OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS… I forgot to upload my research on Ego.. :0 Here it is uploaded in Y1Sem2, present Yi Ling is trying to salvage the past Yi ling’s mistake.


Before we dive into Project 3: Ego, let me do some research~

Project Brief

In 4 rows of 3 squares, create a self portrait based on four different settings.

For each of the 4 rows, use the first column to represent yourself and the second column to represent a setting and third column to represent an imagined outcome. For instance, you (first column) at a family gathering (second column) equals to being the subject of scrutiny by relatives (third column).

Apply your understanding of colors and color theory to visually represent the multifacted nature of your personality. You may choose to do this digitally or by hand (or mix-media). There are a total of 12 image compositions.

Consider how colors can be used to suggest or evoke the feelings in the various representations as well as the cultural context of the various settings.

Specification

There are no limits to medium, technique or style. However the colors will have to be selected to represent one or few of the color harmonies:

  1. Monochrome Harmony
  2. Analogous Harmony
  3. Analogous Harmony Warm and Cool
  4. Complementary Hues
  5. Split Complementary

Color

Color has 3 attributes:

  1. Hue
  2. Saturation
  3. Value

If the surface or light does not have these three essential qualities, then it is not a color.

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  • The definition of Hue is varies for different experts. However, based on my research, Hue is basically a color. Hue are the colors on the outer rim of a subtractive color wheel.
Additive VS Subtractive Color Wheel

Additive V.S. Subtractive Color Wheel

  • Saturation is the purity or intensity of a color. Value and Saturation are not attached concepts – color can change its saturartion, but leave its value unchanged.
  • Value is the difference between light and dark. By adding more white to a certain color (lets say Red), the hue (Red) is still the same, but of different value.

Harmony in visual design means all parts of the visual image relate to and complement each other. Harmony pulls the pieces of a visual image together.

Monochrome Harmony

Monochrome Harmony are a value-based compositions that contain only one hue. There are no hue relationships in a monochrome harmony, only saturation and value relationships.

Parrot painting in Payne's grey by Joe Volkel

Parrot painting in Payne’s grey by Joe Volkel

Analogous Harmony

Analogous harmonies contain more than one hue, but all of the hues in this kind of harmony are adjacent on a color wheel. The adjacent colors on the color wheel are very easy to the eyes and peaceful to look at.

analogous

Artwork that demonstrates Analogous Harmony

Artwork that demonstrates Analogous Harmony

Analogous Harmony Warm and Cool

warm-cool-colors

Artwork that exhibits Warm and Cool Analogous Harmony.

Artwork that exhibits Warm and Cool Analogous Harmony.

Complementary Hues

Complementary hues are complementary colors that are opposite each other in a color wheel.

complementary-wheel1

Artwork that exhibits Complementary Artworks.

Artwork that exhibits Complementary Artworks.

Split Complementary

The split-complementary color scheme is a variation of the complementary color scheme. In addition to the base color, it uses the two colors adjacent to its complement. This color scheme has the same strong visual contrast as the complementary color scheme, but has less tension.

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Artwork that exhibits Split Complementary Colors : Red, Turquoise and Green

Artwork that exhibits Split Complementary Colors : Red, Turquoise and Green

In addition to Split Complementary, there is also…

tumblr_m8cl7cwx3j1rrx82mTriadic color scheme uses colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel.

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Teiradic/ Rectangle colour scheme

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Square color scheme

alternate_complementary_color_harmony_by_samanthamuscaria-d4sd2p4


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As of now, I am rather intrigued by the use of relative positions of the hues in the color wheel. Initially I thought that the color wheel was a mere collection of colors. But now I know that there is more than meets the eyes, and the relationships between the opposite, adjacent and uses the two colors adjacent to its complement color; could result in different meanings, and emotions that are evoked in an artwork. I am very interested in the exploration of Split Complementary Colors as it seemed modern and has a hint of pop-art to it as I search for relevant artworks that exhibits Split Complementary Colors.

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling.embarassed

YAY So we have finally completed our FINAL assignment for 2D Foundation WOOHOO~
So lets get on with this extremely long and detailed post~

ME
Representation of Me: Tofu + Baby Elephant
slide1
Instead of using photographs of myself to represent myself, I decided to use my spirit animal as a representation of myself: A baby elephant.
Why a BABY elephant?
Because I often wish that I didn’t have to grow up so fast, and like a kid I am rather gullible & childish.
Why a baby ELEPHANT?
Because an elephant is a gentle giant ( I am rather big), they never forget(I bear grudges), they are playful and friendly but not to be trifled with ( my emotions are easily riled).
I was also intrigued to explore Anthropomorphism as well. Hence, I wanted to use Tofu as my subject as well. The texture of my elephant I have decided to go with is different types of Tofu as my friend once told me that I am like Tofu, soft and fragile and I ought to toughen up to be like Tau Pok.
slide2
Hence, in each row, the toughness of each elephant in each square will show the progression of how I , from a fragile watery Tau Huay transform into a tougher Tau Pok. Vice Versa. cool

