Monday, 23 February 2015

cross hatch.


This is a rough idea of doing a cross hatching effect out of pastels for a change from doing painting all the time. However it doesn't engage me at all 




Marcel Duchamp


Sunday, 22 February 2015

Peace room evaluation

This project creating work for the peace room has been bit of a challenge for me which at first i wasn't engaging with very well at all, as it is really not in a style or format that really interest me. I dont like abstract painting really - which didn't help that not only was this abstract it couldn't be of any object which instantly puts you on the back foot. Also it was mainly a painting project which is not my strong point. So when i started out on this project i really struggled to motivate myself and to engage with the work i was doing, because using a paint brush and using very wishy washy color  trying to blend them in is really not my style of work. For example this piece.



It just lacks all visual appeal for me. I am not saying to somebody else it might not be appealing but for my style it wasn't engaging. So i feel if i am not engaging with it i am not going to produce work that is the very best it could be. Which at the point when i had to stop start again and reconsider how i was going to approach this that is when i look into modern art that can connect with lots of people especially young people which is the main target market. I also then went from painting with a paint brush to painting with a knife to get strong bold sharp lines which catches your attention much more. From this my work has evolved getting better and better as i took the basics of the brief and moulded it into a format that works for me. 



My final piece was done using a knife with yellow and grey paint. I picked these colors as they are very modern and they compliment each other extremely well. I found these color actually when on a shopping site and a advert came up on the side which had these colors on. Also i used these colors on my magazine front cover for my media AS level. I feel the colors are very warm, they contrast each other well and also very calming and easy to look at to go in a peace room.


I think the reason this is engaging is the fact with the greys you get very different shades from dark to light, which gives a depth to it that you almost get lost in. I tried to simulated a busy street however from doing it on the canvas it reminds me of when you go down to cornwall and you see old boats in the harbour and it has that peeling peeling off. 



draft final piece



From doing my research and producing work after work playing with different ways of doing it. This is my real first final draft which has been close to final outcome that could go down to the peace room. I like it because i tis very simple, very bright and engaging which are the elements in something i favour the most in a piece of work. For this piece i have taken on research that i have done from fine art and elements that are around me. The reason why i like this is because it has very bright but yet has a calming and warm feeling about it that is important for a peace room as people need to feel relaxed about it. Although i think it needs more of a depth to it with more layers. as you can still see a lot of white behind which makes it look a little flat. Although it is still a design which will be turn into a final piece.


Idea for new color



I found this when on a fashion website and it was a advert at the side of the page for some clothing website. However the color is what really caught my eye that vibrant yellow is extremely eye-catching. It reminds me of a magazine front cover i have used previously for my media



I know people will probably think that this has nothing to do with the brief for the peace room, but actually to make a strong piece you have to take elements of real life and things around you that catch your eye, For it to be successful and have a interest to it. I think the bright colors combined with the monochrome creates a push and pull element that contrasts each other that will intrigue a audience.

black and white scratches.



This is a piece of work that came across from looking at monochrome and tonal work with my NNC survival guide when i looked at designer Alexey Brodovivitch who was famous for the use of black and white and contrasting posotive and negative energy in his work. This is something i have a interest in that has influenced me in my peace room project as well as the NNC survival guide.

The piece has very eye catching quality to it and would stand out well on a wall, and for me is really strong. However for the peace room it maybe isn't appropriate because as well as the dark black color which could be associate with evil. It also has the harsh lines of the palette knife that gives it a violent quality as well. So consequently it does give connotations of being peaceful and able to relax.

Artist- Rathi Thevi R






These are some abstract artwork that i found on a site called Abstract artist gallery . I liked it and engaged with it because of its amazing amount of depth it has created with these sweeping lines. His artwork is something i am natural drawn to and from looking into this i have found out why. Rathi Thevi R is a Freelance graphic designer who is also interested in media like me. As i have loved art and media for years and have studied media at AS so she shares a common interest but his philosophy are the same as mine, by doing work that he can engage and associated with first before other people can which i really like. This is what she had to say about these artwork pieces.



