12.03.2011

Tanith Lyons Make-up Artist

Business card

Over the last few days, I was asked to create a business card for my friend Tanith Lyons who is currently a make-up artist. I did this by using Photoshop. She specifically asked for pink lips and swirly text for her name. Tanith also wanted a black background, but as the business card developed I found that black was inappropriate for the background and made it dark and dull. I negotiated this problem with Tanith, and we both agreed that a white background is more suitable. For the pink bold title I added effects such as, drop shadow, inner shower, inner glow and bevel emboss.

This is a preview of the finished business card. I am very pleased with the end result, and hope it helps Tanith on getting her clients. By doing this, it can help me also by showing my skills in working for people. It also shows I can achieve what they want on time, and have them pleased with the end result.

22.02.2011

Today we also discussed about second and third year modules, of which really confused me. However, after leaving I felt that the modules I will be taking is Art, Visual Design and Professional Practice. I will also still take photography and video animation however they are within the art subject.

Throughout my lectures I have learned a great deal of the presentation of artwork. How to display it, what size, etc. Thus, this will help me lead through to my professional practice in the second and third year, and carry on throughout my life if I ever need to display a piece of work. After listening and noting about contemporary artists, I have come to understand the big questions in the art industry such as, what is art? Can it be displayed in any format? etc. The answer is, what you want it to be. If you have your mind set on something, go for it. It can be approached in any way, text, photography, stitching, etc. There is no boundary with art. How long is a piece of string? Some may ask. You can go as far as you want. That has made a huge difference of the way I view a piece of artwork and every time I'm doing a piece, I will ask myself those questions and fulfill what i aim to achieve.

9.02.2011

TODAY I HAD MY ART ASSESSMENT AND IT WENT GREAT!

They liked my sculpture work and is going to display my latex skin and cast in the University.

7.02.2011

(Top) Zinc plate, (Bottom) Print

 

 

 After drawing my hand posing in three positions earlier in the year, I decided to take a step further and make an print using a zinc plate and etching tool. I stretched my drawings into the plate and applied ink all over. Rubbed the ink off with a cloth and used tracing paper to get any excess ink. I then placed it on the press with a damp paper over the top to get my print.

7.02.2011

  CAST . PHOTOGRAPH . DISPLAY    

Fingers crossed

Throughout my four week period of sculpture, in my own time at home after buying the materials, i was able to cast sections of my body and other people's. Keeping on the same topic throughout my art subject, i chose to cast hands in various positions, such as fingers crossed, or a simple tensing the hand to create a claw. I also made a cast my sister's face, just keeping the forehead and the eyes, this was actually because the alginate set too fast to finish the whole face. However, learning throughout my mistakes i've grown to like the outcome and feel it's better than what I originally planned. Such as a cast of my foot. I didn't mix enough alginate, therefore the end result turned out pretty flat but keeping the very fine details. 

My friend's hand, the claaaaaaw!

Missing thumbs that had broken off.

    COMPARING DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES     

Using alginate and moulding powder.

Throughout this project, i've learnt to use different types of material to cast with. With the first face (above) I simply used alginate and moulding powder. In this process I mixed the alginate with water and quickly placed over her face after applying vaseline. Once drying I put a layer of Plaster of Paris to keep in shape and not to flop. I then mixed the moulding powder with water and drizzled it into the cast. The end result looks better than I imagined and even with the excess bits on the forehead, it still looks great.

Using Plaster of Paris and moulding powder.

  

I chose a different material on my friend's face (right). In this process i simply just used Plaster of Paris. Cutting strips of around 3cm, I dunked them into water and placed on the face after applying vaseline. Once dripped I peeled off the cast and mixed moulding powder with water and dizzled into it. I found that this process didn't have a very defined end result, capturing his wrinkles, eyebrows or eyelashes rather than my previous attempt. 

So if i would chose to use either one to cast something that involves detail, i would most definitely chose the alginate process, because it grips onto every little detail from wrinkle to eyebrow hair and the end result is most definitely rewarding.

EXPERIMENTING WITH MY HANDS 

I was wondering on what to do with the hands i produced, so i started to just mess around and place them on top of each other to see what it'll look like.

  PRODUCING A LATEX SKIN OF A FEMALE 

 

Within my four lessons, I was developing my final piece, i wanted to still keep the human figure and parts in mind so with a lot of thought I decided to create a latex skin from a female mannequin that had previously been punched and creating a story behind it could be endless.

"Woman found beaten to death and skinned!"

 I started off by placed wire over the mannequin to protect it, then a layer of scrim over the entire body with clay, i was then able to punch several times over the whole thing.

Punching the clay.

 I then used Latex which i had never used before, so it was a whole new experience. I put three coats over the clay. I found that working with latex can be quite easy, apart from the hideous smell!
Once dried, i was able to peel the latex skin off. I cut and teared and washed it to re-form the woman's figure. I found that latex isn't very good at keeping the detail withing the fists from the punches but you can still see what has happened if you look closely.

Latex skin of female body.

