Development Drawing, week 2 Review

During the second week we focused on developing outcomes using our observational drawings. I found this week of development very exciting as I got to use many of my drawings and add my own creative style and touch to them. I found experimenting with different compositions and images very interesting and found I was creating my own concepts. Many images gave great potential for juxtaposition and humour.

I used various materials such as brusho, tracing paper, Indian Ink, and photocopying techniques. I really enjoyed using the photocopier as it added many elements to my pieces. It gave me the ability to use symmetry and repetition  which could be used as pattern work. I also created wire mekets based on our observational drawings. I found this challenging in some ways as I had to work more loosely and simplify my designs.

I did find that later in the week that I was lacking in architectural and drawings of objects in my sketchbook. I feel this was because I focused mainly on portraits as I wanted to improve in the area that I was weak in. I felt if I did have more drawings of objects I would of had greater scope to combine image with text and to create scenes. Objects also could of added more possibilities for pattern backgrounds and texture.

I did struggle in meeting all the targets and this was due to my time management. I feel I can achieve much more, and have a lot more potential. I do feel the quality of my outcomes are to a good standard. The actions I am going to take will be;

•  Create a timetable 
• Set daily goals
• regularly Confer with teacher with progress
• I've made the decision to stop playing basketball at Mens Division three level in order to focus and succeed with this art course.

 With the limited time I had to produce the work I feel my sketchbook is lacking development work and annotations on processes. For future projects I will have a work sketchbook which runs parallel to my outcome sketchbook which communicates my thought and processes to the work I create. 

 

Drawing Week 1 Review

During the first week of observational drawing I took on many techniques to record and interpret ate real life environments. I really enjoyed this week of developing our key drawing skills and to make sure we draw what we see. It was quite challenging at first to find ways of sketching efficiently because of the constantly moving figures. I had to adjust and let go of old habits such as working very statically and precisely and work more loosely. This is a positive change though as I found as I would get aesthetically pleasing drawings which I would of never produced if I had stuck to my old techniques. I found as the days went buy my drawings improved. I sketched many portraits and the basic features and proportions were starting to feel familiar to me.

I did attempt to use different materials such as colored fine liners, permanent markers, charcoal and a variety of pencils. reflecting on my outcomes I found the fine liner particular challenging in terms of creating tone or shade. You can't build up layers and often I would draw eyes as solid ellipses making them to bold in my opinion, but the speed you can sketch with the fine liner really appealed to me. I also used different surfaces such as brown envelope paper which added a nice texture and gave really nice results with the photocopier and negative scans.

I started with a theme in mind based on people at rest, it then changed to solitude but in the end I made the decision to draw images which appealed to and were of interest. I didn't want to constrict myself and pass the opportunity to draw a particularly strong image. I felt when it came to development this would give me greater opportunity for image making. During the week I even went to Kellam Island industrial museum for inspiration. There I drawed many industrial machinery and components. I even met Mr.Hauly one of the Curators of the exhibit in the cafe who features in my sketch book. I felt this added a nice touch and a personal experience to my sketchbook.     

I feel I've learned a lot especially drawing figures from life. I found drawing the basic outline of figure was best and then moving on to shading and details after if I had time. I found later in the week though that I hadn't made as much progress with the number of drawings as I should of. This was because many of my sketches were a full page, and there probably was room for experimental processes. Over all I've thoroughly enjoyed the week of observational sketching and I will be continuing to practice, there's always time to improve.

My Life In 4 Objects : The Present

Banksy Canvas

I'm a big fan of Banksy and my Banksy canvas sits on my bedroom wall with two banana 'guns' pointed at me. He has adapted an image from the Tarantino gangsta movie 'Pulp Fiction.'I really like his street art and the way he uses Juxtaposition. His work is what influenced me to experiment with spray paint as a material and the use of stencils. I like his style communicates a political theme but he does this in a light humorous way. He's one of my favorite contemporary artists and I admire his imagination of use of graphic images and text.

My Life In 4 Objects : Early Teenage Object

Star Wars VHS Trilogy Box Set (Special Edition, remastered)

This Star Wars Limited edition box set was bought for me by my Dad during my childhood and started off my obsession with the franchise which led into my early teenage years.This particular box set was released for the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Star Wars episode IV - A New Hope' It was the digitally remastered version which used ground breaking cinematic technologies of the time such as CGI. The box set contained the three iconic movies, 'Star Wars, 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'The Return of The Jedi'. The set was released to build up the anticipation for the arrival of the new film 'Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace, prequel to the trilogy.   

Through my childhood I was always asking for new Star Wars merchandise, toys such as Star Wars Lego, action figures and Star Wars books and calenders. During this age my imagination was running wild and I would reinact Star Wars battles with my friends in the playground during my primary school years. It was a whole other world to escape to. By the time I got to my early teenage years I'd built up a massive Star Wars collection. The characters captured my imagination and still do, like the memorable scene where Anakin tries to convert Darth Vadar (his father) back to the light side of the force. It was an intense and action packed film and emotional at times. I remember how sad it was the first time I watched it when Vadar finally takes his helmet and admits his love for his son with his last dying breaths.

