2/10/17 - 6/10/17 

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I began the week by creating a diagram based on buildings. I wrote down my ideas and thoughts on what medias, materials and artists I wanted to explore. I started by creating small sketches from a building that I found on the internet from Sunderland, using pencil,biro pen and waster colours. 

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Using colour in my work at this point is minimal as I just want to capture detail within the lines. I believe working with pencil and biro pen has allowed me to do so. Also using a small amount of water colours within the windows has allowed me to highlight them, without taking the attention from the brio lines of the drawing. 

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9/10/17 - 13/10/17

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This week I have used my time in the studio to create work based around colour and lines. Using Acrylic paint in the majority of my pieces, I started by using a small pallet knife to add paint onto paper, then using it on an angle to add lines and build up a texture. After looking at the artist Gerhard Richter I then went onto using a small canvas, basing it with a soft brown and beige colour using Acrylic paint. Then working into it with the pallet knife I added lines to create an image of my building in a similar way as Richter does in his work with oils, layering the acrylic to give a abstract appearance. 

 

 

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Throughout the week I began taking photos of churches which are built in my village (Wingate). Choosing to look further into the detail that the brick work held, I wanted to create something similar but not identical to the original image by using Acrylic and Water colours. When using Acrylic it allowed me to produce something that looks unrealistic yet, so close to how it should look. Using the deep red, rather than a more muted red and a mixture of yellows and orange. I then moved on to use Water colours, firstly sketching the image and then adding a small amount of colour to suggest that there should be colour, but leavening it for the foreground to stand out much more. 

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16/10/17 - 20/10/17

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I started this week by focusing on the images I had taken of a church close up. I wasn't wanting to repeat myself by sketching so I decided to move onto texture, using Filler. I began by using a pallet knife to add the paste onto paper, allowing it to set over night I then decided I would go back into them using the colours that were within the brick wall, using a mixture or red, brown, white, grey, green, and black Acrylic paint I produced two similar yet different outcomes. One focusing upon the darker areas and the other light areas. Then Knowing how well the Filler worked to create a textual surface I moved onto shaping it when applying it to the paper to give off almost a 3D effect, I chose to only paint one half of the Filler as I wanted to show the effect the Acrylic had before and after with the set filler. 

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23/10/17 - 27/10/17

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This week I began by focusing on experimental pieces based on the churches I had taken pictures of, I started with a fortage print from one of my previous Filler outcomes, this allowed the pencil to pick up the detail that the hardened paste had left. Moving on I decided to create two paintings with Acrylic and Water Colours, using selected elements of the buildings, using my previous method of line work with Acrylic to produce a semi-abstract outcome. 

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Ending the week I decided I wanted to go bigger scale, I chose to use a medium sized canvas and again used Filler. Covering the whole of the frame I used a pallet knife to create a textual surface to represent the texture of the brick work. To my surprise I found that the light reflected through the canvas, allowing the Filler to put together a pattern of its own when propping it against the window as the lights came through the material and produced this smudged appearance. 

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6/11/17 - 10/11/17

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Starting this week I continued with experimental pieces, I began by deciding to move away from texture and textiles as I realised this was not the route I wanted to go down. I started by creating a drawing using a number of elements from one of the churches such as the window, door arch, and peak. I wanted to recreate an image using different sections of the building, to do his I used water colours as my base and biro pen to highlight my outlines. Using biro pen I then went onto roughly sketch out two sections of one of the church. By limiting my time to 5 and 2 minutes, I wanted to focus mainly on the lines that I was creating. Ending the week by painting a new image of the church I specifically chose to use black and white acrylic paint as I wanted to show the variety of different shade, light and tones within the church walls. 

