Fire- Styrofoam Printing

  Using this piece of styrofoam i created a series of prints inspired by my "Runaway" painting. Zooming in on one orange scraped paint and its black edges, i drew out lines similar to a flickering flame of a fire. Using the same colour i spread the orange and yellow colours on the styrofoam using a roller, letting the colours mix like i did when scraping the paint. Then i rolled the black ink around the edges and pressed the styrofoam to white cartridge paper. Using the roller to press down the print with even pressure.
 




I quite like how my first one turned out. The colours are bright and bold, along with the lines that are vivid amongst all the colours. the inks markings on the paper as the colours overlaps also create distinct markings that would be difficult to recreate. The yellow and orange mix together fluently whilst the black is striking with its lines just like the "Runaway" painting turned out when scraping the paint on the page. I love the way the ink interacts with the page, leaving white, faded marks. It looks rough just like the rusted roof but the colours are brighter and transcendent which makes me think of a wild, warm fire.
   I should of tried doing a more controlled practice to try recreate the image i had zoomed in on for comparison. Therefore the black ink should be more around the thick white lines that i drew on the styrofoam.





 

  My next try i decided to add a piece of rope i found lying around. I placed it between the paper and styrofoam to block the colours. I didn't know what to expect as an outcome but this one was really a success. the rope left a strong white lines that crossed over and looped. I think this turn out is a closer look to the white lines than the first one which focused on how the ink interacted with one another. I think i should try this type of printing with other materials like string, rope and thin pieces of tissue paper. I could create amore controlled image with the rope so the lines are bold like pop art. |Also see how the ink seeps through the tissue paper and how that restraint affects the outcome.





 
   
For the last two tries i changed to black paper to see the difference the ink has on darker colours. I also decided to use blue ink on one half of the styrofoam which created green as it mixed with the orange. The outcome is a lot duller, the yellow and orange is still quite bold in one section; you can still see the print lines vividly on the black paper. The change of colours creates a different feeling when viewing this. Instead of warmth and powerful like fire its more calm and cold without permission as if the coldness is taking out the warmth like the blue challenges the orange. The lines also look less controlled and more like scribbles due to the colours being out of place. It shows a sort of frenzy occurring as the colours alter each other.




 


     My last one is not a print. I rolled out some blue paint on the black paper and decided to recreate the print lines using the rope from earlier. The rope had some orange ink on from the styrofoam so all the same colours were included. I think this piece shows how art can develop and change massively through changing and taking out certain mediums. I've still used the same elements as before just took out the print itself. I think i would've preferred if the side of the rope with the ink on showed up more but it was hard to control when gluing down. Also i think i needed to add some yellow to create some green and make the blue a little brighter so it would be bolder.






     For this last piece, i rolled out some of the blue ink on some yellow tissue paper. The markinmsg were quite interesting as the tissue paper was folded indents creating lines where the ink did not meet. I decided to stick down the tissue paper ink said down to see how the ink seeped through the paper, from the point i made earlier. Before that happened the blue ink marked the page and i decided to outline some lines which i found repeated the lines that the rope made on the prints. The ink pen i used came out quite bold when it was on the yellow tissue paper. This piece is a simpler version of the prints above, it looks abre and stripped.





        The styrofoam is its own individual version, this print was made when i closed my sketchbook on the styrofoam. Some newspaper stuck to both pieces when i tried to separate them. This one has all the colours from the inks and is a lot ore faded from use. Some lines are still bold but more lost as more white seeps through the ink.The border also becomes lost as when the styrofoam wasn't stuck down it moved creating lighter edge markings. It looks the most rough from reuse and no protection, as the styrofoam began to break apart.

Where Will You Choose to Go?

