Geometric Print

One of the main problems I had was working out a way to connect my print work to everything else that I have done. Although they can both fit under my genre of conversation, they do not correlate very well. 


So, as a result, I started layering prints in interesting ways, which didn’t really work very well so that idea took a back seat. However, then I started creating stencils using geometric shapes which I thought was really successful, so I sarted printing on other materials such as corrugated card and plastics.

This also worked really well, so progressing from this, I decided to make a stecil that would fit over an entire screen and then keep layering them on top of one another. Additionally, I also started to vary the materials that I printed on to from old prints to hard, glossy plastics. I also cut into to the plastic covering that keeps the plastic underneath from scratching and then layered several prints on top which created a very fresh and modern feel and started to shape up as my final piece. 


So in the next week I’ll be creating several more stencils and thinking of new innovative ways to print.

Experimentation

After my previous piece I decided to experiment more with inks and ways to apply them to wood and what other media would either absorb or resist it. This was very enjoyable and I discovered a lot, that at first I hadn’t intended to. 

I started by using the same technique as in my previous piece by layering oil pastels onto a background but as I had started playing around with the idea of using stencils in my print work I combined this with the way I layer geometric shapes by using found packaging as stencils but I tried using spray paint instead of screen printing. I found that combing the spray paint with oil pastels, I could achieve an interesting combination, although the found stencils didn’t work as successfully as I had hoped.

As I didn’t like the finished background, I tried to rescue it by working in soft pastels over the top. This had a positive effect and left an interesting combination of finishes as the soft pastels gave quite a soft, matted effect where as the oil pastels and spray paint gave off a very glossy finish. I found this contrast worked really well so decided to expand on it but left the spray paint out.

From the experimentation on the last piece, I decided to expand on the combination of soft and oil pastels. After collecting up a variety of found wooden shapes, I started creating different backgrounds on each one. Then, I continued my experimentation with inks and the way in which different media and materials react with it. I started pouring ink down each bit of wood and both soft pastels and oil pastels resisted the ink in different ways. 


The oil pastels would make the ink just slip down it and where the ink had settled, it looked as though the ink had started to bubble as it was separated by the oil pastels and once the ink had dried it left a very defined, clean edge. In contrast the soft pastels had not been fixed, so the ink found it difficult to attach onto anything. So the ink just trickled down and left no mark. It was only when I angled the wood so it was almost flat that the inks started to settle. When the ink did settle, unlike the oil pastels where the ink just sat on top the inks, the ink had started to become absorbed by the soft pastels and then seeped into the wood grain which left an equally interesting effect and created a contrast which added a new dynamic aspect and provided another contrast to the many others that are already happening in the other conversations that I am creating. 

Once I had finished coating all the wood, I started layering them and working out which is the most effective in terms of composition. At first I combined all the pieces of wood together but I found that the piece became too busy and I was thinking of creating more of a permanent looking piece but with all the pieces combined it started to look too temporary, so I decided to start over with the composition.

 

After my previous composition being too busy I decided to select the more successful pieces of wood and then experiment with different ways of layering them. The more minimalist composition worked a lot better and created a more permanent feel and held enough contrast to look interesting but not too much that it became overwhelming. Moreover, I felt the contrasts were also a lot clearer and I know that was something that previous pieces may not have had.

As a conversation, this piece contains contrast, depth and expressive, seemingly random and improvised mark making that create a subtle undertone behind the obvious running inks.

When assembling this piece I had one main problem and that was actually fastening the pieces of wood together. This was because as I had coated all of the pieces of wood before sticking them together I had to cover over parts I had coloured with oil and soft pastels, which through this process I discovered not only resist inks but also glue. 


So after several attempts and after removing all the failed pieces of glue, I decided to sand down the parts that I was sticking together and by complete accident, it created a compelling contrast. The parts I had sanded down left the wood stained with subtle changes in colour and this was right next to the still and very vivid/bright combination of oil and soft pastels.

At the end I was left with a variety of pieces of stained wood and the original square piece of wood I had experimented on. So I decided to try and make a composition out of them. 


Once I had stuck the pieces of wood on the background I then worked over it with oil pastels and ink. I felt this piece didn't necessarily work particularly well although as a bi product it was worthwhile making it.

Paint

In previous pieces I had wished I’d used paint or experimented more with it so I decided to use paint on a severed section of a log that I found. 

This was incredibly interesting on its own, as the relationship between the wood grain and the saw marks had created an intriguing effect and when I added paint to it, the paint highlighted this. However, to me, paint felt very static and just didn’t create the effect I was looking for. Although this didn’t end in the way I’d hoped and essentially ruined an already beautiful object, I felt that this was a worthwhile endeavor as it gave me direction for the next piece.

Group Critique: Dip Dab

It was interesting to take the time and analyse each others work because although we know roughly what one another is doing we didn’t know the details behind the piece or ever taken the time to properly look at pieces that we have created. 


I gained some positive feedback about my piece that was really an outcome of playful experimentation. The contrast between qualities of line and vividness of colour was something that standed out in the feedback; along with how the oil pastels resisted the inks. 


In addition, I also gained a new perspective on my work with some feedback such as whether to portray conversation in a more obvious way. I could understand where this comment was coming from, however I feel that the subtle differences and contrasts within a piece is what makes a big overall effect. However, I felt that maybe by making these contrasts a little more obvious it would not be a wasteful thing to experiment with. 


Another aspect of my work that was highlighted was the use of geometric shapes and how they are layered. I intend to expand on this in more depth and look at new ways to layer shapes in interesting and dynamic ways.

