Reflection: Life Drawing

 I have tried multiple new drawing techniques in the class, such as making marks using fingernails on paper, reverse drawing, and using a paper to make a sculpture of a figure. Those are all exciting practices, which helped me understand more about the human body structure, tones, and how to use drawing tools. The most impressive thing is how to hold a pencil/charcoal; I did not know before: when to apply darkness, need to hold at the top of the charcoal which allow pressing harder to give more pleasure to the paper. The way to hold is so different from holding a brush. The reverse drawing also fun; I used rubber to erase darkness from the paper to create shape and volume of the model. It was useful that I exercise to control my hand; how much pleasure to make on paper shows how bright that area is. It means how many charcoal traces I take out form the paper. I found the sketch rubber is actually good to use as it is soft and easier to give the texture of the human skin. Besides, I like the experiment of drawing with a long stick. The charcoal was taped at the beginning of the stick that I need to draw in a fixed distance. The first time I found it was hard to control. It was different from using a pencil to draw, that the strength is from my arm. After I tried several times, I got used to it, although the outcomes were not as perfect as using hand to draw. However, it is a good way to draw and look at the model at the same time. The sculpturing was a bit confusing at the beginning. It is because I have not tried to sculpt a human body before and also the model kept moving, it was hard to capture. So I did it quickly in class. At home I do it looking at pictures, it becomes lots easier. If I have time, I defiantly practise more. Not only sculpt the whole figure, just concentrate on one part, but it might also be the neck, arm, or legs. Then I can try to make details fo the skin. I would like to make wrinkles and smoothness at the same time.

It is very hard to make detail if it is a figure of the whole body. However, I guess if I focus on a specific area, it might works.

Reflection: 3D workshop

Explore ways to transform a material of your choice in relation to one of the following words: boredom, absurdity, control, togetherness, resistance, animal, counterpoint, every day, food. Be expansive and aim to surprise yourself in the process, there are no limits other than not harming yourself nor others, steer away from literal interpretations, embrace imagination and discovery. Repeat this exercise with two other materials. NOTE: see list of artists below for references.

I used a wide range of sources to create my 3D collection; including the natural objects and manmade equipment, such as rocks, flowers, leaves, branches, plastic cup, metal pin, etc. My aim was to use the sources from nature and mixing with manmade objects and see how they go together. When I saw the white plastic tube and the foam board, I wanted to make a collection centre around a theme of plastic pollution. About pollution, an idea of factories came up in mind. The saggy branch looked like grey gas from factories. Then I set my direction for the experiment. I decided not to make a draft or a plan, just focus on my theme and to combine things what I have collected from outside and see what I can get. I also challenged myself not to used glue to stick things, I would like to keep everything original. One example of the collection shows below.

I dug in the foam board and placed the leaves inside. The small branches were plugged on top. They are facing upward that it means these plants growing into foam; also died in foam. It is easy to throw away plastic, foam, trash should be recycled on the ground or into the ocean. So I used a foam board instead of Earth. It represents if people keep damage our planet, then there will be no earth and full of trash like used foam. I am quite satisfied with the process and also the meaning of this art. However, something to make it batter if I can make it larger, and try to make the foam board into small pieces then it will more like Earth. I think it will look great in a glass container. The size might as large as a wall.

Another piece I like is the rocks. I surprisingly found the balance to pile up them. It is interesting to experiment when I was creating this piece. Because I did not know what would be the correct rock to use. Also, it will be an interactive 3D artwork for audiences.

Reflection: Painting

 Reflect on your processes and outcomes from the workshop. Describe what you made. What was successful about this and why? What could you pick up to develop further?

