Drawings.

Here are some drawings from my sketchbook. Currently im choosing to draw anything and everything wich comes to mind and coincidedly holds importance for me. The drawing of the weird big dolls head on a barbies frame may seem like something which is just weird but it isnt. It's actually a memory from events that happened in a period of my life which was very important to me. The "kill doll" (as i like to call her) reminds me of this every time i see an image of her. The other image is of my Auntie Cathrine-or susan..whichever you happen to know her by.

The British Museum.

I went to The British Museum today to do some research for our new module. I went in search of anything death related and below are some photos from my trip.

  

I didn't expect to get as much inspiration as i actually did from the visit to The British Museum  in particular the decorative aspects were something which grabbed my attention.                       

Second Skin

So the new module's theme is "Second Skin" my thoughts currently are all over the place.. not sure what direction i am going to take this but here are the few things which come to mind straight away.. a potential starting point hopefully..

• Transformers..(Optimus Prime especially he's soo badd ass)
• Masks, costumes,
• People- betrayel, hidden agenders, disguise, two faced,
• Camouflarge, Ghillie, patters, Animals,
• Layers, enclosures- shrouds, vines,
• Reinvention- Furniture in disguise, conversion,
• Fake shop fronts, Illusions, Salvador Dali
• Expressing ourselves physically, make up, posters, personal fronts, Way were percieved, manipulating..
• Sanctuaries, hideouts, rabbit holes,

It's times like this i wish i was skilled enough to make my own transformer.. But as im not a skilled mechanic i am looking at this front the view of a painter.. It's going to be a tough one..

Hello Again.

Hello there! Are you still with me?

Ive been absent over the summer, but here i am again ready to post! Ive just started the second and final year of the foundation degree .. here goes nothing!

Essay for Design in Context. (Woody wood)

The brief we were given was "Design in Context" where we had to design something which would ultimately advance the organisation in question.  The organisation ive chosen is the Woodcroft Wildlife space. They are a charity run by a volunteer comunity with the aim of conserving a green space in a suburban environment. The wildspace provides recreational and educational facilities as well as the benefit of protecting native endangered species.

        After visiting the Woodcroft Wildlife space I could see many opportunities for development and even a sector where I myself could help with.  I did some research online and contacted one of the volunteers regarding children’s educational opportunities, more specifically I asked if there was any leaflets/booklets given to children or school to promote the Woodlands and also to teach. However, i found out there wasnt such opportunity. I feel that one of the important aspects missing from Woodcroft is the potential to educate and inform children in the form of leaflets.  Also, Observational drawings could be used to highlight the features of the wild space and in doing so capture people’s attention. I think that the information given to children needs to be eye catching as well as informative. 
         I will find inspiration for this piece from the area itself but also from other areas which are similar to this. For example, the Wildfowl and Wetlands trust who’s aim is similar to that of Woodcroft. I will make observational drawings from wildlife and also drawings from research to be used in the woodcraft area but also in the children’s leaflet as a visual reference point. For example, the booklet might contain information about butterflies and the same image used for illustration purposes will also be used in an area where the butterflies gather the most. This will enable children and even adults to have a visual link between the information provided but also the actual creature, enhancing the learning prospects.
        I would like to use as many natural resources as possible and therefore I will be painting, drawing using pyrography on a wooden base. The wood and imagery would need to be protected by varnish to stop damage from the rain.  The leaflet will be made with card and the use of computer applications like Photoshop. The end product I hope to achieve will be a series of 6 images which will be transferred onto the leaflet.  I hope to have made an improvement to Woodcraft Wildlife area by proving an educational source for children but also a visual one too.  I hope this will encourage people to look for the animals or creatures conveyed and therefore further stimulating their interest within Woodcroft.

Mr Fredrick the frog.

So i said earlier on that i would upload something to do with my final piece as i never have done and i keep having people tell me i should so to do what im told.. for once.. here is one of the pieces which ive just finished this moment. Next time someone asks me to do anything which isnt work related i shall remember this moment of painting frogs at 3 am.

So this is Mr Fredrick. Its one of the paintings for my woodcroft design in context piece. The aim is to show people an image of a frog for visual communication and in a way signage that where the picture is there is also real frogs.. or should be.. at a certain time of the day/ night when their most active.. and if they havnt been eaten by birds- or french people...



UPDATE: My stupidity has shined through once again, over casting those little beams of hope for me. It turns out ive painted the wrong type of frog.. it turns out that there is actually more then one type of frog.. surely they all go "ribit" and splash about a bit in water, but for now i have failed and i must paint Mr Fredrick's twin brother Fred.

WOODY WOODLANDS!

I tried once again to catch (trap) a fox last night but i must admit my attempts were rather poor. It seems like Mr fox will come and eat the cats food and sniff at the rabbit but it wont stay long enough for a chat. Ive started looking at images from google unfortuantly and i have some i can use for back up if this plan fails. So, plan of action : start to physically produce my piece, find wooden bases for my paintings or drawings and fix them up! I will also need to look into preserving the images perhaps with varnish even though i hate the stuff.