"Two things that I adore most in life are colors and music. Having these two combined, I believe most joyful things in life can be achieved. Pouring vibrant colors upon one another, layers of textures and depths, music to my ears and a smile on my face: a typical scenario when I do my paintings. I have been into art (drawing /sketching / traditional indian dancing / mixed media art) from a younger age but it took me a while to find a particular style of art, where I can relate myself the most. I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts through art freely without having fear nor being judgmental about the outcome at the end. Basically, I wanted to express. I started painting modern abstract paintings, using a special signature technique (layered freehand strokes) since 2008 and first exposed them for public viewing in 2009 through exhibitions. I consider painting as process of testing my own creativity and curiosity towards something that’s so unique and unprepared. I Simply love the challenge and learning process. I have made them in a way that they has many different layers and depth of techniques and colors. Almost a 3D effect. I see my painting pieces as bold yet fresh, vibrant and fearless. Each and every pieces is precious for me."

The main reason i have looked at this artwork is because some of my artwork has lacked a depth to them which then means it does catches people attention for long enough. But as she has said it almost has a 3d element which i agree with, it jumps out the canvas at you and draws you in. So this is a element that i need to incorporate more into my work.


Information found from  http://www.abstractartistgallery.org/rathi-thevi-r/

Artists -Elizabeth Chapman


This is a piece of art by Elizabeth Chapman It stands out to me because it has obviously been done by a knife and not a conventional abstract piece. I must admit the colors are not my sort of style as the are not bold enough personal for me. However what i do like about it is that it has strong connotations of love and war with that bright reds and greens. I think this because the red at the top looks like a poppy or a rose that people use to remember people we have lost at war. So in that sense it it is a good piece of art because it provokes extreamly strong feelings in people. Thats is why i want  bold colors in mine and not wishy washy colors that don't have any real feeling at all.


http://www.abstractartistgallery.org/elizabeth-chapman/

color







How to use palette knife.

To move away from standard paint brush painting that was boring me I decided to use a palette knife to get a much more sketchy and rugged feel to the work that you can't get as well with a paint brush. I have done a couple of knife paintings now but to make sure i was getting the best technique with this i decided to watch a little short tutorial so i could make the most out the knife.

Heres the video.



sprouts



Now this was inspired by andy warhol which is clear to see as it has very pop art qualities to it. It is meant to be just green chalk circles repeated however it does look rather like Brussel sprouts. But originaly the green was just meant to symbolise nature and peace which is what the project is about. But do it in a fun bright and adventures way that lots of people can engage with. I really like this i think it stands out and is different from everyone elses. The purple lines are just a added feature to that is simple to create depth but without being too distracting and distract from the overall feel of the image.

artist- Insa

This is a artist i came across when flicking through my graffiti book which had a number of well established graffiti artist. Although this would stood out to me the most as i could apply it best to this project.

Insa is a very widely respected UK graffiti artist that has worked is way up from art work on the streets to working on collaborations with other artist but has also has been commissioned to do work for galleries- the most famous being tate Britain. His work uses lots of geometric patterns with psychedelic colors incorporated into it.

Heres some examples of his work. 





This is quite abstract artwork that is what i need for the peace room project. However this is done in a modern graffiti style that student visiting the peace room can relate to. 

city 2


This has arrived from my last city land scape attempt however this time i have tried to use softer lighter colors and add more lines. To make it much easier to look at and have more interest to it, than my last one. 

city



This is not the best work i have done but it is worth talking about. The original idea was to resemble a city scape over a lake that i think you can subtly see, however the colors are too harsh to look at and clash slightly. 

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

stone statue mod rock

I have done a cast off a stone statue out of mod rock. This didn't go to well i cast straight onto it which was a mistake, because once I had laid all the mod rock on and it started to dry it got stuck onto the stone itself. Therefore when it came to getting it off it just broke up into bits. So after this i realised my mistake and i went back to the start and this time painted on some soft soap, so that the stone would be greased up, so once the mod rock was dry it could be lifted off. However again i made a mistake because the stone had lots of tight little crevices and lots of detail so it was hard to lift it off. Also i didn't let the mod rock properly dry so when i lifted it off it was floppy and wasn't hard enough. Here it was...


