Comparison to Vlad Kulkov

  Vlad Kulkov is an artist born in Latvia, Liepaya in 1986. He graduated from Saint-Petersburg Art and Industry academy. His work has been exhibited in Arterloga,- Moscow, The Armory show, Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow Museum of Modern Art and The Hort Family Collection. Kulkov now lives, studies and works in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
His work is created using different coloured markers, producing both harsh and rounded marks. He works onto paper, sometimes using ink too.

I have been influenced by Kulkov's work as the unity between the marks interests me and reminds me of camouflage. Accents of fluorescent pink contrast the green and provide an interesting element to the piece with makes the observer inquisitive to what this is representing. I began using permanent markers but I found that these marks were too thick for the small scale that I was working on. The piece that I am currently working on is a mixed media drawing of a fusilier. I have used newspaper, photographs from London, white emulsion paint, 6B pencil, graphite and black biro in this drawing. Over the top of this I am working in the style of Kulkov by creating similar rounded marks using ball point pen and crayon as this is a finer medium for the scale that I am working on. I am using black biro to create the darker areas and crosshatching areas to add more tonal representation. Using a green crayon adds subtle colour to the background, these marks are short and straight but arranged in a curved fashion like Kulkov does. A bright pink ball point pen is providing most of the colour but I think I am going use red,yellow and blue over this as these are the colours that are in the photographs on the page.

Artist Analysis - Vlad Kulkov

  Vlad Kulkov is an artist born in Latvia, Liepaya in 1986. He graduated from Saint-Petersburg Art and Industry academy. His work has been exhibited in Arterloga,- Moscow, The Armory show, Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow Museum of Modern Art and The Hort Family Collection. Kulkov now lives, studies and works in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

 Untitled, 2010 - marker on paper
                         - 120 x 185cm
This piece is created using different coloured markers, producing both harsh and rounded marks. In the centre of the piece, the marks are rounded and appear almost bubble-like, this could perhaps be representing clouds. The majority of the centre is dark green, but a dark blue is providing harmony to this. However, accents of fluorescent pink contrast the green and provide an interesting element to the piece with makes the observer inquisitive to what this is representing. It could represent pollution in the clouds or sea. The way that the rounded marks interlock is similar to the way that camouflage interlocks with each other or the way a squadron work as a solid team. The rounded marks could present a soldier's expansive skillset. As you look outwards, the marks become straighter and sharper, the piece becomes less dense, yet dense areas begin to form in collations near the top.

The marks made in this piece vary and the short, straight marks arranged in a curved nature moves the observer's eye around the piece so that it is all analysed. The contrasting marks are somewhat confusing but allow the observer to question the meaning behind them. The colours are kept quite dark, for example green,blue and purple, allowing a dense figure to be formed in the centre of the piece. The harmonious colours create are compacted figure that features in the centre. Accents of fluorescent pink and yellow create several points of interest. There is heavy tonal representation created by Kulkov in the centre of the piece which is developed by layering the markers. This piece is 2D but dimension is created within it through shading and highlighting.

The subject in the centre looks free-flowing, perhaps mimicking the growth of an organic structure. Although most of the colour is dark and rich, the fluorescent colours could portray coral in the depths of the sea. However, the contrasting marks could depict a chaotic battleground and the fluorescent colours representing explosions and sparks.

Whilst looking at this piece, I realised that there could be more contrast by using a thicker substance such as ink to create a denser centre. Also, ink is thin enough to be able to create movement. However, when doing further research into Kulkov, I came across work that did use ink in a similar way to this. Ink can create a transparency of perhaps hiding identity or shielding others from the details of war. I think ink would be successful in pursuing this concept further in my work.

I have been influenced by Kulkov's work as the unity between the marks interests me and reminds me of camouflage. Accents of fluorescent pink contrast the green and provide an interesting element to the piece with makes the observer inquisitive to what this is representing. I began using permanent markers but I found that these marks were too thick for the small scale that I was working on. The piece that I am currently working on is a mixed media drawing of a fusilier. I have used newspaper, photographs from London, white emulsion paint, 6B pencil, graphite and black biro in this drawing. Over the top of this I am working in the style of Kulkov by creating similar rounded marks using ball point pen and crayon as this is a finer medium for the scale that I am working on. I am using black biro to create the darker areas and crosshatching areas to add more tonal representation. Using a green crayon adds subtle colour to the background, these marks are short and straight but arranged in a curved fashion like Kulkov does. A bright pink ball point pen is providing most of the colour but I think I am going use red,yellow and blue over this as these are the colours that are in the photographs on the page.

