I started off this looking through the themes Tropical Tourist, Style Lounge, Iced Landscape and Nature’s Larder. Working out which one I could be inspired with the most. Out of all the themes my preferred theme was Nature’s Larder, it could be interpreted in so many different ways. And I had lots of different ideas on ways to develop the brief.
I got started with a mind map, jotting all my ideas for the theme. After putting pen to paper, I found I was developing the ideas even further. In one of my previous projects for my foundation course I had focused on nature, looking at more of a woodland theme. One thing I had found whilst doing that project was the different textures and patterns that could be found in all parts of nature. This would be great to develop with mark-making techniques.
As we were in lockdown at the time of starting this brief I was limited to the time are areas I could visit, the lovely gardens I had once visited regularly were now closed. I had to look closer to how for inspiration. With the word larder in the title, food had come to mind. I remembered on one of my walks I had seen mushrooms growing on a tree and was amazed at the detail that could be found underneath and how well it photographed. I then thought of other fruit and vegetable that have interest textures and patterns on either externally or internally.
I picked the following fruit and vegetables for their interesting features.
Reflecting on the images I have captured, I was restricted with time with using fresh fruit and vegetables. Once they were cut open the clock was ticking for me to create the images I wanted. I was disappointed with the original pomegranate I had as the seeds were not as eye catching as I had hoped. I resorted to purchasing a replacement fruit as it bothered me so much.
One of parts I enjoyed about using the items I picked were interesting on the inside and the outside. I also found them interesting to look at under a microscopic lens, looking at all the different shapes that made up the patterns.
Before I started I began researching artist that had used mark-making as part of their work. Some of the artists that really stood out to me where Louise Bourgeois, Hillary Ellis and Debbie Smyth.
What appealed to me about Louise Bourgeois work was the simple flowing lines she used to create the images.
The piece pictured above helped to inspire me, with the its natural flowing lines. Without using details the lines simply flow into shapes, this would work well to form the shapes on the objects I have chosen. The shapes remind me of bulbs or the skins of an onion with its multiple layers, with the vines or roots entwining around them.
The next artist I looked at was Debbie Smyth, her delicate use of cotton to frame the image creating an outline. The pieces she creates capture angles and movement. Creating shade with feathering threads, mixing simplicity and complexity together. Her working technique is definitely something I would like to explore in the future.
The final artist that caught my eye was Hilary Ellis, rather than creating images of objects with marks it was more the marks that she created on the page that appealed to me. Using repetitive marks to cover the page and create texture. These helped me to think of different techniques I could transfer onto my pieces.
So, now I had my items I now had to source my papers to draw on. I sourced different size cartridge paper as a base to start with ranging from A2 to A5. Using the larger sheet to do freer more flowing quick sketches. Capturing less detail and focusing more on the lines and shapes of the items.
My first image I wanted to capture the collection as a whole, moving quickly with a felt tip pen focusing on the basic forms that create the items in front of me.
I then wanted to experiment with natural papers to keep with the theme of nature. I sourced some paper with natural fibres with the paper. I wanted to use a softer material to work with on this paper, as the paper had a softer texture. I chose to work with gouache paint watered down and applied the paint with a small paint brush in quick soft strokes. Holding the paintbrush softly I found I had less control of the strokes. I like the looser movements that were created with this technique.
The brown paper reminded me off the paper bags from a green grocer. I wanted to capture the interesting lines under the mushroom and I thought the best drawing technique to capture them was with a continuous line drawing. I used a fine liner on this sketch as it would achieve a continuous line without running out of medium like paint or ink. Using a smaller nib also meant I could capture more detail. This is one of my more favoured pieces as with the natural brown paper coming through the black lines. The continuous line made me look at the mushroom and how I should form the lines on the page whilst keeping the nib on the page. Although it doesn’t achieve a neat line I like the overall rougher natural lines that are achieved.
Next, I wanted to produce sketches with a different techniques removing paint, monoprints and using the fruit to create the texture. in the image below I used a plastic fork to scratch away the gouache paint, which I painted on thicker so, it was easier to remove the paint. I used the end of the paint brush to remove the paint and capture the lines within the kiwi.
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