I had tried out the Tarot cards, created a sigil, automatic drawing, telepathic drawing, and paper cut. The aim of the Tarot cards was to influence how I devise drawings; I picked up three cards, in an order to represent my past, present and future. It was the first time to play Tarot, however, it actually influenced me psychologically. When the sign of the card was positive, I felt more confident to draw. Conversely, I felt worried. I found it might change the style of my paintings, how interesting. I also created some logos by overlaying the letters of my name. I was not very interested in it, but I think it might be a useful skill for logo design in the future. The automatic drawing was full of unknown. I was a bit confused and I did not understand when I saw the outcome. I think there will be some meaningful marks if I do it with music, combining the technique 'draw to music' in the drawing workshop. Because the lines were done in unconsciousness. About the telepathic drawing, it was fun. Since it was the first week, this activity gave an opportunity to familiar to my partner; to observe her face. Sometimes I depend on my feeling and habit to draw, the telepathic drawing led me to use my eyes to observe. I think it was a very nice practice of observation. The paper cutting was the most interesting. It is unpredictable and allowed me to develop my creativity. I made a very simple paper cut at the beginning and I was not satisfied with it. Therefore, I had thought about before I started; how many folds I want to create and how many details I would like to apply. As the result, there was a more satisfying outcome. The patterns repeated following by folds, so the second sample has more details as there are four-folds. Also, the thinner paper is better for a paper cut.

Research File: Painting

1. Agnes Martin 

Untitled #5, 1994

This painting made by Canadian–American artist, Agnes Martin. There are eleven bands of white, blue and peach acrylic paint. It is consists of regular repeated patterns. The whole image is bright which gives a visual sparseness and vibrant luminosity. This brightness and effect come from an opaque coating of white acrylic gesso on the first layer; This layer can not be fully covered. This is the reason why it is interesting. I feel like I was looking through fog lights, however, it is the effect of the paint itself. It might be a good reference to experiment.

2. Russell Crotty

Martian Paradox, 24:3, 2018

Exo Hab, Nitrogen Haze, 2017

Russell Crotty's works give a feeling of aliens; I can tell directly from the images that they are about exoplanets. The outcomes show his fascination with the world beyond human society. These paintings underlying the overdevelopment of the Earth, for example, toxic industries, issues of global oil infrastructure and the deterioration of our environment. The early art movements have influences on his works, such as Surrealism, Finish Fetish, process experimentation, Modernism and Sci-Fi. (Crotty, 2018) I am interested in his materials. I found mix media always attracting. The 'Exo Hab' is an ink painting on paper, with threedimensional plastic on the surface. It is interesting that the audiences look at his painting through these plastic pieces, just like looking through the glasses of a window and the glasses of an astronaut's helmet. I like the way how he divides his small paintings using black fine lines. They look like illustrations telling different stories. Looking into the whole abstract shape, it looks like a creature, or it is not? It reminds me of the animals with thin long legs in Dali's surreal art.

Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)

Chevauchée céleste

3. Ellen Gallagher

Paper Cup, 1996

This is a large-scale painting made by multiple layers of line paper segments. It shows a combination of geometric abstraction and hand-drawn elements. Gallagher used 84 pieces of yellow paper to cover the surface of a canvas. These papers wrinkled when they were glued. Then a layer of blue ink drawn by hand. 'at close range is revealed to reference a racist and outdated minstrelsy idea of blackface physiognomy: a minuscule pair of rubbery lips repeated thousands of times and loosely following the lines of the paper.' (Tate, 2020) The points that made this work successful are the papers, ink and glue. When the artist layered these small sheets of yellow paper, he gave texture on the surface of the canvas. Then the glued paper had its own experimental outcome, which the traces and shape were unpredictable. Also, the link overlaid dried, and the edges of the papers showed up; it also shows the gaps between; areas of overlap producing irregular grids.

4. Justin Duffus

5. Chris Gambrell

Something a little minimal in pastels on Fabriano at around A4 size.

