Self Initiated Brief

After looking at some of the artists I intended, I started to respond, creating drawings in a reflective manner. After working on the Adamley drawings, taking time and capturing detail, it felt strange, yet refreshing to be free and have an energetic movement about my work. From all of my drawings I started to scan in some of the mark I liked, translating them into motifs and brush marks on Photoshop in order to start producing digital designs. I wanted to produce abstract designs, and whilst playing around in Photoshop I found that using the ‘Liquidify’ tool allowed me to blend and warp my images. It started to develop my designs into what looked like stirred blobs of paint, I feel like they held a similar feel to Yago Hortal’s work, a similar vibrant, fluid motion. 

Whilst I liked these I feel like my designs were too cluttered and complex as my intentions at this point are to keep my designs simply focused on colour. Also this is the project I hope to progress with into Unit X, so I didn’t want things getting to complex yet, I wanted to explore every level in more detail. Something which I feel I skipped through fairly quickly in the live briefs due to the limit of time. So with this in mind I decided want to take a step back and simplify. 

With my interest in photography I decided to try a new approach to capturing loose fluid marks of colour. I took a set of photographs using ink in water, something inspired by photographer Alberto Seveso, using a macro lens to capture the close up movement of the ink dispersing in the water. These images really inspired me in terms of shape and colour and just the idea of fluidity and movement. However I figured that these images would be fairly difficult to convert into designs, with such unusual, bold shapes I still wanted to simplify further. 

So I progressed on with my photography based work, using a slow shutter speed on my camera I decided to take photographs of various colourful things whilst moving the camera in a linear motion. I chose to make a linear motion to mimic the brush strokes I previously made within my painting, I wanted to capture the same simplistic sensation.

I then went back to Photoshop and started experimenting with the ‘Motion Blur’ tool, using some of my previous designs and transforming them into designs which had the same qualities as my images, which has then developed into my final collection for this unit. Whilst I know this is not my finishing point for this project I feel like I came to a nice rest stop, producing a simple vibrant collection that focuses simply on just colour and motion. I am excited to develop this further for my final unit, bringing in more techniques and exploring ideas for the context of this work. 

Self Initiated Brief

For my self-initiated brief I have chosen to explore an abstract use of colour, focusing on texture and marks. I want to work with a loose hand and develop my mark making skills further, my aim is to push out of my organised comfort zone and work towards creating a range of paintings and photographs that have an impulsive sensation. My objective is to work with a wide range of inspiration, looking at abstract paintings, photographs of ink in water that capture the free dispersing colour, exciting natural colours and textures, for example the kind found in rocks, mineral and gemstones. I want to use this unit as an almost final opportunity to experiment with different media, hoping to explore different areas throughout the development process, from dying fabrics, both digital and screen printing, then possibly bringing in other medias I’ve briefly used before, for example embroidery or the laser cutting.

With my intentions in mind, some of the artists I aim to take inspiration from include a range of different practitioner. The abstract paintwork of Gerhard Richter, layering amounts of acrylic paint on top of images as if almost to distort them is really interesting and something which I think will heavily influence my work, especially the blended yet rough marks he achieves with his paint. Similarly the work of Matthew stone, and also Yago Hortal. Hortal’s work has a more vibrant energy, using more acidic colours is a little out of my comfort zone and something I tend to try avoid, however I really enjoy the aesthetics of his work. It has an exciting vigour and movement to it, and movement within the design is also something I plan to take into consideration so I think he would be a very worthwhile artist for my research. A couple of photographers which help inspire me in a similar manner are Kim Keever and Alberto Seveso, both photographers have collections which focus on the movement and shape created when dropping ink in water, something I have always wanted to try achieve. I feel like capturing the split second of that movement and exploring the shape it creates is interesting and provides abstract shapes which I think I can use to help push forward any design development.

 Yago Hortal 

 Alberto Seveso

For this project, I would like to see where the designs take me in terms of context. I feel like the designs will probably sway more towards a fashion-focused context for the initial stage of my development. However this is definitely the project I hope to progress into my Unit X Final Major Project, and for this I plan to branch out with my designs and tailor collections suitable for different outcomes. For example, one collection suitable for fashion, a collection more suited to interiors and maybe some larger format designs intended for commission spaces.

Adamley Silk - live brief

After creating the design using the sea horse, I felt really inspired by the decorative feel of the animals, so I decided to consider using more animals in my designs. After researching some more I felt motivated to produce more drawings. In order to play to the target audience I decided to try and use animals that have power and strength, emphasising the essence of masculinity. I chose to work with an eagle, knowing the curve and general shape of the body would provide a strong link to a paisley shape aesthetic, then other powerful animals such as a lion, stag and a bear. I spent a long time on these drawings, knowing that I wanted to capture lots of detail within the animal, I decided that this would work well in helping disguise the animal to a certain degree, I did this because I wanted my designs to focus initially on colour and pattern, until you look closer and then notice the detail and realise that the design is formed from animals. 

So after completing my drawings I started to play around with turning them into designs, I found that some of the animals worked better than others. For example I was surprised to find that the eagle, the shape I thought would work best, was challenging to place into a pattern that didn’t seem too fragmented. Then the lion head, one which I thought might not be as successful developed into one of my favourite designs. With this design I like the idea that the pattern forms diamond shapes in a simple repeat which is what initially grabs your eye, until you look closer and notice the details. 

In terms of colours for my designs I tried to vary my range, using completely different colour pallets for each design. I wanted to experiment with a range of bright colours and pastels, whilst trying to keep a rich tone, as it is something I feel is fairly important and predominant in men’s accessories, it seems to add an element off class and sophistication which I feel would be best suited for the Adamley company.  Overall I am pleased with my final collection, I left out some designs which I preferred in terms of colour mood and style which seemed less refined and included a couple of the higher developed designs that were a little more out of my comfort zone. So overall I think it displays range and variety, and whilst I like some designs more than others I figured this would be down to personal choice