For my FMP I would like to produce a location based piece or
selection of pieces that portray a chosen area via reportage. In order for me
to achieve this I will spend my summer exploring some different locations, my
initial idea being London, and record and observe the buildings and surrounding
inanimate objects that make up the scenery. Through these drawings I can be
more informed about the atmospheres and general visuals of the place I choose
to explore and draw. I’m interested and excited to use London as my main
subject matter as the people, buildings and the pace of life that is lived
here, has always fascinated me and I find it to be an inspiring place. I will
not just focus on the touristy, well-known sights but delve deeper into the
area to find queer, and stand alone buildings that I find to be visually
exciting. I would like to learn more about the place I explore so I can portray
this newfound information in my illustrations and bring a new dynamic to it as
it is seen through my eyes. I want to represent what I find in a way that will
intrigue the audience and make them revisit the illustration so that they too,
can learn and understand more about the piece.
The idea of urban sketching and travel based illustrations
has always been something I have found to be fascinating, so being able to
portray this through my drawings will be something I look forward to greatly. I
am already familiar with some aspects of the London life and architecture as a
lot of my previous work has always circled back to this topic. I have
previously tried out other drawing processes and subject matters but the thing
that will always crop up is buildings, as they tend to take a centre stage to
my outcomes. In correlation to this I have found that I enjoy producing
different compositions when it comes to a final outcome. A piece I have
previously produced combined my interest in buildings with an interesting
composition and some decorative qualities too. All of these elements are things
I want to explore when experimenting with my drawings and development for my
FMP.
My main cause for inspiration when it comes to my building
illustrations are from the books, ‘The
Art of Urban Sketching’ and James Gulliver Hancock’s book, ‘All the Buildings in New York’.
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| 1) The Art of Urban Sketching |
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| 2) All the Buildings in New York |
Both bring together a compilation of drawn buildings and
scenery’s that I find very inspiring so I would be interested in producing a
compilation piece to show off what I discover when drawing. The artists
involved in these books bring their own stylized drawings to the table so that
they each have a unique take on the locations drawn. This is also an aspect
that attracts me to this subject matter as I will be able to produce a unique
view of the chosen location adding my own elements depending on how I perceive
it.
My intent will be to intrigue the audience and abstract the location I
decide to draw. I want people to still recognize where I have illustrated but
there to be elements that may raise questions and perhaps confuse the audience
so that they will have to revisit the piece to gain further insight into their
own interpretation.
As part of my process I want to incorporate experimentation
with exaggeration so that abstraction can be achieved. James Gillray will be an
influence of mine when it comes to this aspect. He observed his subject matters
and learned more about their general characteristics so that he could illustrate
them in a fashion that was exaggerated and humorous to the audience.
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| 3) A Sphere, Projecting Against a Plane |
I want to explore and learn more about the area in which I
draw so I too, can replicate this idea of exaggeration. Whether it is a case of
something that is inanimate that stands out surrounding the building, or a part
of the building that particularly takes my interest. Something that will be
engaging to the audience and that I can adapt to make stand out a little more.
The idea of abstracting something with the help of exaggeration is something I
will enjoy developing along this process as I can take something we may see
everyday and transform and mold it into something different and exciting that
the audience will be able to interpret however they choose. Although I have
previously looked at Gillray’s work and experimented with exaggerating
someone’s character, I like the idea of using this process with buildings, two
things that perhaps wouldn’t usually go together. The challenge of combining
the two makes this task more interesting for me so I will experiment and see
what I can achieve.
Anna Coffey’s illustrations
are something that can be relatable to a wide range of people, which is what
attracted me to her work. She takes inanimate objects and combines them with
text to engage the audience. Her beauty piece ‘Lip Colours’ interests me the
most as she takes lip colours and relates them to emotions.
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| 4) Lip Colours |
The involvement of text in her illustrations is what adds
depth to them and is something I want to experiment with and incorporate into
my work. I am unsure as to what context I will involve the text but I think I
shall discover this the more I learn about the place. Some initial ideas would
be too listen to conversations I hear to add context to my exploration. I can
see what attracts me to a certain building and incorporate the text accordingly
so as to help the audience understand and interpret my illustrations.
