instead of doing the whole thing in graphite I used the charcoal pencils. I found that those were

much easier to blend using the blending tool. I used the light graphite pencils to add a light

shading, and then from there add more dimension with the medium and dark pencils. I think I

was able to show enough dimensions on the mug but the piece overall could have had more

focus on the chip on the mug rather than the whole mug as a whole. My blending could

definitely be improved, I haven’t had much experience with charcoal so I think practicing with

charcoal pencils is a must. Thumbnail sketch for this one is under sketchbook tab in eportfolio.