Friday 27 December 2013

More Horses

Hello Everyone and Merry Christmas!

Thought I'd share some quick snaps of a piece of work that I am working on at the moment

Hope you enjoy and any comments or suggestion are welcome, now lets get back to eating lots more chocolate hmmmm!


Front View 


Front View 2 


Birds Eye View-I have used lettering and text for the Horses shadow


Front View at an angle

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Rabbit Rabbit!

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

Thought I’d share the updated image of the latest rabbit piece, I have slightly changed the work from the original (which I have included below) by subtly changing the composition and colours slightly.

This piece will be printed on White Textured Somerset 300 g/m paper and framed- Let me know your comments and thoughts. 

I have a few things on the go at the moments including some 3D imagery, which I will get professionally photographed and post on my blog as soon possible.


Next is to start planning for my next piece of work which will be either be a triptych or diptych, showing the journeys that I've been on and what I've overheard and seen along the way. 

Thanks for looking.

New Piece


Original Screen Print

Friday 22 November 2013

Image Update

Here is an image update with different colours, I've had a few issues with pixelation with my images when colouring and manipulating them digitally, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on colouring images on photoshop or if anyone has had similar problems 

Anyway for now here is how the image is shaping up like at the moment




Thursday 21 November 2013

Image update

Just thought I'd update the horse image so far- I'm just looking at colours at the moment and how they work together on the page- Thought if I uploaded it then it might get me thinking differently about it.... all thoughts are welcome as the image is still in its early stages, hopefully more updates to come with colour combinations I feel happier with

Thanks for looking




Friday 15 November 2013

Screen Prints and Development Work

Hello blog followers,

Here is my screen print that I have been meaning to upload for a few days now, I hope you enjoy it.
The image is in response to my walks taken through the YSP in Wakefield. The text used are snatches of convocations that I overheard while walking and the characters are what was seen and also references some sculptures displayed in the Park.


I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain how the Masters is going at the moment. I've had a challenging few weeks where I have really questioned what I am doing and why, the biggest question mark has been towards the processes I use when producing artwork, and also colour, scale and composition. In the past I have favoured  screen printing as a way of producing artwork, however as my research of theories and contexts around art and illustration grows and develops I feel slightly disconnected to this way of creating imagery. There are certain elements of the process that I am attracted too and others I think I need to re-evaluate.

Screen printing by hand gives a certain unique quality, which I find hard to replicate digitally; happy accidents, the smudging of ink and misregistration are all qualities which I feel enrich the viewers experience when engaging with the work, as they can connect to how the piece has been made.
However I am finding it hard to create a certain tension with atmosphere and texture in the imagery with using screen printing, as it produces a flat inked surface.

With this in mind I think the way to approach this would be to produce a hybrid print, giving me the opportunity to push and experiment with certain processes with my images. At the moment I am considering developing an image with a screen printed  background, so that the viewer can see the artist's hand, having some of my images made into lino stamps, which can be pressed onto the artwork and then having the main part of the imagery printed and coloured digitally, giving me the opportunity to rethink certain colour combinations and compositions. Afterwards I can also paint into the artwork with gouache , this could be used as washes over certain parts of the work or applied to create shadows of the characters within it.

With using these different processes to create an image I will hopefully achieve what I feel has been missing in my screen printed work. I understand that screen printing is a great way to produce work for selling in an edition to galleries and shops and although my work won't be technical termed as a multiple, there will hopefully be richer and a more aesthetically pleasing image emerging.

Below is a rough black and white image that I am hoping to trial these new ideas out on - I will hopefully keep updating how the image changes and progresses.

Thanks for reading my lengthier than usual blog update, now to put these ideas into motion and get cracking!!




Tuesday 29 October 2013

Monday 14 October 2013

Work in progress


Here's a sneak peek of what I am planning at the moment, the images are in black and white at the moment as they are going to be screen printing.. still deciding on colours

The work is in response to my different journeys I've taken during summer and how the objects are related to folklore and mythology, more to come soon

Thanks for looking! Comments welcome





Tuesday 24 September 2013

Quick Snaps

Its the start of the academic year and I couldn't be happier with the feedback I have been getting about my work, which is being currently exhibited in the new art and design building at Lincoln University.
 I've got one more year left of the Masters and it is going to be extremely interesting and exciting to see how my work develops and changes over that time.

