OUIL404 - Look, Think, Draw - Observational drawing

For this task we were spending time in and around Leeds, drawing things that we could see in relation to a list of starting points we were given! I really struggled to get into the swing of this. I am too used to creating detailed, perfectly constructed images that show a realistic reflection of what I am drawing. I had to really step out of my comfort zone with this and try and loosen up a little bit. Matt told me to draw as I see and I started to just sketch things out and get things down on paper a lot quicker and in turn was a lot happier with what I produced. 

I was not happy with these weird melty lions we had to draw. They sucked. They were so difficult to draw, because the statues had just eroded so much over time! I really enjoyed drawing the plants in the park though. The sketchy, messy quality of the drawings was really nice to see, I was a lot happier with them than I would have been with something I had slaved over for hours, probably because these just seem a lot truer to form. I can definitely see how obeservational drawing can help improve your relationship with drawing and the world around you, it allows you to get tiny details, scenarios and ideas down quickly and expressively. 

I did not like the Royal Armouries one bit. Everything seemed so cold and hard and metal. I don't like guns and knives, they hold no interest to me so it was difficult to engage with this task. I tried to get a few sketches down of different swords and knives but overall i think my lack of enthusiasm for the subject matter is made visible in my sketches. The Discover Centre on the other hand was super interesting and really fun to look around! It's a shame we didn't get more time in there, I would have stayed all day if I could! Because it was so interesting, I didn't find myself doing much drawing because I was too busy wondering around in awe looking at all the different things that were packed into this tiny room. I did get a few sketches down, including one of a little monkey dude that I really enjoyed drawing. 

These were just some crappy sketches I did while sat outside a coffee shop waiting for a friend, They kind of suck as I couldn't fully engage myself in what I was doing, I get too distracted people-watching while I'm out and about.