Rocks.

Quick sketch of a pile of rocks, without reference to pictures. just wanted to experiment abit with strokes and dots... it is interesting how a pile of rocks may seem so normal, but when we go about sketching it, it is not really so simple

Me and my cousin

From a photo taken together when we were young...

Floral

orchid

pine

fern

rose

I have always like to sketch flowers. These are images of flowers taken during AEP trip, stylised with pen.

sketches

(when i was young)

(no one in particular, just a sketch)

The Character

The character included in coursework painting, engaged in various activities during the "travel"

Rocks and Trees

The comments

http://firetruckwentbang.blogspot.com/2011/05/wave.html#comments

http://iloveaep.blogspot.com/2011/09/aep-coursework-2011-dream.html#comments

http://esoile.blogspot.com/2011/08/progress.html#comments

http://crinklejacks-bigartproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/little-bit-of-prep-2.html?showComment=1317117664309#c3559700952272835485

http://cherfolio.blogspot.com/2011/07/colour-pencil.html#comments

http://thecloudsinthesquare.blogspot.com/2011/09/its-very-handy.html?showComment=1317118525300#c1926674325963430259

http://esoile.blogspot.com/2011/09/inspirations-from-sky.html?showComment=1317119091049#c5525321199117111399

http://crinklejacks-bigartproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/right-round-corner.html?showComment=1317119693647#c6232666416936502538

Inspiration: Rene Magritte

Magritte can be said to be my favorite surrealism artist of all time. I admire how he manages to create surrealism with such subtleness, yet not compromising the level of surrealism of the painting. 

Many a times in his works, it is the mere idea and concept behind that works that is exceptional, thought provoking such that it shocks, amazes, fascinates the viewers both at first sight and upon close looking upon. I like how he creates surrealism, not fantasy. In my opinion, surrealism and fantasy are very different ideas. Fantasy can be something out of this world, but it has much less depth and meaning in comparison to surrealism. Although surrealism is commonly explained as an artist engaging with their subconscious and creating works of art. In my opinion, it is far more than that. 

One of my favorites. Unpredicted correlation

 So unexpected yet so shocking. Feels surrealistic and peaceful at the same.

Mysterious although it seems peaceful on the outside, Quietly engaging

I think that these works have gone beyond visual tricks. Visual tricks is something easily achieved nowadays, through photoshop and other mediums. Essentially, the the idea behind the work and the way in which the artist painting style blends in perfectly well with the idea.

I would say that magritte is one of the first surrealism artist i came across which truly inspired me to try creating surrealism. Although i did not indicate explicitly that magritte was a source of inspiration of my coursework, it always existed. Sometimes, we are inspired by things even without us knowing it. 

Initial thoughts on Andy Goldsworthy

Seeing the unpredictability of working with nature with which the artist is seemingly comfortable is is fascinating to me. When i am doing art myself, I has always a serious fear of unpredictability, always making sure that i had the final product in mind. I am truly inspired to be more open to chances and possibilities, allowing art to take its desired form while working with the medium.

I once felt that Han Sai Por work was really close to nature and integrated into nature. However, after seeing how this artist worked with his medium (nature) with such intimacy, I suddenly felt that Han Sai Por's work was much more planned, perfected, or somewhat artificial in comparison. It is hard to say which artist is better at creating works nature related as they simply took on a different approach and view working with nature in different perspective. While Andy use the most organic elements in nature (twigs, stones) and manipulated them mostly with his hands and little or no tools, Han Sai Por used various tools to hammer, chisel and smooth various materials to create her work. 

In my opinion, i prefer Andy's work as it felt that it truly reflected what nature truly was like: Wild, unpredictable, perfection within imperfections. As for Han Sai Por, her works resembles different aspects of nature, and her forms were generally well-rendered, planed, precise. However, it was made her work somelike unlike nature, or rather, too perfected to be nature.

I then went on to think hard regarding whether which kind of art can be truly considered as art? Which kind of art do soce I feel that society needs both kinds of artist, or rather both kinds of art. We need something like Han Sai Por work : structured, perfected, lasting, durable and suitable for display as it was something people can look at day by day as they work, live in their environment. At the same time, it is refreshing and much needed for works like that of Andy to truly open our eyes to nature, it potential, it control over us, rather than us over it, as what we usually believe. It is also a reminder for us to always be open to changes, failures, possibilities and to be accepting and less afraid of it. If possible, even to take it as a chance to learn about ourselves, or through art and nature. 

Another idea that came upon me was to wonder which was the real artist - Nature or us? Upon watching Andy's videos, i dawned upon me the almost inexistant  control we actually have over nature. Similarly, medium, paint, materials and more. We may think that we can control them. However, when you see how nature can be in control of andy's works that are closely integrated into nature : Tides submerging the work, the wind blowing the work apart, this idea breaks instantaneously breaks apart.  

Yet, from a different point of view, nature is the best artist, the one in absolute control. This is shown from the how the sunset illuminates the icicles, making it look profoundly magical and enlightening. 

It is interesting how the artist dealt with colour from sources in nature such as red pigment from rocks, saying how there is a scariness and voilence in the colour red. As he approaches the source, he learns more about colour later reflecting that there is much to be learnt from the colour.

