Development

I feel like this piece wasn't very successful, because it has a poor composition and some of the materials hadn't worked together the way I liked. To improve, I would not use chalk with coffee or perhaps use them away from each other in the piece. To do this, I would make the scale of which I work larger. This relates to my work I did several lessons ago where I incorporated coffee into my work to add tone and colour to the composition. I enjoy using coffee because it adds more tone to the piece. I will also use it to indicate rust. This relates to my artist Debbie Smyth, who uses thread in her piece. I also used scratching from artist Zachary Brown, for the jagged effect.

The word I wanted to convey were jagged.

Here I used a mark-making technique of drawing without looking at the paper which we learned during the first half term. I find the composition to be more effective than the last, having a more abstract effect. However I could improve by adding more colour to the piece. I have related this to my artist Guy Denning, due to the rough, controlled lines in the piece and I used Debbie Smyth for the use of thread. I feel using thread is a good way to develop my work because it is controlled and gives a 3D effect, bringing texture into the piece.  I feel like I didn't do this piece as well as I could have, because I was just experimenting with materials and had no idea what some would give a good effect. However, because of this I feel like I can add coffee and use a new technique of covering paper with masking tape to improve my work.

Here I further experimented with the use of masking tape to see what kinds of effects on backgrounds it would create. I feel the effect it gives is interesting, but I feel I could improve by adding mixed media into this piece so it isn't flat. To do this, I could add thread or any different surfaces. I can relate my work to my first experiments where I had first tried masking tape techniques, they connect because I have both made them seem like they are broken. I intend to add this broken effect into my piece by using masking tape. I can relate the work to Guy Denning, who uses rough textures of paint which I did in this piece. However, my lines aren't as free as his. I feel this rough texture is relevant to the piece I am creating and I intend to look more into it. It has helped me lead into a direction of which involves focusing on a broken effect. I am proud of this piece because it has helped me get ideas and be inspired for ways I can achieve an effective final piece.

Here I focused on the broken effect previously explained. I feel like it has been a success as the ripping of paper and attaching it with thread has given an effective representation of the meaning 'broken'. I could improve by adding more surfaces or layering onto several pieces of paper in order to create a 3D hole effect which could be interesting and relevant to my piece. This work is different to most of my artists, as I did this purely to test out new techniques, which helped me gain ideas I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.However, the loose lines could be similar to my artist Guy Denning's work. This piece has made me pursue the masking tape and ripping effect in my work, which I will continue to work on until I find the perfect composition. I think this work surprised me, as I didn't think I would get the eye-catching and unique effect from this as I did.

Here I have experimented more into my piece with the broken effect included. I used greyscale, however I feel the lack of colour makes it lose its eye-catching effect so in order to improve this I will add more colours with pastel or coffee to add more composition to the piece. I incorporated Guy Denning into my piece, involving the loose lines and controlled techniques to create a rough, textured and controlled effect into my work. I feel like this piece, with a bit of colour, could be a good start to creating a section of my final outcome. Because of this, I have a good feeling about this composition and I wish to pursue this as an idea.

I had used college into this piece by ripping the paper and rearranging it into a broken order. I used the rough lines of Guy Denning to create this piece. I used brown pastel to convey rust into this piece for the screw which relates to my research. I feel the composition isn't as creative as it could be, and I can improve on this. Therefore I am not very happy with this piece and feel a lot of improvements can be made. This has helped me know what works and what doesn't.

I did more ripping and sticking of the paper to remove the boring brown paper and used brown and black chalk to create an image of a screw. This work resembles Guy Denning with the rough lines created with the screw and I tried to add cracks into my work to relate it to my work. I would improve this by adding more composition by using different mediums. Because it seems like there isn't much going on in this piece. I am not happy with the piece because it seems too dull, so for my final piece I will not add any of this into it because I feel it doesn't work.

I used masking tape, coffee, ink and graphite here for the background, and added a bit of collage for the 3D effect and texture in my work. I added the dripping effect in my work to resemble something melting and fading away into the dark. This work had elements of Guy Denning in this with the rough lines in the background that faintly resembles a screw. I would improve this by adding more contrast into my work by maybe adding darker mediums or blending different tones into this piece. I am not happy with this because it isn't very eye-catching nor does it stand out. So with my final piece I will add more contrast.