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13/11/17 - 24/11/17

Beginning this week I decided that I wanted to carry on using water colours and Biro pen to add colour and definition to my work. I created the first two images using these materials. Starting with the biro pen I sketched out these drawings, working into the first I continuously kept my pen on the paper. Once I finished the outline of the window I decided that wanted to use water colours to add a reflection, although I chose to add the tree in the image to represent a reflection it can also be seen as though we are looking out of the window from the inside of the church. I love that I have almost welcomed the viewers into the art to decide for themselves as to what they see. In my third image, I chose to place my drawing into the centre of the paper so that I could then add the watercolours lightly around the darker sections of the image to suggest that what is not there should be there. I am impressed with the focal point of the outcome as I believe that the watercolours have blended well together to create a number of tones, on the other hand I dont agree with the choice of allowing the colour to fade as it makes the window look as though it is floating and not actually supposed to be there. 

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Moving on I decided that I wanted to try something new, something I've never done before. That was to use oil paints. Using a larger canvas I sketched out the window of the church and began to add the oils. I started by focusing on shading, highlighting, and mixing the paints. As shown in the first image I started with the stone that holds up the windows, I then went on to finish the edging of the stone wall and then moved on to stone wall itself. Adding the oils in a different, more abstract and unsettled style it has given a focal point for the window. Allowing the detailed section to be highlighted and thrown forward. I then went onto create a similar piece using oils, on canvas. With this piece I chose to focus upon a section of the building from a zoomed out position, as the other was a close up of the window. I wanted to recreate the same window in a realistic style. I aimed to add as much detail as I could in this painting, spending a large amount of time to add in as much colour as possible. In both piece I have chosen to leave the windows of the church empty, I am not quite sure yet why I have done this. I am interested in what people see when they look at the paintings and leaving the windows blank allow a number of different perspectives . 

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27/11/17 - 1/12/17

Starting this new week I began to think about going out and drawing from sitting in front of a building. I chose to sit in front of a row of buildings that I see everyday, in the village I live which have been there for a large number of years. When I arrived I chose to start with a rough sketch, using biro pen, just like the previous drawings of the church as I knew I would be able to pick up as much detail as I needed. Working from the end building which happened to be a garage, I have used a red marker pen to suggest colour as the building itself has a large red sign and matching red door. I then decided while I was there I wanted to take my time with a drawing to capture the lines within the row of buildings. Using a ruler and a black biro I created a square like image, picking up as many lines as I could to make it look as real as possible. Once finished I realised that the black biro on white paper had actually created a cartoon like image yet captured every detail I wanted it to so that I could continue to create work from this one image. As shown below I went on to recreate this image using water colours and fine liner. I chose to use the same method with the ruler and pen, and then went on to add the water colour to give something else to the image. Personally I like how the ink from the fine liner has ran when the water colour has been added as it gives the image a smudged look which suggests to me that its old, like an old photo which has become delicate and is almost disappearing. 

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4/12/17 - 15/12/17

I began this new week by looking at the work I had made during the last week. Working from the black biro drawing I decided to create a replica, as noticed it is not as detailed as the original and is slightly zoomed. With this drawing I chose a red biro pen to represent the colour of the original red sign and door. At this point I realised I wanted to produce work that was simple yet effective, working from my original picture. Using black Acrylic paint with a medium sized paint brush I added thick lines onto my paper with fast long strokes. Adding red Acrylic to the image I believe has allowed viewers to get an idea of the fact the original building owns these elements yet, I also think that the red has also allowed the hard black lines to stand out from the white background. With the use of the horizontal line in the top right corner of these drawings has given definition to the row of buildings, it hints that this is where the roof of the buildings start. Shown in more detail in my first drawing I captured more detail of what was on the roof itself but, as I have continued with the red biro drawing I have decided to loose the use of the chimneys; the continued use of the horizontal line has granted me to suggest that the buildings end and the roof is still there but has produced a unfinished feel as there is an open space. 

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I then produced these three pieces, I wanted to continue using Acrylic paint and the technique I was using with the last paintings. I decided that I was going to make three A3, minimal paintings. Starting I used fast brush strokes to add the thick black lines, using as little lines as I could to create an image of the garage. As shown I have used long black lines to suggest the frame of the building itself, then added almost finished lines to suggest the windows, doors and signs. I then moved onto the other two piece which are very similar. I chose two sections from the row of houses one being the red door from the garage and the other the wooden frame from the windows of the shop, using quick black lines to add the image and then I went onto add colour to show the actual colour of the object itself. These pieces to me were less successful as the others as I believe they do not give a lot away, I think that the ones drawn with the biro using a ruler creates a much larger impact as they give off realistic feel, making you want to look closer to see all of the detail that has been captured with the lines that have been made. 

