Evaluation of Thursday's texture practical

On Thursday, as well as having to take photos of textures, we had to attempt to draw some different textures, in graphite, from the pictures.

This was the outcome:

In some of these experiments, the contrast of tone is executed well, however I do believe that there is not a great contrast of shape and line. I believe that the types of techniques used to achieve a good texture were: using the sides of the graphite stick to get the similar texture to a brick, the sharpest edge of the graphite stick to get the sharp textures of the tree and I then used a rubber to get the highlights in the wall texture. However, I am not particularly confident in using graphite which is why the textures didn't turn out as I had hoped. If I was going to improve this composition, I would spend more time focusing on trying to get the representations more realistic. Additionally, we had to put some white emulsion on top of the graphite work, and from this I know that I need to become more confident when using this. In some places, the emulsion goes well with the graphite work, for example, in the bottom right corner, the emulsion is layered on top by using the edge of cardboard to give sharp lines in it.


These are some of the textures that I attempted to represent:

Naomi Lister (ex student) comparisons

On Thursday, we had to go out into Nuneaton Town and take some photos of objects that have really intricate or interesting textures and details. Afterwards, we then had to look at a previous student's work and compare their piece with our pictures.

The following picture is of Naomi Lister's work:

Naomi Lister

Untitled
2012
Mixed Media on Paper

The following pictures are the images I took of interesting textures:

The reason why I believe that this texture is similar to Naomi's work is because in both, the material looks like it is peeling off of the abject underneath it. Also, the grey colour in the photo is similar to the layer of grey in her piece.

I think that this image is similar to Naomi's piece as in some parts of both, it looks like there are a lot of scratches which leads to me getting the impression that she was maybe stressed with something.

A reason to why I believe that this texture is like her piece is because it looks like the material is cracking on the pole, similar to the way that the ink in her work looks like something is cracking or cleaving.

In a similar way to the first image, I think that this photo looks like it is tearing away from the object and ripping apart. Like this photo, Naomi's work also looks like it is separating and that things are starting to rip away from the paper.

This image depicts the spilled paint and mediums in the art studio and the different textures look very similar to Naomi' textures. In both the photo and artwork, it looks like ink/paint has been splatted onto the floor/paper. Despite the fact that the colours are different to each other, they still look alike.

Looking at Cy Twombly.

On Tuesday 20th September, as a class we looked at an artist called, Cy Twombly. We had to look at the kinds of techniques that he uses in order to achieve his pieces. We then had to take inspiration from his work and attempt to produce our own.
Examples of Cy Twombly's work:

Twombly uses inspiration from classic Greek and Roman literature, and the poetic features that come with them. He uses layers of paint to illustrate the fact that he is interested in the different time periods and context that is included in the history of Rome and Greece.

My attempt at using his style:

 Over the past week, we have been collecting words that describe our surroundings, which contributed towards both my observational skills and this task. After collecting these words, we were tasked with picking a couple of words that stood out most to us, which led to me drawing the word, 'Urban'. I wanted to illustrate my idea of an urban setting, which is why I used the colour black a lot and used a large scale.

 When I came back into college the next day, I had decided that I wanted to put an emphasis on the word urban and the fact that I see urban environments as unclean and a key factor of the causation of pollution. This is why I wrote the word, 'urban', out over and over again in black mediums.

After the previous step, I went into the studio and used white emulsion to layer over my work. I did this so that it would look similar to Cy Twombly's work. Due to the fact that he uses oil paints as a way of layering his work and that it isn't practical for us, we used white emulsion as it dries dramatically quicker and it is translucent (we can still see the dry materials through the layers of emulsion). Additionally, I applied more dry materials over the wet emulsion to bring back parts of the word that was covered up by too much paint.

Overall, I believe that I was successful in making my work look similar to Cy Twombly's work as the layering works well on top of the dry mediums and in some places, the white looks balanced when compared with the black. If I was going to make my work link more to Twombly's, I would add more colour and add more textures to it to show skill and also imply meaning.

Although I don't particularly like Cy Twombly's, I believe that he manages to use a variety of textures in his work in a meaningful and creative way. In some of his pieces, he uses scratches as a technique which I think is one of his best textures due to the fact that it tells a lot about his thought process.

Reflective diary of my first week in art.

