HND Fine Art/First Year/Mark Making Part.1

Chagall exhibition-Tate Liverpool (September)

I visited the Chagall exhibition at the Tate Liverpool. Visiting this exhibition gave me an insight into narrative art work. The arrangement of his work allowed me to feel as if I was viewing the world and his life from his eyes. His art work is based upon his life, especially his religion and the war. Through his work he creates a fantasy like dimension of what he sees his life as, or what he wants to see it as, it would of been exceptionally different if it was not for the war. I enjoyed looking for the little hidden symbols and  messages he sneaks into his work, which add mystery and meaning. His use of Cubism, surrealism, Fauvism and symbolism allows him to create an aesthetically intricate, emotional, dream like visions with vivid, dramatic colours.

Mark making
 
My first project on the HND course is  mark making. Using marks to create drawing, interesting compositions, or to record sound. I started by listening to my heartbeat and pulse, and instinctively creating a mark to represent it. I also walked in a circle and recorded the sound of my footsteps. Just doing these simple exercises produced a variety of different marks.

This is the start of a large scale piece I created using a variety of marks. I also added wire.
I got these marks from my ''Mind umbilical chord'' and my previous mark making.

Working further into my piece, I started to experiment with different techniques and media to see what marks I could produce. I used black card, newsprint, netting, fabric, wool and wire to collage my work. I then worked with a variety of mediums; chalk, compressed and willow charcoal, ink, paint, and graphite. I enjoy the process of being free within my work, with no boundaries. I believe my overall composition is successful to show my experimentation with various medias.
  
These are a few close up photographs of my work.
  
Next I moved onto creating another large scale piece. To get my composition I chose certain parts from my above piece to create a new, exciting, energy filled drawing. I looked into CY Twombly, Philip Guston and Jackson Pollock for inspiration and influence.
 

I looked into these artists because of their expressive, organic mark making. Twombly especially, as he is my favorite gestural, expressive artist. I looked into Twombly's blackboard paintings because they vary in line, from repeated to enlarged. The repeated lines do not offer a vocal point therefore your eyes are constantly moving around the drawing. The lines are created in a sense of urgency but they still have a point of control. I looked into Philip Guston because of his use of application of mark making, use of white space and the contrast between the black of his marks and the background. He does not fill his pieces instead he keeps white space allowing the painting to breath. These show me that sometimes keeping a painting or drawing simpler is creates a more successful outcome. I Have always been in awe of Pollock's paintings and looking at his work and how he layers the paint gave me a idea to create a similar effect but using wool instead. I wanted to try and incorporate a type of 3D element into my work, and dropping the wool allowed me to do that. It also landed in a natural way in which I did not have much control over.

Before I began my Large piece I experimented on a few A1 pieces of paper. Again With this piece it was all about me being expressive and not thinking to much about what I was trying to produce.

This was my final outcome. It is a very quick, gestural, expressive piece focusing on mark making and media. I think this piece is successful for a quick study because of the flow of the composition.

Moving on I wanted to improve and expand my composition. I created a few extra studies in my work book, experimenting with size, media and mark making. I chose my landscape studies to push forward, because It represented a timeline of movement, and action. I Experimented with over painting in the style of CY Twombly, Philip Guston and Jackson Pollock. I am going to push this idea forward onto a series of A1 papers attached together to create a long landscape piece.

This is the start of my landscape piece. I collaged  the background with a variety of media from paper, bags and sponge to create texture. When applying the paint over these areas they gave off a different mark. I worked with paint, chalk, charcoal, ink and graphite, creating a varied tonal range. I used this media to create expressive and gestural mark making in a energetic way.

print-
In print I focused on Mono Print. With my first few studies I experimented with with what marks and textures I could create. I had fun in this lesson, messing around with the technique and seeing what the outcomes where like. Doing this helps me gain a deeper understanding of what is successful and what is unsuccessful.
 
Life class-
This was life class with a difference. Instead of accurately drawing the figure, I continuously moved around the model drawing different shapes and tones I saw. I layered them over each other in a style similar to what I have been working in. The object of this session was to stay away from being representational. My first few studies were still slightly representational, but after that I got into the flow of being expressive and not to cautious with my marks.