   I have always kept and collected unnecessarily tickets. I've never looked at them so as i was looking for things to inspire my art, i came across my collection and created this. I decided to make a messy collage and wanted it to be very bright. I included some cut up straws and an empty sweet packet to reflect the adrenaline days like a sugar rush from junk food. Then using black acrylic paint, i painted the words "A ticket can take you many places, show you many things. Where will you choose to go?" Using the statement in this piece was influenced by conceptual artist Robert Montgomery who creates billboards with words to inspire and make people think. My statement was to make the viewer think about what was holding them back and stopping them from seeing things they dream about like travelling the world. It also makes people think about how little things like a ticket hold so much control and power over people like money. To improve this i would need to paint the words out in block letters so they are bold and easy to read. Although i do like the free paint style as it makes the whole piece look scrapbook like, therefore personal.

Discarded

    Using my sellotape transfer, i let some scrap newspaper stick to the back as the monotone and blue colours reminded me of British beach holidays when you get chips in newspapers. This correlated with the drawing of the shell. I decided to add some blue threads that comes out of the shell lines. This composition fascinated me as it was quite simple, especially with the blank border, The entire image looked broken and discarded, like shell washed up on the beach. The rough black lines in the sellotape transfer added to this rough look and the uneven edges made it appear as if the tape had been dragged around by the vicious sea, eroding the edges like a rock. This image reminded me of all the beautiful things the sea can create through destruction and power. Not even man made things can survive the sea. It also reminded me of the shells i collected as a child when walking on the beach. I think added some small shells to the corner or to create a border in the centre of the blank edge would keep it simple but add to the beach feel. The sea is a place where people get lost and the beach is where people choose to go to escape and relax. I like leaving this image as unfinished looking to create the feeling of loss of purpose. This feeling some people get when they lose their purpose in life, usually when stuck under stress from work and losing enjoyment from other aspects of living.

Disconnect

This idea was inspired by the use of the tape in "Despair". I stuck duct tape on the page, going diagonally and vertical. Using acrylics i painted the girl huddled up, daydreaming. She is detached from the world around her. I painted random strokes of colours to show the fantasy world that calmed her as she felt surrounded by it. The paint was too watery to create rough paint strokes but the soft effect helps show the solace in her mind. I used fineliner to outline small features, the girl looks very cartooned style which i think helps add to the idea of her wanting to escape reality, therefore she is not real. Once the paint dried i pulled the tape up and rearranged the pieces. I really liked doing this as it was interesting to find the different formations i could create. The tape pieces have pulled the girl apart, showing her disconnection from reality.
   I would really like to use this tape technique on another piece for instance on ac lose up of a realistic painting of a face. The rearranging of the tape would be interesting as it could show distress or the persons issues with their appearance. For this piece to improve i would need to work on bringing all the colours together, maybe adding some drawings to show the room she is sitting in so when rearranged it shows further the detachment from the reality she was in before.

Despair

  Reusing tape that i used in my abstract painting, i cut the strips up and stuck them around the edges of the paper. I like how i can use the tape to create straight lines in paintings but also lift the strips and rearrange them this gave me an idea for another piece.
   Taking my monoprint try from earlier, i ripped up the edges and stuck it down in the center. The ink was quite heavy on the brown paper but you can briefly see squiggly lines in the ink. To me this shows depression, the colours purple and blue are linked to feelings of sadness, isolation but also creativity. The black ink is layered on top and is very powerful as it overtakes the other colours, just like depression takes control of people's minds and then lives. Its difficult to overcome, hence the messy lines in the ink indicating to struggling. I wanted to sew some straight lines on the paper to form a cage like appearance as people become trapped in their own minds as depressive thoughts become woven into their lives, however my sewing machine wasn't working so i glued the threads on. This worked as the purple colour was brighter on the page, standing out to show the different levels of depression that people have to work through to break free from the suffering.
  To improve this i would add some grey paint to the black ink, make it look distressed to show how depression makes people feel numb. I would also build up the thread, using stronger, deeper colours and maybe in wire to show how difficult it is to work through. If the tape background was to solely represent the mind before depression i would use a brighter mix of colours, drip them and let them mix to show the mix of emotions that people go through in the day.

