Today’s exercise was about creating depth through repetition: a long colonnade receding into the distance. My first attempt was rushed, and although the perspective worked, I wasn’t happy with the result. I was struggling with the repeated columns — how much should actually be drawn as they became smaller and further away? Looking back at the drawing, I realised I was trying to draw what I thought a row of columns should look like rather than what I was actually seeing. So I started again.
This time I deliberately reduced the information as the columns receded: fully described columns in the foreground, simplified columns further back, then lines, broken lines and finally little more than tonal suggestions. That made a significant difference. The repetition stopped becoming a problem and started becoming the thing that created the depth. The second attempt also reminded me of something I keep coming back to with ink and wash: knowing when to stop. The Venetian Red wash became heavier than I intended in places, but trying to correct it would probably have made things worse. The first attempt was a useful failure; the second felt much more like me again.
Score — 6/10 for Day 53 and 7/10 for Day 53ii
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