Concentrating on the images produced by reflection I used a simple metallic jug and a tall cocktail shaker placed side by side.
I find reflections fascinating because for me it’s like a window into another world. Similar to ours, but distorted onto the surface of the object it adds layers and depth to a drawing in an interesting and abstract way.
As a metaphor a reflection can can have many implications with regards to opening up space, seeing yourself for what you are, distorting what can be seen etc, I find it a great play on meaning and can add a story to a piece of artwork such as shown in Salvador Dali’s Metamorphosis of Narcissus, 1937 (1).
For my drawing I used charcoal and found that using an eraser and a blending stick I was able to express the sharp highlights of the metal, as well as using the eraser to fade over the highlighted sides while still retaining the detail of the reflection underneath it. I felt this worked really well in expressing the ‘shine’ of the surfaces as they reflected their images back and forth.
I also managed to capture the reflection of myself drawing on the table in front of the objects.
An interesting development from this would be to look closer at all sorts of reflections and distortions like ponds, ripples in water, raindrops and liquid in glass. I like the idea of layering different images to exist in one view.
References.
(1) ‘Metamorphosis of Narcissus’ Dali. S, 1937 Oil on canvas, 820 x 1092 x 85mm. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dali-metamorphosis-of-narcissus-t02343
Eeyanski Arts 