Screen Printing

  Screen printing:
  - mesh screen cleaned straight after use.
   -  place stencil with cut out image on mesh, card asistate for stencil.
        (added talc can help create distorted effect in image)
   -  Acrylic paint mixed with equal amount of print paint.
   -  Scrape down the paint over stencil.
-  Can do many layers of paint.
                      Matt Dawson, artist.
                                                                                                      -  Can be done on white cotton fabric. Hush, contemporary japanese artist.
Street art, women power.

Collagraph- Relief Print

   Using random materials collected from outside i created a collage by gluing them down to the printing plate. Using twigs, leaves and paper i created a face sleeping, being held by hands. This was inspired by a song by Son Lux called dream state. I feel this image didn't quite present itself on the collage due to the materials. For a collagraph to work i think it needs planning ahead for the image to work with the right materials. However i did not have this time to plan.
   After gluing the materials down i coated it with varnish to protect the materials so it could be used to print with acrylic paints. It would be interesting to see how the materials create marks when painted and printed. To work with collagraph i think i need to try various different materials and see how they develop when used in a collagraph, before using the materials together to turn it into images.
   Need to do the print.

Runaway

   After taking a photo at the train station i noticed the rust on the roof which inspires this piece as i recreate the rust, but with stronger colours influenced by the butterfly in the photo. I began by scraping on orange and yellow paint in patches, letting them mix and mark the page. Then added black around the edges. The way the paint has interacted and marked the page really captures ther roughness of the roof from harsh weathers. Then i used charcoal to darken the rest of the page, smudging it out roughly so it looks dirty. It even darkened the bright orange and yellow colours, like how living a harsh life can dim a persons living flame inside.
   Inspired by the butterfly and train in the photo, i titled this pieces "Runaway" as many people pass through this train station in a day and just like using daydreaming as an escape, running away is another form of escape. It could even be a fantasy many people have who want to leave their job or home to travel.
   I like this piece very much with how it is and turned out. To develop it i could add more paint, for instance more black and build it up so it creates a bigger impact on the page. I would do this on a bigger scale so it could be larger so then more orange and yellow, maybe include red, could be mixed together. That way the viewer could see how the paint interacts and mix with the colours as the paint is uncontrollable in that matter therefore making each piece individual if repeated,

Enervation

   After waking up from a deep nap i felt really drained and groggy so decided to express that feeling here like how some people do as their version of a dream journal or mood graphs. Using unpleasant colours like black, grey and brown to show how low i felt. I began by doing small, tight spirals in the left corner and letting the spirals spread as i went in a downward direction, like in a graph with a low correlation. The tight spirals show how waking up was the worse part as that's when the feelings were most intense but the wider spirals show how the feeling didn't leave as i got up and bagn tp do things, still feeling drained. The different pens and lines convey how disorientated i felt when waking up after the nap.
   Lastly, i drew a small feather with fineliner and  blue pen; the colour blue creates feeling of calmness and i only did small lines leaving most of the feather white to make it look delicate. Then using blue thread i sewed some lines. The feather is suppose to convey comfort which we are meant to get from sleep as we get rest. However i did not get this feeling from this nap so i left the needle that i used for the sewing stuck in the page as a prick from the needle shows the discomfort i got.
  To develop this i would change mediums to grey and black paint. Maybe add rough textures like stones, gravel and rust within the paint. For the feather i would sew more of it so it appears and feels softer on the page for the viewer to touch.

Games

   I was still experimenting with different mark making techniques at this point. This page has various things happening but the different things bring it together as one of my first pieces looking into kids imaginations. I opted for bright colours as colours are playful, and catches kids attentions. After trying different mark making techniques i chose to draw two acorns on string, hitting each other, with the small arrows technique. This drawing turned out quite good with these distinct markings. Next i drew lines that dispersed, these were abstract trees as i thought of the trees where the acorns would come from. The random things happening on this page express the unpredictable actions of kids. Also the acorns being drawn in black shows how that action is simple and real. However the colours surrounding it show the imagination created as they play, which changes the simple action of hitting acorns to anything they play pretend as.
    To improve this i would like to develop these separate markings into one pieces. Maybe on a bigger scale canvas to focus it on the images and bright colours. I like the trees being on the white and fading out as it reaches the watercolours, otherwise all the colours wont show up if on top of each other. I could however stick ripped pieces of children's stories for the white background to show how it influences the children's imagination.