Error uploading image



As you can see it clearly isn't good and there is almost no detail at all.




So For my last attempt i decided to paint on soft soap then add cling film then apply the mod rock so that the once properly dried the cling film could be lifted straight off. Also the mod rock was placed vertical and not horizontal. So that the it could be pushed better into the cracks to show more detail. This was the outcome...


Error uploading image

John - Uploading pictures

Its not letting me upload some of my photos of sketch book.

Trying to get it sorted. Just didn't want you to mark it and think its not there!

Monday, 16 February 2015

Life drawing





This skeleton had a very earthy raw feel which i liked and it allowed me to follow the free style i wanted which i like from doing my pencil drawings



 The hips I especially liked the hips as it has some nice harsh sketch lines mixed with a nice shaded blend from the white.

This was another students work i liked that really liked its in a slightly different style to mine. However their was something that i liked about it and drew me to it. I think it was the mix between nice tonal shading which is hard to get with charcoal and solid black mark making lines.


This was another students work that i also liked it was far from finished however there was something there that was intriguing with the light sketch marks


The skeletons with the clothes on was a harder task as its not like a human wearing clothes because on the skeleton they just hang and they are not padded out. But also with charcoal i found it hard this time getting the shading and preparations right so my work looked very flat and squashed up.


This work from a student i really didn't like it was to childish looking with hard lines and no tonal work. Also the proportions were not right.


 This was a quick 5 min painting that i did when my arm was aching. So it is a very quick painting using my nail to scratch in the skeleton shape. However I really like it as it is simple and bold which as i have mentioned before is a element i really feel is important.


This skull has the basis to be a very good piece. The sketching is very strong but it needs more darker shades. Which i would do however i ran out of time. But the size and preparations are correct and it doesn't look too flat.



This is a sketch that is quite good and it has a jacometii sort of style to it, but it needs more work with some more sketch marks and darker shades.
 Good dark tones with lighter sketch mark to give a 3D element.



 The body with this went well but the head doesn't look right. It needs to be finished however i feel that it could have maybe have done with less white lines for a minimalist look


This was my first real color piece i have done in life drawing because usually i stick with black and white and sketch work. Because not that its my comfort zone but because i really like black and white work wether it is photography, sketches or graphics.

 I really liked this as for the first time I used ink using a proper ink through like a fountain pen. However it went wrong and ink started to run and drip. So i deliberately added more run marks. So now i really like it and it has a gothic feel to it now like blood dripping but without the red




Now we have started to draw actual real life humans and not skeletons. Which is a lot different to sketching skeletons. It is a lot harder because of the time scale for these quick 5 min drawings. Also you need to represent the curves of the human body.


Scale and preparations were good, with quick sketch and tone work 


Quick biro pen work work the works well for these 5 min drawings as you have to work quick with it to get these smooth crisp lines.


Now i have put this in from my 3d work in turning work from this session into vortacisum. I have done this because it is a very good way to break the body down into simple shapes and angles to understand the preparations.



Pastels are something i am really not comfortable with using. I find it makes a image look to flat. Although this image isn't too bad, it is really still not my style.


Doesn't work, too bright and has no real focal point to draw peoples eyes in.


Not dark enough and too blurry. However it captures the sadness well. 



Now doing while pencil drawings on black paper is something i enjoyed doing and i think it shows in my work compared to doing pastels. Its a lot simpler but also more eye-catching and bolder!



Black and white Is something i really enjoy. This sketch is very visually engaging showing great contrast between light and dark. But also again i think it works because of the minimalist light and dark line work.


Out of all my white pencil drawings this was the least visual engaging. The shapes are all correct but for some reason it doesn't stand out to me as much as my others. 


Over all I really liked my life drawing, as it has pushed me to try new thing, however I still like my sketches and black and white work best. But doing this work has helped me realise that much more a reinforced that. I liked my pencil, Pen and ink work best.