The quite puzzling concept of the film Inception is one of intrigue to me. It confuses the audience with
its surreal take on dream worlds by building up ideas and manipulating
viewpoints. Compilations of memories are brought together to make up this new
place that is somewhat surreal and abstracted. We recognise what we see but it
is presented in a new context for the character to re-explore.
5)
In this particular scene we see the building and molding of
a dream being played out. The architect is manipulating the surrounding area
and taking inspiration from things they have already seen to build this new
place. In terms of my work I like the idea of picking pieces from the place I
have explored and putting it all back together to form this new image. Choosing
parts that stand out and buildings that are of particular interest may be a way
to experiment with this idea. This could very well work with the experiments I
take to replicate the process of Gillray. I’m particularly interested in this
idea as I can imagine more of a final outcome coming from this experimental
process however, I will still consider my other ideas and combine them to see
what could best fit together but for me this is the most exciting concept,
being able to deconstruct a place I draw and put it back together in a new way
that still portrays it how I choose after learning more about the place and
buildings.
A recent discovery, but
still one I find to be very visually exciting and inspiring is Kirsty Smith-
Neale’s work which has a minimal and simple approach when it comes to the
compositions and the illustrations themselves.  |
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This simplistic and clean-cut approach to the composition is
definitely something I’d like to try and replicate in some way. I feel it would
benefit my illustrations and have them be the main focus rather than them being
overrun by other elements. Her neutral toned backgrounds and small pops of
colour are also of interest to me. By
observing the place I choose to illustrate I can gain a better understanding of
colour and will be able to relate the colours to the places I explore. I think
this will also inform the audience more as well making for a more successful
piece.
As someones blog I have
followed and been influenced by for a few years now and as quite a diverse
staring point for me to explore, The
Beauty Crush or Sammi, is someone who is inspiring to me. She runs a
lifestyle, fashion and beauty blog and her street style is what I am focusing
on when it comes to some form of inspiration for my FMP. She is often
photographed in urban locations so I can see how her style correlates to the
surroundings. Sammi combines pieces fashion wise in a relaxed yet sometimes
juxtaposed manner with staple pieces that pop.  |
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It’s these particular pieces I am most inspired by. Incorporating colours and patterns that are
added by the people I see into my building and location based illustrations is
always something I am very interested in bringing these elements into my work. I
like picking up patterns and adding them so that the audience is taken aback by
this pop of something new. Using Sammi and her style as a starting point to
explore how I can integrate this idea into my work will be exciting to achieve
and may contribute towards the different compositions I try to create. I will
observe the people I see in London (their clothes, conversations, habits etc.)
so I can build a fuller picture of the place. All of these elements will be of
great use to building up this final image the location I wish portray.
I will record and observe my chosen location that I think
will be London and produce some initial observational drawings that I will
involve colour and patterns in. I may record other places to see if there’s a
more exciting pace and atmosphere that I can capture but I feel very inspired
by London so the camparison will be high. The idea of exploring London further
than I have before to capture it in a new way will be what drives my work
forward so I am quite set on the idea of using it as my main location. I will
then fully experiment with the ideas and communication mechanisms each of my
starting points has used and that I am most influenced by to try and gain a
better understanding as to what my final outcome will be. In a professional
sense, I have gained a better understanding of my working process through
writing and researching for my proposal. I can see that this will work well for
me and has reassured me that my practice is a viable route to take for an
illustrator and has inspired me to further in the creation of this project. I
hope to further develop my practice with the final outcome of this FMP as I
feel my development work and experiments outweigh my final pieces currently so
extra car and attention is needed for both tasks and this will be what I learn
and adapt to as I go with this project.
There are many other illustrators and sources that I gain
inspiration from but I wanted to keep my starting points diverse, as I like the
challenge of incorporating two juxtaposing elements together as the outcome
will be very exciting.
The process I have taken to get to this stage has been one
to adapt to but one that I will continue to use as it has been very informative
for me in terms of my ideas and the experiments I will do. It has made me more
confident about my FMP as a whole and how I will proceed from this point.
References
Bibliography
Hancock, James Gulliver, “Blog,” All the Buildings in New York, http://allthebuildingsinnewyork.com/new/
