NINTH REFINEMENT

---Materials: a crafting knife, pages from sketchbook, a cutting mat, card board, white charcoal, a sponge, a paint brush, tracing paper, blue, white, black and red acrylic.

>My aim today is to use the transfer cello-tape technique instead of drawing the buildings. I will also be using a bunch of thread to create a fine, thin line in the background.

Firstly, I used the transfer technique and followed the same steps as the ones I used on my “cello-tape transfer technique” blog. When printing out the images I realized that they came in different sizes, for example the big building in the middle compared to the other small images. I was not able to control the sizes for each building as all the buildings were printed off from the same photograph. After adding my technique, I glued the transferred picture onto the abstract. For the big building, I added the abstract after sticking the transferred cello-tape. At the end of this stage I finally added the cardboard at the bottom of each building- inspired by Alexander Korzer-Robinson. Sticking the acetate onto the buildings was easy for me because all I had to do was put glue on the outline of the buildings and on the acetate. Overall, this piece was challenging for me as I had to cut the cardboard into little pieces and stack them together by gluing them one by one transforming it into a tower or a spring to firmly hold the cut-out buildings.

 

 

I really like how the buildings stand out unlike when I drew the buildings. Painting the abstract first onto the cut-out building before applying the transfer technique made the details of the buildings hard to see, however this shows how our memory is not fully clear in our mind.  Furthermore, I still liked the idea of drawing out buildings instead of printing them out. This is because when imagining an image in your my mind it is like drawing the image in your mind and so is not an exact copy of the original image creating this “false image” (from my mental imagery research). In my opinion, the building in the middle was a bit distracting and adding the abstract over the transfer cello-tape made my technique bigger, which I thought was less appealing. The reason it made my technique bigger is because the cello tape has a smoother texture therefore making my paint brush slip- this made my technique quite large. What I would do differently is add the acrylic onto the cut-out buildings before applying the transfer technique. I would also try printing out little images. Furthermore, Instead of concentrating on the transfer technique, I am going to concentrate on speed drawing.

EIGHT REFINEMENTS

---Materials: a crafting knife, a cutting mat, pages from sketchbook, white charcoal, a sponge, a paint brush, a pen, blue, white, black and red acrylic.

>My aim today is to make my abstract busier by using paint to cover up black spaces. I will also be using pen instead of pencil to make the buildings stand out. Also, I will try speed drawing because images in our mind do not tend to be clear. The colour red will be added in again but this time mixed with white creating the colour pink so that the colour is less violent and blends in nicely with the blue.

I used the soft part of the sponge to smudge white acrylic paint onto the background before adding the blue paint (with the hard part of the sponge).  I then started cutting out buildings and adding my technique and this time brushing my technique of with the sponge. This made my technique have a softer texture and blended in nicely with the background. Learning from my past refinement, I used a paint brush and put it at the end or corner of my circular technique and dragged the paint down carefully. I added black acrylic to the bottom and the side of my technique; I then used a pen to quickly draw some of the buildings- when doing this I drew sections of buildings and not all of it and the parts that were missing I covered up with acrylic.

 

 

I really think this was the most successful piece compared to all of my previous refinements. The colours were not too dark or too light creating a perfect balance for my abstract. The way I laid out my technique was amasing and the best so far, as my technique was at the top, sides, bottom and middle of the piece. This made my abstract look busy but still organised. I mostly liked the “Big Ben” that I drew in speed. When looking at the building it looks like it is fading away. I used black paint at the bottom but no black paint at the top which was also interesting to look at because in my opinion symbolized good and bad or heaven and hell. What I would do next time, is use the transfer technique and use acetate of a printed out building instead of drawing it. This would make the buildings even clearer to see. To make the background even more interesting I have decided to use a bunch of thread to leave an interesting line behind in the background.

SEVENTH REFINEMENT

---Materials: a crafting knife, pages from sketchbook, a cutting mat, white charcoal, a sponge, a paint brush, blue, white and black acrylic, a pencil and a rubber.

>My aim today is to draw some of the buildings that I had cut an outline of. I am also going to focus more on adding my technique into the piece and making it to stand out.

