Experimentation with Monotypes

Ok so today was a personal day, but in the evening as per usual I went to my print workshop where I carried on my development with the monotype process.

First the results of last weeks play.

Process: Playing with the effects of turps on the inked up plate; Flicked, Toothbrush bristles and a rag.

Process: Using flicked turps and a cut template from acetate sheet with blue ink and extender. Didn't quite work, needed to do more even coverage on the acetate and get the blend effect more prominent.

Experiment: Incorporating salt and whitening powder to the plate. Too much means the ink won't bite which is what happened, nice tester piece.

Process: This was made blending extender and ink, applying it and a sprinkling of salt, created the effect of a foreground with the roller and unextended ink.

Process: As above, however using whitening powder instead of salt, getting the distribution right will take a lot of trial and error.

This weeks experiments

Combination of flicked turps and whitening powder, needed to resize the plate as it was it a bit big for the roller.

Main aim today was to attempt a 2 layered monotype, process was easier than I had envisioned, however it is just a matter of working out the kinks, I started out too dark on the first layer, also trying to create the streaking effect with the whitening powder was an incorrect solution to a problem that has another possible answer. Using a toothbrush with a tiny bit of turps to get the same sort of effect.

National Trust and Black eyes

This morning we headed to Glendurgen Gardens, it is an amazing place with a massive variety of flora.  The reason for the visit was because we were looking for systems in nature, once found we can distil this into a more abstract form on a large A1 sheet.

I have chosen a magnolia tree, the reason for this is its fractal pattern which I found fascinating. This will be continued to work into over the course of the next 2 weeks and will hopefully have an interesting and effecting outcome.

 Oh and this was our symbol language cypher, was a hoot, and as you can see I am no where near finished.

P.S don't mess around with childrens rope swings..... those things are dangerous! also fun and hilarious!

Process and Systems

New project day, this week we are looking at drawing systems, our seminar today covered the evolution of artists such as : Mondrian, Paul Klee and Kandinsky.

We looked at their process and how they went about abstracting their works, this was really interesting and it must have been rather special having been the first artists to discover this language. Another part that was fascinating was that we all had such different interpretations of what we saw in the same image.

Anyway on to our project, so this week we started by doing some fun exercises involving a more detached approach to our drawings. Our first workshop involved us gathering into groups, then having 1 member of our group be designated the leader, the leader would be in charge of coming up with a formula for the drawing. My formula was quite simple, I would start drawing a line across the page then when the line hits the edge of the page it would reflect back onto the page, the line would reflect off any edge or line it comes across, then after 5 reflections it would be able to cross the line it hits.

After a couple of different variations of the above exercise, we started something else, this was an exercise where we would write various different approaches on pegs, then we would attach the pegs to the page and we would each draw what the nearest peg said to us, we would then turn the page around and then start on the next instruction. This lead to a solo version of the same exercise, of which we produced 2 drawings.

Our final exercise of the day involved the creation of doodles on graph paper, then we had to use these doodles as a simple script to describe people we know, using various methods of description, both visual and personal.

A quick note on last weeks lack of updates after Tuesday, Wednesdays print session was immensely successful and I found myself being more productive than I have been in a long time, in fact I made more prints in that one session than I had in the whole of the last semester. I am loving the process of monotypes and will be exploring this process more and more in the coming months.

Thursday was student ambassador induction day, was great but lead me to miss Peters workshop which was a mild pain as I do enjoy that more technical side of drawing.

Friday was a bit of a write off, we had a more expressive approach to life drawing in the morning which frankly is not what I like about life drawing, I want to improve my skills in observational drawing, not destroy my self confidence which has been so high in recent week, had a bit of a off day on top of that so it was a bit of a dud productivity wise.

Photos tomorrow....

Tearing Reflections

This weeks project is a continuation on last weeks, an evolution of sorts on the second step of our gestalt drawings of last tuesday. 

