Introduction
You will explore the theme of tables and banquets, working towards a drawing inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting 'The Last Supper'.
It will be divided into three parts: portraiture (above the table), still life (on the table), and fashion, footwear and imagination (under the table).
For the still life drawing, the theme is banquets and food. Please include objects that interest you or express something about your identity. For example: jewellery, model trains, flowers, or spoons.
Exercise 1
Working from da Vinci’s 'The Last Supper' as inspiration, draw the elements above the table. Choose one or two people to go above the table and draw their heads, bodies and hands. You could work from da Vinci’s painting or draw one or two people in front of you.
Notice how the table disrupts the composition, creating portraits above, still life on the table, and feet below.
Exercise 2
Set up your food and objects as a still life. On the same piece of paper, you used in Exercise 1, draw it from observation. Try to create a harmonious arrangement so the objects match the people above them.
Exercise 3
Still using the same piece of paper, draw an image from the perspective of a shoe under the table. What would you see? Is there a dog under the table? Perhaps someone has dropped some food? This will be the imaginative part of the drawing.
Exercise 4
Starting on a new piece of paper, create a large-scale drawing broken into three sections. In the top section, draw a self-portrait. In the middle section, draw a still life of your favourite food. Below the table, include your favourite shoes and any other imaginative elements you choose.
