Week 6 - working in the style of my artists and incorporating the military theme

I began by looking at Tyrone Dalby, an artist who works onto surfaces such as maps.

I found that working straight onto the map was difficult as the light reflected off

the graphite. So instead I focussed on a section of the bottle and did a more tonal

study of the bottle. I then added the maps to suggest tone and I think that this method was a lot more successful.

I then did a study of the soda bottle and added military photos to it to suggest tone. These photos are black and white and so the study has a lot of contrast. I should have added more tone using a pencil or biro as well as using the maps so it looks like glass.

Following this, I experimented with collaging the images in different ways. I tore the image into strips and stuck each piece in the order so the original photo looked disjointed. I then drew the bottle over the top of this. I wasn't happy with the outcome of this as I think that the way the image is placed, it suggests the idea of unharmonious working, yet in the military everyone is supposed to support one another. I then tore the image and layered it on top of each other, creating a circular shape. This suggests commitment and togetherness rather than a divide between individuals in the first experiement. I drew the bottle over it and noticed that the bottom part of it is the most noticeable as it is on the paper. Next time, I am going to add a thin layer of white emulsion over the image so that there is more contrast as it is currently difficult to see the biro drawing on top of a relatively dark image.

I have began to start experimenting with materials to use when representing uniform. I started using chalks and found that layering colour and smudging it creates a more fabric looking texture, rather than harsh or soft marks made directly with the chalk. I have also used oil paint and found that the colours were a lot more vivid.

Week 5

I looked at using mixed media again to represent my object. This time incorporating coffee to add tonal value, along with biro and graphite. I think that I could've used the biro more in the bottom half of the bottle as there isn't much contrast. Although I tried to use the coffee granules to add tone, I don't think this was very effective as applying them with my hands didn't provide much precision. However, the outcome reminded me of the fizz in this drink and so it could be used to reperesent this if I was to look at carbonated drinks.

With this, I tried to portray movement. I focussed more on capturing the shape of the bottle rather than the tone, because in movement the shape is more likely what you would see. By drawing this at different angles, applying less pressure with the pencil, it looks like the bottle is being shaken. However, when it came to drawing the bottle in a darker way, i think it would've been easier to use graphite rather than a pencil. I was surprised by the outcome of this as I didn't expect it to portray movement so well just by layering drawings at different angles.

I abstracted the curvature of the bottle and responded to it, using graphite newspaper, white emulsion and coffee. I used a lot of curved marks, but I think that this piece is still too focussed on the bottle rather than an emotional response to it.

I went onto responding more to the bottle and created more contrast by using black emulsion and biro. I began by mapping out sections of shadows on the page, and went onto layering the sharp edges of the bottle top over it. I used the harsher shapes of the bottle and the curved line to juxtapose each other in the composition. Overall, this piece portrays confusion and conflict, as the layers of different marks create a sense of turbulence.

I chose another object to study, and decided to do a pencil drawing first. This bottle is one that we (myself, brother, Auntie and Uncle) found on the old site of a factory when walking to my Grandad and Grandma's house one evening. The site was covered in shattered bottles, this being the most intact one we could find, and broken clay pipes. The drawing doesn't capture the shape of the bottle very well, as it isn't explicit that it is round. Also the layers of glass cannot be seen, perhaps a mixed media study will be able to capture this better.

Week 6

This week I am going to focus on military life through working in the style of two of my researched artists - Kristy Patterson and Tyrone Dalby. I am going to look at the more mundane side of Army life by using photographs of my Dad's service whilst in this country. Looking at Kristy Patterson, I am going to take objects from these photographs which have a similar theme and use watercolour and pen onto book pages. I will bring a book that I can use the pages from. Furthermore, I am going to use maps like Tyrone Dalby to portray the tasks in the photos, for example weight lifting. For both of these artists I need to collate more images of their work. By the end of the week I want to have responded to both of these artists and be ready to go onto look at army recruitment campaigns during World War II and the present day.

During the October break, I am going to visit the War Games exhibiton at the Herbert Art Gallery and take photographs of how life in the home country is different to now. This exhibiton will highlight the debate of child exposure to war, for example, the reality of war wasn't spoken about during the period of the World Wars, whereas now, some content is easily accessible on the internet and there are also games which involve war. While I am in Coventry, I will visit Coventry Cathedral and try to gather information on the effects of the Blitz in the city.

Week 4 - Observational drawing and mixed media

In the lesson today, we drew our objects using biro. I drew, once again, the glass Coca-Cola bottle that my Uncle and Auntie got me when the named bottles were popular, as my name wasn't printed by them. I stuck pieces of newspaper on the page, experimenting with drawing over the top and also mainly on the page to see what made the object stand out. I layered emulsion onto the newspaper and found that it created even more contrast in the drawing. I then went onto rip a desired shape of newspaper and drew over that. Reflecting on the drawing now, I can see that the shape of the newspaper doesn't accentuate the shape of the bottle. I also used graphite to add tone and found that it gave a softer mark which was useful for establishing neither the shadow or highlight of the bottle.

Going on to use biro, newspaper, emulsion and graphite, I think this drawing is more cohesive than the previous. First of all I stuck two pieces of newspaper onto the page, leaving a space between them. I placed a thin layer of emulsion over the text so it was less prominent, as I think that on the last drawing the text had too much attention is drawn to it. I sketched out the shape of the bottle using biro and used graphite to start adding subtle tone. I then crosshatched with biro to show the darker shadows and reflections on the glass. I used emulsion again over the top to show the points where the light hit the glass. I also think that the space between the newspaper adds to showing the light on the bottle, which was accidental but I will do this in the future.
















An artist who uses mixed media involving newspaper is Carme Magem. I like the way that the words add tone to the skin by using dark backgrounds with white writing to create the shadow under the arm. The straight brushstrokes present the body to be simple, but the writing juxtaposes this and reveals the body and mind to be more complex.

Week 4

From drawing the Coca-Cola bottle this week I have realised that I like studying glass as it creates interesting reflections.When I used coffee staining in my mixed media piece, I liked the aged effect that it gave. I firstly put a wash of it in the shape of the bottle and used it to add flecks of tone.

Looking around the Museum of Natural History, although animals and fossils do not interest me, they provided patterns that I liked. For example, the skin of a snake and the striking colours of different minerals.  I also think that I am going to find something military related over the weekend to draw as I want to look at this part of my family. I want to start studying a new object next week as I have looked at the bottle a lot now. I need to incorporate something else that represents me into my work. At the moment, I like looking at mark making and I think I may look at abstract work in the future, depending on what route I end up taking. I would like to experiment with it for sure.

Going on into Pitt Rivers, I seen a recycled piece that I liked and decided to draw. It was a lamp made from a misprinted tin in India. I think the shape of the glass caught my attention and it was this that made me realise that I want to look at glass objects more.