Bibliography

References

Artble.com, (2014). Narcissus | artble.com. [online] Available at: http://www.artble.com/artists/caravaggio/paintings/narcissus [Accessed 3 Feb. 2014].

Blog.mailasail.com, (2014). Beez Neez - Some Exhibits. [online] Available at: http://blog.mailasail.com/beezneez/1302 [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Bradley, F. and Ades, D. (1998). Salvador Dalí. 1st ed. London: Tate Gallery.

Breaking Bad. (2008). [DVD] New Mexico: Vince Gilligan.

Charlieadlard.com, (2014). charile Adlard.com. [online] Available at: http://www.charlieadlard.com/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2014].

Dexter. (2006). [DVD] Miami: Jeff Lindsay, James Manos Jr.

Inminds.com, (2014). Weeping Woman - Picasso. [online] Available at: http://www.inminds.com/weeping-woman-picasso-1937.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2014].

Kirkman, R., Adlard, C. and Rathburn, C. (2009). The walking dead. 1st ed. Berkeley, Calif.: Image Comics.

Landing Net, (2014). Understanding Colour Psychology. [online] Available at: http://www.landingnet.co.uk/blog/why-understanding-colour-psychology-is-important-for- developing-a-website-or-building-a-brand/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2014].

Leejeffries.500px.com, (2014). Lee Jeffries. [online] Available at: http://leejeffries.500px.com/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2014].

Madden, M. (2005). 99 ways to tell a story. 1st ed. New York: Chamberlain Bros.

Moosepeterson.com, (2014). The Psychology of Color. [online] Available at: http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/color.html [Accessed 27 Apr. 2014].

Picasso, P., Beechey, J. and Stephens, C. (2012). Picasso & modern British art. 1st ed. London: Tate Pub.

Tate.org.uk, (1937). 'Metamorphosis of Narcissus', Salvador Dalí | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dali-metamorphosis-of-narcissus-t02343 [Accessed 3 Feb. 2014].

Wikipaintings.org, (2014). Science and Charity - Pablo Picasso - WikiPaintings.org. [online] Available at: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/pablo-picasso/science-and-charity-1897 [Accessed 15 Apr. 2014].

Wikipedia, (2014). Metamorphosis of Narcissus. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphosis_of_Narcissus [Accessed 3 Feb. 2014].

Final Piece and evaluation

Evaluation

This research project has been very useful to me and my professional practice. I have explored facial expressions, body language and the importance of attention to detail when drawing. I have experimented with a range of styles, colours and media. This research project has helped inform my Final Major Project by being a platform to a well informed, full filling, ongoing campaign. I have learnt a lot about the use of colour and style, and how much more you can get out of a drawing when you look further into the foundations of it.  Taking apart aspects of narrative illustration and stand alone pieces has also been of great use to me.  Exploration into surrealism and patterns has helped me to assess my use of shapes and composition when creating artwork. I have successfully answered my proposal questions and achieved my aims.

Creating artwork to evoke emotion and studying how we portray emotion has inspired me to continue with my investigation by researching art therapy and how it can help people.  This project has made me think about how we express ourselves and the way we cope with our emotions. If we turn these emotions into art work, I believe it can be very therapeutic. I will to go on to research and promote the benefits of expressing ourselves creatively, and my final major project will become the tool to reach out to those who might benefit from doing so.

Final Piece

This is my final piece. I used ink and a bit of fine liner pen to complete it. The emotions I'm trying to portray are anger, panic and fear. I chose more than one emotion to give it more variation and it is more open to interpretation. People can focus more on the emotion/parts that they are most interested in. I used red as it typically symbolises anger but also because it is a very strong, powerful colour that hopefully adds emphasis to the already powerful facial expressions.  I chose thin loose lines and some sharp edges to symbolise confusion and rage.  It is largely influenced by some of the expressions and emotion in Lee Jeffries photography work.

Rough ideas for Final Piece

      After some consideration and discussions about my work, I've decided that something to consider would be expressing a select few emotions in a piece of stand alone art work. I'd like my final piece to be a series of images all linked in some way, that may or may not be sequential. For example a final piece made up of different parts of different people faces that express a certain emotion or different viewpoints and postures. I think this idea would work well with my aims because it will have various view points/images helping people to understand what it is I want to say with my work.


