Since I started this course I have been trying to keep a sketchbook – without much success. Everything I did I felt uninspired by and didn’t feel I was getting anywhere.
Following my recent day workshop with Angela Oswald I have been looking at cellular structures and microscopic photography – finally something that excites me to practice my drawing and mark making!
Today I ripped everything out (not much I admit) from my sketchbook and started again with a clearer mind and much more purpose.
I selected the simple colour combination study as my starting point.
I traced the picture and cut out shapes to use as a stencil
Monochromatic study – Black and white
I created black and white photocopies of wallpaper patterns and scrim, and with book pages, and black paper I cut out the shapes from the original stencil and created a number of possible arrangements.
I then created two final studies
Using my iPad I created colour palettes for the studies and also manipulated some of the images for a different look.
2. Single colour study
Using the same method I cut the pattern pieces from book pages, drawing paper and maps that I had painted with Gouache and used magazine pages as a background.
3. Multi-coloured study
For this study I decided to experiment with scale, enlarging some of the stencils and using these alongside the originals. I used an old calendar with pictures by Miro as I love the colours and patterns which I think enhance the collage.
I also had some fun playing around on the iPad with different effects.
Luckily for me as I was starting to think about more collage studies for this part of the course, I went on a very inspiring day workshop with Angela Oswald.
We did two exercises
The first involved writing words on a theme on a large sheet of paper and passing it round the room for other people to add their words. When we got our own piece back we selected a square that we found interesting and overlaid different translucent papers onto which we had traced our written design.
For the second exercise we were given photocopies of pictures through a microscope and asked to quickly draw a section, select an interesting square and then to colour in positive and negative shapes.
These shapes were then used as a pattern to cut from the photocopies and other black and white papers to create a collage.
The finished collage shown above with a close up really inspired me to think about negative shapes when I work on the next three collage studies.
I took some pictures of a busy corner of my kitchen and played around with some of the online resources to look at colour palettes, – this gave me some starting points for colour schemes.
Original imageAdobe color CC Bright colour schemeAdobe color CC . Muted colour schemeAdobe color CC . Bright colour schemeCoLRD colour palette and pixelated colours.Quick simple collage using torn magazine pages.
Part 1
Simple colour combination
I decided to use just three key colours – orange, green and cream and with this in mind I painted some papers with gouache. I found that by simplifying the image and just using different shades of these three colours the image is pleasing to look at and much less busy than the original.
Simple colour combination
Unusual colour combination
How to be unusual? I decided to use colours that are unusual for me to use, and unusual for a kitchen scene. Again I painted papers with gouache but this time in purple, turquoise, red, and pink. This combination is well outside my comfort zone and makes for a startling colour scheme.
Unusual colour combination
Complex colour combination
For this piece I decided to use patterned paper to create lots of interest, tone and pattern within the design.
Patterned papers ready to use.
I drew a design on a larger piece of paper (A3) and made torn collage pieces of the main shapes. There is light and shade, and texture in this piece, and while it is busy and has many patterns and colours it retains the simple block shapes of the original arrangement.
Complex colour combinationCollage made from photo of the complex colour combination.
I found this tool easy to use, and enjoyed creating a colour palette from some of my work. It enables you to filter the colour palette in different ways as seen in the examples below. I think this will definitely be useful when I am selecting colours from images.
Saved colour palettesMuted colours from ‘The birth of Venus’Muted colours from a photograph of glass objectsBright colours from ‘The birth of Venus’Colourful colours from a photograph of glass objectsColourful colours from ‘The birth of Venus’
Mudcube colour sphere
I played around with this tool creating colour schemes from one starting colour. There is ample scope with this to create all sorts of interesting colour combinations, but I’m not sure if I will use it.
Color Halipixel
I found this tool more intuitive with quick easy colour palettes from a starting colour, presented in stripes. I think I would use this tool to spark colour ideas and to look for different interesting colourways.
CoLRD
This tool was fun to use and I found I could make pixelated versions of images as well as colour palettes. Because it produces lots of colours from the image I think this will be really useful.
Three pieces of crochet inspired by the watercolour stripes from this exercise
Reflection
I tried to keep my selection fairly neutral with just a couple of coloured pieces of glass to add a highlight. I thought this would help me concentrate on the subtle colours observed in clear uncoloured glass. I chose a white base and background so as not to detract.
In each watercolour study I looked for different areas to focus on, – some are more subtle than others. I found it hard to mix very pale colours and shades but I think I succeeded in creating some interesting studies.
I think this would be an interesting exercise to undertake outside on a sunny day to make more use of light creating colours through the glass.
I have chosen three paintings to focus on initially, – Vermeer’s ‘The lacemaker’ and ‘The maid with the milk jug’, and Botticelli’s ‘The birth of Venus’.
