My collages; process.

First I collect together images that I deem appropriate and that I can see a collage within from various aspects of the images. If you didn't know already, the eyes and mouth particularly fascinate me, I choose them first and then generally shape the rest of the face around them.

I then carefully rip the aspects of the faces out that I want, being careful not to rip through any details, this is particularly important in piecing my images together.


The final image looks something like this (I apologise for the poor quality, I took this as it was on the wall ready for exhibiting - the next post shows all my work ready to be viewed).

What I've been upto this Semester...

This is simply an update on the development of my current work - the post after this will feature my final drawings etc. These drawings are a combination of 5 minute drawings and more detailed drawings, all produced from collaged images, of which I will show a few in the next post also, as I will develop them far enough to exist as their own pieces I believe.
Some of these haven't worked, though the idea is still there, it purley depends how well the collage translates into a drawing, and so some look terrible, some don't. I believe this was because I needed to spend much more time with the drawings aswell as the collages in the first place, to care for them and push to improve them as much as possible, giving them the utmost in time and effort to perfect them. Five minutes or a few hours was not enough, quantity should not surpass quality, and I believe I have learnt my mistake in my second wave of works, as featured in the next post.

The layout of my works (in a different room - did you see the size of my space in the last blog?)

Here is the layout of the room I have utilised to harbour my final works. I have at the far end of the table my sketchbook, closer there is a clutter of relevent imagery, and closest are three canvases I deemed unworthy works to feature on the walls!


I placed the three main large pieces directly infront of the desks, placing the desks at an optimal viewing range to stand behind, but at the same time giving a good space upfront to go into detail and visually explore the pieces. I think the pieces work well this way round, with the two smaller pieces to the left of standing at the tables,as it moves people around the space, moving up and down the tables, around to view all the pieces on the walls. I am happy with the finished room layout!




The ladies just hangin' out, crying and such...



The three female musketeers. Unfortunately my lense wasn't wide enough to take all three alongside each other, given there size, and the fact there was a wall behind me. Either way, just cut and past them from this blog into paint! Huzzah.

Two new pieces! The last two of my 2nd year project.

So here they are, in all their... well here they are anyway, this is the second to last one I did, and I am really happy with it. The idea behind it is Cinderella in despair at her existence, her dark, tortured life looming over her head, her broken home shattered below.





So, house paint base coat, with a house paint and black and white ink merging of media in the face, just inks around the top and bottom; roughly 8"x5" in size, a good size piece, painted on loose canvas.
Here is the latest one that I have done, definately my favourite along side the above piece also...






According to my rough calculations this is also 8"x5", a good round favourite size of mine to work on, and it is painted with a household paint background, black and white inks for the foreground aswell as bleach hints; painted on loose canvas.



And as promised! Here is my work space, this is where I produced my work for this year (it used to be completely white walls and grey floor - BORING!), it is a place that I have tried to spruce up haha.

Mmm orange juice with bits (NOT FROM CONCENTRATE.) and some lovely colours. You can kind of see the different sizes of pieces that I've done on the wall to left, centre, and kind of to the far right of the image aswell.



Doesn't that look lovely? Everyone should have their own I say, give it a go.

Title rant and new piece huzzah

Ok so here's a new update. This is the most recent piece I have created, it's a piece based on Cinderella and her 'broken home', hence the er, falling down building. Anyway, I almost put a title here for the piece, but I just find them pretentious, or ambiguous to the point of disgust. I'm certainly not saying I haven't put a title on a piece of work before, thought I'd try it out, but I felt a bit sick afterwards.
Imagine this conversation - "Hey, so what's your piece called?" "The Smelting of Dante's Soul" "Great, sounds deep" "Yeah. Urgh."
I could've made it sound less 'powerful' or less 'spiritual' but hey, it represented what I'd actually painted, however there is a problem there-in; the fact that I had given the name implies something, I had dishevelled the mystique of the piece, thrown up a wall so a peep whole represented all the possibilities the piece could be about, instead of amalgamating any thoughts the viewer might have. Why take that away from the viewer? Infact, why would you not want to embrace a viewers opinions, thoughts and possible insanity, whatever they can get from your piece, let them do it justice in their own mind, do not take that away from them. That is when injustice ensues. Either that or they just hated it from the start, but atleast this way you give them a chance.
NO TITLES, NO IMPOSSIBILITIES. And no, I do not want you to put upon the wall "Untitled 1" - THAT IS A TITLE, JUST BY NAMING IT AS UNTITLED, YOU'VE GIVEN IT THE NAME OF 'UNTITLED 1' YOU IDIOT. IT HAS NO TITLE, DON'T GIVE IT A TITLE, THAT'S MY DECISION.
Rant, over.

So here's the piece -


I'd suggest this is around 3"6 by 4" so not all that large in size - I've thrown up a massive canvas in place of this now however - it's loose canvas pinned to the wall, house paint base coat with ink and bleach foreground.

Oh, and here's my space, it's a mess, and you haven't seen the wall to the right of this shot, or the floor, that's where I actually do my pieces - next post will feature a lovely messy shot.



Definately my two favourite pieces up to now and the canvas thrown on the wall to the right is my next piece. It's quite adventurous, a good metre and a half + either way, with building and sky and portrait... Let's just see how it goes I guess.

By the way, yes I am messing you about, the layout of this post is different to the last, or most of them... Go me.

So I've been producing portraits again, Finally.

As always with my blog, start from the bottom first for the order in which these are shown - I like it that way, and it just gives you something to do other than blandly sifting down a page!



The third of my portraiture pieces for this semester, this was done on loose canvas (around 4"x4") with a house paint base coat, ink subject and ink and charcoal surround. I do like this piece very much.



This crazy looking man is my friend Mike. I wanted to see what my house paint colours would do, so went a bit silly really with this one. It's still a decent representation of him, however in the end I seemed to be more focussed on colour than accuracy! Oh well. This is painted completely in house paints on an 8"x4" piece of loose canvas, this picture showing around 6"x3"6' of it.


The first of my portraiture pieces this semester, this is a painting of my friend Catherine. I had to alter her a little as her face is so soft I just couldn't entice any imperfections or features out of it! So it doesn't look like her completely, but then again, I love my artistic licence. This piece is done on an 8"x5" piece of loose canvas (around 6"x4" shown here) and is painted wholly in house paints.

Lol, I was on 'tv'.

My teacher came upto me, and asked did I want to be on 'tv', I was hesitant at first, for obvious reason but then he said it was to help out some other students on the film course, so I was delighted to. Anyway, they wanted me to paint a piece in under 20 minutes whilst actually on one of their shows, aswell as being interviewed and explaining to them the work that I was creating! Marvellous challenge, I had fun, and came out with this sort of background piece of which I find quite interesting actually.
This piece was fun to do, captured here lay down on a table. I do want to look into backgrounds possibly for the pieces I'm going to blog about next, so hopefully this is a push in the right direction. It's a house paint piece, around 4"x4" I'd say, on loose canvas (I find loose canvas easier to work with than on a stretcher, I don't like the space behind the canvas on a stretcher and I like the canvas to be able to do its own thing).