Refining the composition of the first panel 2016-2017, using A4 plates

 

2016-2017: starting to work out the use of tone and refining the composition across the plates. A pretty good start but when I stand back from this, I am not happy with the symmetry of the first two plates or the regular rhythm of darker 'lumps' at the bottom of the image; I am also unhappy with fourth plate which is unresolved at this point!

Beginning the story, looking back at Alan Kurdi, sitting with the tree of knowledge
Quick marks here will pose a challenge later: the plants, animals and how to depict fire.
The intention is to create something which is beautiful to draw the viewer in and then provide a space to remember events such as Grenfell Tower and the death of Jo Cox (sadly joined this year by David Amess). The intention is also to convey messages of hope and optimism: 'we have more in common than that which divides us.'. Drawing fire and Grenfell is going to be such a challenge...
I need to revisit this plate and look more carefully at the Larsen C iceberg as this bares no resemblance!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#IIC Nature and Us: a history through art

Image
 This is such a thought-provoking programme that charts humanity's relationship with the natural world, through art, from the earliest cave paintings to the present day (yet to watch). In episode two, I was particularly struck by the paintings of Ustad Mansur, a Mughal painter working in the early 17th C who documented the natural world in incredible detail and was the first person to depict a dodo in colour; his painting of a chameleon is also so well observed, a strong graphic image with layers of colour and marks used in relief to depict the skin of  the animal - I always enjoy a dot or two and this could suggest a way of painting my animals. The programme also made reference to the Chinese Painter Xiang Shenmo and his scroll painting, Reading in the Autumn Mountains, a beautifully composed image that shows humans as part of nature but also dwarfed by nature; I think the way trees and leaves are represented could be very helpful as I start to work on the detail of the plant...
Read more

#IIC Michael Geddis

Image
A new discovery! This artist, a former veterinary surgeon, makes incredibly detailed drawings of microscopic imagery using the full range of graphite tones, they are described on his website as 'cellular landscapes'. The drawings are decorative, sometimes drawn from the imagination/memory and evoke different scales of space (familiar themes); his posture and magnifying glasses are also striking a chord, so I don't feel quite so bonkers now... https://mycreativeedge.eu/profile/michael-geddis-art/ Retrieved 12.08.2022
Read more

#IIC AHRA Situated Ecologies Conference: Presenting Time after Time

  The content and aims of my Major Project, Time after Time  correspond with some of the AHA conference themes and offer an opportunity to test the potential of the artwork to engage and activity audiences, an aim which was set out in my Project Proposal. So I have decided to submit a proposal to run a session as outlined below. I think this would be a great opportunity to exhibit and contextualise my work and also to collaborate with CT colleagues/research student, so I hope it gets accepted: “This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don’t be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, because these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings” (Macy and Gahbler , 2006, p.105). How technology can be used to augment analogue artworks and further engage and activate audiences. Delegates are invited t...
Read more