Fabric, lace, thread from my stash at home.Work in progress!Vermeer. The lacemaker
Tassel based on ‘The Lacemaker’
Pixelated painting based on ‘The Lacemaker’Fabric and yarn wraps based on ‘The Lacemaker’Vermeer. The maid with the milk jug
Signature style – watercolour painting, colourful fresh, using nature and the world around us.
Painterly, flora, fauna, soft and bold, muted and colourful. Free and sometimes abstract. Pretty. Using a lot of green, pinks, purples and blues in many shades and tones. Handpainted,- brushstrokes with gradients and blooms, bleeding. Organic forms using amber, emerald, cobalt and blue/green.
The colours in this design are muted and soft, and work well with the design. No one colour stands out and the colour scheme would work well on coordinating prints.
Marimekko
Signature style – original prints and vibrant colours. Abstract patterns, bold prints, large scale patterns and overlapping vibrant colours. Definite patterns.
Black and white, primary colours with splashes of other colours. Limited palette on each piece.
The use of a very dark colour in this piece makes the reds and pinks stand out more. The bold design works well with the colour scheme.
Mary Katrantzou
Signature style – Digital printing using fragments of images – precise to fit clothing. Use of Trompe l’oeil to create illusion such as oversized necklaces on garments.
Prints contain many colours – bold and bright.
Fashion prints
Jewelry dress – bold plain colours with a digital oversized necklace print in many colours – photorealistic.This print uses many variations of colour. Colours are shaded which gives a realistic look to the insects and animals. The colour is very important as the print is very busy.Shine and shimmer are used to good effect on a magical print using lots of colours on a dark background.
Wallace Sewell
Signature style – geometric formats using colour, structure and yarn, bold asymmetric blocks and stripes in varying scales and colours.
Influenced by the Bauhaus ideology. – aim to bring art back into contact with everyday life.
Strong bright colours
Strong bright colours make these stripes stand out. The design is very important but the colours and the proportions of these colours are what makes the design work..
Cole and Son
Signature style – Using block prints from historical designs and techniques.
Some designs are monochromatic, some have 4-5 colours.
This piece is monochromatic which emphasises the design. The colour works well and the proportions are not equal so the darker reds for the figures makes them stand out.
Paul Smith
Signature style -‘Classic with a twist’. Signature stripe in many colours.
Quirky and sometimes eccentric but wearable and not silly. Classic clothing in beautiful fabrics, well made. Using splashes of colour or prints as well as plain classic colours of white, cream, black and blue.
The signature stripe is a series of narrow stripes of varying widths in many different colours.There is a very narrow darker stripe that repeats and gives the whole design a sense of cohesion and style as the other colours are bright but soft.
Vlisco
Signature style – Designs using inspiration from Africa using a technique derived from Indonesian batik. Bright colours, strong patterns.
Geometric often, not many colours in each design, limited colour palette. The production process leaves vein like crackles and bubbles on the fabric which are impossible to replicate – this is the signature handwriting of Vlisco.
Prints of different scales and colours are mixed and matched to create vibrant,striking bagsThe colours used in these prints are limited but work with the African theme.
Ptolemy Mann
Signature style – Using hand dying and weaving using the Bauhaus philosophy of product and art making combined. Signature is Ikat – yarns are dip dyed prior to weaving.
Using strong colours often with an accent colour
On this piece the coloured stripes are all at one end with muted grey and grey pink stripes at the other end.The use of an accent colour stripe in this piece works well against the darker grey tones of the other colours.
My approach to the first two projects was to draw on the skills I already had and to try out new ideas. I found it hard to be loose and free in my mark making and I plan to keep working on this.
I was apprehensive about the paper manipulation but found this part really exciting. Parts of the drawings I had done could be isolated and these proved to be very inspiring when creating surfaces and stitching. I found it easier to work with paper than fabric as it retains its form and shape, and I particularly loved the delicacy of the fine papers when crumpled and softened to achieve drape and movement. There was a lot of satisfaction in stitching heavily into the fine papers without tearing them.
I feel my strengths are in composition, particularly in the two paper pieces which resulted in two very different exciting developed and composed samples.
I spent so much time on the paper studies and composed paper pieces that I did not leave enough time to sample my fabric pieces in the same way. I chose different drawings to work from for the three stitched textile pieces as I liked the composition of the drawings and felt there was an opportunity to create different surfaces with fabrics and stitch, however in hindsight it would have been better to work from the body of paper samples and pieces that I already had from exercise 2.4 rather than starting again from new drawings. I also think this would have enabled me to move away from the original composition and to concentrate on shapes, surface, marks and lines. I did however find that the drawings I chose for the textile pieces allowed me to demonstrate repetition, scale and a placement design successfully.
My study of the work of Cas Holmes inspired me to cut up the third piece and stitch it back together before adding further embellishment.
I now know that I need to allow more time to plan and try things out before jumping straight in.
Paper and stitch 