I found it very enjoyable working with a new material and now knowing the technique I want to use it for anything. Such as.. possibly making a coat!







After this process I then decided to keep a mould of my own, by then using the same clay with the punch marks and covering it with a mixture of moulding powder and water to have a sort of reversed piece. Keeping the punch marks on the inside of the body.

26.01.2011.

M A R C.Q U I N N

"SELF"

Marc Quinn was born in 1964 and is a British artist. He studied history and the history of art at Robinson College in Cambridge whilst he worked as an assistant to the sculptor Barry Flanagan. Quinn has exhibited exhibitions including Sonsbeed ’93, Arnhem in 1993, Give and Take, Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2001 and so on.

Quinn’s wide-range of work displays of the body and what defines the human life such as spiritual and physical, surface and depth, intellectual and sexual. Whilst using a variety of materials, from ice and blood to glass, marble or lead, he develops into experimental, conceptual works that are mostly figurative.

Self (2001)

Marc Quinn’s project called “Self” is currently ongoing. It is a frozen sculpture of his head made from 4.5 litres of his own blood taken from his body over a period of 5 months. This cast called “self” was created in his late 20s in 1991 and he continues to do the same process every 5 years, each of which documents Quinn’s own physical transformation and deterioration. His work is carefully maintained in a refrigeration unit. This piece was bought by Charles Saatchi in 1991 for £13,000 and was exhibited when he opened his new gallery in London in 2003.

19.01.11. VISUAL DESIGN.

Firstly I'd like to say I've decided to post this little bit about my visual design project because it shows me using a different medium on a strange 'canvas'

Previously in Visual Design we got set a task to present our essays in a different format. After exploring many ways, and creating many ideas some of which involve studio lights and stencils to project my essay. So in the end i settled with my second idea involved a lot of lipstick and a male figure.

As you can possibly read from my images, I chosen to present my essay on Neville Brody in this style. I found out about this idea from a comedian called Russel Howard and his comment as simple as "My show will be now shown on Dave, not my dad Dave but the channel Dave, it's not like I can write all my jokes on my dad". I simply chose to use black and red as my palette because they contrast well together and are most visible when taking a photo. I used the black lipstick overall throughout and the red lipstick for important words such as "Neville Brody" or "The FACE magazine". Even though my male model must have been feeling awkward, I had fun using a different medium on such a strange 'canvas'

18.01.11- FIRST SCULPTURE SESSION

Cast of my hand with a heart key ring in the center.

Today was my first lesson, and i was late - due to buses (: We started off by making a molding using clay, we could use anything to mold so I decided to use my hand because i've chosen to use the human body through out my art projects and lessons. As you can see in the image, I made an imprint of my hand into the clay with a heart shape keyring. I then made a wall using plastic and extra clay to stick together. After mixing molding powder (I've forgotten the name) with water I was then able to create my cast by pouring the mixture onto my class imprint and left to solidify.
Once hardened, i removed the clay from the mold and made some finishing touches by sanding down sharp edges and removed excess clay.

I decided to take this further by trying out a new technique using a vacuum sealed machine. I placed my cast onto the machine faced up and pulled the handle to lower it, then I cut out the correct size (roughly A3) of clear 1.5mm of plastic and placed onto the machine. I turned the machine on and heated the plastic for the correct amount of time to whatever the thickness was - in this case it heated up for 30seconds. Immediately after heating i pulled the handle to raise my cast so it's just touching the plastic. Flicked a switch and turned on the vacuum seal which wrapped the plastic tight around the cast. By doing this, i learned a wonderful new skill on how to make molds quickly and repeatedly by using my vacuum sealed cut out.

After my delicious lunch, I wanted to experiment a bit further. I wanted to make a cast of my hand! To do this i created a tube container using tape and flexible plastic. I then placed it into 3cm of clay to secure it and made a green jelly like solution and poured into my container. After putting a thin coat of vaseline on my hands, i made a pose and put it into the mold. After waiting 15minutes for it to set, i gently took my hand out. Making a mixture of powder and water, i then poured it into the mold and waited for another hour or so.

Cast of my hand.

After pealing away the green mold I revealed my hand. I think this technique exceptionally well considering it picks up each wrinkle and crease in my hand.

These are the artist I'm referencing throughout my sculpture class:

RON MUECK

TIM HAWKINSON

Gelukkig nieuw jaar!

Celebrating the New Year in The Netherlands
"Happy New Year :)"
A Photo of me and my twin Chelsey 
 

13.12.10.

Lucian Freud in comparison to Jenny Saville.

Today i was doing more research on Jenny Saville for my presentation and i came across a British painter called Lucian Freud, born on 8th December 1922. I feel that they both have a similarity in painting technique as they both use oil paints and their skills. Saville tends to work in large-scale, whilst Freud works in a well smaller scale. 

Like Freud, Saville is exploring the connection of body and soul. The physical weight sensed in a figurative style and the inflictions enacted on Saville’s figures both allude to the woundings of the consciousness and the hugeness of existence crises in modern and contemporary human beings.

