The art of Editing and Selecting for 'Drawing'

On Friday, I had to look at the drawings and items I had collected from my trip to Liverpool and edit them making a collection of similar drawings, marks and colours that have inspired me. In Liverpool I loved a piece of artwork from the Tate gallery; the shapes and curves were so flowing. Looking at the drawing I had done on the day with pastels, I knew I wanted to look at this more in depth. I started to repeat the shapes from the piece just using pencil and I liked the how it was starting to come together.

 

Looking at this sketch, I wanted to make it into a successful pattern. I therefore made big abstract strokes  using fine liner. I worked with the size and the layout of the shapes. I added colour; blues and greens to link with the idea of water, as it was raining all day on our journey to Liverpool.

I then started working on my final piece of the day. I decided to go with the bigger format, so I started to work with the pattern across the middle of the page, spreading over to the right. I used watercolour and biro pen to outline the shapes. After talking to a tutor and looking over the brief of the day, I realised that I hadn’t collected a range or sketches from the day out; instead I just used one idea. Realising this, I then looked through my sketchbook to look for motifs of items that could be used with the existing pattern. I remembered that the shape of the building of the Liverpool museum was really interesting. The smooth shapes juxtaposed against the harsh shapes of the building.  Using the space on the left hand side of the page I spread the shapes from the museum and writing from leaflets.

 

The final piece isn’t exactly how I would have liked it however for a days work, I think it is quite good. Next time I will look at the brief more thoroughly and assess what I should do before getting excited with an idea and just going for it.

'Journey'- Trip to Liverpool

I really enjoyed looking at the exhibitions in the Tate art Gallery . The space was used really well and all the pieces were quirky and interesting. My favourite piece of art was 'Three Compressions 1968' by Cesar 1921-1998:

Cesar's aim was to engage directly with reality, transforming his material but fully retaining its identity. Even though he has just used wheel hubs, I still think that this piece is beautiful. It hasn't lost its detail, instead the transformation of it has emphasised the ridges and the bolts. What really made it for me were the bends and curves of the metal; even though a wheel hub is quite a harsh object, the transformation has made it look smooth and elegant. Adding the paint and polish has made the light catch every curve so that all the shapes are show off and appreciated.

The folds of the metal reminded me of the drape of fabric, however only metal could hold that structure and shine (unless the material was manipulated)

 

When I sat down and started doing observation sketches off the piece, I realised that it has taken a lot of skill to make the hub look interesting. Every piece linked with another, bending round the back, creating this intricate shape. Only when drawing it did I realise that it wasn’t as simple at it looked. I loved sketching the smooth shapes and trying to mimic the shading and depth of the grooves.

 

 

Looking at Cesar's work, it has made me realise that you can use any material in your art work; manipulating and bending it can produce a brilliant piece. I have used quite a lot of recycled materials in the past, but not in this way. I would quite like to experiment with harsher materials, to see if I too an produce something beautiful.

 

Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed looking around The Tate museum, however other galleried in Liverpool didn't really inspire me. For example, I found the Liverpool museum very strange. In my view there was no theme or order throughout the exhibitions. The artwork was very "random" and in some cases I personally didn't see it as "Art". Some people say that art is what you make of it, but I just thought certain pieces of work had no clear thought behind it. They may have related to the artist in different ways but I don't see how it would relate to the audience and I personally think that this is important. An example of this is the film showing in one of the rooms: Suzanne Lacy, Storying Rape, 2012. It was a discussion about a rape case. Is this art? Would the audience enjoy watching it? I don't think so. I may be being to critical, nevertheless everyone has an opinion.

Some of the day was useful and inspiring, however I personally found that I would have been able to get more out of going somewhere I thought would be more beneficial. I always feel that I am more inspired and I enjoy what I am doing more when I choose what I look at. I think I need to work on this, because if I want to be successful and work for a company, I know I will not always have my way; I will have to work on someone else's  idea.

 

 

  

Kite Adventures

I really enjoyed taking photographs of my kite in interesting places. I tried playing with the light and the colour withing the images. For example, the last image, it was taken in a phone box. I took it from an angle where the light would be coming in from a direction that would make some of the kite in shadow. I think this worked really well as it produced an extra frame in the photograph. I also used an art setting on my camera to make the images look as though all the settings were run down. I'm really pleased I decided to use bright colours on the kite as it added character to the photographs and juxtaposed with the dull settings.

Kite

This summer I received a summer project to complete from MMU. We had to make a kite! At first I had no idea what to do! I have never made a kite before! But then I thought about recycled materials; wouldn't it be great if I could use fabric that I've used from a previous projects?

Last year, I did an Art Foundation Diploma at Newcastle College. For my final major project I looked at the theme 'Arican Tribal'. I decided to go about it in a different way; didn't do the obvious colourful zigzags, instead I went for a more organic look. I designed my own print and used heat transfer to print it and then  made it into a dress.

 Final Major Project

Model- Rachel Atkinson 

Photographer- Lizzie Atkinson

 

I thought it would be a great idea to use the scraps from that project for my kite. All the materials I used, were either recycled or things I found lying around the house and my dads shed!

 

 

The Scraps of fabric.

 

Colour Palette.

 

The kite in action...

 

... but sometimes it does get stuck!