Self promotion.

Self Promotion.

I have been using Blogger to post pieces of research and inspiration on.

http://chloeaucott.blogspot.com

I’ve used wix to start creating an online portfolio
www.wix.com/chloeroseaucott/artwork

and I decided rather than give out business cards I will give out small printed copies- like post cards of some of my work which has my details on the back. My logo ive decided to use is my signature and that is uploaded onto the blogger.

A very brief history about the southgate college house.

Ive been looking for a while now trying to find some history regarding the house but it seems that there isnt much to be found. Ive even called up the local councill for any help but like any council they wasnt helpfull at all. So here is what i do know

The house dates back to 1780 and it was onced owned by a guy called John Baron Lawrence (in 1861-1864) and there is a plague by the front door of the house which states his occupance.
The house was also used by Minchenden School between 1924-1987 and now as we know southgate college holds courses there.

John Lawrence  "was an Englishmam who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy of India"

(taken from wikipedia)

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My silly Blog.

I would just like to make a point of saying that i am having Blog troubles. It seems that some days Blogger just doesnt want to let me upload images nor save/ publish my posts and when they are publish i am very lucky if they are the way i orignally made them to be. Therefore i have printed out all the Essays etc work of importance but if anything on here doesnt make sense or it seems like there is something missing- a line or two.. hey even a paragraph, well... it probably is! So forgive me!


From a very annoyed blogger...
:) x

Woodcroft Research.

So after finally deciding what i would like to do regarding the woodcroft project i did a little bit of fox hunting tonight- no luck though. I wanted to draw one from first hand rather then "google it" but it seems that it may have to be "googled"- il keep trying. However, i have had better luck finding and drawing some ikkle birdies but im not sure what they actually are so they may be completly useless! All in all i now know what im doing so i shall upload images later of the result.

All about Me.

Even though i have this blog i dont believe ive ever stated what i actually do nor want to do.

My long term aim is to become an art teacher myself however i have a bit of a journey before i get there. I love to paint and draw which i guess some will say puts me in the fine art category but il try anything which interests me. Im studying at southgate college doing a foundation in creative arts degree rather then a fine arts degree as i wanted to learn other skills which the university couldnt give me. I love to paint or draw anything from everyday objects to things a little stranger which i believe my work shows. I am lucky enough to have had a few commisions for pieces where ive painted portraits, landscapes, funny cartoons and even large scale wall paintings which included forest scenery. I also like to illustrate poetry and stories and have a few commisions from this to. At the moment im not sure of my own unique style as im having to bend a bit to keep on getting commisions but i want to learn as many techniques as possible.

My "logo"

I wrote my signature on to a piece of paper and scanned it into the computer then opened it in photoshop.

I changed the hue of the scan into a light blue so that I could see the lines of the pen tool easily. I went over the lines with the pen tool using bevier curves.

When I had finished going over the signature with the pen tool, I used the stroke function. This picture is the stroke function without simulate pressure ticked

This is the version of the logo where I checked 'simulate pressure' in the stroke option of the pen tool



I placed both versions of my logo into adobe illustrator and made a live trace of it in the option sub menu. From there, I chose a font which I thought would contrast with the style of my signature.

I chose to use my signature as i felt that was the most natural route for my logo for its what i sign all my with and will continue to do so. Therefore i felt like a specially designed logo wasnt practical or ideal to use on paintings or drawings and i have already used my signature to sign work so i felt it was best to stick with it.

(I would also like to add a thank you to Jessica Palmer for her help using photoshop)

safe/excite religious pieces of inspiration.

William Holman piece the shadow of death.

The Shadow of Death is a religious painting by William Holman Hunt on which he worked from 1870 to 1873, after his second trip to the Holy Land It depicts Jesus as a young man prior to his ministry, working as a carpenter. He is shown stretching his arms after sawing wood. The shadow of his outstretched arms falls on a wooden spar on which carpentry tools hang, creating a "shadow of death" prefiguring the crucifixtion His mother Mary is depicted from behind, gazing up at the shadow, having been looking into a box in which she has kept the gifts given by the Magi.

Expressionism.

Expressionism.

Expressionism is a movement which originally started in Germany at the start of the twentyth century. Expressionists aim to use artistic techniques to portray the true brutality in the world. Their paintings are created to evoke emotion and thoughts within the onlooker.

Kathe Kollwitz.
Kathe Kollwitz overall artistic ability’s has always impressed me, as has her empathy for humanity which is shown brilliantly through her expressionist images. Kollwitz techniques and mediums alternate depending on the theme and feeling which she is aiming to create however they are just as effective in doing so. Her work was greatly influenced by current exterior events, due to this her work is timeless.  Kathe Kollwitz work was inspired by events she saw happening in the world around her. The main theme in her work is overall humanity and ironically the suffering which takes place within the world due to this. For example wars causing suffering due to individuals animalistic instincts to survive at any cost.

Otto Dix
Dix was a German painter and engraver who mixed compassion and Expressionist despair to create works harshly critical of society.