For this exercise we were to draw a space that is familiar to us including the people and activities taking place. Due to the pandemic I don't go out much and so I chose my favourite cafe to capture the comings and goings.
I find drawing people incredibly hard, especially when they are moving around. These are the sketches I managed to capture in my sketchbook. These were sketched over a couple of visits at different times of day.
Reflection:
Overall my sketches capture some of the essence and activity that goes on at my favourite cafe. I tried to capture different ages and genders as well as those standing and sitting. Some the expressions came out better than others. I definitely need more practice with people sketching.
Franklin McMahon captured the courtroom drama in an interesting way. His line work was often simplified and yet he captured the facial expression, emotion and stance of each person well. He honed in on skin colour using ink washes and added notes on particular important information that was relevant to the case in question, such as what was said, clothing colours and style.
Whether the person was standing, hunched or slouched in a chair, McMahon captured that in few lines. Some of his illustrations captured just the face of a person and sometimes drew the whole body but no face. Assuming it was to protect the identity of the person.
Looking at McMahon's illustrations in the course material and on Bridgeman Images, McMahon used mostly pencil or ink for his drawings. He was able to capture so much information using simple tools and few lines and yet told the story well.
Bridgemanimages.com. 2022. Results for "prfx:chh emmett till". [online] Available at: <https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en-US/search?filter_text=prfx%3Achh+emmett+till&x=0&y=0> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
Lien, A., 2022. McMahon's Drawings of the Emmett Till Murder Trial - Art Lien, Courtartist. [online] Art Lien, Courtartist. Available at: <https://courtartist.com/2013/02/mcmahons-drawings-of-the-emmett-till-murder-trial.html> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
Further Research:
After looking closely at Franklin McMahon's work I then started looking into modern day courtroom illustrators.
Fascinating look at real life courtroom artists and talking about some of what's involved in their role.
Elizabeth Williams - Talking about drawing the persons face several times to get the likeness. Interesting the different approaches and how Jane Rosenberg got slated for drawing Tom Brady 'badly'.
Courtroom illustration factual rather than creative.
Bill Robles - Marker pen technique, drawing all the lines straight off with pen and then using markers to get colour down and smudging with finger. Robles describes how he copes with drawing trials so frequently. "Remain professional and remain true to what you see." - Robles.
Priscilla Coleman UK courtroom artist -
Christine Cornell - Talks about studying anatomy being very useful for filling in the blanks when you need to memorize a persons stance. "You need to take the emotion/feeling you have towards the person out of it otherwise it can affect your drawing." - Cornell.
I wondered how many artists are present at modern day trials, Cornell explains "There are usually several artists working during the trials but that has reduced over the years since cameras have been allowed in certain circumstances."
Before attempting to sketch some courtroom scenes myself I looked through a courtroom illustrators book (Listed below). The detail they can capture fascinated me, it gave me an idea of where to start for my own illustrators but I was definitely apprehensive about how to even begin.
My courtroom sketches using black fineliner pen.
Youtube.com. 2022. Oscar Pistorius Trial: Day One. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-in_tF9-_ek> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
After researching courtroom illustrators I was curious to try it for myself. I searched for a case I could use via YouTube and found the coverage by Sky News of Day 1 of Oscar Pistorius' trial back in 2014. I chose this case because it was known to me through the media all those years ago. The courtroom coverage was quite distressing and I found the drawing side incredibly difficult. I managed to do one sketchbook page from this and haven't returned to it due to it being too emotional for me. I admire the illustrators who do this kind of illustration for a living, being able to capture such important information about the people there in such an immediate time frame is quite a skill, let along being able to emotionally cope with the things you are seeing and hearing. I found this exercise really interesting, I enjoyed researching the illustrators who do this regularly and hearing about how they go about it. This type of illustration is definitely not suited to me, due to the nature of the job.
References:
Cbsnews.com. 2021. Courtroom illustrators: Going where cameras are banned. [online] Available at: <https://www.cbsnews.com/video/courtroom-illustrators-going-where-cameras-are-banned/#x> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
Youtu.be. 2021. Why we still need courtroom sketch artists. [online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/WBetE_lRje8> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
YouTu.be. 2021. The Courtroom Sketch Artist | Op-Docs | The New York Times. [online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/z7Hw9u3mVaM> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
Billrobles.com. 2021. Bill Robles [online] Available at: <https://billrobles.com/index.php?id=19> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
The Sun. 2021. Court sketch artist reveals 'odd' moment Ghislaine started drawing HER. [online] Available at: <https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16935757/ghislaine-maxwell-courtroom-sketch-artist-odd-moment/> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
Scott, D., n.d. Courtroom art - in the dock with the rich and famous. Portico.
Williams, E., 2021. The Illustrated Courtroom book: Elizabeth Williams Studio. [online] Elizabethwilliamstudio.com. Available at: <http://elizabethwilliamstudio.com/> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
Bowes, P., 2021. Front-row seats: Courtroom art. [online] Bbc.com. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140610-front-row-seats-courtroom-art> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
Priscilla-coleman.co.uk. 2021. Courtroom Artist - Priscilla Coleman :: Portfolio. [online] Available at: <http://www.priscilla-coleman.co.uk/portfolio.html> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
For this exercise we were to document an event in our sketchbooks, writing notes and sketching during the event.
Looking back to the 'Drawing on the familiar' exercise and how those drawings turned out, I feel like overall it went ok. I'm not great at drawing people quickly and sketching in public makes me nervous. I think I captured some of the body language well and the pencils I chose seemed to work well but on some of the drawings they look a bit pale. I think I work better with pen when working quickly and it stands out a lot more.
Since people sketching is my weakness and something I want to improve I decided to start taking life drawing classes again. I haven't done this since college many years ago. I do enjoy drawing the body and felt the practice would hopefully help me in future people sketching projects.