Cy Twombly

One artist who was suggested to me to look into was Cy Twombly. I found his vivid and erratic mark making and the way in which he applied the media to his pieces was not dissimilar to my previous piece.

Something else I was intrigued to find out, is that Twombly went through a similar process when it came to experimentation with ready made backgrounds and the way he works back into work to get different effects. However I feel that is as far as the similarities go, because Twombly thinks a lot of his pieces out and creates a number of sketches to plan each piece it didn't relate as much to my work. In my work, at this present moment, I'm a lot more experimental and chance is still an important component. Although when creating my final piece I am unsure chance will hold the same amount of importance and whether like Twombly, my marks will be planned more strategically.

Dip Dab.

After experimenting with different ways of putting wood together in previous wood collages, I thought, instead of creating a made shape using found pieces of wood and then working over the top of what I had made, I should try to change the appearance of each single bit of wood before I assembled them.

I did this by coating each piece of wood with oil pastels as they would resist a lot of substances layered over the top. I then poured inks over each piece of wood and dipped them in any left over ink that fell into a bucket underneath. This created quite an interesting effect as some of the inks created an odd layer over the oil pastels whereas others created a sort of force field around the oil pastel.

In addition, I also used layered cardboard in this piece, which I found helped create a contrast in texture as it absorbed a lot more of the inks in comparison to the wood. I found creating pieces in this way made the piece feel a lot more together and permanent, as though it was a single piece in comparison to where I had worked over already made designs the which made the work look a lot more temporary.

To progress from this, I intend to continue experimenting with layering other media and substances. Along with this I would also like to combine a wider range of materials. This is because, if I used the same pouring and dipping technique, the way the inks affected the work would vary greatly between substances.

Stuart Davis

Stuart Davis' work was something that really appealed to me when I first saw it. The layers of shapes and colours he uses in his pieces contain a lot of movement and feel as though they are actually figures in the pieces.

Something else that intrigued me was the period of time that Davis worked because it was a lot earlier than any other artist I have looked at, despite his working being very similar to the recent contemporary artists that I have looked at.

Something else that I found interesting was how I could create a similar effect to Davis' work by using screen printing. If I cut out a variety of shapes or stencils, then keep overlaying them on top of one another and then maybe paint over the top of that, this could lead to creating an interesting result.
 

Peter Halley

Peter Halley was an artist who I looked at while making my prints. His work interests me as it contains powerful, vivid colours and he uses a variety of different geometric shapes, that in some pieces, are positioned in a logical order and in others, a more deceivingly spontaneous way.

As well as this, he has created a series of paintings on the side of broken stones. This created an intriguing contrast between the quality of line he used in his painting and the coarse rock edge it was painted onto.

Halley also concentrates on creating a conversation through his pieces by using geometry. When asked if he felt trapped in his geometry he replied,

"Not so much actually. The idea of what can be done with that language interests me. Just as in Picasso, language is a closed set, and yet he can infinitely reassociate things to make them into different kinds of signs. I am trying to do that with a far more limited set of signs". 

In addition, Halley suggested that what interests him is the way his work progresses and changes through the use of repetition.

After looking at Halley's work it has influenced me to create something that is very expressive and bold but at the same time calculate it and by using repetition and geometry maybe discover a way that my work could progress.

Print Workshop

Earlier in the course using screen and relief printing created some interesting pieces, so I thought using the print workshop in my FMP would be a good idea.

We first had to choose an image to bitmap. The image I chose was a photograph I took in London of an old sign from the early 1900's stating, 'Commit No Nuisance'. I thought that this was a very powerful phrase and as an image it created a powerful effect on the viewer. I was just confused as what was classed as nuisance and what the punishment for committing nuisance was. We needed to bitmap the images so that the image is broken down into a series of dots, so that when transferring this image onto a screen, inks can pass through these dots. I tried to use an image that contained some form of textured mark along with a statement in text so that it could create a strong image when printed.

After transferring the image onto a screen, I then made a stencil that fitted over the commit no nuisance sign so I could make a series of separate backgrounds. This would make the text stand out more and give me ability to put more colours into the print.

The backgrounds on their own became quite interesting because it created a feeling of ambiguity. Another interesting effect that came through accidentally was a print that was positioned incorrectly on the screen and started to overlap the background. This is something that I wished I had explored more when I had the chance because once I had corrected my mistake, it didn't happen again.

Once I had moved the background into the right place the prints became comparable to the over used 'Keep Calm and Carry on' slogan, which is something I hadn't planned although I felt the prints were slightly more original. I created a variety of different prints by changing the materials I printed on and the colours I used to print. I felt that when I printed on materials such as wood, vibrant plastics and newspaper added a new meaning to the piece and added a noticeable contrast and change in texture.

Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster produced by the British Government in 1939 during the beginning of the  Second World War, intended to raise the morale of the British public in the event of invasion. Seeing only limited distribution, it was little known. The poster was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of private companies, and used as the decorative theme for a range of products. - Via http://wartimeposters.co.uk/keepcalm

Finally I collected four of the most successful prints and then composed them next to each other in a grid.

I thought these prints did hold a very interesting and strong effect and from this point on I am taking the less successful prints and I plan to either use them alongside other materials such as wood in a collage or alternatively, create a series of geometric stencils and then print over them. If I went through the process again, I would use more stencils and maybe bitmap a number of images, place them on the same screen and then overlap them and create a final composition this way.