Its going to be lot of hard work and dedication but I know it will all pay off

Here are a few snaps of my work in the exhibition- enjoy!









Monday 16 September 2013

Work in Progress

Here is a few snaps of what I am working on at the minute, I am designing a route that I have walked recently, which I felt compelled to draw on my journey and how objects and the environment affected me.

At the moment this is just a rough draft, more finished artwork  to come- the long thin design is inspired by Grayson Perry's 'Walthamstow Tapestry'.






Friday 30 August 2013

Business Card

Hello Everyone

Thought I'd post a new business card that I have been working on, its just a rough one but I'm not 100% sure about it so any suggests/ thoughts are as always welcome


 Front 


 Back with contact details 

Thursday 29 August 2013

Exhibition time!

Its that time of the year when Lincoln postgraduates students have the chance to exhibit their MA work,
so today I have been designing some new business cards to be on mine stand for people to take away with them.

The exhibition will be in the new art building in Lincoln on Friday 13th September, not long to go now- getting excited!! If you find yourself in Lincoln then drop by and let me and the group know what you think of it, we'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.

More updates to follow.

For now here is a little sneak peek of what I will be showing:








Friday 23 August 2013

YSP Revisit

Yesterday I spend the day at the YSP admiring the fantastic sculptures and the beautiful grounds within it; full of nature and wildlife. I find the YSP should a calm and peaceful place, great for me to gather my thoughts and feel inspired. Here are a few snaps from the day, now to get these pictures back to the studio and get cracking with some of my work whoop!!!













The wheat field made such a lovely sound when the wind blow on the walk up to the Longside Gallery.

I stumbled across a quote which I mind interesting as it relates to my current practice and research:
'When we speak of Nature it is wrong to forget that we are ourselves a part of Nature. We ought to view ourselves with the same curiosity and openness with which we study a tree, the sky or a though, because we too are linked to the entire universe'. Henri Matisse.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Summer Stroll


I thought I’d share some photos I took today while on a leisurely stroll near where I live, these images will act as a starting point for me to construct an image. 
Thanks for looking, fingers crossed for more of this lovely weather!













An artist that I find interesting is Yinka Shonibare, looking at his work has been inspiring for me to engage with in regards to my own practice and research. Here is a piece of his work, which is currently hung at the YSP with his collection called 'Climate Shit Drawings'




Saturday 17 August 2013

Summer time and Summer Research

So the Summer is well and truly here and I have been making the most of all the warm weather we've been having by walking in different parts of Yorkshire and using what I see and observe on my travels in my illustration work.

I am inspired by the theory of psychogeography, which was first developed by the Parisian radical group the ‘Situationist Inernational’ in the 1950’s. The key figure of the movement was Guy Debord who defined psychogeography in 1958 as, ‘The study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals’ (Debord 1981, p.5).

The Situationist’s developed the notion of the derive, which is known as the movement through the streets of the city in a manner that offered the opportunities of random direction, while also having enough sense of purpose to avoid the automatism of pure chance.

With this new interest in mind, I have a few sketches and drawings to share, while I continually collect research, material and data for my next pieces of work. 

These drawings were taken while on my journeys and might be used in a map format, the different  drawings where taken from:
  • YSP
  • Chatsworth House
  • Yorkshire Wildlife Park
  • York
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 





 



 








 




By considering the journey itself, I have the opportunity to develop my illustrations through observing the environment, giving me the opportunity to explore tourist locations and illustrate, informative, quirky and personal map for commercial publications. There are also additional opportunities to experiment with installation work for exhibitions, to develop story books, post cards, large painting and prints and so on. 


Next I will revisit some of the locations I have been too, which then makes connections to space and place, as well as time.

I will also be walking around places of nostalgia to me and see how I respond to these different places.

Reference:

Debord, G. (1981) Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography, in Ken Knabb (ed.), Situationist International Anthology, Berkeley: Bureau of Public Secrets, pp. 5-80.