October 2022

Taking on the task ‘Talking Colour’, I was very hesitant with how I would be able to approach this and widen my range of mediums. Setting out to discover London we had to produce a series of drawings that corresponded with colour. It didn’t take long before we had come across hundreds of buildings, objects and experiences that involved vibrancy and colour, this was the next challenge of producing these snapshot moments onto paper. 

I initially started by doing what I ‘know’ best, however after a few sketches, I discovered that I needed to open up and try different mediums such as acrylics, pastilles and other materials. Drawing has always been my weak point in my creative process and journey, so for me this was a big step. Straight away I hated the feeling and look of what I was making, I spent more time and care into my work. I began to love it more, to the point I felt comfortable trying out new ideas and techniques. This gave me freedom and desire for creating more art, Looking at different perspectives.

Majority of my work was brought to life with oil pastilles, which I have never really used before and I’ve always hated the look they gave. Spending time and effort in drawing, I learnt more about what I can achieve and produce, such as the texture they create. In response, if I was to revisit this task again I would definitely not look into it as harshly and just draw to see what I come across.

In Task 1 I explored some of London’s street graffiti, parks, music album covers from record shops and other surrounding landscapes and used markers, crayons, watercolours, syringes and photobooths to depict the moments I saw. Through these different mediums and materials I have been able to create different experiences, trying to portray these things partly in an abstract way and partly in a more realistic way. In creating some of my paintings I have a stricter grasp of the shape of things, I use colour as strictly as possible to reproduce the objects themselves and to feel them as I paint. Some of my other paintings are more spontaneous and free, more daring in their use of colour, using Photo Shop to integrate the production, paying less attention to the shapes of things and beginning to feel them more visually in the painting process, the visual presentation is abstract and less formal, and although it seems simple and spontaneous, it gives me a more immediate visual experience and impact.

In Task 2 I took some pictures of British Museum artefacts and enlarged their textures and then selected some of their enlarged textures and reorganised them and made them, I first used brushes such as watercolours and coloured markers to draw their textures and patterns. I used the faulty art style that I’ve been interested in lately, this art style is to use the faults that things form and process them artistically, it can have a distorted and blurred feeling, this flaw has an abstract and alternative beauty instead, these faulty art styles are presented in some of the pioneer hip hop artists such as Playboi Carti, Ken carson, Lancey foux’s rap visual music videos, these faulty I began to experiment with this style of art in my print designs, using a number of mix patterns from the photo shop to create secondary artwork, and in the process of making many of these patterns I was surprised by the effect they had. The reason why I used digital media a lot to recreate the original hand-painted patterns was because I felt that digital media could better reflect my current artistic style while retaining the original hand-painted textures, and a lot of my unexpected inspirations could be shown on this. I was able to be more comfortable in creating my patterns for this assignment, which was very interesting and experimental.

The painting of the flowers was done with markers and the background colours were filled using Photoshop software. The inspiration came from a pot of rhododendrons that I have at home, but I exaggerated in my drawing and did not copy the plant itself. The positive red petals and dark green rhizomes are a vibrant contrast in colour.

A drawing of the object using markers with a large fill in the background using Photoshop. The inspiration came from a box of playdough my dad bought me when I was a kid, but the objects themselves were dramatically exaggerated. I think Play-Doh was a great best friend when I was a child and they brought me so much joy that I added eyes to the drawing. The irregular shapes express the malleability of Play-Doh shapes

The vegetables were drawn with oil pastels and the vegetables were then topped with marker pen scribbles to record the mood of the photo shoot. The inspiration came from a plate of rice that was not to my liking in Romania three years ago.

The flowers were painted using gouache paints and the background was chosen in a colour that could be contrasting green. The inspiration came from a bouquet of sunflowers with special meaning that I received in London in my first year.

Drawing with markers. Inspired by a box of cheese crackers. I thought the box of biscuits was unusual in that there was no prescribed consistent shape.

Persimmons painted with markers. Inspired by my favourite fruit. And in our country, many people consider persimmons to be a symbol of good luck and good fortune.