For this piece I focused more on collage as the primary part of this piece. I feel adding collage onto a dull piece gives it more contrast and more of an interesting composition. This is because it adds texture into the piece. I also added a hole for a more 3D effect and also used string to connect the photos together  to make it seem like they're broken apart and only held on by a piece of string. I will use this in my final piece because it represents broken in a way I would like to use.

 Here I put together almost everything I have previously experimented on into one piece. I used 3 pieces of paper on top of one another with a hole in each to give a 3D effect with string connecting each side together. This I feel gives a broken effect. I also used more collage with black and white chalk to create contrast that put together, looks like one large clock. The cog in the middle represents the inside of the clock, as if the clock had a huge hole in it. I like this effect of creating an image with different parts like a jigsaw so I intend to use this in my final on perhaps a bigger scale.

Here I experimented with burning paper for a more free and old effect because coffee seems too controlled. I also added coffee using sponge for a less controlled effect. I feel like using burning and coffee in this way is effective with the black acrylic seeping into the coffee which makes an effect that cannot be created on purpose. I may use burning into my final piece, however I feel it will not fit with the effect I am trying to give in my final.

Here I decided to bring in wool as an experimental medium. I feel I can use this with thread for different line thicknesses with the 3D materials. While it isn't as easy to control, it adds a variety of mediums in the piece. The rough seeping acrylic lines resemble Guy Denning and the illusion of melting into the piece, while the coffee and pastel give a rusty effect and colour to the piece. I ripped the paper to give the broken and ripped effect as if it had been torn apart. I feel while it may not be visually appealing, it is a good effect to try to add more materials into my piece. I will use wool, however I believe I wont use pastel because it doesn't blend as well as it did.

Artist Analysis - Zachary Brown

Zachary Brown

Zachary Brown is an abstract contemporary artist who primarily uses acrylics onto canvas (sometimes uses different unconventional mediums to otherwise use for different textures) to create colourful work with a variety of different images and textures to make you think about the meaning behind the piece itself. He believes the creation of work is more important than the money or fame, and his work is his passion. He often does not plan on his work which makes his work very free and spontaneous because he just does what he feels right at the time. Due to this, his works are very unique and often weird or crazy in the eyes of those who do not study the piece for long enough. The work comes from deep within himself, expressing his thoughts and feelings on canvas which makes the work very thoughtful and fluid. His works have been featured in many exhibitions, and magazines. For example, his work “Shimmer” was displayed in the Garden Gallery at King’s Bridge in Atlanta on January 2009, and he’s been featured as an artist in 2008 in the magazine Artscene. Due to his work being very spontaneous, there is no real meaning behind his work, just the feelings he had experienced during the time.

This piece of work titled ‘Baby its Cold Outside’ was created from acrylic and mixed media atop of a wood panel. Here is quite a cold colour scheme, with a gradient ranging from black at the bottom to dark blue to light blue, with several shades in between. The way of which the colours were blended are not very smooth, perhaps to give the rough texture the piece has. The lines it was blended between shades would represent snow, as it looks quite jagged, the way snow lands. However the light blue is much jagged as it turns into white, which could represent mountains. This tells the viewer that the piece could be representing a cold landscape, as if it was the middle of winter and it was covered in snow. Snow to people could represent different thoughts. Some could think it was a happy connotation, due to the fact that white can represent pure, innocent and safety, which is mainly a positive connotation of the colour. Others can see it more harsh and negative, due to the cold and snow being very dangerous to a few who are vulnerable. Because of the vast amount of meanings in the piece, it gives the piece the ability to let the viewer open up their own opinion of the piece, where they can discuss it with others, who may have different views. I feel this was originally the artists’ intention. I personally take both views in consideration, as winter can be pure and happy for those families to get together. However, it can get dangerous for those vulnerable to the cold and diseases. Zachary Brown also uses a rough texture by scratching into the acrylic, creating the harsh, 3D looking lines scattered around the painting.

