OCA preloader logo
Student work uncovered .... Attacking the paper - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

Student work uncovered …. Attacking the paper thumb

Student work uncovered …. Attacking the paper

Valerie Newman recently submitted some drawings for assessment, and here, assessor and tutor Richard Liley explains what it is about her drawings that makes them so strong.


Posted by author: Jane Parry

9 thoughts on “Student work uncovered …. Attacking the paper

  • Thank you for the upload Richard and the art Valerie. It is really nice to see a style completely different from my own. I tend to cover the entire surface of my drawings and leave little space for anything to, like you say, breathe. I also imagine that using such an economy of line would cut down the time taken to complete a drawing and create a more spontaneous effect. I think these drawings show me what I need to work on to improve as I really like them.

  • Thanks for this Richard (and Valerie for the drawings) I found the video very clear and very easy to follow visually – a good learning experience and this will certianly help my continued drawing practice. What would have been helpful for me visually would have been to have some contrasting drawings illustrating the problems Valerie has avoided. One imagines one can see them but to have actually visual examples helps me at least to absorb the don´ts visually as well as the do´s. Thanks once again.

  • love the approach of drawing being like music, the phrasing, the fluidity, intensity and space setting a rhythm for the viewer to dance over with their eye. And maybe for the artist to be dancing while they’re drawing! A program on the culture show last Monday about David Hockney, he talks of the painting moving across the canvas or canvases( he is doing work now that encompasses many) so the eye moves like it does in reality scanning the scene and the subject isn’t fixed. such fun, so much to learn – thankyou

  • I really enjoy getting the Weekender e-bulletin and Student Work Uncovered (or the suchlike) is my personal favourite. I love not just seeing the work (whatever it is) but getting this depth and range of comment from tutors / assessors about the work. It’s a real pleasure to look at the work while you listen to their commentary and I then go back and look at my own work differently. Very much a win-win sort of thing.

  • Beautifully clear commentary from Richard Liley, assessing Valerie’s lovely drawings. The descriptive language and vocabulary really aids understanding from a distance.

  • Hello Anne – I think your comments about having some contrasting drawings are valid, but would be very demotivating if we picked samples, that could be identified by a particular student.

  • Hi Ricahrd, sorry for the misunderstanding, I wasn´t for a moment suggesting you should pick a student. I had thought that some of the tutors might have work where they themselves had identified problems and wouldn´t mind sharing. But maybe its only me who feels I would benefit as I haven´t seen any other comments on that point. cheers Anne

  • I found the drawings by Valerie and the comments by Richard very interesting and useful, as I am about to embark on the Drawing 1 course. I always find it difficult to interpret a subject, putting a 3-D landscape or object onto a flat piece of paper can, and usually does, look so boring and flat in my work. I was also inspired by the David Hockney program, the importance of mark making and the feeling of walking through the landscape. Richards comments, and wonderful drawings by Valerie show how this can be done and how a beginner like me can improve their work.

  • As a tutor, I have learned a new word- phrasing. It’s an excellent word to describe that mix of contrast, focus and rhythm which is key to a successful drawing. Thank-you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to blog listings