A coloured pepper painted with oil pastels and markers for the doodling design. A contrasting blue colour was chosen for the background. Inspired by a very favourite kitten I fed who loved coloured peppers.

用油画棒进行橘子临摹，马克笔进行涂鸦。灵感来源于在疫情刚开始的被困在家里时我妈买的一箱橘子。

Acrylic painted background. Used fine liner for the pattern. Collaged over it with an acrylic painted sheet. Inspired by a mandala blanket.

Watercolour Background with collaged flowers on top . Using black fine liner for detail. Inspired by a motif on one of my shopping bags.

Watercolour and marker used. Cut out and collaged to create the motif. Inspired by the texture of a fruit I saw at Borough Market.

Watercolour background with acrylic on top. Abstract representation of a bunch of limes I saw at Borough Market.

Wax crayons and pieces of magazines used. Inspired by a front cover of an magazine. Different colours giving the different tonal parts of the face.

Makers used for background and image. Abstract representation of a bunch of flora I saw at TKMAX, Oxford Circus.

Background has masking tape. Building is done in monochromatic style using green watercolour and markers. Flowers done in an abstract way using watercolor. Going into the drawing with fineliner. Inpired by a building I saw in London Bridge. Bricks done using watercolour, charcoal pencil and tipx.

Used only watercolour. Realistic representation of an image of limes. Inspired by image I took at an Borough market.

Watercolour leaves with multicolored maker background. Using thick bio to go around the leaves and stems. Inspired by an image of a plant I took at Borough market.

Evaluation:

For both task we were briefed with the idea to explore London and gather as much primary reserach as we can,to inform our work.Employing a broad range of medias and techniques.At the start it was hard for me to know which direction to go in and start.However, being in London flooded me with all these lines , shapes,tones and colours .It forced me to look at specific properties of what I was looking at , in much greater detail,engaging with my surroundings . “Talking Colour” forced me to think about how colour contributes to how an image comes out,as well as the media I used to portray it.In terms of, if I was to use watercolour,the image will look very textural because of the brushstrokes.As well as have an light and airy quality of the colours ,softening the image.Where as if I was to use acrylic ,the paint would add depth and intensity.Futhermore markers with its bold,bright colours adds an graphic,cartoonish look to to whatever artpiece you use it on.With “Ways of seeing and Talking Pattern”,this task enabled me to pick a part of an primary image and create a whole motif from it.From the smallest detail into an A3 sized design.I found that this task enabled me to be able to create multiple designs from one image.Overall I  thoroughly enjoyed both tasks because it allowed me creative freedom,giving me the feeling of enthusiasm and excitement.Causing me to have a driven force to keep creating work.However moving forward I think a few of my patterns from my “Way of seeing and Talking Patterns” are too simple and could be more complex with layers to create depth in the pattern.Also next I could create 3Dimensional designs to elevating my interpretation from just 2D.

Reflection:

For the task 1, I focused more on using colors and different medias to draw a specific object or buildings. I observed the color and texture of my daily meal and the street I always pass by in order to choose a suitable technique to draw. For example, in my line drawing of a soho store, I tried to use lines with different density to express the smoothness and roughness of the wall, and I describe the different kind of texture by changing the shape of line.

In the task 2, I paid more attention to use abstract way to describe what I saw, and tried to use the way of layering to create patterns. I got lots of inspiration from antique shops in the Notting Hill. The old mirrors, lamps and jewelry boxes in antique shops all have their own vivid and traditional patterns, most of which are composed of simple polygons. When I am in the colorful shop, I feel that I have strayed into the fairy tale world. So I learned from the antique pattern, and I used the polygonal and irregular shapes which in bright bold color to create my own pattern. I also tried to overlay the pattern on the watercolor mark making I made in order to make it have stronger visual effect. It’s not just painting with all kinds of materials, I also tried the technique of paper cutting and photoshop to create patterns in the task, which bring me lots of surprise when I finish it.

Over all,  as a newcomer to London, the task gave me a chance to explore the new city and let me more familiar with the use of various techniques.