busy

well it really is getting to the busy time now. I'm in the midst of preparing my AS art and design exhibition which doesn't sound like much but it's such a faff to get it absolutely perfect, but I will get there.

In the middle of it all I'm still chucking out portraits and may be able to include them in my exhibition which really would be fab.

People seem to like seeing themselves in graphite

I seemed to have filled a gap in the market here. I have had a further 3 sales and 4 more requests. It's amazing, never thought it would happen.

I try to capture the character of the people I draw. To do this I have enlarged the eyes slightly in all of them as this particular feature is the most telling of someone's personality.

From the top down, James (my hairdresser and friend), Caroline (a great friend, casual model and fashionista, her blog can be accessed from mine), Christine (another amazing friend and photographer), Pip (Jess's sister, Jess being the slightly querky one at the bottom), then a self-portrait, Jess (my best friend... I swear we're related though she's basically as good as a sister).

Hopefully more to come.

FIRST SALE!

I got my first sale yesterday. The portraits I have been doing have gone down a treat with my best friends' family. Their mum bought the triptitch of them off me and even took me with her to choose the frames: black mounting with silver frame.
So happy.
I have had several other requests for portraits and I'm getting on with them as and when I get the time.
Will be posting the latest portrait of Pippa (Jess's little sister) shortly.

self portrait

just a quick drawing. have a feeling this may become a recurring trend. planning on creating a series if all my friends.

THE ALBUM 'WEEKEND OF BOREDOM'

Finally the British summer arrived yesterday... though of course it would be over in a day.

I was peckish for some drawing. So I searched through the heaps and heaps of photographs my friends and I have taken over the years and stumbled across one from an album of my best friend's photography. We were playing around with her camera a few weeks back on a weekend before exams started and we ended up creating a great album. This drawing is based on one of them.

Introducing textiles into this project is something I really wanted to make work. I decided to used threads in a weaving pattern to be the melodies and intertwining sounds.

Using bright colours I then went on to create a textiles sculpture.

The square base is modelled around a record turn table and is made out of wood. The rest is a combination of satins, cotton calico in various colours, numerous ribbons, gutermann embroidery threads and different beads (faux pearls, gems...) and the use of toy stuffing and cardboard to make the embroidered motifs.

The centre of this sculpture is based on charcoal drawings I produced from the photos of my saxophone (previously posted). I sculpted it by hand from a block of wet plant oasis used in flower arranging. It is based on the trumpet shape of the end of a saxophone. The ribboned wires and embroidered ends represent the movement of the sound.

I individually painted small squares of foamboard which I cut using a sharp knive to make the towers of turquoise, pink and orange in the corners which represent the beats in the music. The small embroidered oyster-looking pieces standing in the corners also are based on the shape of a saxophone key and the beads layed underneath represent the explosion-like sound that occurs in Jools Holland's album- Swinging the Blues and Dancing the Ska.

transforming sound into image

For my second project I decided to transform sound into image. Our theme was 'Sanctuary'. My sanctuary is my music (playing or listening). When I hear music I am inspired by the range of colours and shapes that it creates in my mind. I wanted to depict what I see to create a piece of art.

I began by photographing iTunes visualiser.

This triggered the beginning of a trend in my work by working from the centre.

I then produced two musical improvisations. One based on 'Romeo and Juliet Suite' by Amstrong and the other based on an album by Jools Holland 'Swinging the Blues Dancing the Ska' of rhythm and blues jazz music. I based this piece on photos I took of my soprano saxophone.

I then produced an improvisation A1 piece, mixed media, of the Jools Holland album.

While re-potting a Yucker plant at home I took photos of the exposed roots which were (being an exotice plant) bright reds. I then worked from these producing an A1 oil pastel drawing of the roots. The photos turned out quite freaky but I really liked them. They reminded me of the intertwining movements of melodies in music. It was this that caused me to introduce textiles and threads into my artwork because they natural intertwine and knot together.

artist inspiration for this project: Kandinsky, Philipp Schreibman (New York artist), Anne-Marie Ryan, Kevin Ryan, Paul Klee.

A mind full of ideas never rests.

Mine is one of them, there's no escape from it so I work to harness the spirals of ideas in my mind and bring them to life.

Working alone or together there is always something to created.

There are no limitations and the only resource is your own brain power.

"MINDFUL WANDERINGS" (triptich in oils)

The painting in the centre is a size of A1 square and the right and left hand paintings are rectangular A1 size. Inspiration for this piece from Chagall.

I made this triptitch as my first set of coursework for my AS level art and design sept. '08 feb. '09. The picture in the centre is a piece based on the feeling of being totally enveloped by a variety of emotions. The fire and the deformed hand in the bottom right represent being brought down by frustration, anger, and pain. The swirls in the top left (inspired by Van Gogh's 'Starry Night') represent the swirling motion of ideas and thoughts in my mind. The surrene skies depicted in the top right represent tranquility. The motion of her arm reaching towards this shows her desire to reach such a place without the fire dragging her down. The girl in the picture is based on photos of my friend Frankie. I exaggerated her hair in order to make her look more regal and in control of her surroundings.

The left hand painting depicts the feeling of being risen up by exhilaration and exhultation. I used fountains of water to represent the feeling this feeling. The fact she is walking on water portrays her self-confidence. This painting was based on photos of my friend Rosanna.

The painting on the right is also based on photos of my friend Frankie looking distressed. It depicts the feeling of being completely overwhelmed and trapped by stress and emotional pain.