I did an exercise to look at negative space which is the space around the object. First I drew a square and then I put masking tape around the edges of the square. Then I filled the whole square with charcoal. I wanted to draw a cave painting of an owl so I got a rubber and marked the size of the owl in the charcoal. Then I rubbed out the charcoal to make the shape of the owl.
When I’d finished I took the masking tape off. This left clean edges to the square, but it also tore the paper. Next time I will use less sticky tape. Finally I sprayed the charcoal drawing with fixative, which is a chemical that stops the charcoal smudging.
I was quite pleased but I think it looks better from a distance.