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18/12/17 - 22/12/17 

Starting the week I began by recreating the line drawing of the row of buildings I have been focusing on, using acrylic paint on canvas I wanted to create a piece that was fast and loose, yet different to flat A3 version. Using fast brush strokes to add the lines, I chose to stick with the black acrylic to draw the main lines needed and again I chose to add the red acrylic to the garage sign. This time I have decided not to add the red to the wooden door as I want the sign to be the main element of this painting. After visiting Hull to attend the Ferns Gallery I captured a number of pictures of the caffè we stoped at, this building caught my eye as its architecture and structure was unique. From the image of the Caffè I produced two drawings, one using black biro pen and another using black biro and watercolour. The first was the biro pen, using a ruler to produce the solid black lines. I chose to only add the middle section of the building and then add the horizontal lines to suggest that there is more, as I believe this is the face of the building and I wanted to highlight this. The second drawing I did I chose to then add the windows and walls along the side of the building, as you can see I added minimal detail with the biro as I want to keep with the idea less is more. Using watercolour I have invited colour and an element of detail. 

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8/1/18 - 12/1/18

Coming back to university after a busy time off is always a hard one to get back into what you were currently doing, but I began by looking back at the images of he Caffé I was currently looking into and he work I had already produced. Before Christmas I was focusing on lines and I wanted to keep this the same, this time wanting to also focus upon shape and lighting. Firstly I decided to do a painting using acrylic and I chose to us dark colours to create the lines as I wanted to show the lines which in the image showed shade/dark lines. In contrast to this one in my second image, using acrylic paint again I chose to use lighter block colours, suggesting the colour of the building, also adding the white where the windows stand to present where the lightest parts of the building is. In my final image I used oil paints to create this drawing. I chose to only use the middle, front section in this painting as I have with my previous biro drawing. Using oil paint has allowed me to add slightly more detail than the acrylic has, as it takes longer to dry which meant I could layer the paint to blend out the colours to create the ones I wanted. With the acrylic I was unable to do this as it dried a lot faster. 

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First semester assesment post  12/01/2018

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Over the last few month my artist practice has developed greatly, starting the semester with the idea of mixed media and finishing it with painting. My work focuses on the architecture and structure of buildings, old buildings such as, churches, cathedrals and street shops. I wanted to explore and experiment with a range of different medias through this semester to see which I am most comfortable with, using materials such as oils which I had never used beforehand. 

 

I believe that my journey so far has made me realise that I can  step out of my comfort zone often and create work that is very successful. "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh. I like this quote because its sometimes what I tell my self when I get stuck, or tell myself I cant do something. It pushes you to try, do something new, weather its something you would never think you would. 

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I have experimented with a number of medias in my working methods throughout this semester, Gerhard Richter, Curtis Verdun and Charles Sheeler have been very useful as they have all had an impact on my work in very different ways. Moving onto next I have decided that I want to explore more with colour, I want to continue to create work with very little detail. Moving large scale is also something I want to start thinking about as most of my work this semester have been small. I feel although my original idea of looking at buildings old and new was not as good of an idea as I first thought. Starting this semester I want to be more abstract with my work and be more daring to make something that may not turn out. 