Firstly, I did the same steps I normally do. Secondly, I looked at the pictures I took in New York and London and drew buildings from the pictures onto the cut-out buildings. Thirdly, I made sure that I place the buildings at different angles. Fourthly, I added my technique and made sure I painted it in the middle and at the sides so that it took up space. I used the colour black first- mostly in the corner of my piece so that my technique would stand out more. I tried combining black and white to add the grey colour in the middle as I did not want black to be the highlight of the piece.

 

 

I thought this was successful because of the buildings I used and how my technique was very visible in this piece. I did not draw some buildings from the pictures I looked at because drawing the outline of well-known buildings would question a viewer as to whether the outline was of that particular (famous) building. For example in the middle we have “Big ben” and at the side a church that is also well known in London. This would allow the viewer to imagine this building more clearly as they are more likely to have seen it before. In my opinion, in this abstract I left little blank spaces which distracted viewers from the main abstract; the blank spaces stood out because they were different to the rest of the piece. Therefore, the white spaces make my piece more eye-catching to viewers. Next time, what I would do differently is use pen instead of pencil to make the buildings stand out more. I will also use the colour red again as I think it made the painting livelier and more interesting because it looks different.

SIXTH REFINEMENT

---Materials:  a crafting knife, pages from sketchbook, a cutting mat, white charcoal, a sponge, a paint brush, blue acrylic, white acrylic, red acryclic and black acrylic.

>My aim today is to add more buildings around the piece so that it looks busier and like a dream (connoting mental imagery). I will mainly be focusing on blue paint to create a peaceful mood in my abstract whilst adding red paint into the abstract for contrast. Focusing on the bad (red) and good (blue) that has happened in the past.

This time I used the soft part of the sponge and I spread the watery blue paint over the page as a background before putting all the buildings together and painting over it.

 

I think this refinement worked well but it was a little disappointing. I think the black acrylic was too much and my technique was not seen in the abstract. The way I layered the abstract was different to the way I used to do it, as it used to be more expressive as I used to use my technique more. I thought there was less of everything which made the abstract less appealing to me. For my next refinement, I am going to add more of my technique and make it stand out by maybe adding a little black to it. In order for my refinement to be livelier, I have decided to draw buildings in detail.

FIFTH REFINEMENT

---Materials: a crafting knife, pages from sketchbook, a cutting mat, a sponge, white charcoal, a paint brush, red acrylic, white acrylic and black acrylic.

>My aim today is to refine my abstract by using a different colour to paint with. I am also going to organise the buildings in a different way; instead of laying them all in the same direction I will position some diagonally. This is to make the buildings look like they are spinning around.

Again, I used white acrylic for the background and painted it but instead, this time, I painted over it in the colour red.

I liked this refinement because it created a different atmosphere and perspective when looking at the abstract. Using the red made my abstract have a violent feel instead of a peaceful feeling which I created using the colour blue. I mostly liked how nicely the black blended in with the pink at the top left corner of the piece. The colour red connotes danger and violence it almost creates a story when adding the red buildings together. This piece reminds me of civil war because of the differently shaped buildings symbolizing the city covered in red blood. I really like the idea that this piece could be viewed in different ways but it always tends to be viewed negatively. What I would do differently in this piece is change the colour back to blue. Although it was an amazing experience to witness and create this piece, I still prefer how peaceful my piece looked like when it was blue and the emotions it created. In addition to this, what I would change in this piece is add some red to my next refinement as well as other colours, as I found out how nicely red blends in with white and black in this piece. I will also add more buildings around the background randomly when refining because I like the idea of making the buildings seem like they are twirling as it reminds you of images in your mind that are not too clear and hard to put together- this is why the buildings are twirling arround and are in the wrong place.

FOURTH REFINEMENT

---Materials: a crafting knife, pages from sketchbook, a cutting mat, white charcoal, a sponge, a paint brush, blue acrylic, white acrylic and black acrylic.

>My aim today is to change the idea of using the outline of buildings or stencils as an abstract but focusing on adding the abstract over the buildings. In addition to this, I will try making the skyline of the buildings more visible through the abstract learning from my past refinement.

