rusty lock on aged door

[Shmush]

This started as a practice piece, focusing on texture and perspective. During the process I realized I also wanted to tell a story, a story I still can’t quite define. Just something concerning what is hidden behind this aged door and rusty lock. It is either a suggested mystery for the viewer to ponder. Or perhaps it is more philosophical. Bringing up thoughts of once treasured items now quietly locked away lost and forgotten in time. Perhaps a bit of both. Feedback from others will tell me if I did or did not create a connection with the viewer. Any suggestions on how to improve technically and/or in telling the story would be greatly appreciated.

rusty lock aged door.jpg

[Laurene]

Hi Mary. Yes, you definitely created a connection with this viewer. Your drawing has a sense of mystery to it. I have to know what is behind that locked door!!

I feel the rust and irregular surface of the lock and metal rings, and I certainly feel the texture of the weathered wood. They're wonderfully done!
I realize that scans and photographs never do a drawing justice, but I did have one observation. Somehow, I'd like the metal ring on the left (viewer's left) to stand proud of the wood a little more. I think all it would need is a little deeper shadow behind it, but I'm not at all certain. If you don't mind my sharing a trick I use, I often like to print out a drawing at any stage and experiment on the print out rather than on the original. It's a useful method for testing things like shadows. Of course, today it's just as easy to do the same thing in Photoshop. Either way, the original drawing is protected.

I love your drawing Mary, especially the way you expertly intertwined the top loop of the lock with the 2 metal rings!

[Mike Sibley]

I love the concept! And those wonderful textures. I also think this image lacks contrast and is almost certainly not doing your drawing its full justice.

So, with that assumption in mind... I've dared to boost the darks to "correct" it

Now I think I'm looking at something much closer to your original drawing, and that leaves me with two observations.

First, the three-dimensionality has increased and the peeling paint now lifts and curls away from the weathered wood. I really feel I could slip a fingernail under any part and lift the paint away.

Second, that the rings and padlock don't quite share that same level of reality. I think that's because they both contain white and light values. That suggests smoothness and reflection, but rusty metal is quite the reverse.

I don't have a solution, but do try Laurene's suggestion of experimenting with it in Photoshop. Try something, then hit CTRL+J to duplicate the layer, then try altering it a bit more. That way you can easily backtrack or cycle through the layers to view the different options. And you do need options - I can easily understand that there's a very fine line between adding presence to the rust while not overpowering the peeling paint. But at present, the wonderfully rendered paint dominates.

However, as a story... it works! If you ever find the key there's every chance you'll discover a perfectly preserved, 1940 Cadillac under a thick layer of dust behind those doors

Mary-rusty-lock.jpg

[Shmush]

Laurene and Mike
Thank you both for the feedback, both encouraging and useful. Especially when just completed it is hard to access your own work. Looking at it in a mirror or seeing it on the computer helps somewhat, but even then, it isn’t an entirely impersonal assessment. Mike, you touched on one of my main concerns. Did the paint detail overwhelm the lock? I had hoped the difference in textures would help the lock to stand out. It makes a distinction of one texture from the other but it doesn’t really bring the lock to the forefront. I am assuming it might be the wood rather than the lock I need to modify? I’m still not sure how to get background detail without overdoing it. I did forget to mention the original lock and rings were actually painted white, so no actual metal showing.
The suggestion of using photoshop and/or a printout is a great idea (Mike, I think you suggested that in one of your classes I just forgot to apply it when working on this project) I wonder if using a combination results in the most benefit? Photoshop as a quick way of seeing generally what does and doesn’t work. But working on a printout, helps develop tactilely, HOW to do it . I am at the stage where I tend to still overwork my drawing as I attempt to make improvements. Either or both methods are a great way to work and rework “til the cows come home” and never ruin the original

[Mike Sibley]

I did forget to mention the original lock and rings were actually painted white, so no actual metal showing.

Yes... hmmm.... that does rather help

So, if they are painted white then I feel you need to show that - and now it's the light values in the wood that's a problem rather than in the metalwork. Unless you omitted to mention that's painted white too?

Oh? It is!

What often works for me is to verbally describe to myself what I'm seeing. Or what I can see in my mind. It doesn't have to actually exist. I might, for example, ask myself why I know the lock is in front of the doors. My guess is cast shadows. And if the reference contained only diffuse shadows, I might consider making them sharper-edged and stronger in value (effectively brightening the overall light) so the shadows became quite obvious.

I might also ask... "If there isn't any metal showing through the paint, yet the paint is peeling off the wood - maybe the paint on the wood is more weathered and possibly sanded matte by wind-blown dust". In that case, I can use bright highlights on the metal's paint to differentiate it. And those differences will help me to visually separate them.

Did you have reference photo for this drawing? If you did, take another look at it. Does the metalwork stand forward of the wood? Was the metal hand-painted? Are there visible drips? Is the paint so thick that all the edges of the lock are rounded? Indeed, why do you know it's painted?

Just work out why you understand what you're seeing - then you have your answer. I call them visual clues. They're the features our brains recognise and decode. Now build what you've learned into your drawing. It doesn't matter how you draw any of the elements - as long as you include the clues you extracted from the reference, you'll send the same message.