Below are some rough experiments to practice the sort of style I'd like to use for my final piece.  I might use part of a piece I did earlier on in the project and add to it. So far I am focusing on the emotion anger.

Eye - I tried to concentrate on the shape of an eye when someone is angry

Mouth, shouting/screaming

Fist 

Hands and a broken bottle

Lion - I tried to think of an animal associated with anger and couldn't really think of one. The face shouting reminded me of a lion roaring. Their roaring is quite loud and kind of like shouting!

Sequential Experiment update and artists

Charles Adlard (http://www.charlieadlard.com/)

Charles Adlard is a British comic book artist who's sequential work has inspired me. Most of his subject matter involves horror and science fiction.  My sequential experiment is inspired mostly by his work in 'The Walking Dead' comics, created by Robert Kirkman. My subject matter is a bit different but I love the style The Walking Dead comics are drawn in.

The Walking Dead. Issue 1 Days Gone Bye. Page 3.

 The panel layout is quite simple . It does vary throughout the comic but remains fairly simple.

The comic is in this grey tone with a black outline. I think this makes it look quite professional.

I used a similar style with my short sequential piece. Not as complete or professional looking but I tried a similar grey tone with black outline and really like the result. My short sequential piece is wordless, so I had to rely more on body language and facial expressions to carry a narrative.

The different shades of grey give it more texture and a good 3D quality. I feel that it is a good technique for the seriousness of the subject matter.

There is no text on this page. Obviously there is no-one talking but there is no internal monologue either. I think this is good for this opening scene as it highlight the silence and mystery of the situation.


Below are some examples of my sequential work where I experimented with a similar style. I like the simpleness of the style yet it adds a lot of texture.

This is the Photoshop version of one of my pages of my sequential experiment.

I do really like this style, for the way it makes the drawings look but also for the subject matter. It lets the reader use their imagination based on their own understanding of the situation. It is also not too busy or colourful, meaning it has a serious tone but still looks interesting.

Matt Madden

Matt Madden is a US comic book writer and artist. He is best known for his colouring work in original comics. I bought one of his books '99 Ways to Tell A Story'.  It is a book that tells the same short story, (a man getting up, walking to the fridge and his flat mate asking what the time is) 99 times. Some of it is a bit silly, but it was useful to see the various ways of telling a story and the difference it makes before considering creating my own short story.

Below are a couple of pages from his book which demonstrate examples of style;

Monologue

Retrograde - (Motion that is moving in the opposite direction of something else)

References

'99 Ways To Tell A Story Excersises in style' 6 July 2006 - Matt Madden
'The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye' Author Robert Kirkman. Illustrator Charlie Adlard
Charlie Adlards Website
http://www.charlieadlard.com/

Lee Jeffries and emotion experiment

Lee Jeffries is a photographer I discovered who has taken photos of homeless people in a way that conveys very deep emption. He has taken portraits of them in high quality and you can see the raw emotion. It is not models or actors, it is real people and real emotion. I am inspired by his work. Most of it is black and white, all his work is in a similar style yet never boring. He captures something unique and beautiful every time. The following is from his website:

http://leejeffries.500px.com/

Lee Jeffries' Homeless series is very powerful. It is interesting to look at work that is so real after having created my own fan art and capturing emotion from actors.  The knowledge that the emotion in those photographs is real (people) in real situations where they are suffering, instantly makes his work very powerful. Yet, even without this knowledge the raw emotion and style of his work is still captivating.

Untitiled. Lee Jeffries. #LostAngels.

This image is from Lee Jeffries' Homeless series. Not very much of his work is in colour. The contrast between the pitch black background and his skin reflects the harshness and darkness of the situation. The way the subjects eyes are looking straight into the camera makes it feel as though he is looking into your eyes, which automaticially makes you feel a connection and literally face someone you might other wise walk past in the street. There is a lot of emotion in this piece and the eye contact makes it feel very human and real.

Andy. Lee Jeffries. #LostAngels.

The composition in this piece is very powerful. With his hands covering his face he looks exhausted and upset. It is taken from an angle that isn't looking down on him as you would be if you were walking past.  You are on his level as if you are sitting with him.

#Lost Angels. Lee Jeffries.