Methodology
For the methodology for the representation of myself, I was very inspired by the cartoons I have watched in the past and recently.
Hence, I decided to carrying out my emotions and state into the form of hand-drawn elephant cartoon drawings, which then I scan my drawings into the computer, and then overlaying the texture of tofu over my drawings for the elephant’s skin on Photoshop.
This further emphasized on the meaning of my spirit animal is also soft and fragile like Tofu. Thus, giving a new definition to my spirit animal.
I decided to split the 4 rows into 2 where the first two will be on my concept of Dystopia and the other two will be my ideal concept of Utopia.
 scanwf
A constant method of carrying this project out is on Surrealism, as I was having lots of fun for project 2 and I would like to incorporate photo manipulation and montages again. 🙂

Compositions

1) Utopia 1:
 slide1
Me: Me when I am stressed.
Setting: Lured by Temptation
Black used in the background and doodled TV to show the dull and mundane life I am in. Juxtaposed by the burst of white light behind the TV, it acts as a metaphorical representation of the TV being a portal to send me to another dimension ( color wheel ) where there is colour, vibrance and excitement. Outstretched hand (Korean drama actor Song Joong Ki’s hand) from the center of the colour wheel invites and lures me into his world. *fangirl snigger*
Outcome: Living vicariously through fiction.
My concept for this composition is a themepark because I love thrilling rides and I lose track of time there. Similarly, in the land of fiction, I lose track of time and reality when I watch TV dramas.
I used Square complementary Harmony color wheel in this composition where I used : Violet, Orange, Blue and Green. Violet/ purple gives off a dream like atmosphere, Blue is calming, orange gives a youthful and warm feeling and Green is refreshing.

 For this row, I was rather inspired by an image I saw online once which I felt it was highly relatable.
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Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
– Albert Einstein
2) Dystopia 1
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Me: Me when I am carefree
Setting:  Societal Expectations.
I used cool colors for this composition that has similar tones. Scene takes place in a classroom setting in my perspective. Blackboard serves as the center of focus to create line of perspective, further emphasized by grids on the floor, which says, “Flying Lesson 101”.
This is to show that sometimes in society and education, we are often taught things that we don’t need or does not apply to us individually, or it simply is not cut out for us. And no matter how hard we push ourselves to learn, we remember the theory but we cannot apply it.
Outcome: Inferiority complex.
Outcome is a representation of Exam day.
I used monochrome harmony ( Blue) and split complementary ( Blue with Orange ) in this composition. I used blue as the background as I wanted to express the coldness and cruel side of society (building in the background), as well as inferiority I experienced when my peers do extremely well but I don’t. It is as though, when I am not doing well in certain subjects as compared to others, I am deemed as incompetent, inadequate and less intelligent by society…
The bright orange juxtaposed against the dark blue background is to show how much my peers shine through their abilities, where I am blended into the background, questioning my abilities. I attempted to create a diagonal implied line from the bottom left corner to the top right hand corner, to convey the instability I felt.

3) Utopia 2

slide2

Me: Me when I have Anxiety
Setting: My Safe Haven
My Safe Haven is depicted in an outdoor scenario where ELEPHANTS SHOULD BE ROAMING AND NOT LOCKED IN CAGES NOR ENCLOSURES *ahem* where there is plenty of room to roam. I used rain, as Elephants love the rain; I represented the sun with a fried egg (Because I like too eat eggs) and the vegetation at the bottom to be a Soya Bean field as Tofu is made from Soya Beans, and metaphorically, I am where I am born. Hence, my safe haven is places where I find most joy and comfort as a child.
I used a Analogous Warm Colors for this composition where Green, Red, Orange and Yellow are present.
Outcome: Recuperation.
In this composition, the Elephant is seen in the ground with a Soya Bean and a rice grain on it’s side. This is a representation of me talking my problems out with my loved ones, and in this scenario, the Soya Bean is a representation of my family and friends (What made me ‘Me’.) and Rice is also the basic element which makes my comfort food: Carbohydrates. My elephant’s texture is Tau Huay again as I wanted to show that in front of my loved ones, I am allowed to breakdown and show my weak and fragile side 🙂 The Farmer Boots, Watering Can and Sunlight are what will help me grow up as a Soya Bean to be a stronger and happier person…I mean tofu.
I used Analogous Warm Colors and Earth tones for this composition.

