Drawing Project - Artist Statement.
For
my drawing project I explored the theme of people in a city, expressing ideas
of movement and life. As a starting point to my project I went out collecting
photographs and initial sketches of people and crowds, using graphite sticks, in
locations within Leicester and also London looking at different densities to
create contrasting compositions. I recorded these quickly to allow me to
capture the movement of the figures. With these I was able to produce responses
that emphasised the shapes and movement of the people. When producing these I
found that I was particularly drawn to the shadows, leading me to generate
drawings which enhanced the use of shapes. This influence came from my research
into the artist James Allen. Allen’s work expresses a great deal of movement
through delicate yet tonal drawings of city environments. His work inspired me
to apply a sense of delicacy to my sketches but to also include depth and
density. Another strong influence to my initial ideas was the paintings by L.S.
Lowry. I chose to look at the paintings
by Lowry, in particular his famous industrial scenes of people, in relation to
my drawing project. He is able to show movement and life through the use of
static emotionless figures. I admire his skill to do this and due to my inspiration,
my ideas express a similar theme in the fact that I do not give my figures a
face, they are anonymous.
To
develop my ideas I introduced black ink to my work to help emphasise the
shadows. I found that using ink gave my drawings a fluidity creating soft, free
movement within the compositions. When using ink I discovered that my
application of media was becoming looser so I explored ideas using continuous
line to further emphasise movement. I then came across a technique using ‘wet
on wet’. I would first apply water to the paper and then I would use ink to
cover the wet surface. Whilst still wet using the end of a brush I would sketch
in my idea and once dry the marks would be left behind. This allowed me to
begin to use layers within my work creating different textures and densities of
tones. I was then introduced to the video installation work of Michal Rovner.
Her videos expressed ideas of movement within people creating noise and shapes
with silhouettes. Rovner’s work inspired me to further develop my composition
decisions and to also refine my use of lines to express the people and their
movement.
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| 'Untitled, Black ink (wet on wet) on paper, Feb 2014, 21 x 15 cm |
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| 'Untitled, Black ink (wet on wet) on paper, Feb 2014, 56 x 11 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Black ink (wet on wet) charcoal & graphite stick on paper March 2014, 59.4 x 84.1 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Black ink & black emulsion on paper, March 2014, 42 x 40 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Black in (wet on wet) charcoal & graphite stick on stretched paper March 2014 21.0 x 29.7 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Watercolour, charcoal, graphite stick & varnish on stretched paper April 2014, 59.4 x 84.1 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Watercolour, black ink, charcoal, graphite stick & varnish on stretched paper April 2014, 82 x 28 cm' |
Self-directed Project - Artist Statement.
For my
self-directed project I explored the urban environment looking at colour, light
and structure to create atmosphere. My aim was to represent these scenes how I
saw them and what I felt whilst there; looking at locations during the day and
night to express different colour pallets. It is the atmosphere of a bustling
city which attracts me; capturing my attention to colour and textures creating
the buzz of a noisy area. The colours used within my ideas show what I saw
within the environments; my own interpretation.
To begin my self-directed project I collected research
focusing on perspective and composition gathering my ideas from a variety of locations
in Leicester and London. I recorded my
research by producing many sketches and photographs. From these ideas I
produced colour responses to enable me to pick out certain tones, exaggerating
what I saw within the ideas, to create a strong atmosphere using combinations
of acrylic and photo transfer emulsion prints. This idea of generating
atmosphere through what I see exaggerating the colours used was generated from
my research into the work of the post-impressionists. My interpretation of colour
and shape was very much in this style. They were a diverse group who took
aspects from impressionism and exaggerated them. For example Van Gogh
intensified his use of colour using bolder brush strokes generating more energetic
ideas. At this stage I also looked at the white paintings by Maurice Utrillo.
Throughout my initial ideas I experimented with using tertiary colours to help
me create an urban atmosphere and to also reflect on the colours I see within
the environment. I feel that using complementary tones strongly relates to
Utrillo’s white paintings. They were made to emphasis the environment through
temperature and lighting.
To develop my ideas I chose to focus on looking at only colour and
shapes, picking out the tones I see in the particular idea. To produce these I
used acrylic paint applying it with brushes and pallet knives to create
different textures. Studying my colour pallets I could see that I interpret my ideas
using cool tertiary tones and depending on the time of day I have added hints
of colour to help them contrast with one another and in turn encouraging the
composition to stand out. I found looking at different times of the day very
interesting; allowing me to use different contrasting tones. After
experimenting with brushes and pallet knives I found that I most enjoyed using
pallet knives. The textures made are a lot more successful and visually
appealing, emphasising my ideas creating a strong atmosphere.
Using my development I began to apply these techniques and processes to
my ideas. It was at this stage that my combination of acrylic paint and photography
came about. I found that using my textural paint process against a focused
picture generated ideas of memory emphasising my personal interpretation. The
picture became a captured moment in time and the paint surrounding it, representing
what I experienced. Painting scenes both during the day and at night, I decided
to produce ideas taken from the same location one during the late afternoon and
one late at night. I found my interpretation of colour very interesting; using
complementary tones contrasted with fluorescent city lights.
I then came to a decision to find out what it is that I enjoy most
about my paintings picking out sections and painting ideas from them using only
textures and colour. This enabled me to focus purely on my memories and
interpretation of colour thus allowing the viewer to make their own assumptions
as to what time and city environment I am interpreting.
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| 'Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, Jan 2014, 14 x 14 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Photo transfer & acrylic, on foam board & acetate Feb 2014, 20.0 x 29.7 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Photo transfer & acrylic, on foam board & acetate Feb 2014, 14.0 x 21.0 cm' |
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| 'Oxford Circus 1, Acrylic, varnish & photography on MDF March 2014, 59.4 x 84.1 cm' |
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| 'Oxford Circus 2, Acrylic, varnish & photography on MDFMarch 2014, 59.4 x 84.1 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Acrylic on card board, April 2014, 42.0 x 54.9 cm' |
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| 'Untitled, Acrylic on MDF, April 2014, 42.0 x 54.9 cm' |