Zachary Brown uses quite a variety of scale in his work as he is very flexible. The scale of which he works on range from 10” x 10” to 48” x 36”. He mostly creates layers of acrylic paint, with different mediums and surfaces such as mixed media and wood panels which creates an often rough texture, paired with his usual scratching of acrylic paint to create a 3D, layered texture. Zachary Brown doesn’t often use a different variety of lines, but the ones he does use are usually rough and quick, being etched into the work so it doesn’t come out smooth or very controlled. He also doesn’t use much tone as most, if not all, of his work is primarily block colour. However, the way he blends colour is not also necessarily smooth, the whereabouts of where he switches paint tone is usually shown by the rough lines he’s painted with the colour. He usually uses a lot of colour, not always in a certain colour scheme like most abstract artists. His work is very spontaneous and he usually does whatever he feels so it’s not always the same colour scheme depending on how he feels. The connotations he usually portrays with his work is positive, as its mostly bright vibrant colours to catch the viewer’s attention.

He works on his piece often unplanned. He does whatever his mind is set to at the time giving him the opportunity to change things or add new things to his work. He occasionally plans for his pieces, but the way he mostly works is very unordered and not the same every time.

I find him inspiring due to how he’s used textures and the scratching to create a rough and sharp line. I feel I could use this technique of the scratching of paint in my work to create a layer in my work so it isn’t always just flat and perhaps use it in a way that could represent broken in the piece. I think I can do this by controlling the scratching to create cracks in the acrylic paint.

Experiments

This piece I felt was successful because I have used a wide range of mediums and it has a creative use of composition. I have also added both aspects of my artists own work as well as my own in this piece. It relates to Debbie Smyth by the use of thread and Guy Denning by the use of rough and rushed lines. It could be improved by thinking more creatively on how I have used the thread in this piece and adding darker tones of brown into it. To do this, I will perhaps look into rusting or use watercolour for different tones. I may also look into the artist Debbie Smyth differently by choosing a different technique of hers to look at, for example her contrast. I feel this has helped me in my final piece because I think I may use a dripping effect and coffee in my own work as an idea. I am proud of this experiment and it has given me new ideas which I will look into.

This piece I feel was less successful than the first because the mediums I have used together do not work as well as I had hoped as they smudged each other. I tried to add a new technique of masking tape into the work to see if it added any effects but it seems very subtle and not very noticeable in this. I have not used any techniques of Debbie Smyth but I have focused on using Guy Denning's use of lines into it to see how it turned out. I feel I could improve this by being more accurate with the lines and not using pastel and coffee together. This has helped me for ideas of a final piece because it has gave me ideas of what to use and what not to use in terms of mediums in this. I am unhappy with this piece, but it has helped me learn from my mistakes and create better pieces in my future experiments.

This piece I feel is somewhat successful because I have created a blended, smooth texture with pastels that contrast with the black, rough texture of a thread at the bottom. I have created a broken effect using graphite which I feel is effective and meaningful in my theme. I used Debbie Smyth's technique of thread in this piece which I think is a good choice because it creates rough, inaccurate lines which are effective in this piece. This could be improved by making the clock more circular and making the pastel section more in relation to the piece. This has helped me think of ideas of what sort of lines I want to create in my final piece, for example, the broken graphite effect. I think I am happy with this experiment due to it giving me ideas of what I can potentially use in my work.

This piece I find is more successful than the last. This is because I added the masking tape effect again but with a black pastel background. This for me created a bigger contrast that I found more effective. However I could improve it by making the masking tape effect smaller so more of the picture is seen. I could do this by folding the tape and increasing the scale. I can relate this work to my theme of time, where there is a clock in the background and the masking tape represents lost memories that have been wiped. I intend to stick with this theme. This has made me want to study more into fragmentation, and perhaps look for an artist who does so. I want to keep the technique of fragmentation into my work for my final piece. I am particularly proud of this piece, because it has given me ideas for my final piece.

In this experiment I used mixed media, as well as coffee, thread and ink. I feel like this was successful but it could be easily improved by using less black so you can see the image. I feel it is successful because it has use of different mediums and contrast from the different textures with the mixed media. I can relate my work to Guy Denning with the use of rushed lines and Debbie Smyth with the use of thread. However it is different by me using mixed media and different abstract shapes to complete it. I may use mixed media in some parts of my final piece due to this experiment. However I feel I will not use it all over the piece because I am not happy with how it has turned out.