Seeing his work establishes a stark contrast in the type of environments different artist works in. While working in school premises is seemingly Protected, Safe, working in natural environments such as a beach, is breathlessly uncertain yet energetic at the same time. 

His works well reflects how nature is quietly engaging. It also shows the exclusiveness of nature as the artist said something about "land not needing him as he needs it" as he aims to bridge the gap and distance between human and nature. The artist also said that he loves land or rather, needs the land. He sees the coldness in the relationship between people and nature. As he venture into new lands, he feels like a stranger, out of touch with unwelcoming nature.

It is particularly inspiring that the Artist works barehand as he feels that he does not have the sensitivity when working with gloves. Thus, despite the extreme cold, he used to hand, teeth, to work with elements of nature. He also puts in effort to his art effortless - eg: as the sun comes out, it illuminates the icicles.

He enjoys going into the woods to make a piece of work. He seeks to achieve balance in his work, especially when his works collapse time over time as a result the forces of nature. I believe feelings of sadness, amazement is inevitable in his process of creating art: watching his work falls apart under the force of nature, also watching his work being illuminated by nature. He eventually achieved a mastery of balance. Even so, as the sea comes in, his work disappears and he feels that the contact is still strong although he can no longer see his work

His work is recorded through video and photography as his works are short lived and temporal. Access a work through photography is necessary in his case and i feel that it may even be better than first hand experience with the work. This is because photography allows the viewer to view the work in the eyes of the artist himself which will best represent what his work is about. Also, due to the nature of his works, first hand experience is near impossible and even if the viewer could travel the place to view his work, it could have already be altered by the forces of nature.

A question was raised in class about the prevalence of prep work in his art. I feel that the artist did do prep. In his case, prep is about understanding his surroundings as well as carry out trials with his material, redoing once and again after each failure.

The artist also said that "though control is the death of an artwork" meaning that it is important to not fix and idea of the end product and the importance of having the product shaped through experience. This is very significant to me as i am many a times guilty in commiting this mistake in the process of doing art.

I feel that Andy is a creative, inventive artist that is able to make great decisions even with the most unconventional material. He is also very sensitive towards his surroundings, being able to see the "potential" to create art even in the most deserted, remote or seemingly uninteresting environments.

Painting Style For Coursework

I was thinking hard about the style in which i would like to execute my painting. And, I decided to first return to my purpose: What would i want COLOUR to do for my painting?

Upon thinking, i felt that i wanted colour to enhance the black and white, to bring focus to the important parts of various scenes that truly convey the essence of the scene and to mesmerize the viewer in a world of surrealism, efficient and finely executed pen strokes, with a touch of colour about. 

But yet, i do not want colour to overwhelm the painting for i would like to keep the emphasize on the pen strokes. With too much colour, i am afraid that the pen work will dull down and viewers might get too distracted by the colours to truly see beyond the scenes depicted in the painting, thinking that these scenes only exist for visual appeal.

Therefore, i have decided to do a wash, a light wash of watercolour, over certain parts, just to enhance the painting. I will try to be selective and not paint all the parts of the painting. Hopefully, this will do the job.

Catch a Glimpse

Coursework progression

Basically done with the drawing, just need some finishing touches. Next step would be the painting. Before painting, I am planning to do some trials to experiment and decide on the right colour palette and painting style.

Inspirations for Coursework Final

1: Chinese Scroll Paintings

Inspired by Chinese scroll, i was fascinated by the idea of the Chinese scroll painting opening up before the viewer, allowing the viewers' eyes to travel through the landscape to pick up the unexpected and surrealistic details. 

 

I will probably combine my five painting linked into one, with there being some sort of connection between landscapes. The size of the paintings will be small so that the viewers can view the landscape at eye level and is able to take in the painting fully, as a whole.

There will be Inclusion of a character engaged in different activities throughout the landscapes. This adds interest to this painting, almost like a story-book. And it also brings across the idea of these landscapes being perceived through my character’s eyes.

Originally, i wanted to do the final as oil on canvas, yet now i have decided to keep the pen works and opt for watercolour and pen as a medium instead as this is more practical for the small scale which i am going for. Also, i feel that the pens works and slightly stylized forms helps to add sparks to the landscapes.  

 2: 

Inspiration: London and Paris trip

The AEP London and Paris was a great source of inspiration for the subject matter of my coursework.

The travel really opened up my eyes to the wonders of the world. More significantly, beyond the land marks and magical, charismatic scenes that were attractive and endearing, it opened my eye to the possibilities of art in our everyday surroundings.

The architecture, the greenery, the people, the food. Everything had potential, and possibilities.

The peoples' great appreciation of art, acceptance towards various forms of art and astonishing enthusiasm towards art motivated me. 

In my opinion, London and Paris were cities that spoke art to me, it embodies art.

After the trip, returning to Singapore, i pondered on the prevalence of art in our country.  In the hustle and bustle of London and Paris, people seem to be appreciative of art. However, within Singapore, there seems to be no signs of such. I think it is important, no matter what sort of life we lead, busy or quiet, we need to enjoy art and feel art in our surroundings. Therefore, an idea came across me to do something related to appreciating art in our everyday lives by learning to see the possibilities to create art in our surroundings. Art is highly prevalent in some societies, less so in some.