In my refinements, I realized that blue acrylic is quite dark when put straight unto a surface. Even though I like the dark blue colour used in my abstract, I wanted the abstract to have a lighter feel. In order to achieve this, I used white acrylic first and put it onto the page using the hard part of the sponge and spreading it across the page. I then added the blue acrylic on top of the white which made the blue a lighter shade. For the next step, I added some black in the middle and in the four corners of the piece to balance the painting. I then drew a diagonal line and added my technique unto the line following the rule of thirds as the viewer would look at the top left-center and then the bottom of the piece before looking at the painting in general. For the background, I made the abstract have a lighter tone so that the skyline of the buildings would be visible when adding a heavy colored abstract over the light coloured background.

 

In conclusion, I think this was a success compared to my other refinement because from a distance it looks like just a normal piece of abstract, but then when you look carefully you can see that the buildings within the abstract create the idea of an illusion. I prefer how my technique is looking like now in comparison to my third refinement.  I really like how I left some spaces in my abstract instead of painting the whole page blue. In addition, I think the rule of thirds worked well as my eyes were following the abstract from the middle, however I did not firstly look at the top-right center of the piece.When I showed people this piece, I understood that everyone had different areas of the piece they looked at first (following the rules of third) but the main focus point was the middle. What I would do differently, next time, is use a different colour like green or yellow- the reason being that the different colours could express my abstract in a different way.

THIRD REFINEMENT

---Materials: a crafting knife, Pages from sketchbook, a cutting mat, a sponge, a paint brush, blue acrylic, white acrylic, black acrylic and stencils of the buildings I cut out.

>My aim today, in the refinement, is to lay out my technique in a different way to what I have been doing in my other refinement. How am I going to do this? I am going to use the stencils of the buildings I have been cutting out throughout my pieces and lay them out unto the buildings I have just cut out in my sketchbook page.  

This time, I added less paint on the background in order to make the buildings visible. I started dipping the sponge carefully into water before applying it onto the paper as I did not wanted the piece of paper to crease. I then placed the stencils over the three pages of cut out buildings and on top of the background. After this stage, I used a paint brush for my technique and painted onto the stencil which created an outline of buildings. I used a lot of blue paint before applying white paint on top of the blue paint as I wanted the stencil to stand out. After doing the same thing to all of the other stencils, I started using a sponge to dab the outlines of the buildings by means of blending the colours together with the background.  Learning from my second refinement, I added a little black unto the abstract to create an emphasis on the blue and white abstract.

My idea of adding the stencils unto the buildings I had just cut out was a great idea but made the painting over-crowded and so it was hard to interpret. Using the stencils made the building camouflaged because I put it on the edge of buildings and so you could not to see the outline of the buildings or the skyline which was amazing- however this made the piece look over crowded. I preferred it when the abstract was on top of the buildings than now where a building is created by my abstract and is put over another building. When creating the piece, I realized how hard it was to figure out where to put the stencils because if I overlaid stencils over other stencils you would not be able to see the buildings but just random abstracts obstructing the view. This meant that I had to put the stencils around the piece which I thought made it look vague. For my next refinement, I am going to use my technique in random areas and try making it expressive (painting freestyle). Learning from this refinement, I noticed that the black helped to emphasise the blue and white techniques I created. To improve my piece, I will add white unto darker tones (like black) into the abstract so that it looks more mystical- relating to mental imagery; thinking about a memory is quite mystical to me as you are creating an image in your mind that is not precise and not always close to reality.

SECOND REFINEMENT

---Materials;  a crafting knife, Pages from sketchbook, a sponge, a cutting mat, a paint brush, blue, black and white acrylic , blue charcoal and white charcoal dust.

>Firstly, I will be developing my previous abstract piece. My aim today is to paint the background of the piece black instead of blue so that the building stands out more but is still slightly camouflaged. I also want to compare the first refinements I created to the one I will create. Furthermore, I will also try to create the abstract using a smaller scale so that I can explore the different emotions that can be created through size.

