| Description | The drawings are related to the steel sculptures that Joan Moore made of animals, which were the main part of her output from mid-1950s onwards. Her technique consisted of making drawings from life, often of zoo or farm animals, and from these she made paper models [see D/7] which she would use as a template to cut out the steel forms. This technique is associated with her earlier training in tailoring [see 2007.?/B]. The steel was then welded into a three-dimensional form and often enamelled, as she was interested in working with colour in sculpture.
The majority of the sketches are made from life, mainly consisting of naturalistic studies of animals, but some show the development into more stylised animal forms [see D/3/260], which relate more closely to the forms of the animal sculptures, occasionally including a diagram of the animal indicating its colouring [see D/3/2 & 323]. Some are annotated identifying the species or breed, or giving its colourings. The majority of the sketches are made in pencil or pen, with some in watercolour on loose sheets of various sizes of paper, many taken from sketchbooks or on scraps of paper or newspaper [D/3/365]. |