Sophie Schwarz.
Morrissey.

                                                            Me and my pooch Doogle!

 I chose Morrissey as i have always really enjoyed his music(particularly when he was a member of The Smiths)and I have always been intrigued by his constant links in his song lyrics to Manchester.

This picture depicts The Smiths for me perfectly. It is my main colour image for my swatches created in my workshop introductions into photoshop.

Photoshop.

I has not used photoshop before and so it was a useful skill for me to learn;  I have practised layering, changing the opposity, editing colour, and sizes of images as well as adding my own brushes.

 

This image above uses all of the techniques I learnt within photoshop.Its important for me to demenstrate stitching as i feel its whai i enjoy.

I felt that even though photoshop was not my ideal first choice for my first workshop and so i did feel it affected the initial progression of my work.

Research;The Holy Name Church.

The Holy Name Church, visited due to its mentioning in one of The Smiths Songs.I took quite a few pictures,but this one  above is my favourite.

After Researching Morrissey, I was intrigued by his obsession with Gladiolas,and so i brought some to draw and work with;

Drawing Sessions.

Outcomes of the first task set for drawing; drawing from imagination.

After comparing our work as a group it was interesting that even though we were given the same sentences to draw from , the outcomes were so different!

Something that was also the case in our second drawing session of drawing Spirals! No two were the same.

Kahori Maki

I really took an interest in her work as it instantly caught my attention as she uses photoshop within her work, using nature and flowers in her work which is relevant to my Gladiolas.

More Drawing Sessions

Layering, blind drawing, going from dark to light

 

Using Oil Bar, playing with negative space and again light and dark marks.

I fould these drawng sessions quite hard as I am a literal drawer, and so this was very out of my comfort zone, but helped me practice different techniques, i particularly enjoyed the blind drawing, which i decided to explore further using my gladiolas;

1m x 1m Drawing.

 I used the Gladiolas as my inspiration for my large 3day drawing. I tried to use they layering idea taken from the drawing workshops.

Start of the task

End Result

Anya Gallaccio

 I realise i like flowers as a whole; and since starting my new workshop; Hand Processes i want to do something with my dead gladiolas(after having them for 3weeks now! I was told to look as the artist Anya Gallaccio. I love her use of flowers and even though the flowers are tiny and intricate(similiar to my style of working)The Result is large and bold. I will take inspiration from her work in my own.

Preserve'beauty' Anya Gallaccio.

Analysing my sketchbook

I found the Sketchbook Exhibition very helpful to my own work. I feel I struggled with my project at first; I did not end up doing the workshop I wanted to do and so found the whole thing quite a challenge. After seeing everyone elses work I was inspired in the way that i tackled my own work and  how i looked back what i had already achieved.

I recieved some positive comments from my peers and this has given me some confidence within my work; Comments referring to my positive colour references, which i feel work well within my work. However, at the start of the project, my work was very much about dark colours reflecting upon the whole mood around my topic of Morrissey, and i feel now my colour palette is a lot brighter. I definatately think my methodology could be inproved; as i have 2 sketchbooks i have found that i have different ideas going on in in both of them, sometimes not connected. This i feel i will have to revisit.

Regarding my working methods; i feel i go through phases! I have definately got more of a positive work ethic with my project at the moment, compared to the first few weeks of the project. I feel i have found my feet and my method of working. I have always enjoyed or been drawn to working on a smaller scale(this i feel reflects in my sketchbook)I feel it very hard to work on a larger scale; and so found the drawing classes a challenge, but overall they helped me achieve different outcomes within my work.

   I have tried drawing quite a bit in my sketchbook, mostly observational but i feel i could have explored sizing a lot more something i feel i might look at as my project comes to a close. I have started to look at artists that are of an interest, but not in too much depth as work within my sketchbook should be my own work. I have visited one museum and a few places mentioned in Morrisseys lyrics; but most of my influences now have come from my Gladiola drawings.

  I really appreciated seeing other peoples sketchbooks, it was really nice to see everyones unique styles of working and at the same time it gave me some ideas for my own sketchbook. I think the way a sketchbook flowed was something to consider in my own book; knowing how that person got from a to b. This is something i feel i need to improve within my own work.

    I do have a fear of showing others my work; i like my work to be private, and I feel that i make negative comparisons with other work if i see others. I do think i need to gain some confidence within my work; and especially work out my own style and way of working. At the moment I am still learning and trying to work out what that is.

Drawing Session;Deconstructing my Large Drawing

After spending 3days on my drawing I was a bit disheartned at first to cut it up! But I found it a good way of transforming the same drawing into something completly different....