Week 4: Print

I didn't get to make it to print this week as I had to go home for a funeral. Therefore I decided to do some printing at home, as I didn't have many resources available to me I went back to the basics of printing potato printing. Using a spoon I carved out my a thistle shape into two potatoes.

Even though this has slightly differed from the brief I really like the effect I have created, I stamped the two colours on top of each other to create a bold looking pattern this work has very much reminded me of the work of Rob Indiana.

Indiana's work looks eye catching and often consists of bold, simple, iconic images, especially numbers and short words like EAT, HUG, and, his best known example, LOVE. I really like the way he has used simple serif text to create a really exciting piece of art, this has made me really want to try and print some text similar to this. Using this idea I tried to create own image using different text on photoshop. Now I really want to try printing some of  my own.

Print

While researching something else I came across this gorgeous line etching by John Urban The Walrus 1969. I thought it really linked in well with my project by using nature and the environment as a theme. I really like the way to create the sea weed and other plants John Urban has used swirls and repeated line. Although the print is far from lifelike the careful detail and use of rubbing has created a really contrasting bold highlighting the life underwater.
Today I also tried to lino print my image at home although I did end up with a disappointing print. Resulting this I think I need to make a trip up to Sion Hill.

I quite like the sketchy feel to this print. The thistles look quite good however the patchy printing really lets the overall image down. I think it would look so much better with a deep block black highlighting the white detailed thistles.

Week 3: Print

This week I felt a little less prepare and inspired for lesson, so I decided to do some research into print making artsist I wanted to carry on the nature theme for my project but felt I needed some inspiration.  Consistently I stubble upon this awesome print by Arthur Boyd 1920 Figure and Flying Beast. (Dry Point). 

I felt great movement within his prints, even thought what seems unintentional of the artist, in the right hand corner of the image I feel looks quite like wildlife I don't really know the print is trying to convey but I quite like the feeling of letting viewing decide for themselves. There are a lot of bold wispy lines throughout which could be seen as grass or vines. I personally feel the image has a feel of freedom and nature however referring to the title I could be wrong. I really want to get this lose relax feel into my own prints.  I decieded to look futher in Arthur Boyd's work as his prints seem to have a strong nature theme running throughout.

Waterhole with birds near Alice Springs

Wimmera, Waterhole with Birds

I really like the lose relaxed feel to Arthur Boyd's work his style of print matches the subject matter of the image the freedom of nature. I really like this work and want to try creating a similar feeling within my own work. After exhausting etching I decided to move onto a different type of print; mono printing and once I started I couldn't stop. 

Using the thistles as a theme I carried on printing them, I really enjoyed mono printing, I thought I would quick fast prints out this however I found the longer I spent drawing out the print the better prints I seemed to produce. 

I even found taking the negative of the print created a great image in itself. However I feel I have really worn out the idea of printing thistles. I found myself wanting to move onto some a little more demanding.

Week 2: Printing

I came into this lesson once again really excited about printing I had already etched out my design into my metal plate, I was still working with a nature theme, over the week I had research and sketched many thistles and plants to which I wanted to print.

Using my favourite image I printed it using the same technique as last week however I found my prints last week to be quite heavy with a lot of ink creating quite dark area in place I didn't want. Therefore this week I wiped my metal quite dry to get more lighter and less and contrasting print. 

With the same technique as last week I printed my etched out design however I was really disappointed with the results, the print came out really faint, this was a result of over rubbing the plate and also I found I had not carved deep enough into my metal plate, even thought this was really disappointing I couldn't wait to try out another print.

Once I had worked into the metal plate a lot more, I found I had printed a much more interesting and defined print I had used my knowledge of the last few prints to establish what areas to rub and which area to leave to create a more high contrast and bold looking print. Overall I am really pleased with the final out come.

Week 1: Printing

Today was my first printing lesson, I started off by trying to get inspired, I did some research in print makers and came across this awesome piece of work by Tom Hammick, Motorway Trees, monotype.

I loved the use of nature and the mix of collage and print. I partially liked the simple look to image, and the composition of the tress placed behind the fence.
I starting etching a dried thistle I had pervious sketched in my sketch book. I found this experience was really interesting. I had never done etching before, although I think I picked up the method quite quickly using a vary of different materials to make a mark. Below I placed my etched out metal plate. 

