Summer Project

Something that tasted good
Cocktails at The Orange Tree in Loughborough

Something I heard
My dog attacking the post every morning

Something I wore
Festival wear

Somewhere I found myself
View of Ailsa Craig, Scotland

Something I discovered
Pilates

Something that made me happy
Spending time with friends on holiday

Something I'd rather not have done
Spent so much money

Something I have been thinking about
Places I'd love to visit next summer (Budapest, Vienna and Barcelona)

Something beautiful
Library of Birmingham

Something scary
Driving

The feedback I got from second year students about my summer project was that my images worked really well as a set and they were consistent in style and quality. They liked the selective use of collage as it highlighted the most vital part of the picture and also added colour and texture which contrasted well with the flat, black line drawing. It was also said that I had used a good range of compositions and some of my ideas for drawings were less literal than others which made it more interesting to look at and understand. 

The advice I received for improvements was to work on different surfaces instead of just plain white paper and maybe applying colour washes to work on top of. Also, varying the weight of line more than I already have could produce some more interesting results. Lucinda Rogers was mentioned during my feedback so I researched her illustrations and found that I really liked her style; her variation in weight of line is very drastic but gives her images a real sense of depth and space which I think is something I can take forward and apply to my work in the future. 

I investigated and experimented with different media and image making techniques in my sketchbook which led me to the idea of combining collage with line drawing. I love working with line but I thought adding collage would add another element of interest and a bit of colour to my simple drawings. Because this was a project about my summer I wanted to use materials from during this time. For example, the envelopes coming through the letter box are cuttings from actual envelopes which arrived in the post, the stone wall I have drawn my friends sitting on is made from train tickets from that day and I have used the actual receipts from things I have bought this summer for my image representing spending. 

I created these images by doing the line drawing first with a range of fine liners (0.05mm - 0.5mm). I then traced the shapes I needed to be cut from various papers which I proceeded to cut out and stick into place. Some images required me to draw on top of or around these shapes to complete the image whereas others such as the seascape image and the maps used for the Gaudí mosaic (Barcelona) could be left as they were. I think this simple process was really effective as I have managed to produce a set of images that work well together and I feel they represent my summer well. However, I do take on board the advice that I could have worked on a variety of backgrounds as I think this would give some of my images more of a setting and if I chose the colours carefully, a background could really compliment my collage pieces. 

Wear A Mask Of Yourself

Struggling for an idea for this brief, I started to think about how you cant control at what time you’re going to think of a solution to a problem and how ideas can come to you at the strangest of times. With this in mind, I started to draw cogs and then moved on to lightbulbs as these images represent an ongoing thinking process and the moment a solution hits you. 

After briefly experimenting with different ways of producing a black outline I decided that ink and a paintbrush gave the quality of line I desired which would also be clearly visible from a distance. The outline of the lightbulb was flat at the top due to fitting the shape on the sheet of card so I made the bulb slightly smaller to bring the top up into a curve. I used watercolour paints to colour the lightbulb, adding darker areas on the cheeks and around the eyes to give the mask some character. 

I decided to photograph my mask in places which are familiar in everyday life because I wanted to get across the idea that ideas come to me when i’m doing normal everyday things. While I was out taking photos, this then progressed onto how the the slight quirkiness of a situation during the day can spark something really interesting. Decreasing the size of the bulb meant some of my neck was visible in my photographs later on. In hindsight, I should have used a larger sheet of card, adapted the shape of the bulb so the screw was wider or worn a shirt with a tighter collar.