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15/1/18 - 19/1/18

Starting this week I wanted to be focusing 100% on lines and shapes with colour, to do so I aimed to recreate images of the buildings I have recently being looking at. I produced a few similar yet different pieces, the first piece that I have shown is reflecting on the garage, using tape I layered the lines onto my paper, I then chose to use red acrylic paint as it holds an element of the original image (being the door and sign),  to then paint over the page. Once the paint dried I then removed the tape from the paper which then resulted in the white lines leaving a solid frame like sketch behind. With my second I used a similar technique, using tape to mark out where I wanted my black lines to go from my solid cream/pink rectangular shape. I used this colour because this drawing was representing the cafe, and I wanted to use similar colours to the buildings original colour. I then used the black lines to draw out the main lines on the building, as you can see on both of these pieces, when I have added the paint onto the paper it has bled slightly as I have watered down the paint. If I was to do a similar piece again I would make sure I was not watering the paint down as I wanted the lines as solid as possible and because of this they haven't turned out how I waned. My last images is a piece that did not work the first time but I managed to save it and make another, the top layer I cut using a stanley-knife using the lines to remake the garage, I then originally layered onto of another piece of paper and used the light peach acrylic to then paint over and fill in the gaps, which would then leave a print when I lifted the top paper. This didn't work out as the top layer juts moved when I moved the paint brush, I then decided to paint a piece of paper black and then glue the original pice on top, this then worked as it contrasted with the white and light peach colour, and allowed you to see the outline which I wanted. 

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16/1/18

Sicking with lines, shapes and colour, using my cafe building I produced thises drawings. I wanted to create something that was a little messy but worked, using acetate and a black marker I sketched out the main elements of the building which I believe is the middle section and the lines along the side, which suggest there is more to the building. I then decided to use acrylic paint on paper, using colours to resemble the actual colours. I wanted to add the paint using fast brush strokes, I didn't want to focus on it being perfect, I then layered the acrylic over the top to then fit the piece together so that the paint matched up to the drawing as to were it should be. I think these pieces woked well as they turned out exactly as I wanted them to. 

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29/1/18 - 9/2/18

Moving on from what I have previously doing, this week I want to start something new. I have decided to stay with my theme of lines, shapes and colour, but I want to take a different approach, do something I am more interested in. I have chosen to take a number of pictures from the front street from where I live, the same place the garage I have been looking at is on. I have chosen to take pictures of, Robinsons Butchers, Polly's and Johns Cafe, which is now in Beamish Museum. Using these images I have then chosen to add to them rather than trying to recreate them, I have chosen to print the images in black and white to capture the detail rather than the colour. I used black fine liner and a ruler on my first image of Johns Cafe, to sketched over the top of the image to allow the sign, door and windows to stand out. I think me doing this has created a cartoon like look to the image, which I am a fan of. With my Robinsons image I chose to add red acrylic paint to suggest a small amount of colour, I chose to add the paint in these places as the actual building is red in these areas and I believe the contrast with the white building allows it to stand out. 

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This week I also had a look down into the print room, and decided to use mono print. I wanted to produce work using a technique I haven't used a lot, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to use the print room. I chose to use the image johns cafe, because I know that when you finis a mono print it has a sense of age in the way they look, and I thought it would go well with the building which was centre of social life for the people in the village within the 1950's. using think paper I used black ink to print my first image, focusing on the main lines that make the building, I then decided while the ink was still wet on the paper to then rub onto acetate, copying over the image, but creating a image that is only just there. I have then made another, this time I chose to print the image twice on the same sheet, I used black and then went onto use red as I have been using red in most of my work as a main element. I also chose to add the name of the building onto this print as without it, its just a normal building and its although its lost its worth. This is another reason I like my other two as I have taken away the real worth of the building, and just focused mainly on the lines and shapes which make up the building itself. 

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Robert Rauschenberg

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Rauschenberg was a famous artists within the 20th century, creating a link between the abstract expressionists of the 50s and the pop artists of the 60s. Experimenting with a rage of different materials, to embrace popular culture Rauschenberg is famous for combining the 'rich junk' of life to a status of high art. Using techniques from, painting, sculpting, silk screen, blue prints, metal and glass work. He also worked with costume design, scientists, and collaborated with musicians to influence his work. Rauschenberg once said that the whole world is his canvas. Working with all kinds of materials to create his work, he's known to be able to make work from any given object. But not everyone understood Rauschenberg's work, his piece Bed, that was made up of a quilt and a cushion that were then painted on was first exhibited in the late 50's, the piece was criticised and was said to be violent, disgusting, or compared to a police photo of a murder scene. Rauschenberg actually believed it was one of the friendliest works he's created and was worried that people might crawl in and want to go to sleep. In 1964 Rauschenberg became the first American artist to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, also that year e received his first British resperective at Londons, White Chapel Gallery. In the 80s, Rauschenberg decided to visit 11 different countries, which were challenged, to promote world piece and create a exhibition called ROCI, he gathered information from the local people and objects on his travels to create work, for the people of the country, as he wanted to give something back. The ROCI exhibition was funded by Rauschenberg, costing a total of 10 million dollars. Although he thought ROCI was a labour of love, but others thought it was a waste of time, money and talent. 