 

To begin with, I cut out the outlines of buildings from plain pieces of paper. However, I found this hard to do on the third page. The reason for this is because the buildings I cut out were too big so I changed the scale of the buildings and decided to cut out the outline of four buildings instead of six. I then started applying my abstract unto the plain cut-out building- this was hard to do as the black background mixed with the blue abstract when I added the blue acrylic on creating a grey colour. To overcome this challenge, I added more of the colour blue unto the buildings and used my technique for adding white acrylic unto the blue; I did this in order to make the blue fade out a little as there was too much blue on the piece of paper. I then mixed some of the abstract on top of the black background but as you can see the abstract was hard to recognize on the black background. Using my finger to create the technique was unique and even though I used my finger, the abstract still looked like it was made using a paintbrush.

This piece went well because the black background worked as I expected it to which was to make the building stand out. Now we are able to see the skyline of the building more clearly. However, I did not like how unbalanced the colours were- black, white and blue are opposite colours on the colour wheel. Using the colour black for my background made my piece look less camouflaged which was not my aim. I prefer using a paintbrush instead of my finger because it creates a nice texture and the brush marks look interesting as you can see how an artist built up a piece and some of the processes and techniques they went through. In my opinion, using your finger makes a piece to look plain and as if something is missing from the technique. When doing my next refinement, I will paint the background white and continue using my abstract technique but this time using the stencils of the buildings I have been cutting out. I will use the stencils of the building as negative space, inspired by Michael Tompsett, and add the stencil over the buildings I have already cut out in my sketchbook.

FIRST REFINEMENT

--- Materials:  a crafting knife, Pages from sketchbook, a sponge, a paint brush, a cutting mat, blue and white acrylic, blue charcoal, blue and black ink, a fountain pen and white charcoal dust.

>My aim today is to refine my first experimented piece by making a new abstract similar to my first experiment as my first refinement. I am going to go through the same phase of creating the abstract and the buildings but instead, this time, I am going to use ink and a fountain pen to draw lines unto the abstract. This is because I wanted the abstract to have looked different and more intriguing- as I believe having lines make a piece of art more interesting.  I am also going to paint the abstract unto the background so that the buildings become even more camouflaged into the painting.

 

I started by adding my blue abstract (using the sponge) onto the fourth page representing the background. This was so that the background was not too basic and plain. This was quite challenging because I did not want the colour on the background to be too dark as the abstract going over the background obviously had to be visible. After going through the same stages as my first experiment, I decided to add random lines into the abstract whilst making sure the lines followed the outline of my technique. Firstly, I decided to add, unto my abstract, lines in black and blue ink. After adding the lines, I started getting a little expressive with them by making them come out of the cloudy abstract and out of the actual painting. When using the sponge, I tried to add some black paint, using the hard part of the sponge, unto the black line already in the abstract.

Finally finishing the piece, I realised that the lines that I drew made the building look even more camouflaged because the lines brought all the cut-out buildings together as if there were no buildings to be seen in the abstract. In my opinion, putting the abstract piece on the background, instead of on the other pieces of paper, made my work more effective in comparison to the first piece I did. This is because the buildings and the sky are then made very hard to spot which is interesting for viewers when they do spot buildings. This also therefore makes the piece an illusion. I really liked the idea of the skyline and architecture disappearing into the abstract which meant that the piece could be seen in different views creating an atmospheric perspective. This has been my aim since I started abstract -to create an illusion making the viewers’ look carefully at the construction of the image or outline of an image. When comparing my refined piece to the original piece, I noticed that putting my technique in particular spaces was important as it created the rule of thirds. I enjoyed the idea of controlling the viewer’s eyes on what they see first flowing from section to section in the painting almost like an adventure or a path. In my opinion, what did not work too well in this painting were the lines I added. Overall, the lines make the abstract look too busy and over expressive. My technique was used a lot in this abstract making the rule of thirds hard to see as- at a first glance- I seemed to really concentrate on the left side of the painting because I realised that the colour there is darker than the right side so it therefore caught the viewers’ attention. To improve this refinement, I would remove the lines and stick with my normal technique- so that it is not overly expressive. I am also going to try adding a black background instead of a normal abstract background and compare the two to see the difference between my second and first refinement.