Future Portent

Star Wars definitely started my love for Sci-Fi and I will always be a fan of the films. My passion for Sci-Fi influences my current work, and will continue as I develop future projects. I'm currently looking at the work of 'Hans Giger's' who created the artwork for the Sci-Fi horror 'Alien.' Science Fiction fascinates me as it gives endless possibilities to create new worlds.

My Life In 4 Objects : Late Teenage Object

U18's Arrows Basketball team - Received medal

This medal was given to me by my coach at the end of the 2010 season. I was very happy to receive it because it showed the appreciation from my coach for the effort and commitment I put in that year. Also it represents a very significant part of my life. 

We were a winning side straight from the start and this was to be my first and only year with this team as I would have to move up to Menes level next year. As we progressed in the year and kept our winning streak up we became more and more confident as individuals and as a team. Together we got on well not only on court but also off court. I remember a time we went to the cinemas together as a group and unsurprisingly we went to the arcade after to play the basketball shootout game. We were all very competitive and my team m8 Anton set a new high score on the shootout challenge which was pretty much unbeatable. Our coach was Johnny who was a student at uni and we would often play fifa at his house, we then named his house the Arrows house as we would chill and have a laugh there.

It wasn't all fun and games though. There were times we had to knuckle down and train harder to keep our reputation up. The first game we lost was against Durham wild cats and we lossed by two points. This was a low point and such a small margin to loose buy. But that's basketball and through our coach and working together as a team we picked each other up and bounced back. we ended the season being second in our league which is a great achievement. We also made it to the playoffs to compete to win the conference championships.  This was a great experience and a privilege as many teams don't get this opportunity. We lost in the first round but we were all very proud and happy that we came this far.

Future Portent

I think the significance of this object for the future is that I will be continuing my basketball carer. I have a real passion for the sport and have played it most my life. I'm currently now playing for a mens side the 'Sheffield Saints' and we are winning the majority of games. I believe I will be playing basketball for long time in the future and university is just round the corner. University holds loads of opportunity to continue my basketball and continue to develop on my skills and fitness

My Life In 4 Objects : Childhood Object

Sega Mater System II

 

My Sega Master system II was manufactured in China. It was released by Sega around 1990.

The Sega Master system is a gaming console which uses the old cartridge format for video games. During the late 1980's and 1990's Sega was  commercially at war with Nintendo. They constantly released new console models and games in order to steal the market.

My Sega Master System II was basically a redesign of the Sega Master System. Mainly a cosmetic one it was striped down of several features and made more affordable. It was also created to counter Nintendo new game release Super Mario Bros.

Cultural Significance 

My Sega Master System II was the first console I ever received. I was around eight years when I was given to me by my parents. As a child I was overly obsessed about the games console and spent many hours playing it and collecting games. Sometimes as a treat my parents would buy me a game but the cartridges were really rare. I think this what made me love it more as you would have to browse charity shops and small market stalls to get your hands on the retro cartridges. I have many fond memory of bonding with my dad through playing Sega and  whooping him on the occasional game. Sometimes my dad would get more addicted then me!  

Future Portent 

I think as a game console the future significance this object holds for me is that I will be playing games when I'm older as it's a general interest of mine. I think also that it will also still play a part in my social life as I play Xbox now and again to have a laugh with my friends. I'm now deciding to choose Illustration at college and the concept art of games is something I'm thinking about looking into. I like the Idea of creating your own world for others to explore.  

 

Wk 4 photography, Experimentation

Kedleston hall

The auto focus on my camera dimmed this image but I like how the staircases are not so easy to see.

These climbing roots seem to have a particular structure which you could compare to man made materials. Some of the roots branch off nearly at right angles just like copper tubing you see connecting to boilers. The angles of these roots are very different to most which usually sprout out in all directions generally with no lines of symmetry. If you really study the image you can see the roots at the top are following the cement between the brick formations. 

 

 

 

 

O.B art, Graffiti Creations

This is one of my fist attempts with spray painting free hand. I transformed this broken door, I hope you enjoy

I'm pleased with this outcome. The stencil had allowed e to produce a fine interlacing pattern

This graphic is just an arm, I have a fully designed character in my sketchbook which I need to re-create in spray paint. I'm influenced by local Graff artists such as phlegm and Celtic artwork particularly the Celtic knot.

My designs, experimenting with shadow and bold outlines.

Photography HW. Pictures from local area

I captured this image because of the lightness of the blue sky which I felt went well with the hoop. You get a sense of the height.

This is an old pump in my area, it's been in Greenhill ever since i moved, so 10 years. I like it because it's old and primitive compared to modern amenities.

Again here I wanted to capture the height of this tower.

The bright sunshine seems to cast over this church. White light is often referenced with religious art pieces.

This shadow is casted from a lamp post. I liked the shape it created. It reminded me of a scene in the film 'A nightmare before Christmas' where Jack has to choose a door which is in - bodied on the tree.

I took this photo because I felt the branches contrasted well with the bright sunshine above.

This tower interested me. It reminds me of the radio towers you get at airports. In the background there is also a streak of turbulence in the sky left from an airplane which goes well with the main focus.

 The house looked derelict so I took the photo which gave the prospective it's been viewed from an outsider. You can interpretate anyway you want.

An abandoned rope swing. Here tbh I didn't quite capture the drop underneath the swing.