Pine cones

I seem to be developing a thing for pinecones.  A bit of a messy page of my sketchbook, but I like the different techniques laid out together.

Most of these drawings came from a drawing workshop. Using pencil, fine liner or sharpie and drawing techniques such as blind, continuous, opposite hand and analytical.

Dead flowers

Until I photographed this page, I didn't realise how obvious the blutack is where I have stuck sketches into my book. It looks awful. There's something to work on a solution to.

The dead flower in the centre was saved and put into my sketchbook, as I found it all squashed on the floor under my desk and felt sorry for it.

I created pencil drawings and then traced them using the lightbox and then scanned them and used Photoshop to enlarge them.

Continuous line

My tutor chose this sketch to scan in and create a screen print image from it.

It was drawn using a continuous line technique. I thought it looked scrappy and a bit of nothing.

However, just goes to show what I know as I seem to have used this design more than any other! Now I actually love it. I'll remember this lesson learned.

Sketch

I am really enjoying the amount of drawing we have had to do.  Especially all these florals, there is an endless supply of primary source!

A couple of analytical pencil drawings.

Ahead of the game for once

A productive morning today. Mixing more paint ready for my final samples.

I'm so glad I chose this beautiful rich red brown as halfway through this module, Pantone announced their colour of the year and it's my colour!

I'm setting trends!!

Photo sketching

I really enjoyed working on this drawing. I tried really hard to loosen up and use more line to create the darker areas rather than always shading.

I love the idea of growing the photograph. Im keen to explore this again.

Maurizio Anzeri, Stitched Photographs

Ages ago I came across some work by Maurizio Anzeri. 

His unusual and eyecatching work joins vintage photographs and embroidery.   His search for what he calls a ‘blank canvas’ occurs in flea markets and car boot sales and he has a particular interest in using portrait photographs from the 1930’s and 1940’s.

His embroidery takes an intricate abstract design which is sewn directly onto the surface of the photograph.  

The only rule Marizio works to is leave one or both eyes open.  He takes inspiration for his embroidery design from many different sources, never one particular thing, he painstakingly marks out the stitch holes before he begins his embroidery, which only takes place after much planning and his choice of thread is synthetic hair. The designs reflect the moment the photograph has captured, or what Maurizio has read of the moment.

His work strangely fascinated and intrigued me, capturing and focusing in on a moment in time, I wondered about the subjects, the people in Maurizio’s photographs are anonomous to him, we don’t know anything of their past or what happened in their future or of the moment when the photograph was taken or why it came to be found with discarded lamps and broken toys in a car boot sale.  Yet years later they have become immortilised in his art.  If only they knew.

Maurizio's work is far far more interesting than my tester, you can find out more about him here

Transfer Paint

I've been playing around with transfer paint to create some interesting backgrounds.

I can't decide if this one is more Twister or Hungry Caterpillar.

Screen, stitch, appliqué

At last, time to start stitching! First printed sample to get me back in the swing of it.

A screenprinting based on some continuous line drawings of conkers.

I used puff binder in the screen, along with multiple layers and the required heat to activate it, gives a uber textural background to work with. 

The base fabric is quite rough, with a fairly loose weave. I've chosen to contrast this by using another screened fabric. This time a luxurious satin and appliqué selected areas. First using bondaweb to keep them in place while I stitched.

Still lots to go, but this is where I'm currently at.

Lino cutting and breaking the piggy bank

Rather than doing anything constructive tonight, I have spent almost the past two hours, watching YouTube videos on Wacom's Cintiq. I've come to the conclusion my life is in desperate need of one. Therefore I will spend the next two hours searching down the side of the sofa for spare coins, or preferably notes. In the hope I can raise the £750 price tag.

However, a productive and calming day for me cutting lino. 

This design originated from a pine cone sketch, which I mirrored and played around with until I arrived at this beautiful mandala.

Then today, all I could think of were snowflakes.

So now I'm not so keen on it. A bit more tweaking is needed.

Now for the science bit ...

I was expecting mixing paint to be much more time consuming, but using Pantone formulas were much easier than I thought. 

As long as you can gauge percentages. 

At this point I wasn't totally convinced, but then, ta da!! 

A full colour palette, mixed to perfection.  Next stop, screenprinting.

Collecting the embellishments

I love the beginning of a new project.

I've decided on my colour palette.

Now its time to start collecting ... stuff!

I love the postman bringing a parcel.  Even more when I've forgotten what I ordered!

This mornings surprise package is full to the brim of surface print. Pattern by Drusilla Cole.  Organics, geos, abstract, they're all there.

Even better its the size of your average paperback so it fits into you bag for you to browse the images and be inspired wherever you are.