Drawing my Hands

I have been considering incorporating hands into my work somehow, as I think they are a great way to combine nature (plants, food, animals etc) with the human body. For one thing, they are anonymous, therefore they are non specific and definitely represent what it means to be human: The way we use our hands to build things, to make and use tools, but also to express ourselves. We even use our hands to communicate, therefore our hands are practically tools themselves. Here I tried to represent 3 different stages of a blossoming flower with my hand: starting as a bud, then beginning to open, and then unfolding as an open flower. I was inspired by the physical style of Leonardo DaVinci’s drawings, the various studies he did of body parts, animals, movements, flowers etc. I shall make more of these drawings inspired by the growth and gradual movements of plants.

Contextualization – City

My first main influence for the city project (whose work continues to inspire me throughout) is Charles Sheeler, who was an American painter and commercial photographer from the early 20th century. He was one of the founders of Modernism and Precisionism and is known as one of the master photographers of the early 20th century. He painted many industrial landscapes such as traintracks, factories and other buildings. I find his sensitivity to colour, smooth paint application and choice of viewpoint very attractive and I can see much of my own style in his work, as I tend to be quite a perfectionist and enjoy working in controlled straight lines. His precise painting style was mostly influenced by his eye for photography, you can tell by the angles he chose to paint them from. Below are some of his works.

Another thing I find fascinating about Precisionism is how one can choose the correct colour of paint to match that of a photograph, one can paint it in the correct place according to the composition of the photograph, but the finished product will not always look like a genuine photograph. The quality of paint is different to the quality of a photograph, and although it is achievable – to paint in a photo-realistic way – but Sheeler managed to paint realistically without making the painting look like one could literally step into it. This is something that I have taken on board for my own work and have kept it in mind whilst I have been painting.

Field – Language Environments

Language environments with Camilla Nelson was exactly what I expected it to be (even though it is a subject difficult to anticipate). This subject was luckily my first choice and I chose it because I liked how vague it all sounded. I liked the look of the work that had been produced from this subject and I enjoyed talking to Camilla. Although I couldn’t quit work out what this subject was all about I knew it involved two things that I am passionate about: Language and nature. I also thought it would be a wise choice as I use both these things a lot in my subject area.

We began by questioning – and somewhat debating – about what is natural. We got thinking about whether or not we thought apples or straw or even humans are natural. This was to get us into a broader mind set which would allow us to let creative ideas flow about how language and our environment can be combined. It was challenging but necessary, I think.

We each had a different ‘natural’ substance and we were to make a word with it, not by using it as an implement but by literally manipulating the substance into a word we considered relatable to nature. I had soil, and the word I chose was BREATH.

I like that it looks thick and stodgy, contrasting with the word.

Eventually we had to clean up and it ended up looking like this.

…Like words floating away in the wind? I like to think so.

Next we went outside and chose another natural substance. We studied it, made notes about it relating to the 5 (or maybe just 4) senses. I chose a twig from an Ash tree.

We had to think on a personal level with our objects and write about what we learned from it. As a guitarist I know that a popular type of wood used to make the body of a guitar is Ash, but I had no idea what the tree actually looked like. Because of this I somewhat made a personal connection to my object.

We then had to make another word using our new object, either by using it as an implement or literally making a word with it. I collected more Ash tree twigs and, using the natural curve they all hade, made the word CURL (conveniently). Here it is lying in the grass.

Myself and two other girls from my course gathered together a load of fallen leaves and put them in a round pile. I collected up lots of twigs and crosshatched them over the top of the pile. We were just experimenting with the idea of how natural occurrences are usually (but not always) accommodating human behaviour. We were on a grassy area located opposite our Uni campus next to a busy main road and we noted how difficult it was to enjoy nature with the sound and smell of passing cars right next to us. Therefore we thought why not make a small art piece that recognised the effects we have on nature, that we preserve it but it comes secondary to our other plans.

I liked to think of it is a ‘Hash Tag’ (#) over the top of it, as it has become a popular symbol used among young people to shorten and sum up anecdotal moments in their lives. This was to add a bit of humour to our otherwise rather serious little piece. It could easily be a Celtic or Pagan symbol made in the twigs and leaves, but it is actually just a hash tag.

I enjoyed our first field session and intend to do further research on artists who relate to areas within language and nature, admittedly it feels very vague right now but I think there is potential for some interesting art to be made.

 

Venus Fly Trap Studies

Recently I have been closely studying Venus fly traps. My aim is to compare human characteristics with plant life and I figure there is no better plant to focus on then a Venus fly trap (though not exclusively).

Not only are they carnivorous and therefore can catch and eat their own prey, but they are also beautiful to draw. I love the harsh colours in the leaves and how the red and green clash so violently. They have so much character and I think everyone responds differently to them. Most of the time people literally flinch or are afraid when they touch them and I think it’s awesome that a harmless plant can have that affect on a person. Here are some drawings I have made of my Venus fly trap.

After studying this plant for a while I wanted to do a more realistic version of it in the meticulous style that I usually work in as I really wanted to capture the scariness of a Venus fly trap. I enjoy paying attention to it’s shape and it’s colours and the way the leaves seem to be writhing and crawling over each other, spilling out over the sides of its pot. Here is a more detailed drawing I made in my sketchbook.

 First it was against a white background but I wanted to see how if it looked any more menacing against black…

 …I like both.

This drawing made for a great composition for a painting, here it is undergoing all the different stages (in acrylic paint).

Here it is finished.

I’m very happy with the outcome if only the canvas stretcher wasn’t slightly askew (the first stretcher I’ve ever made) but now I know for future to use a good saw that will cut the wood straight.

Keeping Joseph Nigg and Paolo Porpora in mind, I exaggerated the colours to make them pop out of the dark background. I think I managed to merge Porpora’s eeriness with Nigg’s luminosity within this painting. I intend to make a series of these, possibly one with a sickly yellow background to see how it affects the mood within the painting; I imagine it would look less dramatic but it would have a strong affect of repulsion rather than fear which I would like to play around with.