Exercise: Plotting space through composition and structure

For this exercise I returned to the local cemetery, but I chose a new view instead of developing one I'd already looked at because I needed a view with more distance. It was a beautifully sunny day so lots of light falling all around, and after a while of sitting the shadows became more prominent which helped my drawing immensely. In the foreground is a grassy verge, tarmac path and gravestones. In the middle ground there are more gravestones and a variety of trees. In the far distance you can make out the horizon littered with trees and houses over on the hills on the other side of Bristol. It was important to me to get the proportions right because without any preliminary studies for a drawing it can often be tricky to dive right in, so I spent a good deal of time sketching in the main shapes of my subject. (I do wonder if some preliminary sketches would have helped in other ways, for example perhaps I could have tried being more selective about which objects to draw - would it have benefitted from less gravestones or a wider view of the distant background??)

The one large thing I did choose to omit was the fence that would appear to the bottom right of the drawing - I did this purely for aesthetic reasons, it is not a pretty fence. I certainly simplified my drawing a lot (this was only because of time - not that I wasn't enjoying sitting out in the sun, but if I'd included every detail I would have been there until nightfall at the earliest!). For example, I omitted the writing and other intricate details on the stones, and with the trees I simply hinted at the shapes of the boughs as opposed to drawing it leaf by leaf. I was more concerned with getting the proportions, shapes and tones right, as well as focusing on the distinction between the fore, middle and backgrounds. I kept the far distance very simple, I focused on the shape of the horizon and the general tone of that area of my view. I ensured that the gravestones closest to me were the most prominent and out-standing, as indeed they were. The shapes of the gravestones in the middle distance were slightly wishywashy from my distance away, I couldn't see their edges and unique details as well as those on the front line. The sunlight was coming in from my left and by looking at the stones I could see clear shadows falling from that direction, which helped to add form to them.

I initially used graphite pencil, then shaded in using watersoluble pencils to add colour, then returned to pencil to replenish any lost marks and add in additional shading where necessary.