Week 17

In today's lesson I am going to look at creating the marks that Kulkov did by sewing into fabric. I will also add his technique to the drawing of the hackle that I did in the other lesson and have this running along side the sewing too.
-I did like the effect that the sewing gave but it was very time consuming so I think I will use this technique to add extra smaller details to other compositions that I produce in the future.
-I experimented using a sewing machine as this is a quicker method. I used varying stiches to create different marks.

In this lesson I aim to finish the collaged piece I started a few weeks ago which I became bored with. I am collaging my dad's photographs, my photographs from my trip to London and green and red layered monoprints to form a pocket from a pair of camouflage trousers. I am then going to photocopy this and work in the of Vlad Kulkov over the top of this.
- The idea of collaging my work and photographs but it is a tedious process which I need to find a way to simplify it. Perhaps I could enlarge the size of each camouflage section so that there are fewer intricate shapes. Also, I added detail to the pocket using biro to represent stitching and folds. Furthermore I could actually stitch these marks into the piece to make it look more realistic. I photocopied the product in both colour and black and white, I have began to work over the black and white copy in the style of Kulkov and I believe it is beginning to provide accents of colour.

Week 16

I am working in the style of Vlad Kulkov, by using the same techniques over my images of my Dad and cousin in the army. I am using permjanent marker over the print out of my Dad's photograph.
- In today's lesson I found that permanent marker provided thicker lines than I wanted, but I opted to use this as the ballpoint pens weren't working over the smooth surface of the photograph. To combat this, I could either, work on a larger scale or select a finer medium like biro.

I am going to work in the style of my new artist again, but instead of a cutting that is stuck in my sketchbook. Also, I am not using permanent marker this time, I am using ballpoint pen, biro and pencil crayon.
- I found that using a finer medium was most effective as it represented the finer lines in Kulkov's work.

Whilst drawing, I have noticed that my previous studies need more layering on them and so I am going to add more colour with crayon and pen. Also, I am going to surround the soldiers with more tone using black biro. I will then be able to replicate this technique over my mixed media drawing of the hackle.

-  I did achieve the style of the artist to a more representable level on Thursday through layering the marks. I am still yet to do this over my drawing of the hackle. I noticed that the marks used by Kulkov almost look like stitching, so I am going to look at stitching these marks into fabric on Monday.

Week 15

This week I monoprinted layers of shades and tints of red over the dark green hue of camouflage. I found the darker shade of red to look most effective over the green as it added more subtle depth to the mono print. As I used a different brand of printing ink for this, the 'red' was more of a coral colour and when mixed with black it looked purple. So in effect, the mono print which was most successful was where the purple colour was layered over the top.
I decided to look back at my sketchbook and picked out elements of what I liked. The piece with the newspaper and photographs making the trousers interested me most and so I decided to use the same concept, but instead with my mono prints, photographs from the London trip I went on in December and with my Dad's photographs. When I am finished, it will form the shape of a pocket that I drew previously in my sketchbook. Whilst doing this, I found that the process was very tedious and I was becoming bored.
At this point, I looked at injecting another artists work into my own. I found an artist called Vlad Kulkov and I have been using pen and pencil crayon to recreate the techniques which are used in his pieces.

 

 In Monday's lesson I am going to focus on adding this to my black and white photos to decorate it with some colour, I will use crosshatching, using pen and pencil crayon again.
Another part of my sketchbook that I like is the mixed media drawings that I did towards the start of the first term. I am going to do some observational studies of some sporting medals. After this I am going to photocopy my drawing and experiment with ways of adding my influence from the artists I have chosen.

Week 14

This week, in the critique it was mentioned that the cut-outs on my final piece were confusing and didn't add to the composition. So, because of this, I decided to experiment with not having these in the piece. Also, it was said that my images were low quality, so I used a more recent image of my cousin. I thought that there was a limited colour palette in my piece and so decided to experiment with using different colours in my monoprints.
I incorporated primary colours into the monoprints by layering it over the darker green print. This extended the colour palette of the small compositions I was creating. I cut out the three soldiers and placed them over the top, trialling it with a black and white copy and a full colour copy.

Personally, I think that using red works well as it compliments the green and so I am going to look at using different tints and shades of red against the dark green. Also, I for the last image, I used a dry brush and acrylic paint to add colour. The idea of using multiple colours interest me and so I am going to carry on looking at this. Furthermore, I am unsure on whether using a black and white photograph, or a colour one is most effective.