The amount of detail in this mans face plays an important role in in the feel of this piece. Nothing blurred. The dark background maybe symbolises the darkness that surrounds this man. It makes you feel close to him. Somehow every pore, every wrinkle and every bit of dirt makes you really see the person and the potential that has been lost due to bad circumstances or desicions. It forces you to see the harshness, the reality, right up close.  If we simply walk past and never face it, distance ourselves physically, we can forget and distance ourselves emotionally. Lee Jeffries' work brings us up close and face to face with other people's pain.



Brittany #LostAngels Lee Jeffries

Page from sketchbook. This photgraph has an interesting composition. It instantly stands out as being different on Lee Jeffries' website.  The facial expression is extreme and it makes you wander what was happening (or what just happened) at the time the photo was being taken. This uncertainty makes the piece intriguing and causes you to think more about it. The contrast of her blonde hair in the wind against the black background is very intense. The composition makes it look as though she is scared of something in the darkness, or the darkness itself.

I started to experiment with this technique of conveying emotion 'up close and detailed. Stark contrast, highlighting certain features.

I chose a theme. Anger. And I started to create faces and gestures to try to portray anger. I considered style, composition and layout. I used a similar, detailed style to Lee Jeffries but built up lots of different elements like I have explored previously.  I considered the shape an eye would typically make when angry and the lines in the face.

I used elements from Lee Jeffries work.  I tried to make the lines look scratchy and frustrated and let ink drip onto the page in a messy way to try to symbolise frustration and confusion.

This is what I ended up with. It is not a finished piece it was an experiment. I used red as is typically the colour associated with anger but tried not t use too much of it. I might add surreal and or real objects also associated with anger.

This is a piece I did using a detailed style of Lee Jeffries. I created it from a photograph of his called They Walked A Long Way Together. I tried to capture their personalities and emotion. In the photograph they look sad and relieved. I tried to change the theme and make them look happy, almost like a cheeky old couple who were content and still messing around. It was fun using lots of lines and detail to paint the scene and express that emotion. I'm not really sure why I chose purple as an extra colour. It seemed warmer and like a colour that could be associated with trust and fun. I didn't want to use anything too bright and youthful. I wanted to capture the dignity and commitment within the relationship of these two people. Somehow purple seemed like the right colour for that.

This is a drawing I did of another  one of Lee Jeffires Photographs. The Photograph is Untitled and from his homeless series. I tried to use a less detailed style and create it in a caricature style. Which I didn't really achieve.  I think this style is quite nice for this particular drawing though. The smooth edges give a sense of a classy man. The photograph is quite different. I wouldn't use this style to convey an erratic emotion.

Untitled. #LostAngels Lee Jeffries. This is the photo I used as visual reference. I used a simpler style to completely change the feel of the piece. 

Colour experiments

http://www.landingnet.co.uk/blog/why-understanding-colour-psychology-is-important-for-developing-a-website-or-building-a-brand/

What different colours are associated with which emotions?


My research project is about recording and researching how people convey emotions. When considering how to turn this into artwork a very important thing to consider is colour. Colours are always a big thing to consider with any artwork. When trying to express something specific they are even more important.  We definitely associate certain colours with certain emotions.  Even certain tones. A black and white photograph, with all the different shades of black and white, can be incredibely powerful. Some of our ideas about different colour must be learned. Throughout life we are tought certain colours represent certain things. Phrases such as "green with envy" and "paint the town red" are often used and contribute to us associating certain colours with certain things.  But a lot of it must be natural and because of circumstances. Such as associating the colour blue with relaxation. The sky is blue and the sea - also things associated with relaxation. 


http://www.creativebloq.com/logo-design/choose-colours-8133973

I don't usually think too much about colour when creating artwork. Usually I try and picture what would work and go for it without over thinking it. It's a very useful thing to be aware of, though.  The following descriptions of colours is from a website I found; http://www.moosepeterson.com, which is actually a website giving advice about wildlife photography. There is a page about colour psychology, which I found to be very useful for the consideration of colour to evoke certain feelings.