Reference:

TATE (2020) Anges Martin Untitled #5 1994. [Online image] Available from: martin-untitled-5-ar00177. [Accessed by 04/11/20]

CROTTY, R. (2020) College Works. [Online image] Available from: bioresin.html. [Accessed by 04/11/20]

TATE (2020) Ellen Gallagher 1996.  [Online image] Available from: gallagher-paper-cup-ar00066.  [Accessed by 04/11/20]

CHRISTIE'S (2020) Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). [Online image] Available from: salvador-dali-1904-1989-chevauchee-celeste-5915657-details.aspx. [Accessed by 09/11/20]

DUFFUS, J. (2020) detail/demo/wip. [Online image] Available from: justinduffus. [Accessed by 23/12/20]

GAMBRELL, C. (2020) Something a little minimal in pastels on Fabriano at around A4 size. [Online image] Available from: gambrell. [Accessed by 23/12/20]

Research File: Painting

 This blog shows some research for the paint workshop. It includes information about the cave painting, Pompeii frescoes; Also about the artists, Frank Auerbach and Giorgio Morandi.

1. Altamira Cave

It was discovered by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola in the late 19th century in northern Spain and it was the first when prehistoric paintings were discovered. People doubted of forgery because of the notable quality of this cave painting, they did not believe people in the past could create high-standard artistic work. It was acknowledged as real until 1902. The objects and creatures in this painting are among the best-preserved cave paintings in the world. (Touropia, 2020)

More information about the cave painting: It is for symbolic and religious purpose. It is similar to petroglyphs and engraving, as a type of parietal art. Cave paintings could be found on walls and ceilings.

It is not a surprise for me of people's doubts about its authenticity. When I saw this picture I was shocked by its vivid and bright red colour of this bull. It does not look like an ancient painting from ages ago. I feel so astonished of people's intelligence- how did they make the colours maintainability?

2. Pompeii fresco

The German archaeologist August Mau (1840-1909) described the excavation of Pompeii wall paintings was one of the largest group of surviving examples of Roman frescoes. There are four periods (Incrustation, architectural, ornamental, and intricate.) of the Pompeian Styles and they are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting. Roman colonized the ancient city of Pompeii since 82 BC. Then the eruption of Mount Vesuvius happened in 79 AD. It destroyed the city and preserved the paintings. After the excavations in the 1840s, a large number of murals showed that Pompeii was an economically prosperous city and the paintings also tell a great deal about the prosperity of the area and specific tastes during the times.

A bit different from the Altamira cave paintings, the main aim of these Pompeii frescoes was to reduce the claustrophobic interiors of Roman rooms. The paintings brighten up the windowless and dark rooms to make them more spacious and full of colours and life.

From the past to the modern, art is always a good way to document our life. I am delighted that the paintings were preserved after Mount Vesuvius. Although we can know about the great city of Pompeii from words, I prefer to 'see' it visually. Pompeii fresco does not only allow me to know about the activities of people in that period but showing the changes in painting style.

‘Portrait of a Woman’, via Ancient History Encyclopaedia

Image from Hayward's article

This is an example of Pompeii Fresco. Females held low social status in the Roman world. However, this Pompeii fresco shows a woman holding a pen and a writing board or book. It is rare to see a woman receive an education. I am curious about her life and identity and this image became unusual and fascinating. (Hayward, 2020)

3. Frank Auerbach

Frank Auerbach, 'Portrait of Catherine Lampert', 1981-82

Tate

Frank Auerbach, 'Mornington Crescent', 1965

Tate

Frank Auerbach does not visualise the pictures and he works on his previous work in the early year. That is the reason why his paintings have a thick surface. Since the 1960s, his works were done in one go that he changed the way to paint. He experimented many times with judgement until the final version. 'For practical reasons, he does not paint landscapes from life but rather works from drawings created on-site.' (Tate, 2020) 

Auerbach cited his admiration for master painters including Rubens, Picasso, Rembrandt and Constable. According to his painting style, it is obvious to see Picasso has a big influence which the paintings have bold strokes, the colour palette of complementary. I am interested in his way to use paint. He shows the movement of the brushes and also sculpts the images with paint.