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                                                                           Bed, 1955

                                                                           oil and pencil on pillow, quilt, and sheet on wood supports

                                                                           191.1 x 80 x 20.3 cm

12/2/18 - 23/2/18

Throughout the last two weeks I have been focusing on producing a number of different experiments, I started off by using acetate, I wanted to use a material that I haven't used much before and I liked how my other pieces worked when using it. With my first one I wanted to produce something simple and only using line, so I decided to use marker pen and use a ruler to draw out the out line of the row of building I have been using. I chose to use an orange colour on one and black on the other I wanted to Crete a 3D like illusion but didn't want to use red as I have used it a lot in previous work. I think the black and orange worked well together and allows the lines to almost stick out from the wall. For my second piece I chose to use a different image going back to Johns Cafe, this time I wanted to stick with black and white, I also chose to add acrylic paint. I have added the paint using my fingers as I wanted it to look loose and messy but to still try and stay in the line/box as much as I could.

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I then moved onto using charcoal which I had just recently bought, there where 3 shades in the box, light, medium and dark. I chose to draw two images testing them, one being more about line and colour than detail. Experimenting with the charcoal I used all three shades, the dark to sketch out the lines, the medium to colour in the road and the light to colour in the pat.his was all about testing new materials. I then went onto sketching out this image using the charcoal sticks, I chose to only use the light and medium to colour so that it would not smudge or look too dark, I then used the dark to go along certain lines such as the large white one in the middle and some of the windows to allow them to stand out that little bit more. Not because in the actual image they do, just because I wanted them too. I thinkover all for my first attempt using these my images have turned out quite well as to what I expected. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Finally I went onto producing these two pieces, I didn't want to keep re-making the same style images so I cose to use this technique. I started by covering my blank page in emulsion and then chose which image I wanted to use, I then placed the image face down onto the emulsion and allowed to dry. Once the paint had dried I then dampened a loth and dapped the image, then using my fingers to rub away the top image, leaving a print of the original image on the emulsion. As you can see some of the image did not stay and rubed away as I added too much water in specific places. The images also printed backwards as I did not print the original image backwards to then print the correct way, which I think is okay for my row of houses but with Johns Cafe the sign on the building is backwards so is a problem. On the other hand I think the out come of the row of buildings has been a success, The black and white has allowed the image to look old and the way that the emulsion has left a pattern creates a look of an old image, similar to a photo taken a while ago. Which is what I was trying to do, in creating a sense of history as though the photo had been taken years ago. 

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19/3/18 - 23/3/18

After woking on my experimental pieces for the last couple of weeks I have started this week by printing out my image of the front street/garage,  I have chosen to do this because I have been keeping my work small and focusing on experimenting. I am now wanting to move onto bigger and better, as they aren't showing much with size that they are. I want to produce what I've being doing in my sketchbook but on a much bigger scale, to push my self and try something new. I have then decided to add the lines which I have kept constant throughout my experimentation's within my sketchbook. Using black acrylic paint I have painted over the image, although the piece is simple I do believe it is effective, the lines emphasize the building in the way I wanted it to. I think if I go back to this piece I may make the lines thicker as they look quite thin when I have taken a photo, and I like the idea of them being bold and noticeable.

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Over the last weeks I have been stretching my own canvas, using the measurements of  4 ft x 4 ft    , I wanted to make it pretty big so that I was pushing myself to create better work. With this I am wanting to recreate my small image of the garage, which I have then painted on top of, I think this was one of my most successful pieces and I think would be much better if it was on a much larger scale. I  primed my canvas, and began to sketch out the image at the start of the week, I then added the solid colours roughly to where they need to be. 

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