FINAL PIECE

I am thinking of continuing to improve this abstract and refine it as; this is something I would strongly like to present for my final piece. The reason for this is because it connects with people personally as everyone is involved with mental imagery. This is also relatable to me because of the colours used. The colour blue symbolises peace, however the colour black is also used in this piece. The colour black makes it look as if the darkness is either overcoming the light or the lightness is overcoming the dark. This is because the colour black is small in proportion to the amount of blue used so the emotion could either be growing or shrinking. Furthermore, the shapes used for the abstract look as if something exploded; explosion is normally a connotation of something negative which I paint in blue- something positive. This creates an oxymoron of different connotations.

Developing and continuing my found technique

---Materials: a crafting knife, Pages from sketchbook, a sponge, a cutting mat, a paint brush, blue and white acrylic and blue charcoal.

 

 

3 pages. 2 buildings cut on each page.

>My aim today, is to develop and continue to practise my technique and see what I think of my experiments and how they turn out. I am going to use a crafting knife, to create the buildings that I have already drawn out to be prominent- this was inspired by Alexander Korzer-Robinson. After this, I will try painting an abstract piece over the cut-out buildings. Again, this makes the buildings look camouflage relating to my “mental imagery,” when trying to remember a place you have been to or have encountered somehow the image in your mind is not as clear and we tend to remember only part of an image.

Firstly, I began to draw some buildings, I made sure I drew half of the building unto the page since I did not want the building to come out of the page completely but still be a part of the page; I drew the other half of the buildings on the paper that popped out of my sketchbook. When cutting out buildings, I made sure I cut out two buildings on every single page out of three pages because I endeavored for this piece to look busy and lively, whilst the fourth page was the background. After cutting out the buildings, I decided to use the sponge technique. This involved me using the hard part of the sponge to dip wet paint unto the paper creating a little rough cloudy texture as a background. I then used the soft part of the sponge to add more wet acrylic paint over the original background. I smudged some of the paint around the corners of the cut-out buildings. After creating this abstract background, I started adding the technique I had previously found unto the background. Like I said on my past blog post, I use the paintbrush to push the paint upwards on the paper which makes a little circle effect like a finger print. I then decided to use blue charcoal to properly blend the abstract in with the blank pages.

In my opinion, the end result of this abstract piece was quite successful because the buildings that were cut out were almost totally camouflaged with the abstract I had created. When I finished this, I realized that the paint did not go unto all of the back of the pieces of paper as I only focused on the outside shape or outline of the buildings but I forgot to paint behind the page. However, this surprisingly worked well since the unbalanced colour in this piece made the buildings stand out against the abstract, there is also clear white colour arround the buildings creating the skyline. I really love the colours I used and how my technique made the abstract look cloudy and like realistic clouds I painted from a picture of clouds I took on the way to New York. When adding my technique unto the abstract, I found it quiet challenging as I had to think carefully about where I would want my technique to be so that the abstract does not look too busy. I also found a way to fade the painting a little in order for it to blend in with the blank white page and have a smooth texture. To improve my work, what I would do differently is add the abstract unto the background before adding the cut-out buildings over the background. This makes them even more camouflage as you see less of the skyline. To make the abstract look even more interesting, I might use an ink pen to create random lines and use white charcoal dust to connote the mind (or dream, fantasy etcetera).



second page (cut buildings)

Background

 

DECIDED TO STAY WITH/ REFINE THIS ABSTRACT

After looking at all of my experiments, I have decided to stick with doing this abstract. This is because it strongly connects to me personally and relates to research I have already done. Looking through this piece reminds me and, or the viewer about “mental imagery” – as I have said already. I also would like to continue with this abstract as it strongly connects with my theme “skyline.” The reason for this is because even though this abstract relates to mental imagery, it also shows buildings that you can recognize. In addition to this, you can see the lines created by the building in this abstract- again relating to my theme “skyline.”

Artist Research: Alexander Korzer-Robinson

Alexander Korzer-Robinson was born in 1975. ‘For quirky cut out artist Alexander Korzer-Robinson a picture really is worth a thousand words’. Sentences and paragraphs are of little interest to the 42-year-old who instead cuts around different images from 150-year-old Victorian books and carefully pieces them together to create a brand new 3D art form. The Bristol-based artist, originally from Leipzig in Germany, has created vivid, detailed collages that feature everything from old soldiers standing to attention to giant pink flamingos.

