Self defined- Review

At the start of this project I knew I wanted to produce work involving surface pattern design using elements of nature but didn't know in what form the end result would be in. By giving myself such a broad project to focus on, I found it difficult to define which direction within my idea to go down and I spent a lot of time trying to find a set topic and project. I tried various types of image making such as watercolour and print making in order to gather material together that I could combine to make patterns and perhaps learn how to repeat these elements. However it became evident that I was just producing motifs a lot of the time and my organic and linear approach didn't always go together. I was very confused about what type of imagery I wanted to produce and therefore found it difficult to make anything that I wanted to commit to.

After struggling, later on I was able to define a clearer direction, producing imagery to go on the walls of the National Theatre. Although I was happy with these experiments and felt that the painting of the fern in particular showed some improvements in my skills at painting with watercolour, I was still producing motifs and found it hard to think of other imagery to produce and get these to all match up together. It was suggested that I look at the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, particularly their preliminary sketches for the application of their large-scale installations. These two artists wrapped architecture and natural elements in fabric on unprecedented scales and, because of this, their designs needed precise planning through detailed drawings. This reference helped me a lot, giving me ways to visualise my own ideas and allow me to better illustrate them to others. I was able to experiment more freely, drawing over photographs I took of the building and playing around with ways my designs could be applied.

With a more clear idea in my head about what I wanted out of the final concept I set about producing imagery including painting a trail of pebbles like the one Hansel and Gretel create in the story. I liked the way the pebbles turned out because I felt like the deep blues and greens went with the atmosphere and the colours that other artists also envisioned when creating work inspired by the story. However I do think that the colours are maybe a bit too intense and there could be more of a contrast in tone or perhaps this could have been applied in more of a subtle way by watering down the colours and using less pigment. I always seem to do things in extremes and get carried away with the process by trying too hard to illustrate all the shadows I see. How I depict tone and colour in my watercolour paintings is therefore something to work on. I am not sure if I liked the final application of the collaged pebble design better than the original purely watercolour version however I did like how this imagery, blended with the forest, better illustrates the story. The pebbles almost seem to be reflecting what is in the surrounding environment in the story and I like how it adds additional depth to the piece as a whole as the pebbles almost act as a portal into the invented world/narrative of Hansel and Gretel. 

If I were to expand this project further I could make a mock up of an animation that would show the sequence of pebbles as they would appear on the National Theatre walls. I'd also like to be a bit more playful with where they appear, not just showing up on the walls but also the floor outside of the building and under the roofs of the platforms. Perhaps if I had found a clearer direction earlier on I would have been able to produce an animation showing this sequence to better explain the idea. For the next project I do I will need to start by doing a lot of research into the area I am interested in to define my direction earlier on instead of wasting time at the beginning trying to produce work that wouldn't be of any use to the final product.