               Over the past few weeks, I have been working on my induction project for college, which goes by the name of, “Who am I?” This task has required me to take a variety of photos and draw some observational drawings that mean something to me. I have used my camera to illustrate the fact that I have  a passion for film, that I love my pets, that I have hobbies that include baking and art, as well as trying to depict my favourite place to go with friends and family. I attempted to use composition in a creative way in order to make the photos more interesting and eye catching.

                I drew the hands to illustrate friendship and how, despite the small disputes within my friendship group, we will always be friends. I used biro as I was trying to take inspiration from a modern artist, Vince Low. I wanted to get the impression in my drawing that my friendships aren’t based on looks, they are based on personality.

                This oil pastel drawing of a rose symbolises my Mum as it is her favourite flower. I wanted to show that she is one of the most important people to me. I used the colour pink to create the impression of care and compassion. I used Georgia O’Keeffe as my inspiration for this drawing as she focuses on the botanical aspect of the world and also concentrates on the colours red, pink and orange.

                In another drawing, I have tried to capture the idea that I love going on holiday due to the fact that I have drawn a pair of sunglasses. Although this drawing cannot be linked to a specific artist, it follows the theme of Simon Hennessy’s work. He manages to paint very realistic images of people wearing sunglasses, whilst also capturing the image of a famous landmark in the reflections.

                Moreover, the lion’s eye is used to symbolise my star sign, Leo. Although the artist that influenced me, John Banovich, does every animal in the wild, I particularly liked his big cats’ paintings. He succeeds in catching the beauty of the animal, despite its deadly reputation.

                The oil pastel drawing of the games pieces and dice was made to show my love for playing games. I have taken inspiration from many artists that use oil pastels as their chosen medium including: Sven Kinader and most importantly, Diego Simancas, who uses bright bold colours in his drawings.

                Additionally, I have drawn a shamrock to illustrate the fact that I am part Irish and that I have an Irish background. I used charcoal as I thought that I would be able to achieve a realistic drawing of a shamrock, as charcoal allows you to capture highlights and shadows well. I used Wendy Hollender as inspiration because of her botanical drawings, however, my drawing is slightly different because she uses coloured pencils, yet I have used charcoal.

                Throughout the first four lessons of A level art, I have begun to understand how to communicate with fellow students and we have started to talk about possible improvements of each other’s work. We have had the chance to explore previous A2 students’ work and begin to express what we think about their individual pieces and their whole body of work. Within our last lesson, we have been starting to think about the ways in which we could evolve our induction project into something more meaningful.

                Many of our tasks during the lessons has sparked a lot of ideas about developing my work, however, I particularly like one of them; I am interested in presenting the fact that I am deeply opposed to the whole concept of zoos. As many of the aspects within my induction project are linked to animals and nature, I want to show how I hate the fact that animals are being taken from their natural environments and being placed into manmade settings. Ever since I was a little boy, I have always hated zoos and I believe that using it as a project will allow me to express my strong feelings on this particular issue.

                This first week in art has been a dramatic change from what I am used to as we have a lot of freedom to what project we choose to do. During GCSE, we were told what project we had to do and were limited on the materials that we could use. Also, we didn’t do much peer assessment, however, I have now realised that it is important to receive other people’s views on my work.

                In the future, I am hopefully going to use my blog as a way of getting feedback on my work so that I can improve it to the best of my ability. Furthermore, I am hopefully going to use it as a way of posting inspirations of mine so that I can always refer back to it when producing my work.

Induction project - photographs

The love for my pets.
My cats are very important to me and I wanted to capture this in my photo. I used a black and white filter as I thought it made the photo a much more captivating photo. In my opinion, cats are free to do anything that they want, and are therefore a microcosm of what I want all animals to be like.

 The love for watching movies.
This photo shows how I have a passion for watching film. Ever since I was little, I have used film as a way to forget about all my worries and problems. I have enhanced the colour slightly to show how watching films brightens up my life.

 The love for art.
A couple of years ago, I became infatuated with art and wanted t study it at GCSE. Over the years, it has allowed me to view different things, in a different light. The fact that I have included a variety of colours in the photo, is so that I can illustrate the fact that I like to use many different mediums in art, even if I have never used them before. The fact that the watercolours stand out from the background show how art is a very important aspect in my life.