"Yellow - is the most visible color and is the first color the human eye notices! Yellow, the color nearest to "light" leaves a warm and satisfying impression, lively and stimulating and in many cultures symbolizes deity. Dark yellow can be oppressive while light yellow is breezy. Yellow's stimulating nature and high visibility to the eye is the reason why many road signs are bold yellow (contrasted by black text). Yellow birds, flowers and skies are sure to be eye-catchers just because of the way the mind and eye works!
Orange - is a good balance between the passionate red and the "yellow of wisdom." Orange is symbolic of endurance, strength and ambition. It can represent the fire and flame of the sun. Orange is said to also have the cheerful effect of yellow, but is intensified in its closeness to the color red.
Red - is a bold color that commands attention! Red gives the impression of seriousness and dignity, represents heat, fire and rage, it is known to escalate the body's metabolism. Red can also signify passion and love. Red promotes excitement and action. It is a bold color that signifies danger, which is why it's used on stop signs. Using too much red should be done with caution because of its domineering qualities. Red is the most powerful of colors.
Pink - is the most gender specific. Pink represents femininity and has a gentle nature (which is not a bad thing). Pink is associated with sweets like candy and bubble gum. It also symbolizes softness. Because it's so "feminine," use of pinks should be well planned. Pink and blue color combos are most associated with babies, soaps and detergents.
Purple - is a mixture of somber blue and active red. It can represent coolness, mist and shadows. It symbolizes royalty and dignity and can be mournful, yet soft and lonely. Purple is described as an "unquiet color" being mysterious and mystic in a cultural sort of way. A study revealed that purple, the color of mourning among many peoples, meets with disapproval in six Asian countries.
Blue - represents temperature, sky, water and ice. It is the second most powerful color. It obviously represents coolness, mist and shadows. In some applications it can represent peacefulness and calmness. And as pink represents femininity, blue represents masculinity. Blue is often associated with somber emotions like sadness, gloom and fear. Blue is a contemplative color, meaning intelligence and strength. It is one of the most politically correct colors there is with no negative connotations of it anywhere on the globe.
Green - is the most restful color for the human eye. It's the universal color of nature as well as represents fertility, rebirth and freedom. (That answers the question why it's the best background for birds.) Bright green can be uplifting while dark green evokes a mental picture of a pine forest. Street signs are painted a metallic green background contrasted with white letters because the combination is believed to be the easiest to read and recognize for the human brain. However, as with most colors, green also brings forth some negative connotations. The phrase "green with envy" also gives way to guilt, ghastliness, sickness and disease.
Brown - is associated with nature, trees and wood. It represents conservancy and humility. Next to gray, brown, in one of its many shades, is one of the most neutral of the colors. It is useful in balancing out stronger colors, and because it is one of the most predominant hues in nature, it gives a sense of familiarity. Light brown confers genuineness while dark brown is reminiscent of fine wood and leather.
Gray - gives the stamp of exclusivity. It's the color "around which creative people are most creative." Gray is a neutral color that can enhance and intensify any other color it surrounds. It can enhance the psychological response of the other colors it supports.
Black - is associated with elegance and class (black-tie affair). It is the traditional color of fear, death and mourning. Look at the many terms using the word black to understand how it is perceived: "black sheep," "black heart," "black and blue" and "black mark." Despite the negative imagery that black brings, it is a preferred color in many designs since it contrasts with most colors quite well. If used correctly, it promotes distinction and clarity in your images.
White - symbolizes purity, innocence and birth. It's closely associated with winter and can also represent surrender or truth. In the color spectrum, white is the union of all the colors. Its neutrality and conservative nature is widely accepted. Its simplicity and subtle quality makes it an ideal color for establishing clarity and contrast in your images."
                                                                               http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/color.html

Although some of these may seem obvious, it is not always a good idea to use obvious colours to express the obvious emotion. Sometimes less is more and too much of a colour can take away something from the artwork. I have done some of my own colour experiments below:

I did a few warm quick warm up drawings in order to experimenting with layering up colours. I chose some animals that would normally be simple colours and decided to use some colouring pens I had to draw them. I challenged myself to use evry colour pen I had for each animal (orange, blue, purple and green)

This was a fun and useful experiment. I don't usually work in this way, focusing on building up with colour first. It made me think about the light and dark tones and which colour work best for light and dark.  In this instance, colour wasn't being used to convey an emotion but as a tool to build up the drawings without a solid colour outsline.




