Tuesday 30 October 2012

Zonzo

I have been reading a very interesting publication called 'Zonzo' which describes a form of urban exploration of Edinburgh and Florence using walking as the primary medium. The research is presented in a number of different papers, with accompanying images.

The premise for the study is outlined as follows:

"Zonzo (from the Italian andare a zonzo "to stroll, walk aimlessly") in Italian is used exclusively within the context of walking. Here the term is appropriated as a metaphorical device for urban exploration, describing the act of setting out on a journey through the urban fabric that does not follow a pre-written itinerary, objective or path. Rather it designates an openness on the part of the explorer to cultivating impressionistic engagement, eventually settling on objects / people / places of interest, and then following that thread to a micro level." (Urbanstudio, 2009, preface)

I found this really resonated with my own interests for my visual arts practice this year and that this premise is strongly linked to my own thoughts on how to progress. In particular I liked the idea of settling on a specific 'aspect' and then following the 'thread' to a 'micro level'. There my work differs from that of the studies presented in 'Zonzo' as the micro level for me is found through following an open, exploratory thread of the transformation of an image of a specific aspect of the area traversed.


REFERENCE:
Urbanstudio, 2009. Zonzo: Exploring the Urban Fabric. Edinburgh: The University of Edinburgh.


Sunlight

I explored this image in a number of ways using a range of digital tools:




One of the effects that I thought was interesting was the negative / positive view of the image:







I particularly liked the sunburst light effect in the top right hand corner of the image and decided to focus on this.

This was the final image I created:




Monday 29 October 2012

Photos

As part of my focus on re-seeing and transforming everyday aspects of the surrounding landscape I have been out and about taking some photos. Rather than setting out to capture specific scenes or images I let myself wander until a particular colour, contrast, pattern, shape or texture catches my eye. I then focus on this, take a simple photograph and crop it to make an interesting composition.

Here are a selection of the images I may use to develop further:





































View over the Clyde

I have already posted some development work involving this photo of a view over the Clyde from Greenock:




I have further developed the image to create this digital painting:




In particular I liked the smooth, golden colours and the strong contrasts in the image. I thought this made it quite striking.

Acrylic experiments

I have been working with some of my digital images and exploring them further with traditional media. In particular I have enjoyed using acrylic paint applied thickly with large brushes.

Here you can see photos of some of the acrylic paintings followed by their digital inspiration.

Acrylic 1:




Inspiration 1:




Acrylic 2:




Inspiration 2:




I tried working at different scales to see what effect the size of the piece would have. Here are some images of the works in progress with reference images to illustrate the size differences:









Although the marks in this image below are unsophisticated for a digital image, I really liked the texture it suggested to me and wanted to recreate it using swirling acrylic brushstrokes. The painting above is a development of the one below.




Tuesday 23 October 2012

Transformations continued

As well as experimenting with traditional media I am also continuing to work on my digital transformations of photos. I took this simple view from a hill in Greenock over to Helensburgh on the other side of the water:




I used a wide range of editing and manipulation tools to transform the image into this:




Although the hills are still evident I love the softer, more ethereal effect that has been created.

I further simplified the image and will experiment with traditional acrylic paints to develop it further:




From digital to traditional

I have begun to experiment with some traditional materials and ways in which I can translate the digital images that I have transformed back into tangible objects. I loved the deep colours of the simplified landscape I created earlier and decided use this to create a work with acrylic paint:




I used the paint thickly and applied it quickly with large brushes - I love the vibrant colour and textured finish:




Friday 19 October 2012

Interrogating the image - through the trees

Continuing of my theme of re-seeing and transforming simple images, I began to work on a photo I took looking through the branches of a tree. I love the focus in the image and the way the lines all intersect and mingle:




Here are some images of my development work:







This is my final colour development- I love the strong simplified shapes, lines and colours combined with the watercolour like effect:



I then began to develop the image without colour:







I loved the 3D claylike effect that was created here:







I added a textural effect for the final development piece:





Interrogating the image - the butterfly wing

I used a photo of a butterfly that I took a short time ago to continue my explorations into re-seeing and transforming simple images.

I cropped the initial image so that only a section of the wing was visible. I thought this created a strong colour, pattern and texture contrast with the surrounding ground:




Here are some images of my development work:







I tried to soften the texture and harshness of the lines to bring back something of the delicacy of the butterfly:







The image began to remind me of fire so I experimented with warmer colours to create this final piece:





Saturday 13 October 2012

Re-seeing the tractor!





I took this photograph of a toy tractor in the garden and was interested in the strong contrast between the colours and the textures of the the image. I cropped it and experimented with the colours as follows:












I then began to investigate the image further by developing the shapes, lines and textures:














This was the finished result of my work. I particularly liked the earthy tones, fragmented lines and the raised, relief like texture: