Similarities and Differences: The Library

Another one of the places I used for my studies was the Library where I volunteer. The building dates from the early 1900s, as one of the first Carnegie Libraries. I found it to be a fascinating study, and extrapolated it into both stylised, modernistic studies, and my own traditional ways of working.

 

 

 One of the original studies I did was the painting above. I initially did it in flat colour and detested every inch of it. So, to rectify, I added stylised cross-hatching and lines This brought out the colour and definition of the brickwork and the window, the latter of which I had already begun to become fascinated by.

Below are a few of the prints I did as an experiment, which I also added stylised lines to.

 

 

 

I then did a highly intricate pencil drawing, which took me hours and hours to complete. Yes, those are tiny little circles filling all of the brickwork. Then, taking that as a base, I photocopied it and reproduced it in several different media.
 

 

My favourite, watercolour

 

 

Oil pastel.

 

 

Oil pastel in the style of Monet.

 

 

And Chalk Pastel.

Exploring all of these with one picture shows experimentation again, and with photocopies,it makes it much easier to do so.

 

 

My final test was a bit of monoprinting the design of the library. I am not entirely pleased with it, but it was the best one I could find. In actual fact, this was the negative print I got after doing one of the monoprints, and in actual fact,it is more effective than the actual prints were.



25th: Christmas Card 1

As last year I didn't get around to sharing the Christmas cards I made, I plan on a monthly feature, posting one of their tutorials on the 25th. This is the first one. Enjoy!

Equipment:
A4 White Card
3 Different Patterned Papers
A small embellishment
A Paper Trimmer
Glue
Foam Pads

1) Fold the card and trim to a 15 x 15cm blank
2) From each patterned paper, cut three 4 x 4cm squares
3) Arrange squares and glue in place
4) Attach a foam pad to the embellishment, and stick to the centre square.

There you go, a quick, simple card that looks very effective. It can be adapted for any occasion, simply by changing the patterns and embellishments. Easy to make in bulk.

Similarities and Differences: The Houses of Parliament

 

A year and a half ago, I visited London to view an art exhibition in the Tate Britain with my family. We had lunch by the river, opposite the Houses of Parliament. Being the arty person I was, I sketched it in the about 30 minutes - ish. This photograph is terrible.

 

 

 So, when I had decided to study buildings for this project, I reverted to that sketch.I 'm not proud of these two pages particularly - they really could've been done as one page with lots of flaps and swinging things.
I tried a variety of different studies for media, neither of which I really liked, so I said that in my annotation. It proves selective thinking and an ability to form opinions and reasons.

 

I then did a page with reference to the Strasbourg seat of the EU Building,which, is very different. Much as I am iffy about modern art, so am I about modern buildings,and I said so. This particular building appears to be unfinished, for example! I also did a page of artist research on Monet's Parliament paintings.

 

I love Monet - his technique and the overall feeling of his paintings. I did a study of the painting in oil pastels (below), and I felt rather proud. This led me on to look at more old buildings, and at their features, as,although it is a brilliant painting, this one is only a silhouette. The real magic is in the sky and the river.

 

Bad photos again, sorry.



Camera Experiments: Life in January

Out and around in the garden, searching for all things green...There isn't much,but it gave me practice with my zoom!

This time of year can seem so miserable, we have to look for the little things to make you smile... just like these little green shoots in our garden.

I hope you're having a good day, and if not, go and find those green shoots!



Similarities and Differences : Sport Now and Then

 

My first page in my new sketch book was an artist study Here I chose to study the Architect Zaha Hadid, and her design for the London 2012 Aquatics centre.

 

I did a Watercolour study and a pen study of two of the pieces of concept art. My favourite is the watercolour, as it gives a nice smooth texture,one of the reasons I like working in that media.

I also then compared the effects of each design,and the use of each media,crossing off of the list one part of the similarities and differences brief for one subject.

 

I then compared this with an ancient Roman amphitheatre, the third most complete one in the world, in Tunisia, in a town called El Jem. I used tonal pencils and photography to document this one, and then used these to compare with the previous studies. Then, I wrote a huge, A3 Page on this, and the comparison of the two structures. It was from this that I got the reputation of writing too much.

 

 

I did this a long time ago- last year, October-ish. I didn't know then that I would be visiting the Olympic park. But,now, in hindsight, I can add a photo of what the aquatics centre actually looks like.

 

 

It's pretty amazing.



Camera Experiments: Twelfth Night

I never got around to showing you Christmas in my house. We love Christmas. Everything is sparkly and there isn't a room left untouched- we even wrapped tinsel around the shower rail this year! These are just a few glimpsed pictures of our tree as we packed it away, wrapping each of the baubles and decorations up carefully for next year. Some of these in particular, I wouldn't mind using as Christmas cards next year, experimenting with photo's on cards.

What makes Christmas so magical, to me at least, is the look on people's faces as they unwrap a handmade gift, or open a handcrafted card. Their faces light up with the realisation of the time and care it must have taken and they look at it in a completely different light than they did before. I gave felt hearts to most of my friends at school, and they spent the rest of the day with them tied around their necks by the wool I wrapped them in tissue paper with. It made me feel so proud that I had made so many people happy because of something that took me barely a quarter of an hour to make. What's funny though,I don't know anybody else of my age that makes gifts, at least, not at my school(s, if we're counting my previous one). Maybe I'm a bit strange in that way. But that's something I can live with. If I can make other people happy, I'm happy.

Similarities and Differences: Introduction

My Second Coursework Project revolved around the theme of Similarities and Differences. It sounds confusing, but it's very open. You could compare mediums, textures, styles, designs, subjects, anything really! We had a very broad spectrum of work across our class.

But, we all started with the same still life.

 

 

A Sustained Drawing can make or break an entire grade sometimes. The more, and better quality drawings you have, the more marks you get. Hence why at the beginning of every project, our teacher set up a still life, and we had to draw it (apologies for bad photography).

This one she set up involved lots of contrasting textures, heights, metallic and varying states of organic and synthetic; a collection of weird, wacky and wonderful items to which nearly none of them match. Differences.

 

My favourite part was the bowl of wool (three guesses why...) but mainly because of the challenge it posed. This was solved by drawing in the strands themselves with long, sweeping pencil marks.

 

This drawing I did in half coloured pencils, and half tonal, so that in my annotation, I could compare them. Throughout the entire project, I tried to make everything as blatantly clear as possible. Which, I'm told, is a very good thing.

 

This project is shorter than the other one, as we had less time, and I myself went through a very bad patch, so was unable to work to my fullest potential. However, everything you do contributes to the final mark, so never give up.