For this project, I chose to create a still life of a typical messy cooking night back at home. Cooking is one of the main ways I bond with my parents, and creating elaborate, un-rushed recipes is one of the things I miss most while away from home. I arranged 3 related objects—a pot, a spatula, and a spice container—to create a candid, “messy feel” (complete with spilled spices) while also creating an interesting closed white space between the objects.
I used basic hatching and crosshatching to a variety of different effects. I manipulated the stroke strength, length, and directional angle as well as the pencil type I used in pursuit of shading features and creating depth. In retrospect, I think that while the spatula is well rendered, the other two objects could use more value diversity, and something could be done to create more texture in the background.
