Art Diploma Blog Ellie Fisher: 14th September Visit To Wigfield Farm

On Wednesday 14th September, we visited Wigfield Farm in Worsborough to collect further primary research images and drawings for Unit 10 "Natural World". The trip allowed us to continue generating Primary research through completing observational drawings of a variety of farm animals and textures within nature. Also the trip allowed us to continue with completing observational drawing techniques such as continuous line drawings and quick sketches. The trip has allowed me to analyse the characteristics and context for a chosen art & design activity. Finally, the trip has allowed me to develop my research through activities which includes observational drawings.

For my materials, I decided to use dry materials as I believed it was most effective for exploring the farm and collecting a variety of drawings in both inside and outside environments. For my surface, I decided to use an A4 sketchbook as I could capture a variety of drawings onto the sheets and capture my progress throughout the day. As well as collecting drawings, I captured the animals through my camera which will also be added to my summer primary research. I decided to use my camera to capture animals and objects at different angles and perspectives. This included capturing textures of fur within the animals and the environment they were surrounded by.

Firstly, I captured the meerkats at Wigfield farm through my camera and collected the animals’ movements and actions. I decided to complete observational drawings of the animals as they fell asleep because I believe I could capture the textures and features of the animals. Once I started to draw the meerkats, a problem I faced was that the animals kept moving around which made it very difficult to complete the observational drawing. To solve the problem, I decided to create a series of quick sketches of the meerkats to capture each movement they did. This allowed me to show my development and observations I collected whilst drawing the meerkats. Overall, this was an effective page because it allowed me to demonstrate the features and movements I captured when observing the animals within the time. Also, it allowed me to adapt my drawing techniques to suit the actions and moments of the animals.

Throughout my drawings I used Pen as I believe I could capture the shadows and surfaces of the animals quickly and effectively. Also, I feel confident with this material to create free-hand observational drawings which was very suitable for the task. Finally, I decided to use this material as I could create depth and shadows effectively on the page to capture the variety of animals.

Whilst capturing animals, I also collected images of the aquatic animals at the farm which included fish and turtles. By collecting these images it has allowed me to observe the bright, vibrant colours and textures within each individual species.

Throughout the day, I developed my confidence with creating observational drawings when visiting different animals within the farm. My favourite animals to draw were the sheep and goats as I believe capture the facial features effectively and quickly on the sheet. Both animals contrasted with textures which was interesting to capture as the goats horns had a strong structure compared to the sheep soft fur texture.

Overall, the trip to Wigfield Farm was useful as it allowed me to continue generating primary research for the "Natural World" and develop my confidence of creating observational drawings. Also, the trip was useful as it has allowed me to capture a variety of animals through the technique of observational drawings. Next, I am going to place my images from the trip into my sketchbook and continue to generate primary research for my project the "Natural World".

All the images and drawings from my trip are presented below.