Positive and Negative Space

Assignment: Find a chair to draw (more if you prefer) , preferably one with openings through the back, or with a complex leg structure.  Turn off the lights except for a single directional light source placed behind the chair.  Use pencil or charcoal pencil for this exercise.  Carefully observe the chair, and instead of drawing the positive elements of the chair, draw the shapes of the empty spaces around it, leaving the positive areas of the subject blank.  Work back into the negative spaces manipulating them by adding value, blurring, and smudging to create active spaces

 

Negative space surrounding the subject has the potential to be a dynamic part of the composition. I have used vine charcoal for the negative space filling it up, and leaving the positive space blank.