Lucinda Rogers...

To be honest I'm quite surprised that I like Lucinda Roger's work as the simple line drawing isn't normally what I like. I think what changes my opinion however is the accuracy of the drawings, how the lines don't seem to overlap and how everything is where it should be, its impressive to say its from observation. I also think the light wash and individual thicker lines help add depth, colour and transform the flat line drawing into an appealing image. The way in which she has also completed certain sections of the image in detail and tone and others in just outline I really like as well. It sort of looks like it isn't finished but it still looks interesting and as the unfinished sections are almost going off the page that helps as well. The use of colour, in the fact that there isn't that much of it I also find nice as although I don't think bright bold colours would be horrible I just think seeing the piece a it is works better.

Up down photograpghs...

observational drawing development, Week 2...

This image, from the second week of the project was one of the collages I created which developed from my orginal drawings. The collage worked as far as I'm concerned and the only thing I might change with the piece is the background colour red, I think it might be just a bit too bright and colourful.

The aim of this piece was to recreate an image from my sketchbook using a variety of materials such as pen, shoes polish and ink via stencil. Following an Andy Warhol style I was pleased with the turn out especially the shoe polish as it had the control with the stencil and the sort of messyness of the polish when mixed.

I like the idea behind the piece as its two chaps obviously talking about the news shown by the newspaper. What I would like to change about the piece is the colour of the background as I think if it was a darker colour, the newspaper might stand out more.

Focusing on trying to encorporate text into the piece I basically just tried to include letters in this piece. Using the cut outs as stencils and attempting to use a Lucinda Rogers style outline I liked the end result.

Using monoprint to achieve a sort of simple and messy line I think it contrasts with the sharp bold letters which take up the majority of the page. At first I was uncertain as to what colour to put the letters in but eventually I chose white as Black and brown had already been used and I didn't want to bring in a like colourful colour like red or green.

I spent quite a lot of time on this piece more than the others and I was basically trying to show a lot of layers in the piece putting things on top and under and having see-through materials included within it.

Gerhard Richter...

Girl. I think what stands out the most about Richter's painting is the use of light in this piece, the way it is sharp and obvious on the neck of the girl and how it has a nice contrast with the darker shade of her skin. The appearance of the painting is amazing as well, its so life like. The picture although I may be mistaken has a slight blurred effect I think which after seeing his exhibition at the Tate I have come to realise that in a lot of his work Richter almost smudges his piece, landscape across the page.

Two Couples. What I think is interesting about this piece is the effect it is done with, which to be honest I'm not sure what that is. It reminds me of say an old fashioned photograph, perhaps if a picture had gone slightly wrong and there was too much flash or light. True to his style once again he has managed to include a slight unfocussed effect to his art however rather than creating this by dragging the paint or ink material across it lucks as if he has in only a section of the piece smudged each line individually. 

Abstract Piece. Although I struggle to understand abstract art I think that there are certain pieces that with specific marks and splatters can look effective and interesting. I didn't enjoy all of Richter's  abstract pieces for example I found the larger peices with a lot of colour included quite horrible to look at, as well as his pieces 'cage' however I did like this smaller piece of his. Whatever the piece is, if it is anything I think seems to grow form the bottom, up and the individual sections of colour work as there is not too much and not too little. The texture of the piece in my opinion is also interesting as it looks at first as it it might be created on wood having a sort of splintered effect however after actually looking at the piece in person its obvious that the effect is created with the application and removal of paint. 

Bombers. Being one of the first pieces I saw in Richter's exhibition I sort of liked this piece. There isn't anything specific that I think is horrible about the piece but I just don't think it is one of his bets pieces after seeing his exhibition. I do like how the piece's colour scheme changes from what appears to be a white background to a soft green. The planes then on this background look as if they are printed on with a stamp and I think with the background not just being white but a slight mix of two colours helps them stand out.

Observational drawings, Week 1...

So this is the first page of my sketch book for when we were doing our observational drawings. After finishing the week, and discovering what the drawing's purpose will actually be its become obvious that the shading of the drawings is completely unnecessary and in this case time wasted. 

Throughout the week we also experimented with the idea of single line drawings attempting to create what we saw without taking the line off the page. The effect proved very efficient and personally helped me speed up my drawings, removing the sketchy effect and in a way making me avoid perfecting and overworking what I saw.

We also created a number of drawings using our opposite hand which, has its difficulties. Just holding the pen or pencil in the wrong hand felt weird and when attempting to recreate what we saw onto paper wasn't easy. Personally I don't like using the wrong hand however once again the simplicity of the drawings created, helped with my speed and overworking.

After finishing the week and having started getting used to these simple line drawings one thing I have noticed is that my accuracy and in a way my confidence when drawing in this way has improved. I also think the experience, being able to go around Chesterfield and draw what we choose was to an extent fun and the freedom to do so I really enjoyed. 

Our trip to the Leeds Armory Museum...

This image was taken from one of the many helmets that were on display in the Armory Museum. The reason I chose to put this image on my blog was that what made this helmet stand out from all of the others in my opinion, was the pattern. The way in which it connects to the other sections and the black on gold are also features which drew me to this specific piece.

Although after seeing nearly every gun ever constructed in the museum I found myself intrigued more by the older guns rather than the modern. Where as the modern gun's sole purpose is practicality, the older guns although keeping practicality in mind, the aesthetic qualities are obviously present. With most having a silver/die on the finished result and with them being so hidden to us in comparison to the weapons of our time this I think also adds to why I find them so interesting.

History of Your Life in 4 Objects/ The Present...

My Pencils. These specific pencils are from the Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company which first began business in 1832. The archetypal pencil may have been the stylus, which was a thin metal stick, often made from lead and used for scratching in papyrus, a form of early paper. As well as being used extensively by the 

ancient Egyptians and  Romans the word pencil originally comes from the Old French word pincel, a small paintbrush. I think by choosing pencils, a form of stationary, this isn't meant to just focus on pencils specifically but art as a whole. The object is meant to symbolise that in the present my entire life is pretty much art and, as far as I'm aware it will hopefully be my future as well. Becoming involved in art from a very early age, during my childhood it was more a hobby and only with growing older has it really become a significant part of my life.