Day 35 – Through the Arch. Today’s subject is the Porte Auguste in Nîmes, a Roman gateway whose large central passages accommodated vehicles while smaller side openings served pedestrians.
The objective is to understand how the wedge-shaped stones carry the arch around an opening and to suggest the depth of the passage through the masonry. Although the suggestion is to concentrate on one arch, I choose a wider view, as I hope to record places I visit, and I enjoy bringing a substantial part of a building together on the page. I use my Pilot Custom 743 EF with water-soluble ink, ArtGraf graphite for the shadows and a final pass with my Pilot Posting nib filled with Platinum Carbon Black.
The soluble ink produces soft washes, while the final waterproof lines re-establish selected edges. The rhythm of the large and small arches gives the composition weight, the long shadows beneath the projecting stonework connect the façade, and lightly suggested paving grounds the building. The smaller right-hand arch conveys the depth particularly well; in the larger openings, the background tones compete with the surrounding masonry, and the statue through the central arch is more prominent than intended. Quieter background shapes would help distinguish the passages without simply making them darker. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with this drawing and regard it as one of my best so far. It also suggests a worthwhile direction for future pages: smaller studies of architectural details culminating in a view of the whole structure.
Score: 7/10.
The Loose Nib 
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