Norwich- IMAGINED

 I have created three postcards that reflect the imaginative aspect of the brief.  The first postcard draws influence from Rob Nicol's painted line workshop were we had to illustrate an imaginative narrative. 

the postcard on the left is inspired by my own narrative "The sunlight dances in this place creating a picturesque view..." Taking this part of the narrative I decided to recreate the aspect of the sunlight dancing through a lino cut. initially the lino cut was of a river but taking on this idea redefining and recreating I wanted to somehow integrate the image of the river to exemplify a sense of movement. Overlaying lino cuts also provided my work with a sense of depth. 

The middle image is the second of the imaginative series in which I imagined Norwich be rich in sea life. Compositionally,I decided to place the fish on-top of the water rather than behind. Bringing the fish forward forces the viewer to question the postcard. I imagined the fish would be superimposed on top of the water because firstly I considered the fact that Norwich is a city so their is most likely an element of water pollution. Secondly I wanted the viewer to question the role they have in this. Although the postcard maybe pleasing to  the eye, a deeper meaning is conveyed through my choice of colour. shades of pale yellows and creams juxtapose the harsh blue creating a deeper sense of life/ loss of life within the fish.

Although Nicol's way of mark making did not really suite me, I decided to try it once again. Using only my fingers and a single shade of blue I tried to  illustrate this idea of movement using a repetitive  circular motion with my hands.  

At first I had made the decision that this would be my final imagined post card but upon reflection I decided to go with composition below as I felt compositionally as a set of postcards they work well together.  I imagined what the medieval aspects of Norwich looked like in a modern setting. I cannot fully say I relied on my imagination entirely as your imagination is often informed by previous experience e.g. observation.

The painted line part 2

 In the second part of the workshop we were asked to disregard secondary resources in favour of our own imagination ;again using the methods we encountered in part 1. During the Painted line series it became evident that  this workshop was not created  to build on the knowledge I already have. But rather, going through a sequential process of re-learning the fundamentals of drawing in order to create more well informed approach to image making. To begin, Rob presented the class with a written narrative. the aim of the task was to extract the key elements and illustrate.  After reading the narrative, my first thought was to draw the first thing that popped into my mind.  For example the  some builders and motorcyclists were mentioned.  It did not even occur to me to deconstruct the "builders" identity. Meaning - what are the common characteristics of a builder? what would they usual wear and if so - what?  Being introduced to this sequential thought process made this task more enjoyable as up till then, I mostly produced compositions that were influenced by secondary resources. Creating compositions using this allowed me to think more critically about my work 

insert image of composition 

The Painted Line - Part 1

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 Under the guidance of Rob Nicol over two days I produced a series of drawings that challenged both how and what I use to produce a composition. 

first attempt of drawing a still life with 2 colour palates

  Colour – In relation to the project brief: “Norwich imagined, observed and remembered” we were limited to two colours palates. The main objective of this task was create a tonal passage of light and dark through a still life. A time restraint of 2-5 minutes was enforced per study. Knowing I had to meet the objective of the task as well as produce a series of studies made me feel uneasy. Typically, I work in a refined slow manner so being asked to work in a completely different manner was extremely challenging.  

still life composition using 3 colour palates 

-       Whilst producing my compositions I had consider the placement of my colour and the type of mark. However, the more I participated in the workshop the more I began to understand that this workshop was less concerned with the idea of creating a refined outcome but rather, reflecting your thought process visually.

-       Another aspect of drawing we were asked to consider was scale.  Previously I would consider the size of the overall composition. But within the workshop I was asked to consider creating various images on a number of different scales. Doing this has altered my creative process as before this workshop, I would only consider the size but not the placement of the image on the page. Rapidly moving between sheets of A5, A3 and A1 presented me with a problem.  In order to produce a larger scale image I could not rely on smaller brushes. Unlike a smaller brush I found that the larger brush enabled me to produce less refined compositions but cover the surface more effectively. As a result, I produced a series of less refined work but I was able to explore the sensitivity of line and marks within my compositions. Constantly shifting between soft and hard lines created a more realistic depiction of the objects being in the present.