Jenny Saville Strategy (South Face/Front Face/North Face) 1996

This is one of Saville's piece called "Strategy" it is an oil painting of a woman in three different views. To view this painting in a gallery, in it's large-scale form, would be over-powering in a way. The overweight woman only wearing her underwear, looking down on you as if you were an ant and she’s about to step on you, can be quite frightening. 

Lucian Freud Benefits Supervisor Sleeping - 1995

Compared to Freud’s painting, where as you can see in the image, you can see people’s heads in comparison to the scale of the painting, isn’t as loading and large-scaled as Saville’s. Even the models in these paintings even look-a-like. They both use a mild, calm palette of yellow, white, brown to create the shadowing beneath the loose amount of flesh. 

The posture these models are in, emphasizes their body mass and flesh. Saville has captured the woman from below whilst Freud has taken it in a completely different matter by displaying the model on a sofa. With her legs off the floor and overlapping, whilst one arm is resting on the back of the sofa and the other is clenching underneath the model's right breast. Making the stomach and chest the main view point. 

Both Saville and Freud emphasize their flesh by not only the colour tones but also what they are wearing (or not wearing) and they body language. For once, Saville has captured this woman wearing underwear, I don't really know the answer of why but to me the strap on the underwear emphasizes the large stomach because it is overflowing, bulging out. And in Freud's piece, because she is lying on her side on the sofa, her stomach bulge has weighed down, like gravity, emphasizing the amount.

9.12.2010. JENNY SAVILLE - ugly art?

Would you hang a painting of an obese woman on your living room wall?

Jenny Saville, “Plan” 1993. Oil on canvas

 In 1994, Jenny moved to New York City where she managed to spend long hours observing the work of a plastic surgeon. She look many photographs whilst standing in on cosmetic surgeries and liposuctions, by being able to achieve this she gained a better understanding of the human body.

Jenny Saville is one of my favourite artists. She was born in Cambridge, 1970 and is an English painter who is best known for her large scale paintings of women.

Branded, 1992

Jenny Saville gained her degree at Glasgow School of Art (1988-1992), and was then awarded a six month scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, where she states that she saw "Lots of big women. Big white flesh in shorts and T-shirts. It was good to see because they had the physicality that I was interested in.”

( Click here for more images )

 

Saville’s focus has always been on the human form, how it can be represented and people with deformations or disease. Much of her work sees distorted flesh, high caliber brush strokes and patches of oil colour, whilst others combine the surgeons mark of a plastic surgery operation.

To me, Jenny's work is beautiful, even though she does portrays obese women in a horrifying way. The views of which the audience has to see these obese women can have a different effect completely. If you're viewing a piece that is face on then you see the model as it's true form. However, if you view it like the first painting, then your views are distorted, the women looks out of proportion.

During her end of year university show, Charles Saatchi purchased all of her artworks and commissioned her for the next few years. Saville was very interested in the flesh of the human form and observed many plastic surgery operations before collaborating with photographer Glen Luchford.

Christy Turlington / Calvin Klein ad (photographer Glen Luchford)

(Click here for more images)

The style of British fashion photographer and film director Glen Luchford is influenced by his love of cinema. For creating evocative and cinematic images he prefers working in studio using elaborate lightning sets.

19.10.11 - What is the definition of beauty in the arts?

Today in printmaking, I studied more into my favourite artist Jenny Saville and her stunning pieces. I feel that i can really connect with her artwork, because she doesn't show what people enjoy seeing, instead she shows the truth within people's body. Fat, skinny, ugly, these are all the things that Jenny Saville shows. I view her artwork as a masterpiece. To me, the truth can be more stunning than what people want to believe.

 

18.10.10 - Printmaking.

These are just a few line and pencil drawings of my hands.

 

Throughout printmaking i learned how important prospective is. I learned the difference in types of wood and when you print with them.

12.10.10 - Printmaking (Peter Howson)

Today I started off by researching into an artist who i found interesting. As i was flicking through an artist resource book, i discovered, Peter Howson. He was born in 1958, he is a Scottish painter who specialises on portraits and was an officual war artist in 1993, the Bosnian Civil War and captures drunken and even physically deformed men and woman.
I particularly like his piece, "The Bodybuilder" -1998 because there is so much detail within the body builder's figure.
I then started to create a drypoint of "The Bodybuilder" onto a sheet of fine aluminum (below) The experience was interesting. I had never done etching before, and well... it was a very scratchy beginning.

My drypoint of "The Bodybuilder"

To create this image onto my fine sheet of aluminum, i used sharp tools to cut and basically draw onto my plate. The drawn cut image is the area that will print onto paper.

Whilst my paper is soaking in water, I started to ink my sheet. I used card to scrap the ink onto my sheet applying it into the cuts. Then, using a cloth, I whipped of the excess ink with a circular motion to apply in the cuts even more. A sheet of tracing paper is used in the same way. A clean cloth is then used to clean off the edges so no extra marks will be printed.

An etching press is needed to produce the print as heavy pressure forces the paper into the cut inked marks of the plate.