More than art in the clouds…
Growing up I really had the best imagination, I saw thing in everything and anything, I would make my own little characters from sticks, pipe cleaner, cities in cracks in the walls, I would spend hours seeing things in the clouds, sand, rivers. Sadly when I grew up I lost this part of me a little just lost in busy everyday lives.
Until this moment I didn’t link this part of me as “art” as it has been my world, it is as normal to me as a person writing and not everyone who writes naturally see the author within themselves, so I didn’t see the artist within this.
A question remains though, can I make/let others see what I see?
I am asked to consider and develop a draw narrative around a collection of objects from a journey. Due to Covid-19 I’m unable to action out this brief fully by taking sketchbook on a journey. I did however enjoy a walk and took a camera for reference of objects, things I found and spoke to me as visual reference, before my walk I had started this exercise by finding things in magazines. (below – course sketchbook) this was a little bit of fun., with a bit of a “sea themed moment”.
I had a theme that came to me on this walk and that was “Everyday stories,” of the everyday things around us. I took quite a few photos for reference and to help me “remember the stories of the items”. (below)
This while not as nice as working direct within my sketchbook as found these items, it was nice to have these to refer back to and to later use to create illustrations.
(Above course sketchbook)
Left page – Before I created before my walk I had stuck in a raffle ticket and thought of a waiting room awaiting number to be called, I used this as a chance to draw more direct to paper without worrying about being perfect.
– Right page – I started sketching the items that spoke the most to me (later adding fine liner and watercolour) making little stories as I went along.
(Above – main course sketchbook) – The post and litter.
The post we see most days, the face likely left by teens gives this a bit of a personality.
The litter was sad to see, as nature was trying to reclaim its rightful place around them. I really drew/sketched the things that stood out to me most (I did want to sketch / draw so much)
(above) This page is so pretty, however hold the sadness and thoughtlessness of the times we live in, of all the litter I saw this is a meaningful of today.
A single glove littered in the mud, the sign of this covid-19 even on the peaceful walk away from others, so the stress / worries we face everyday still very much here, but also how careless we can be to others and nature that was left as litter… Plastic litter!
At the end of my walk which had intentionally planned to finish at the point of this rusty can.
This I felt was a perfect ending, for the bad things in life will one day rust away.
I really had a lot going on in my head and inspiring me, there are so many ways I could take this. I guess I have to just trust my own creative process to take me to completing the objectives of this exercise.
(above personal sketchbook) – trying out the bench and tin in simple lines.
(Above – personal sketchbook) Here I was thinking sort of old lady in the shoe and the rusty tin.
Wasn’t really the result I was envisioning but could be something I go back to.
The Pole face, just a moment in my personal sketchbook, creating a series based upon the face that was graffitied on the pole.
Digital work
Using my Ipad I created what I’ve been envisioning by being inspired by Saul Steinberg and Christoph Niemann.
It started with the dandelion, I may have been a little predictable in this one, but it is what I saw.
I created all the digital images by working over the photos in procreate, I would have gotten a cleaner and more polish look in photoshop. I wanted an almost sketchy feeling to the pieces.
It did leave some bits (edges) a little messy.
For all the intent of the exercise the above is what I wanted to create and the results that I wanted to gain.
The rusty can which the touch of “humans” against the green of nature!
(left) I saw this in my head seeing all the yellow dandelions, I didn’t know it this was to be better for exercise “Exercise 2.6: Pareidolia”, but not really seeing a face/lion but I created it.
The design really isn’t working for this right and may have been better with a field of dandelions to create a pride of lions (closed ones for females)
(below) when I saw the grass with seed head the “head” reminded me of a peacock tail swaying in the wind.
The result is quite cute and felt could be something I could explore more!
So I did, ended up painting using watercolour (withing my course sketchbooks) the first was sketched more like the photo, however it turned very loose and about the shapes (I ended up markmaking a little with this and playing with the colours bleeding into each other and ended with me adding goauche and metallic brush markers.
This created a page that I could turn into a pattern with more work.
I like peacocks, so I did take further and with the techniques I liked from exploring within these sketchbook pages did a painted version on water colour paper.
Photography
I wasn’t sure on this next part. (below)
I wanted to do to explore the topic fully and to just to have fun with it.
It’s not as clean as I would have liked, Posca pen was running out, and I think my nerved showed trying this.
I’m thinking the unicorn version isn’t the end! I can see the horse face and this may be something can take forward into the next exercise…
This pushed my comfort zones a little, while I see things easily within everyday life/items, I do not however know how to make other see it nor have a really tried in this way.
This is something new to me.
I possibly lacked direction at times in this exercise, I was pulled in many directions and honestly wanted to explore a bit of everything. There are couple of areas I didn’t “relax” and was overthinking it a bit so I would need to face these elements again. (photography)
Emclemmie OCA Sketchbooks 