Artist analysis - Guy Denning

Guy Denning is an artist who frequently uses powerful brushstrokes with oils and the scratching of paint to create effective figurative paintings. He was self-taught and always interested by art, despite being refused entry for several art colleges. The refusal he got from art college is one of the reasons he is who he is today in terms of art style, as he had to teach himself rather than learn from others and maybe get told how to do certain things. He was inspired by Franz Kline and his powerful brushstrokes in his abstract drawings as well as Kathe Kollwitz, but now paints figurative portraiture to convey power emotions and meaning which he says changes throughout the process of creating his work, but is mainly focused on politics, society and war. War became a huge meaning to his work when he went to France with his family and they took him to the war cemetery in Verdun. War is affiliated with loss, which is the meaning I wish to convey in my works.

One of his works, titled ‘El Dopa’ is a close-up portrait of a woman, which he had used oil paint on canvas to make this piece. The portrait itself is very heavily coloured in black around the nose, eyes and face, which takes away a few details in most of the face, for example the nostrils, the pupils and the majority of her lips. He also uses Shades of brown and white, as if he had tea-stained the canvas beforehand. There are few white highlights, to perhaps give less contrast so we focus on the whole piece instead of one area. The background looks like a map, with lines protruding anywhere to give a ‘broken’ vibe to the woman’s face, as they resemble cracks on her face. The woman herself looks emotionless, but with the dark colours and lack of contrast it is assumed the woman’s emotions and thoughts from the inside has been shown from the colour scheme, resembling unhappy feelings, with the ‘cracks’ being a metaphor for her mind, as her mind and emotions are broken, which really puts a deeper meaning into the artwork.  With the colour scheme, it bears the thought that the artwork has a much more serious meaning. The word ‘dopa’ in the title is a compound that is used to treat Parkinson’s disease, which could be related to the serious nature of this painting, where the woman is broken due to someone she lost. The colour black also has a negative connotation, like fear and death, which also links into the theme of loss in this piece. The brown could be a contrast to the meaning of the piece as it symbolises family and health.

Guy Denning frequently uses canvas from sizes as small as 30cm to as big as 100cm, usually creating a 3D effect by scratching the paint on the canvas itself, creating different layers. Guy Denning’s use of line is very controlled in his works, often not being precise, but in fact very free and chaotic. His mark-making are also usually very sharp and jagged, as it is like they have been scratched. They also look like they have been drawn very quick. His tone is also quite simple but varied, making most of his works heavily contrast with the black areas compared to the lack of white highlights, it creates a more realistic and 3D effect with the tone. His colours are primarily the primary colour of black and white and different variations of the tertiary colour brown to create a dark and meaningful piece, avoiding bright colours to convey a more serious meaning, however he has occasionally used bright primary colours such as red as a form of contrast. Because most of his work is based around war, it is fitting that he uses colours that symbolises negative feelings rather than bright colours which are usually affiliated with happy feelings. However, the red could be seen as negative in terms of war, as it could symbolise blood. He uses a rough texture in his work which is accomplished by his scratching of the oil paint. Oil paint itself is a very smooth texture, which contrasts with the scratched areas and the canvas, which are both quite rough textures to work with.

Guy Denning usually works into his piece by first creating a background of simply brown shades, then proceeds to draw whatever he wants. His work is very spontaneous, where the meaning often changes in his work and he has no clear plan on what the finished product will be. Most of his works usually end up with a meaning of seriousness in terms of violence, war, loss and politics, which he finds important to him due to him visiting the war cemetery back when he was child. This is usually conveyed using plain colours with most negative connotations, as well as the portraits being controlled and their subjects being emotionless.

 I find Guy Denning very inspiring by the way he uses colours and lines to convey the meaning he does, as a meaning of loss is one of the deeper interpretations I want to get out of my work. His use of lines is what inspires me the most, as the lines giving the impression of ‘broken’ is another meaning I find inspiring as it is very loose and free. He relates to my work due to the meanings he portrays and the use of lines I wish to incorporate into my drawings due to them being effective.