Fairytales

    My original idea for this was about dream writing. Some people choose to keep a dream diary and they take note of their nightmares and dreams. However, gaps are always missing after waking up from dreams. This is shown on the posted notes. The black fineliner represents the nightmare, i drew the lines quite violently to show distress. For the other posted notes i used a mix of pastel blue and purple as they are soft, calming colours to represent nice dreams. I also drew them in , loose, calm lines. Using tipex i covered some lines to show the gaps from the dreams. Then i came up with an alternative idea. A lot of fairy tales are based of gruesome tales that are then sugar coated for children stories. This is what each posted note represents, the original gruesome story and the sweet fairytale. However, in recent years people have noticed flaws in the sugarcoated tales with gender roles, ages, etc. The messy cross hatch beneath the posted notes shows these thoughts creeping through as people pull the tales apart.
Unfortunately the background for this piece was something i randomly did. I think to improve the fairytale part would be to do it separately to the background and with real pages from both stories for the comparison. I could blank out the gruesome details and replace it with the sugarcoated version and do vice versa with the updated version. Then instead of the cross hatch underneath i could write down comments of peoples arguments with the updated version pointing out the need for strong, individual female leads and so on.
   The background was done with rubbing a crayon across the page, some places harder for a darker marking. I've always liked the marks crayons leave on the page as its is always distinctive. Using PVA glue i drew random marks on the page. I didn't really know what i was doing and i shouldve of taken it further by building up these marks to have stronger impact on the page. I could of gone round the PVA with pen to make them stand out and develop this background into something else.

Alternative

   Using pencil i drew out an open book then filled the edge of the book cover with graphite. The monotone colours were used to show how the book itself as an object is nothing. Then the colourful paint markings were to show how the words that created the story are what's important, what the reader connects too.
Using a rolling pin, i wrapped elastic bands round it, some overlapping, and rolled it in the paint. I rolled it vertically on the page then diagonally once to connect the page. I really like this technique as the lines are unique and really enjoy the pattern it creates as it is very controlled yet loose. Also the rolling pin allowed the colours to mix and mark the page interestingly without too much colour mixing allowing them to be bright separately. This would be interesting to try with more layers and more colours to see how the lines interact. I would like to experiment with the rolling pin more to see what other effects i can create as it has many uses to try. As for the book i could of added more pages to be stuck down as the book pages and rolled different colours on each page. But each page would have a connecting colour to show how the story follows and develops through change of colour. In this drawing, the book is quite weak of quality as my main focus was to try my rolling pin idea. The graphite and page drawings need to be more defined and darker for strong impact and to create depth.

Crafts

     This piece was inspired by doing arts and crafts as a child. The idea of kids at a table, covered with a matt, as they pour paint everywhere and leave messy hand prints on everything made me think about their creative ideas; children's minds are learning, discovering and constantly experimenting. So i decided to recreate those ideas. I began by taking a piece of paper i had put paint on to use for another piece and pressed it onto the page to see what mark the paint would make. I followed this by pouring some new opaque paints i had never used before. As i wasnt use to this new paint it was a similar situation as to when kids have no idea what they are doing with the paints. I dripped paint, let two colours mix together and scrape some more to see the outcome on the page. Scraping the paint doesn't really work for the effects that the paint creates when let dried in thick layers. However letting the paints mix and merge together can create some interesting, uncontrolled effects. Lastly, using biro, i drew art supplies on the page in different techniques. A paintbrush, rubber, pen and lid. These basic art supplies look out of place on the page, almost hidden by the colourful paint markings. I think this shows how art is developed and inspired from a young age, experimenting with hands and learning as kids learn by touching; this later becoming apart of the ability to create art through new, controlled techniques with art supplies.
   To develop this i would include some scribbles with crayons and coloured pencils as that expresses childrens drawing style more explicitly to the viewer. I would also pour more paint on the page, maybe even use ripped, coloured paper as background. The opaque paint wouldn't be used, instead i would use glue and glitter as that was always the main source of mess when playing art supplies.