Finishing the background of my landscape piece, I looked back through my sketchbook at my compositions.I decided to over paint the drawing, with a long white line.

I applied the line with a textured roller from the print room. Using this allowed me to apply the paint thickly and quickly. It also applied with a bumpy texture and some of the drawing underneath could still be seen.I wanted to Create this composition for be 3D, so I added wire and wool in front of it, so it came out in-front of the composition. I could still ''draw'' with the 3D mediums. The wire gave me a solid line to work into, where as the wool gave me organic, flowing shapes. I did not apply the wool in a planned out way, I allowed it to hang in it's own shape. The thinner black wool produced some very interesting intricate shapes, all which relate back to my starting point of my pulse, footsteps and mind umbilical chord.
 
These are two photos  I took from different angles. It gives you an idea of the depth and overall composition layout.

I created this long piece by dropping wool down onto the paper and drawing in and around the shapes it created. I created a few different layers by throwing the wool down a few times. I worked into certain parts with charcoal, chalk and ink, trying to keep a flow to the composition. Dropping the wool created a very organic, unforced composition. I wanted to create a 'movement' and a 'flow' and not having to much control over how the wool landed allowed me to do that.

Changing my composition around, I removed the drawing from behind the wire and wool piece. I then started to experiment with the projector. The projector gave my composition shadows, which created depth, line and positive and negative space. I could also move the projector around as if I were drawing with the light itself.

This is a close up of the shadows given from the projector.

I placed wool over the projector in certain ways to add into the composition.


I also used the wool to create words that I could incorporate into my image along with just throwing the wool down over the projector. I wanted to experiment with a variety of ideas before creating anything else because I wanted to play around and get used to using the projector and seeing what things I could do with it.

A few images of me and a friend (Georgia) experimenting with the wool on top of the projector. 

YOU CAN VIEW MY VIDEOS UNDER THE SIDE BAR OF HND FINE ART-VIDEOS.

Next I started to record the shadows using a pencil. The more intricate shapes were created by the thinner black wool, which created interesting, organic shapes.

I drew two definite Lines which are similar to a heartbeat or veins.I wanted them to be the focal point so you eyes would travel across it. I went along the lines and drew the denser sections of shadows. These reminded me of veins, travelling in all different directions. I used the end of my pencil to create the marks because I did not want to have to much control over the media. I wanted the lines to flow in a natural way. 

I used the same technique on my second piece however, with this piece I used black and red ink. I used the black ink to emphasize my focal lines. I did these lines horizontally before turning my paper vertically. I turned it vertically so when I applied the red ink it would drip downwards.

This was the final outcome so far for this piece. Again I applied the ink quite watery and loosely so it could flow organically. I enjoyed recording the shadows because they created really elegant, flowing marks.

These are a couple of my simple collograph prints. I applied ''No nails'' onto a piece of cardboard and worked into it using a pencil so it became textured. I allowed this time to dry so it became hard. Collographs are my favorite type of prints because I can collage the board with various materials to create interesting marks and textures. Also when creating these the outcomes are always going to be different, therefore it adds a sense of uniqueness. I cant wait to improve and push these compositions further. Print has never been my strongest point so I want to try and really improve in this area.

This is a collograph print, where I have overprinted with a piece of cotton which I had covered in red ink.


I placed my collograph print (which i had printed on assitate) and placed in onto the projector to see how it would project onto the wall. I thought it was effective how you could still see the texture and different marks i had created.

Next I started to experiment with using black paper instead of white. I could still clearly see the shadows that the projector light was giving off.

I started to work onto the card using the same technique I had with my previous strip. Using the white paint to contrast against the black, and using the red to create a vibrant, heart beat like line.The white lines reminded me of veins traveling in all different directions.

This was my final outcome for this strip, I did enjoy the simplicity of this process and outcome, but I had reverted back to working flatly which is what I was trying to move away from. I had a speak with my tutor which really helped me come back to what I was trying to achieve with my non-traditional, unusual, flowing work. After the talk I felt like I could start experimenting again with different media. Water and ink.