Week 2 - Naomi Lister and mark making

This week we looked at marks created around town, for example; graffiti and marks that aren’t uniform to others like the layering of bricks, but marks which have no pattern. We went out taking photos of these, I particularly liked the graffiti that was painted on a light in a tunnel under the railway.

The light distorts what the word actually says and I recreated this by overlapping the letters in ‘bright’ at the top of the page in graphite. I carried on responding to this by adding straight lines which show how light travels. I also used more curved marks to present the shape of the light bulbs. I used a rubber to create more contrast and add more light. I then included dark marks which are similar to paint drippings on a wall.

We looked at Naomi Lister, an artist who uses mixed media to respond to situations.

 

  

I responded to the marks by layering

 emulsion onto them and using the

rubber to create smudges in the paint.

Week1/2 - Cy Twombly and mark making

 

During this week, we have looked at other students' work and described it, looking at meaning and who we think the individual is as a person. We took these words and formed paragraphs about whatever we liked. We chose specific words to write in different mediums of our choice. I decided to use charcoal and chalk. I used a fluid movement to portray the word 'joined' as this is a word of unity. I used my fingers to write the word 'transfer' as I wanted it to look like it had been literally transferred onto the page from another object. Also, I wrote 'cell' repeatedly and formed a circular shape to mimic the shape of some cells.


We went on to look at Cy Twombly, an artist who is inspired by Mediterranean history, Greek and Roman mythology and literature. I particularly like the piece called Ferragosto V, 1961, Rome. Ferragosto is when the Roman Catholics celebrate the assumption of virgin Mary into heaven. This is a popular festival and so I think that this piece presents how chaotic the 15th of August is in Italy. The long marks show how people try to travel quickly on this day and take long weekends. The layering of paint and other mediums like wax crayon and pencil presents how people emerge from across Italy to celebrate this event and visit the museums there. Twombly often writes literature or emotions in his work and responds to them over the top; this creates a lot of depth to his pieces.

I went on to layer emulsion paint onto my work, using different mark making techniques using cardboard and my hands. I used a circular emotion surrounding 'pressure', with the paint becoming more opaque on the outskirts. I then went over this with graphite and wrote 'conform' as I believe that people feel pressured to conform. I also experimented with letting the paint drip on the page, which I liked as it doesn't make a determined mark. I liked this because it can show lack of control or the sporadic nature of something. I made different marks with the paint, for example short rigid ones that could be used to present alarm. From this task, I can now see that marks can have a big impact on the meaning of a piece.

Week 1

I have only been here for a few days and I’m already noticing the differences between GCSE Art at AGS and A-level. I was used to being given topics to explore, for example, portraiture, which I’m hoping to steer away from when doing A-level. I did a lot of this at GCSE, which I was capable at but didn’t enjoy it; it always seemed like a chore. From hearing the variety that other students’ ‘who am I?’ projects have, I can already see the greater freedom that A-level will allow me to have.

In my induction task, I focussed mainly on still life and discovered new artists like Jo Bradney and Catherine Beetham. I chose this over portraiture and landscapes because they don’t interest me. Objects can usually seem simplistic but a collection of them is what brings character to our homes and often, some of them have sentimental value. I am also influenced by Barbara Kruger, a feminist artist, as I believe that everyone should have the freedom to pursue their goals – both male and female. I think it is important to become an individual and not be warped by others’ beliefs and actions.

However, figurative art does interest me but I found it difficult to do a drawing that was observational. The body is something that is unique and some people become obsessed with the idea of dieting and perfecting their body image. I want to convey how you can’t set your goal to look like a certain celebrity, because we’re all different.

Also, I have a military family and so I thought it could be interesting to look at that side of my life. My Dad’s side is military orientated and is something that I’m incredibly proud of. I would like to look at their training and their tours. Perhaps I could look at the significance of poppies during World War I.  I have photos of my Dad’s service in the army so already have a starting point. I could then go onto looking at the rest of my family and looking at the means of communication between home and elsewhere – for example, the letter I sent to my cousin while he was on tour. I could do studies of medals and look at how the media try to keep up morale at home both in the World Wars and in more recent ones.

Who Am I?

Catherine Beetham

In this response, I tried to capture the fragility of certain objects, like the mug. I like how the light and dark provide a reflection and proves how everything may not be as it seems. I used oil pastels for this and the marks go all the same way - like Beetham does. I think that the dark background promotes an eeriness about the mug and makes people question such a mundane object.

Marion McConaghie

I like how this artist is more expressive and doesn't let her line drawings restrict her when adding colour. I have used watercolour, paint, pencil, and pen to create depth. when applying the paint, I used my fingers and paper to help with not being too precise. By making the centre black, I tried to draw attention to the butterfly and make it more striking.

Barbara  Kruger

I chose to look at Kruger because she provides important lessons or thinking points in her work I wrote "take your own path" as I believe that it is important to be an individual and challenge society's expectation of your ambitions.

David Hockney

I chose to focus on the view from my bedroom window but making the trees the focal point. as i decided to use oil pastels for this, I didn't recreate Hockney's style  - where he uses abstract marks to add detail to trees. Therefore, I would use paint in the future to achieve this. I like how Hockney uses bright colours to present how life is so beautiful.

Jo Bradney

In this response, I have drawn an apple in charcoal and used oil pastel to add flecks of colour. I like how Bradney uses colour in a minimalistic way as it reflects how sight is a blessing amongst the darkness of the charcoal.

Alison Lambert

I like the way Lambert layers paper to cover her mistakes as it shows that good things come from them. Although she is a portraiture artist, I chose to draw a bag because it can be filled with many thing from a healthy lunch to tear-filled tissues. Therefore, it can carry the ups and downs of someone's life. However, the scale of this drawing is too small and  so the charcoal isn't effective.