Creative Waves

   Experimenting on this page i began with a fineliner. I started drawing lines, going different directions of cross hatching very compact in the top left corner. Then drawing long, straight, lines coming out across the page before starting to draw loose, wavy lines. I repeated the dense line drawing in the bottom right corner but with wavy lines. I thought this random, on the spot idea worked well with what i was intending to show. The rigid lines are information learnt that are then processed and help create new, original ideas which you see happening on the page as the straight lines turn into waves. As human minds are more complicated than that i ripped up a piece of paper that had dried paint on. I had used this page as a palette to roll paint on a rolling pin for another piece. I thought how the colours marked the page in patches and mixed together was interesting, like different aspects of a personality creates different thought tracks and are all used to come up with original ideas. I ripped this page up and stuck it down on the page, pieces layering over each other as our memories and thoughts are influenced by each other therefore overlapping. To fill in the white gaps on the pieces of ripped paper i drew a mix of cross hatching and wavy lines but the opposite sides from the first page. The way the lines on the layered paper interacts with the lines on the first page is intriguing as you have to look closely to tell the type of lines (wavy or straight) apart. This reflects how it is hard to understand all our thoughts and dreams as sections get confusing all lost.
   To develop this experiment i would like to try it with different materials like coloured cellophane sheets, using paint or felt marker pens to draw lines on one side. Maybe try drawing the lines in a ball in the middle of the page, half cross hatch and half wavy lines with sparks of lines coming out. These lines merged together in a ball represent the brain. Or half them on either side of the page. So a semicircle of cross hatch lines on the left with lines coming out that turn wavy which goes into a semi circle wavy line drawing on the right. Similar to like neurons creating impulses as they pass through.

Candy Floss

   Candy floss was another thing i decided to look into when thinking about childhood. Whenever i went to the faire or rollercoaster park i got candy floss. I was reminded of this when with my friends on bonfire night. I took a quick picture of my friend eating candy floss and the way the light shines through the edges of the piece i thought was interesting, the effects of light always interest me. The bright light in the right top corner of the picture was also engaging for me, especially with the person standing in front as the light shines over their shoulder.
    Using some cut up piece of tshirt i stuck it down and proceeded to paint the candyfloss on the page and tshirt. I had a mix of light pink, hot pink, white and purple that i let mix on the page as i painted in spirals/circles. Afterwards i added more white as the other colours didn't stand out on the grey fabric. The contrast between the two sides of the page with light and dark affecting the colours reflects well with the shadows and light in the picture of the candyfloss. To emphasise the light edges on the candyfloss i stuck some lace on the dark fabrics. Then on the paper side, using biro. i scribbled a drawing of the hand holding the candyfloss. Also some loose scribbles around the candyfloss edge, leaving a gap for the light shining through the candyfloss effect.
    I'm quite happy with how this experiment turned out as it was very improvised in the moment. The use of different fabrics layering up is quite interesting for me as the different texture is more fun compared to paper. To experiment with these aspects i could of created the candyfloss by sticking pulled apart wool to the page as the texture is similar to candy floss. This would make the candy floss seem more real and viewers would be able to touch and even pull some parts off as if it was real. This idea makes me think about how kids use props and pretend they are the real thing through imagination and i would of recreated that imagination for the viewers.