These are part of my observational drawings studying the human form and body language

 

Experimenting with colour to convey an emotion

The facial expression in the drawing shows an obvious emotion. Yet the colour variations effect the emphasis of that emotion. 

This is part of my sequential experiment that I have put into colour. I tried to colour everything roughly the colour it would actually be.  It looks quite nice but I prefer it in black and white. Black and white leaves room for the imagination and more freedom to interpret it based on your own understanding.  The colours I used were quite bright and didn't do anything for the subject matter. 

Colour experiment

This is page one from my final edit for my sequential experiment for conveying emotion. I used Photoshop to change the contrast and style.  I added a slight blue tinge as I learnt before that blue can make it appear to be night time. Which I didn't really want but decided it would add a slightly eerie feeling.  I think that conveying emotion through a narrative can be very powerful and there can be more of an emotional connection between viewer and subject. But building up an emotion is different to an in your face stand alone piece which can still be incredibly powerful.

 This is page 2.  Using Photoshop I created a blurry 'oil painting' effect towards the end of my sequential piece. This is supposed to symbolise her fear and fading connection with reality.

Patterns, surreal elements and artist research

 

 

As part of my research into using surrealism to convey a mood/emotion I am also looking into decorative work and patterns.  This is because this will give me some ideas about different abstract shapes and combinations of shapes.  I visited Wye Vally Butterfly gardens in Symonds Yat and Cambridge Botanical Gardens, in order to observe some shapes and patterns that occur in nature. Below are some of the photos I took and some research drawings and notes.

  

Cambridge Botanical Gardens 

 

 

 

 

 

Wye Valley Butterfly Gardens  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual Notes

I tried to focus of the patterns on the butterfly wings and explore them in more detail. I used different colours which instantly made the patterns look less natural but you can stil tell there are elements of the patterns taken from nature. This is what is useful to my idea generation for surreal artwork.

This butterfly doesn't have much of a pattern but I thought it was interesting how its wings were clear with and black outline. This is hard to convey through drawing unless you use a detailed background.

These are pages from one of my sketchbooks. The page on the right shows some work and notes about a french illustrator I found on the networking site Instagram.  She goes by the name Lydianeka andI really like her work, but it is really hard to find information about her. Although I found her flickr accoutn where you can view some of her work https://www.flickr.com/photos/103049104@N07/11931090255/ I think her work is purely decorative and she mainly designs tattoos. Although her aims are different to mine I really like all the different aspects of her work and the busy-ness of it.  I want to incorporate some of her style into my own work in terms of the layout and her use of different shapes, animals, faces and objects all combining into a beautiful piece of artwork.  I have considered using my work with close up faces and combining it with her style of decorative art to make an overall piece that conveys an emotion.

These are some more examples of Lydianekas' work with an ink background I created. I also like her use of colour. The way they work together is fun and quirky. She usually uses pinks, blues, yellows and greens.

This is a piece I did inspired by Lydianekas' work.  I tried to convey that the girl is lonely and imagining the things around her. The busy-ness of the piece and wide range of colours are elements I got from Lydianekas' work. The girl is in grey to emphasise her loneliness and separation from everything else. 

I tried a little experiment in my patterns sketchbook. I decided to mix and match the photos of flowers with the photos of butterflies to see what I could create. I thought the plants already looked a bit like birds and the shape on one of the butterfly wings looks a bit like an eyes. So I combined the two to create acreature. This was useful to my research project to explore shapes and to come up with something surreal.




I created this from a workshop we did at University. We were given a selection of patterned paper and had to create somthing using the patterns to create different tones. I created this face as a lot of my research project has involved faces. I find it quite hard to think in terms of tone as I am so used to working using an outline. It was useful to focus more on the shadows and hilighted features instead of the outline first but I still ended up drawing an outline. 



I did another experiment similar to the one above. I tried to create an eye using different parts of the photos I'd taken. This meant I had to focus on colour, tone and the different shapes.



This is something I did as a fun combination of everything. I considered Lydianekas' work and tried to include a lot of things and think about composition.

It was useful to explore patterns in nature and consider creating surreal work. I'm not sure if patterns will make their way into my final piece yet but I still want to experiment with expressing a theme through surrealism and patterns to see if I can get the results I want.