Newport Street Gallery, Vauxhall, London

Wow.... blown away by Damien Hirsts newly opened Newport Street Gallery http://www.newportstreetgallery.com.  

Designed by London architecture studio Caruso St John in a row of converted and extended theatre warehouses in Vauxhall. Inside floors have been taken out to open up the spaces, creating high- ceilinged galleries enabling the installation of large sculptures. Whats fabulous is that its FREE! and certainly not cramped - no fighting with the elbows to get a glimpse of the artwork!

Change of plan !

Been pondering over the space Im exhibiting in and now thinking Im going to have a go at painting a large canvas instead of the photographic image. Visited John Hoyland exhibition #johnhoyland @NPSgallery yesterday - Inspired by the large canvas - its got to be done :O) or at least attempted!!! Thinking that a smallish photo image is not going to have the impact Im looking for. Need to make a canvas when back in Uni next week! Now to think about the lighting :O) aaahhh :O)

Developing the ideas .......

Having initially started the ideas for the exhibition with Edisson, light bulbs !!

Quite a few hours standing in a dark room with my new camera,tripod, a blow torches and candles (don't ask) nearly set fire to my camera! This was the fun bit, now came the tricky bit - getting to grips with the technicalities of Photoshop!!! aaaahhhhhhhhh.....
Patience, patience!

'Blue I' 

Objective: To create an etherial like feel to the image. I want it to play with light in a subtle impactful way. 'Blue I'  stands out for me at this stage. Further experimentation required, what photographic paper to get the right 'look and feel' the right finish, what size print. How is the color going to translate onto the different surfaces? So many complexities :O) But thats what this is all about 

Plan at the moment is to have at least one photograph as part of my exhibition, thinking maybe a series. Mind has moved onto creating some sort of light installation to complement the images and create atmosphere. I need to go off and do some research and check in with guru of lighting design N Burridge !!

Let Year 2 unleash itself !!!!!!!

Straight into the hard working environment of the Bristol School of Art!

As an active member of Bristol Post Diverts Art Collective we are hard at work.. https://instagram.com/bristolpostdiverts/ 

Exhibition space booked at the Edwardian Cloakroom, Bristol. November 28th - 2nd Dec 
https://bristolcitycouncilcreativespace.wordpress.com/facilities/edwardian-cloakroom-3/

All neurones blazing, Edwardian, abstract, visually impactful and a touch of 'framing infinity'! Just a few pointers for my next project. Thomas Edison, light bulbs, filaments and playing with light .... this gives you a clue.

Developing drawings which play with light and visual perception. Watch this space .....

   

End of 1st Year Exhibition June 2015

Better late than never, as they say!! Apologies to the avid followers but I had to rush to Glastonbury post exhibition hence the delay in posting!!!

A successful showing of our work, I think we managed to stimulate a few conversations trying to decide what this thing called 'Art' is all about!! 

Artists at work!! Let the preparation begin.

White emulsion, paint rollers and lots of chocolate are the simple ingredients for prepping our studio for the end of year exhibition !!

Evaluation Drawing - Module FA4001

This module has been a very insightful on occasion a painful journey of acceptance. I have struggled with the concept of drawing to develop my ideas, as in my head I had an image of detailed figurative pencil drawings which is not my thing at all, I have learnt differently and really almost anything goes! What drawing has done is make me look at my surroundings more closely, actually think about what Im seeing as well as developing ideas that are just in my head. I have especially enjoyed working on a larger scale and experimenting with mark making as seen in my ink drawings and wall art, inspired by
Jackson Pollocks action paintings and playing with imagery in my Urban project.

Ink splatter I

Transition through a tunnel

Negative spaces

Its interesting to play with your perception of what you actually see, its not always about physical objects as seen in my drawing of negative space.

My world of drawing has been opened thanks to the perseverance of MS who has encouraged me to broaden my approach with 'Wall Art' and to think about setting small challenges for myself. This has definately helped me break the mental block I had come up against. Artists such as Fiona Robinson, Discords II a Jerwood prize, shortlist, Anthony Gormley, Sol Lewitt and Richard Wright all looked at lines using buildings or walls to exhibit, they alll had extremely different styles but from them my ideas culminated. Development of my 'Horizon' series led me to draw an 8m long horizon down the public corridor in the Art School, for me that was not just about the illusion of the horizon viewed from different angles but it was about the social aspect of working and getting people involved in talking about my work as they walked past.

MDF drawings

8m long Horizon

Terrington Fen

Working Pleine Air in the Fens was liberating, quick fibre pen and pastel sketches of the flat landscape, recording the landscape ready for the studio.I love working outside, I think your brain not only captures what you see but somehow captures the atmosphere more accurately. Fred Ingrams a Fen artist works solely pleine air captures the essence of the Fens fantastically through clean lines and blocks of vibrant colour. 

Terrington Marsh & Onion Field

Photography has also played a major role in my investigation and recording of work, developing into drawings on MDF experimenting with imagery for the final piece.

Fen Horizon II

Fen Horizon I

Investigation and development of my ideas for presenting my ceramic installation, superimposing a photographic image over my Fen drawings, this was a completely new technique which is really effective and I shall definitely be developing this further.

It has been quite a journey for me on this drawing module, I have definitely grown as an artist and now after several months of experimenting have allowed myself to 'get it'. I think my major major mental block is that it had to be part of a process, but infact Ive learnt its all about investigation, developing ideas and recording these, it just so happens that in this courses context this activity is classified as 'drawing'.

I feel the world of drawing is at last really opening up for me, I just need to be open myself and allow the process side of things take a backseat.

Source:

http://www.fionarobinson.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/discords-ii.jpg

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lewitt-wall-drawing-1136-ar00165/image-292687

http://www.antonygormley.com/drawing/series

http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2014/09/richard-wright-at-the-modern-institute/

http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/abstract-expressionism.html

http://jacksonpollock.org

http://www.fredingrams.com