We had to take 1 of our A2 interior drawings and tear it up, then on a fresh A1 sheet, stick the pieces in random positions and then draw a new image of a space on that sheet. I have to be honest, I haven't really enjoyed the last couple of processes we have been working with. The original gestalt drawing was a satisfying and almost therapeutic experience which was a breath of fresh air after the constant observational drawings of last semester. However I havent felt like I am achieving anything with these current ones, they haven't led to any desire to carry on exploring this process once we've finished with it. 

I know that it is ok to feel like this, and it's completely acceptable, but on top of my continued battle to get my focus and drive grove back that I had achieved last semester and my inability to start with any meaningful work outside of projects set by the tutors, I am really struggling to get my shit together.  

Rant over - Tomorrow will be a new day, rested, open mind, new material (graphite stick!) and pictures of the work from the last couple of weeks!

Drawing interiors

So today was a bit of a mixed bag productivity wise, we were allowed to use a hall in a local church and were given the opportunity to draw the space. The approaches were rather different, we could either do a standard view of the interior or try our hand at a producing a wide angled drawing of the space.

I started the wide angled drawing, however I really struggled to attain any sense of focus today, it was probably a mix of factors mostly outside of the course that was on my mind, however I have also been having troubles with how I am going to go about my personal projects, I have several ideas, some which play to my apparent strengths and some which should help improve on my weaker areas. However it is one of those things that there are so many things that I can't get on with 1, so I have just sat on my hands procrastinating and that isn't productive.

Anyway, there is always the weekend, will try and get some things started and see where I stand.

- Tomorrow and Friday will be update free, as I am out of town on ambassador duties, should be fun!

New Semester = New Problems

So after a bit of a break (3 weeks of assessments YAY!) Its back to normal in the studio, with 1 big difference, NEW SEMESTER! and with it new themes, new projects and new problems to contend with.

Ok this semesters core theme is a rather large step away from last semester. Referred to as the Inner World, we are looking at more at the subconscious and more abstract methods of drawing.

 After yesterdays studio time I was too knackered to do update this blog, so tonight will be a double whammy of Yesterday and Today. 

Monday :

Seminar was really interesting, looking at artists like Henry Fuseli, Victor Hugo, Odilon Redon and Max Ernst. 

Couple of good quotes : 

Redon; My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.

Nothing in art is achieved by the will alone, Everything is done by docilely submitting to the arrival of the unconscious. 

Max Ernst; Drawing is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic inventions of felt reality, it must be every time, invention, discovery, innovation.

-

Our project was to produce a Gestalt drawing. This process was interesting, challenging, infuriating but overall hugely enjoyable. I started off quite positively, covering the paper with a variety of marks and lines. The process of bringing an image out of the mass of graphite was both mentally and physically tiring, constant working with the rubber and graphite stick, stepping back looking at the sheet, walking round the sheet, turning it any which way, all trying to see what is already on the page and bring it into focus.

I still haven't finished it, however I must say I am happy with the direction its heading in. It is a strange feeling, not having any true control over the drawing. I generally don't like the term "You don't lead the drawing, it leads you", however it is rather apt for this.

Anyway, looking back this is something I could definitely see myself doing in the future.

-

Tuesday :

Today we did another Gestalt drawing, however this was a varient of the process we did yesterday, it included frottage and collage. I can't be too critical of the process as this morning as I wasn't feeling 100% psychologically. However I must say I didn't find it hugely exciting. The process was a bit fiddly for me, I would rather get on with it rather than have the feeling of jumping through hoops. Anyway maybe I will give it another go when I'm feeling more upbeat.

This afternoon was a slight change of pace, we took part in a game of consequences or an exquisite corpse drawing however you want to put it. It was a really fun experience and the outcomes were varied and brilliant. Its amazing how each of us approached it, all our differing styles and thought processes. 

Still in a crisis regarding my personal projects, however I'll have a chat with some people and see where I stand.