 The passion for baking.
When I was young, I always used to bake with my Grandma and it has always been a hobby in my life, where I can take a time out and enjoy something.

Favourite place to go with friends and family.
As a young person, I have limitations to where I can go out with friends and family. This means that I can not travel far, so I always end up going to Leicester. The picture depicts the Clock Tower in Leicester; it is a place where I go with friends and family to either; eat, shop or just look around. The different colour flares in the image portray the idea that there as a wide variety of things to do in Leicester, which is why I like it so much.

Induction project - drawing no.6

Rose
This oil pastel drawing of a rose symbolises my Mum as it is her favourite flower. I wanted to show that she is one of the most important people to me. I used the colour pink to create the impression of care and compassion. I used Georgia O’Keefe as my inspiration for this drawing as she focuses on the botanical aspect of the world and also concentrates on the colours red, pink and orange. I believe that the shape in this drawing is very accurate and in some areas, tone and texture is precise and clean however, if I was going to alter it, I would give the flower a background in order to allow the rose to stand out. I think I made the correct choice in using oil pastel as it can be useful to emphasise the softness of the rose.

Induction project - drawing no.5

Irish Shamrock
I have drawn a shamrock to illustrate the fact that I am part Irish and that I have an Irish background. The shamrock is the symbol of the holy trinity and can show how my life has been blessed by God. I used charcoal as I thought that I would be able to achieve a realistic drawing of a shamrock, as charcoal allows you to capture highlights and shadows well. I used Wendy Hollender as inspiration because of her botanical drawings, however, my drawing is slightly different because she uses coloured pencils, yet I have used charcoal. To sum up, I am pleased with the outcome of this shamrock as I recorded shape, tone and scale accurately, whilst also managing to get a precise representation of the original shamrock. However, if I was going to improve it, I would add a tint of green chalk to enhance the realism of the shamrock.

Induction project - drawing no.4

Hands
I drew the hands to illustrate friendship and how, despite the small disputes within my friendship group, we will always be friends. I used biro as I was trying to take inspiration from a modern artist, Vince Low. He uses scribbles in his drawings to show how you shouldn’t judge people on their image on the outside as their true beauty is on the inside; I wanted to get that impression in my drawing to show that my friendships aren’t based on looks, they are based on personality. I am pleased with the outcome because shape, scale and tone is quite accurate. However, if I was going to improve this I would attempt to include some colour to show that our friendship isn’t just black and white; it is vibrant and fun.

Induction project - drawing no.3

Lions Eye
The lion’s eye is used to symbolise my star sign, Leo. I think that if I was to improve this, I would use either paint or oil pastel so that I can capture the deep colours of the lion’s fur and eye as that would intensify the image as a whole. On the other hand, I am pleased with the shape of the eye, the mark making on some of the fur and the highlights in the eye that create reflections. Although the artist that influenced me, John Banovich, does every animal in the wild, I particularly liked his big cats’ paintings. He succeeds in catching the beauty of the animal, despite its deadly reputation.

Induction Project - drawing no.2

Sunglasses

In this drawing, I have tried to capture the idea that I love going on holiday due to the fact that I have drawn a pair of sunglasses. Overall, I believe that it has got a good shape and scale meanwhile, the form of the sun glasses could be improved to achieve a much more realistic drawing. In some parts of the drawing, the accuracy of the shading is good and detailed, including highlights to show reflections in the lenses. Although this drawing cannot be linked to a specific artist, it follows the theme of Simon Hennessy’s work. He manages to paint very realistic images of people wearing sunglasses, whilst also capturing the image of a famous landmark in the reflections. In order to evolve my piece so that it has a more direct link, I would have to use acrylics and also include a reflection of a famous landmark.

Induction Project - drawing no.1

Games Pieces
The oil pastel drawing of the games pieces and dice was made to show my love for playing games. I have taken inspiration from many artists that use oil pastels as their chosen medium including: Sven Kinader and most importantly, Diego Simancas, who uses bright bold colours in his drawings. I believe that my drawing was successful by the fact that the shape and scale is very accurate, as well as it having a good use of tone. The gradual transition of colour from dark to light (shadow to light), is very clean and realistic. However, in order to improve the drawing, if I was to do it again, I would make the dice look more realistic by focusing on the dark and light areas on it. As the yellow counter looks a slight bit dirty, I would also focus my attention on making it look cleaner and softer.