Fireworks

   I recreated this picture of fireworks from bonfire night using acrylic paint. Developing my skills in full paintings is something i would like to do as i struggle with using paints to create images; i haven't mastered the waiting for the paint to dry before layering the next paint. Bonfire night has always been enjoyable since childhood, wrapping up warm for the cold, creating Guy Fawkes, homemade toffee, the fireworks display and roller coaster rides down the park. The fireworks themself are alluring, no one can resist looking out their window when they hear fireworks. My favourite fireworks are the ones that explode then sparkle out as the little glistening explosions are very striking and remind me of jewelry glistening in the light. Fireworks exploding made me think about ideas happening in the mind or how something eye catching can inspire ideas.
   I roughly painted the background with black, in a criss cross motion letting the paint strokes dry. This was inspired by Van Gogh's paint style and i like the texture the thick paint creates. I would of liked to have carried on creating a thick texture with the paint on the fireworks so they had a 3D effect on the page but i didnt have the time to let it dry. I think that's what lets this piece down the most as the colours would of been able to pop out of the page really well if i made the fireworks 3D. Instead i used a paint brush which i wasn't able to catch the neon brightness or motion of the fireworks. To improve this i should go back and finish building up the paint to make it 3D on the fireworks. I like the uneven border created by the criss cross technique i did with the background paint. I filled the edges with geometric red lines which are subtle around the edges but when focusing on that detail i find i really adore the turn out. I would like to repeat and develop the background/edges technique on future paintings as i think it adds an interesting, complex border.

Lifeless

    This drawing was observational of an old leaf i picked up on a walk when i was little. This leaf interested my friend and i as it was really big and i kept it for memories. I drew it with an old twig i picked up from outside, on this piece of floral fabric. The pattern and colours of the fabric make me think of the patterns usually seen in elderly houses that have aged over time. With the dead leaf and twig it made me think of lifeless objects, used, faded and gone but still preserved. Like how people pass away but their ideas live on and inspire others. They leave their mark on the world.
   Using a fineliner i drew on the paper and fabric to see how it worked on the different texture. It was quite smooth but needed more pressure for the ink to appear completely on the fabric. I tried different techniques of drawing with the twig, lines and dots, but i still need to practice those techniques for it to look effective. I don't think i have the patience with constantly using the dotting technique carefully and rushing it doesn't seem to work well.for effectiveness. However, i enjoy using the scribbling technique so used this for the leaf. I like the loose but rigid shape of the leaf i have created by building up the lines around the edges and the leaf veins. I did continuous lines which i think worked well in creating this shape. I also like the fewer lines around the edges coming out of the leaf as it appears quite messy and natural.
   To improve this i would change the composition of the leaf and stick. I would take them outside and put them in a natural setting, by dropping them near other twigs and leaves, then look at it from different angles to see which is most interesting. I would also draw the stick and other surrounding in the same scribble technique to create a setting as it would look interesting on the fabric and paper. I could add other different patterned fabrics, layering them on top of each other but sticking to an earth colour palette to keep it natural. This creates an autumn feel which works with things being lifeless as thats when plants begin to die and it gets darker.

Mind

   I drew this face using fine liner in a loose scribbling technique. I didn't go into deep detail of the face as i continued loose scribbles fading out to show how people can become really distant from reality, even having the feeling of just drifting through time and not feeling really grounded. The blue, scraped, acrylic paint represents fantasy that's taking over their mind. By just scraping the paint and not creating a distinct shape or line shows how it is not real and unhealthy to grasp onto as it is in place of half the face as if the lines faded into the paint, becoming apart of the fantasy and leaving reality. Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
  The colour blue is associated with stability and to have a calming effect on our minds. I thought this worked with the idea of  a fantasy being used as an escape to cope. A fantasy can be healthy to a certain measure, if this drawing was to depict a healthy type of creativity i would draw the entire face, building up the scribbles to make more distinct features in the face. There would be less loose scribbles coming out of the face as the person would be more controlled, instead the loose lines would be more sharp and straight coming out like sparks opf ideas. The blue paint would be mixed with other colours like yellow, white, and red to show the flow of creativity in the mind, the paint strokes would be on the face with the fineliner over the top.
  To improve this piece i would work on my facial features drawing quality, especially the eye as it is not very realistic. I would like to experiment on drawing the face more faint to show the idea of being more distant from reality. I could probably develop this into three pieces beginning with the faintest face drawing, then this piece and lastly the full face. It could be viewed from either direction as someone beginning with a healthy creative mind then falling into being trapped in a fantasy mind or vice versa. I would also draw the face smaller so its more distant and not so powerful on the page. If it was smaller the viewer would have to look closer and it would not catch their eye so quickly like a person daydreaming is very zoned out and its hard for them to focus as they are so distant.