Through his work in the tradition of collage he pursues a very personal obsession of creating narrative scenarios in small format. On a general level, he aims to illustrate the process that forms our inner landscape by using pre-existing media as a starting point, certain boundaries are set by the material, which he aims to transform through his process.  These books, having been stripped of their utilitarian value by the passage of time, regain new purpose. ‘They are no longer tools to learn about the world, but rather a means to gain insight about oneself’.

The process that Alexander Korzer uses is called decoupage which means to cut out in French. The process is very precise and accurate. Influenced by a tradition of cut work that includes the paper cutting of the ancient Chinese, the felt appliqués found among the Siberian peoples, and the Polish folk art of paper cutting, decoupage originated in France in the 17th century as a means of decorating bookcases, cabinets, and other pieces of furniture.

Alexander said that he came up with the innovative design about five years ago. ‘I had been experimenting with paper art, trying out different avenues and making boxed paper constructions,’ he said. 'I used all sorts of printed paper for the construction, among them second hand books. 'It wasn’t a giant leap from the boxed art to using the actual book as the enclosure of its original content.' But it took me about a year of trial and error to refine the technique into the cut books I makes these days.

This is a picture of an old book Alexander had which he cut out many different pictures and pieced them together. The theme of this is clearly nature and other living things. There is: a dog, a chicken, a bird, a flower, leaves, people (guards), a snake and many more. What makes the piece unique and interesting is the excessive use of colours and how pictures can almost become camouflage because of it. The layering of pictures, in front of each other, allows the piece to look busy and like an actual forest or other wildlife. Furthermore, size is not an issue and is very clearly exaggerated. Evidence that shows this is that the bird is the same height as the dog that is almost the same height as the queen’s guards. On the other hand, there are clearly aspects of fiction involved.

The piece is 3D so therefore texture is included in the piece. Also, primary and secondary colours are used in the piece. This piece expresses happiness, joy and how a mix of things can still co-operate. When layering the different pieces over each other, there is an effect of a busy atmosphere and togetherness not matter shape or size. The piece actually seems inspirational because of the tone and colours used; and the message brought across to viewers.

The viewer is encouraged to see the brown, large, dog first because it is the widest object in the piece and looks like it is in the centre of the piece. This piece could have been created to show the importance of some of the little things in the world that we should take time to appreciate. Furthermore, Alexandra could have created this piece to show that everyone is equal and so we should respect one another.

This piece relates to my work because of the cut outs. In my pieces I cut out several buildings and at times layered them on top of each other so that they could look busy and detailed. Furthermore, the use of colours made me to think about the emotions that could be created by it. I began experimenting with many different colours in order to achieve the perfect colours for my final piece. This piece definitely helped me with my details due to the refined accuracy of the pieces of paper. I knew that to achieve an effective piece I would need detail, colour texture and accuracy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is another piece by Alexandra. In the book you can see: soldiers, leaders, animals, plants, ropes and a ladder, a horse, the inside parts of an animal, fruits and many more. I believe this is about nature again but this time more people are involved. At the front there are soldiers in black and white standing in rows and all their equipment is in black and white too. Then there are soldiers in colour near the back and free roaming animals all around. The piece is very busy and almost resembles a ship. In my opinion, this is about people colonising land in the past and how they still are; it’s about endangered animals, overcrowded land and destroyed rain forests. The scene looks too busy and some animals and plants are in black and white too- this could mean that it is human property now and gradually everything would be cold and dark if people keep taking the life out of nature.

The piece, again, is 3D and has quite a rough texture with a wide range of primary and secondary colours and tones. The piece is missing space, it is very busy which effectively emphasizes the disturbance humans are creating to nature. Light shades are used for the black and white soldiers and leaders to show that they are dead now but still wildlife is destroyed – as if their ghosts are still there. I believe the messages that can be interpreted from this piece are very emotive and effective in interesting a viewer. The viewers eyes are led to any centre piece with colour first as it stands out and then gradually to the edges and the black and white sections.

This piece could have been created as a form of propaganda to the idea of hurting animals and nature. Finally, this influenced my pieces because of the pieces layered over each other and the effective colours used. I enjoyed the way that Alexander gets his view across through his art. Again, this inspired me to have a meaning behind my pieces, meanings that were special to me and influenced me.