Due to the pandemic I am not going out much at all or seeing many people so I took the opportunity to take my first online life drawing class through OCA's Student association and 2B or not 2B Collective and use that as my event.
I was quite nervous and excited to do this since it was my first group activity together and like I said I haven't done life drawing in a long time. The theme of the class was dance and contortion so I knew the poses were going to be very challenging but I was looking forward to giving it a try.
There were many students doing the class and it was a great atmosphere. We spent an hour doing lots of different drawings, starting with warm up sketches and doing some longer sessions and sequences. I decided to use different pens and pencil for this and see which ones worked the best. My favourite drawings of the evening were definitely ones done in black fine liner pens.
As the evening progressed I think my drawings did improve, I still have a lot to learn and plan to take more classes this year to practice.
In the 1900's fashion illustration seemed more elaborate and decadent and then as the war arrived fashion became more practical due to the women needing to be of service. The illustrations look stripped back and simpler for some publications but for others they remained more artistic and colourful. The 1920's saw the rise of fashion illustration as top illustrators were hired to produce high quality artwork for magazines such as Harper's Bazaar and Vogue for advertising and cover art. This however didn't last as soon photography began to take over the illustrated covers. Photographs were used more and more in these magazines and sales took over from the previously illustrated ones.
The first world war had a great impact not only on the styles of fashion but also the attitudes of women. Now they were needed for the war efforts and gained some what of independence the changes in style were seen and a more streamlined look appeared, with women cutting their hair much shorter and going for shorter linear skirts.
The second world war also impacted fashion, styles were once again simpler and but designers wanted a softer look for women adding in more flouncy sleeves and elaborate patterns. The 50's continued the rise in ready to wear fashion and by the 60's teenagers were no longer wearing clothes like their parents and instead building their own fashions. The mini skirt was born, bold colours and designers targeting teenagers for a new era of fashion.
The 70's saw an even bigger change in fashion as individuality was now 'in' and your clothes were a reflection of the person's taste. Men started taking more interest in what they wore and ranges of men's knitwear came into being.
The 80's was the era for power dressing. As more women entered the workplace, more clothing was needed for everyday work wear. Wide padded shoulders and more masculine tailoring became fashionable.
It is clear that the society changes have been seen directly in the changes in fashion over the decades. Women once at home and dressed to impress when going out changed dramatically as women gained their independence and were able to start working for themselves. As the decades have gone on the independence of women has seen fashion become more of a statement at work and outside of work.
Whilst the illustrations in magazines may have changed into more photographic pics, fashion illustration was still used over the years in different publications.
When starting this research task I immediately thought of sewing patterns. The iconic illustrations show on the fronts of these patterns are a great example of the style of fashion changing and therefore the illustrations changing also. The way an illustrator expresses the faces of the models has changed over the years from more detailed portraits to much simpler line drawings.
Modern day fashion illustration is very bold, sometimes dramatic and even grotesque. There are no boundaries in the way illustrators convey their models. Referencing recent years in the '100 years of Fashion Illustration' book by Cally Blackman the changes are dramatic. It would seem women are no longer celebrated for their bodies and the elegance that was once shown in fashion illustration has now been replaced by torment, harrowing experiences and abuse clearly shown in works such as Grayson Perry's 'Christian Lacroix for Spoon' combining the headlines of the London bombings with the fashion collection. David Remfry's Stella McCartney illustrations in 2002 are another example of how women's fashion illustration has been degraded and the vulgarity seems to now be celebrated.
Whilst fashion illustration has always been a reflection of the times we live in, the dignity has always been there. Modern day illustration has done away with this in certain circles and it is a sign of the times that there is a huge lack of respect for privacy and boundaries.
There are of course some modern day fashion illustrators that continue to express the elegance of women's fashion in their designs. Steven Stipleman - Black dress, is a beautiful example of the elegant woman in her tulle black dress. It is illustrated like an oil painting with a modern edge. David Downton Original illustration for Christian Lacroix. A stunning teal dress, showing all the folds and beading detail and then the model's face in a faded black ink. Downton says "A total luxury: fashion illustration as it once was."
I think that is the perfect way to sum up the evolution of fashion illustration. It has changed so much over the years and I am glad there are illustrators such as David Downton who see that elegance and beauty should still have their place in fashion illustration today.
Contrasts of illustration style from the same era:
Victor Stiebel - 1960's:
Veronica Papworth 1960's:
Examples of Fashion Illustration on Sewing Patterns:
References:
Blackman, C., 2017. 100 Years of Fashion. Laurence King Publishing.
Vads.ac.uk. 2022. Sketch Book of 1960 & 1961. [online] Available at: <https://www.vads.ac.uk/digital/collection/LCFVS/id/136/rec/2> [Accessed 10 January 2022].
Delart.org. 2022. Fashion Illustration in the 1920s – Delaware Art Museum. [online] Available at: <https://delart.org/fashion-illustration-in-the-1920s/> [Accessed 10 January 2022].
Harper's BAZAAR. 2022. Coco Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld. [online] Available at: <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/g1586/coco-chanel-by-karl-lagerfeld/> [Accessed 10 January 2022].
Museum, V., 2022. Fashion illustration by Veronica Papworth | Papworth, Veronica | V&A Explore The Collections. [online] Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Available at: <https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1322367/fashion-illustration-by-veronica-papworth-fashion-illustration-papworth-veronica/> [Accessed 10 January 2022].
Vam.ac.uk. 2022. Fashion Drawing and Illustration in the 20th Century - Victoria and Albert Museum. [online] Available at: <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/fashion-drawing-in-the-20th-century/> [Accessed 10 January 2022].