One thing he learnt from Rubens, I think is the proportion. 'The Raising of the Cross', one of Rubens's well-known art pieces. It is notable that this talented artist's ability to fill the picture with figures, without the composition seeming over-crowded. 'There are fully nine men straining to erect the cross, and despite the taut muscularity and the extreme physical effort the image projects, there’s no sense of chaos. Instead, what’s projected is the weight of what’s being done … the physical weight of Christ’s body and the heavy wooden cross, as well as the spiritual weight of the crucifixion of the Savior.' (Artgreek.art, 2020) I did not notice that this picture fits nine muscular men without counting. The artist seems to hide the volume of human and the wooden cross. Although the weight of the cross and Christ's body is forcing to the left, the men are pulling to the right, it tilts the balance and also make the vividness to this painting. This is the wisest thing in Rubens' work. This feature reflects on Frank Auerbach's 'Mornington Crescent'. It consists of thick strokes, however, it does not look crowded.

Peter Paul Rubens, The Raising of the Cross, 1610, Center panel. Our Lady Cathedral, Antwerp, Belgium

4. Giorgio Morandi

Still Life, 1946

Still Life, 1960

I like Giorgio Morandi's Still Life series. He uses flattened colours to the background and thick heavy volume paint to draw objects. This contract makes his painting recognisabkle. His colours combine smoothly together that I guess he mixes conplentary colours to create the shadow. The colour palette of his paintings is very comfortable and the images look clean.

Still Life with Very Fine Hatching

1933

This drawing drew by Morandi carefully, very fine hatching as he introduced. The light and shadow look so smooth and the crossing lines might not be noticed unless you see it close. I like the way how he builds distorted edges. He only applied tones but no outlines. However, the charming point is these vivid edges. 

This blog shows three different artists. Frank Auerbach's art are abstract and casual; Rubens's is classic, showing strength; And Morandi's are more elegant and clean.

Reference:

TOUROPIA (2020) 10 Prehistoric Cave Paintings. [Online] Available from: prehistoric-cave-paintings. [Accessed by 03/11/20]

HAYWARD, L. (2020) 8 Of The Most Incredible Fresco Paintings From Pompeii. [Online] Available from: 8 of the Most Incredible Fresco Paintings From Pompeii. [Accessed by 03/11/20]

TATE (2020) Who is Frank Auerbach? [Online] Available from: auerbach-introduction. [Accessed by 03/11/20]

ARTGREEK.ART (2020) Art in Context: Peter Paul Rubens’ Altarpiece, The Raising of the Cross. [Online] Available from: art-in-context-peter-paul-rubens-altarpiece-the-raising-of-the-cross-69ef64f928f1. [Accessed by 03/11/20]

TATE (2020) Giorgio Morandi. [Online image] Available from: giorgio-morandi-1660. [Accessed by 03/11/20]

Reflection: Drawing

After the drawing workshop, I am writing this blog to reflect the work I have made by thinking about the following questions.


- How have you chosen to interpret and approach the workshop/ set experiments?

I have experimented all exercises at the beginning. Some of them were new experiences for me; to consider what can these materials teach, what do I enjoy the most, and what did I miss before, etc. The reason why I didn't choose only one to do is if I keep doing something I used to, then I will not able to discover new things and cannot explore my creativity. After the first experiment, I'd like to choose one section that I most interested in. This specific section might process into something else that I can keep exploring it. In the end, I have chosen 'draw to music'.

- Describe what have you done.

The aim of this exercise was to get out of the box so that I decided not to draw too carefully. I would like to do this exercise as experiments. I prepared 14 papers for this two-weeks exercise. Then I chose different types of music, for instances, classic, pop, rap. I repeated the music ten times to let myself understand the music. After that, pictures of a story or some geometry, lines, or colours might come up in my mind.


- Which materials have you experimented with and why?

I used pencils, fine-liners, ink pens, and watercolour. I used a pencil at the beginning which I pretend to make mistakes that I was drawing carefully. Then I wanted to make harder lines; I tried different sizes of fine-liners and also applied colours by ink pens. Apart from experiment lines, I used watercolour to draw larger images. I would like to use a variety of materials to provide textures. Refer to the artist research, I wanted to use watercolour to create some vivid pattern like Julie Mehretu's art.


- Which processes have you experimented with and why?

I tried to get marks from some rocks, branches and leaves, which I applied black dust on the paper by using charcoal sticks. I want to use natural material wisely into my artwork. However, it was not very successful that the charcoal layer was too thin that I could not get clear marks from those objects.