To create this image I used a  fine sheet of aluminium, using with some sharp tool like shovels to cut out my image onto the plate. The curved out image will area that will be printed onto paper.

Before printing I had to soak my paper in water, and inked up my sheet. Using small piece of card I scraped the ink onto my sheet of aluminium and  applied it into the groves of the metal. Then  whipped of the excess ink to apply in the cuts of the metal even more. Lastly clean scrum is then used to clean off the edges of the plate and the areas that are wanted white. Below I have placed my final print of the thistle

I used a heavy etching press to enable produce a nice looking print. The heavy pressure forced  the paper into the metal groves and inked the marks onto the paper. Overall I was really pleased with the final print I tried maybe different dry point with different amounts or ink and pressure

Lectures

Over the past two weeks I have had many lectures on Abstraction, Art Povera, Text an Image, and painting. I really enjoyed these lectures especially my lecture on abstraction, over the past few week I have researched many artist shown throughout the lectures which I found really inspired me.   
Matisse

Matisse's work is made up of colour, pattern, shape and balance evoking a mood of excitement and interest. Matisse gets his message across by stripping paint down to the bare minimum.
Robyn Denny

Above is an image by Robyn Denny, one of his most famous and popular painting is "Three Short Days in May". His work is about mapping an documenting events in space. His work has almost become a mix between figurative and abstraction. 

Jackson Pollock 

Pollocks paintings are made up of his own journeys, they are very instructive I feel his passions and ideas are worked into his paintings. He has an amense sense of colour and space. Each painting seems to have its own narrative. Expressing great energy, space and time within each piece of Pollocks work.   

Pietro Manzoni

Manzoni is a very experimental artist, he is seen as very direct and upbeat one of his most popular piece's is a "can of shit". His work is simple but full of expression. Another of his piece's is "Magic Base" He used a real person within an exhibition, he believed it took art back to the bare basics.
Cornelia Parker

Parker is inspired by the world around her. Her work has become very unique and universal, she believes her work is very powerful to the spectator and echo's great movement. Another of her most famous pieces is "At the bottom of this lake lies a fragment of the moon".

Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin has highly influenced many artist of today. She uses traditional materials, and sometimes has a poetic natural within her work. She is a very visual and experimental Artist. 

Richard Long

Richard Long art expresses the meaning on many people's lips; what is art? His work is made of natural products placed in a landscape and sometimes uses a lot of text.

Robert Indian

Robert Indian turns flat text into 3D letters, standing proud within cities and towns. His letters are carefully crafted and become greatly ascetically pleasing pieces of land art. A clever mix of text and sculpture.

Susan Hiller

Susan Hiller found lost language within art. Hiller created and made a shift from painting into a text base gallery.

Ghada Amer

Amer paints with a western narrative and uses images from pornography to draw paint or college into this work. He believes he is reclaiming romans sexuality. There is always a lot of action within his pieces.

Joanne Greenbaum

Greenbaum produces a mixture of drawings and paintings within his work. Greenbaum doesn't know her final outcome or idea until she is painting the finally piece. The artwork is almost seen as uncertain and sometimes unbalanced.

Chris Ofili

Ofifi is a previous turner prize winner! Ofifi has changed our sense of what a painting is and can be. The artwork is seen as quite carefully crafted and very detailed.

Week 4: Painting

Today was my last painting lesson. Today we were told to just experiment and develop our chosen subject.  Over the weekend I had really expanded my painting of a bracelet therefore I during this workshop I was to experiment with some other ideas. I decided to work back into my Ipod idea. Using my blind drawing I decided to try and copy the drawing into paint using many different types. I started just using the primary colours to paint in however as I got deeper into the image I found I needed to mix more colours to create a more powerful image. However I found my image was drawn off the paper, this created great composition.
Therefore I carried my painting on to another sheet of paper. This become quite an exciting piece. I liked the over finished painting however in places it looked scratchy and rushed. I think this may have been the brush I painted with. To give the image more imapact I used a fine line pen to engrave and work into the painting I found this created a more detailed and interesting drawing. It become quite assetically pleasing to create and look at.