- What do you consider to be successful in what you have done? What makes it successful?

I think it is the right decision to listen to the music several times. It allows me to understand it better. Also, I have seen the meaning of the words to know what is the song about. These actions led me to be more clear on what to draw.

- What do you consider to be failures? What makes it a failure?

I think the only barrier is I was not bold enough. I follow the steps as usual: make a draft, think about it deeply, then draw it, erase it, draw it again. I made things too carefully that I might lose a chance to develop ideas.

- What has surprised you in the work?

One exercise is to draw a bike from memory. I only can draw it from one angle. I shocked that it reminds me that something we see every day, it doesn't mean we remember it. It is all about observation, the human mind sometimes lies to ourselves, we think we know what is it looks like, however, it's not. That's the reason why we can draw it with a picture but not from memory.

- What will you pick up to develop further and how? 

I will develop the music drawing further. I think Julie Mehretu's drawings give me a lot of inspirations that I would like to explore more pattern making using the media as she uses in her works.

Research File: Drawing

 This blog shows research information of two artists, Otobong Nkanga and Julie Mehrutu. I am going to write about what makes their works interesting to me, what draws them together, and what are the differences. 

Here are one example of Nkanga's art and three for Julie Mehretu.

Otobong Nkanga I

n Pursuit of Bling: The Transformation 2014 

Tate

This is one of the pieces from Nkanga's exhibition which 'explores the politics of land and the relationship to the body, and histories of land acquisition and ownership'. (Tate, 2019) I like the way how Nkanga erases the heads because the head has too many information. I think it makes her works successful that audiences pay more attention to the bodies. Also, her work made in an innovative way that she combined the human body and geometry. Those geometries show a strong relationship to the land.

 Julie Mehretu's work from the Whitney Museum of American Art

She is one of my favourite artists. I like the beats in her vivid paintings, the colours, the strokes, etc. I feel a music into this painting.

 Julie Mehretu always shares her mind spirit to the public. She works in large scale, multilayered art, abstract paintings, drawings, and prints. 

Julie Mehretu,

Epigraph Damascus, 2016

Photogravure, sugar lift aquatint, spit bite aquatint, open bite

250x575 cm

The White Cube

'Her paintings present a tornado of a visual incident where gridded cities become fluid and flattened, like many layers of urban graffiti. Mehretu has described her rich canvases as “story maps of no location”, seeing them as pictures into an imagined, rather than actual reality. Through its cacophony of marks, her work seems to represent the speed of the modern city depicted, conversely, with the time-aged materials of pencil and paint.' (White Cube, 2020) As the description on the White Cube website, Julie Mehretu's work consists of significant strokes, like a tornado. In this case, the Epigrph Damascus (2016) looks like a picture of a herd of crows or bats in my eyes. Every single line has their life in her painting. This painting reminds me a exercise in class, which to use mark-making to show 'Chaos'.

Julie Mehretu

Being Higher II

2013

Ink and acrylic on canvas

84x60 in.

Different from the last painting, this one is more watery, which the black is lighter. I like the texture of the ink marks, it looks like a style of ancient Chinese ink drawing. It shows some birds are trying to fly high. I think Julie Mehretu's art leave a imagination to people-they like clouds in the sky, changeable and irregular, you can see anything in her pieces.

The geometry draws the first two pieces together; this element makes the paintings contemporary, also creates the beat. The squares and triangles in Nkanga's painting have regular position, and all facing down.  It shows clamminess. Conversly, Mehretu makes more changes in the shapes, colours, and perspectives. It describes a very cheerful song.

References:

1. TATE (2019) OTOBANG NKANGA FROM WHERE I STAND. [Online] Available from: otobong-nkanga. [Accessed by 30/10/20]

2. WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART (2019) JULIE MEHRETU MAR 19-AUG 8, 2021. [Online image] Available from: julie-mehretu. [Accessed by 30/10/20]

3. WHITE CUBE (2020) Julie Mehretu. [Online] Available from: julie_mehretu. [Accessed by 31/10/20]