4)Dystopia 2
slide4
Me: Me when I am Happy
Setting: Whirlpool of negativity
I depicted this composition by a hand grabbing the Elephant and attempting to throw her in the black hole made by the black and white whirlpool.
My highs and lows are rather unpredictable. I get triggered by comments and actions really easily as I am hypersensitive- *sighs* I am a Scorpio…excuses – and in an instant I get so caught up in chains of thoughts or reasons, I enter my abyss of fear and swirling thoughts, which eventually lead me to a state of melancholy.
Used Monochrome Harmony for this composition.
Outcome: Abyss of fear and melancholy
In my state of fear and melancholy, I am consumed by my own thoughts, things people say and self-loathe. I’ll think about past events and I get really scared of my consuming thoughts which swirls around me like vultures waiting to feed on my corpse.
Flying eyeballs with mouth-Conscious of things people say and the way they look at me.
Lizards with Math equations on them – Constant reminder of greatest fear in Math. I hate lizards.
Frankenstein Snowman – Things people compare parts of my body to.
Used Monochrome Harmony and Split Complementary ( Yellow rays from Window)
The texture of my elephant from a tough Tao Pok to Tau Gua to a watery fragile Tao Huay is evident here.

Artist References
A lot of my inspirations come from the cartoons I binged watched as a kid and the cartoons I watch now with my younger cousin on cable TV as a form of bonding session!
Best thing about being an Art student is that I can get away with watching cartoons for research purpose MUAHAHA.
I pay quite a lot of attention to the details in the animations which I drew my inspirations from:
Fairly Odd Parents
I really liked how they used color of the background has similar tones and roughly from the same hue. And the main characters are usually much more saturated and has brighter hues to draw our attention to them. The juxtaposition of the one-hue background to the more vibrant and colorful main characters really gives the main characters that POP of color.
The AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL
&
PICKLE AND PEANUT
cartoon-network-the-amazing-world-of-gumball
sectionname_xd_pickle_peanut_rich_nonretina_01c8eb16
My inspiration for Anthropomorphism comes from these 2 cartoons.
I liked how in The Amazing World of Gumball, the character’s personality are related for the medium they are made from. For instance, Teri (the paper bear beside Tina the T-rex) is made out of paper, she is very fragile, and physically weak. It is revealed that if Teri stands in the light, you can see “inside of her.”
And in Pickle and Peanut , I like how the main characters are the only ones made from ‘Real Objects’ whereas the rests are drawings.

Problems Faced
Use of colors
The colors aspect was bugging me quite a bit. The placement of colors on certain areas of my compositions and the saturation, tone and the Hex color code made it hard for me to decide as there were so many colors to choose from. But then again I was intrigued by the types of color harmony I can use to further illustrate and emphasize on my intention and emotion in each composition.
Ideas
I was rather concerned regarding using Color Harmony as the main key point as my head was really congested with ideas on how to pull off the photo montages, methodology, ideology and which elephant to use for which setting etc.
Images
Finding the right high resolution images for my photo montages and photo manipulation was rather difficult. For instance, it was not easy to find a high resolution image for tofu. 🙁

Comments and Feedback

Lovely Classmates’:
commensTHANK YOU GUYS FOR THE LOVELY COMMENTS <3
Miss Joy’s ( I can’t remember word for word but I got the gist):
– Can tell that I tried to apply my Principles of design such as implied lines and use of perspective.
– Joy suggested that for my ‘Societal Expectation’ composition, doing a sketch of a bunny hopping off a cliff to show the act of learning to fly would be better as compared to writing the text ‘Flying Lesson 101’ as the texts are rather jarring when seen as a whole during presentation of my 12 compositions, as it was the only composition with text on it. 🙂

Have pretty mixed feelings when lesson ended today 🙁 I had lots of fun working on the assignments, and odd to say but critique day is my favorite part of the assignment XD, but I cant help but feel a tinge of sadness when in sem 2 our class may split up and we may not get Joy as our instructor again even if we try to grab our timetable slots on STARwarS… sigh. But regardless I am very glad to get to know my classmates more as individuals through 2D projects ;’) It is my utmost pleasure guys~ Thank you for the memories <3

NEW PROJECT IS HERE!!

Our second project for 2D foundation class is called ‘Forrest Gump’! So let me start my research before we dive right into the course work!

Project Brief:

Create a visual narrative that expresses each movie quote of your choice using only symbols, pictograms, dingbats(ornaments), icons and engravings as your visual vocabulary.

The old engraving imagery puts the composition into historical context. You are to manipulate, alter and deconstruct the found graphic imagery to transcend its original meaning through the creation of the indicated narratives. Pay particular attention to the application of design principles to create visually engaging compositions.

 

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Symbols:

symbol-signs-the-ministry-of-type

A mark that is universally recognized to represent an object, action or situation.

Pictograms:

piccc

Pictograms are pictorial symbols for a word or phrase. Pictographs were used as the earliest known form of writing, examples having been discovered in Egypt and Mesopotamia from before 3000 BC.

image

Pictograms are also used as pictorial representation of statistics on a chart, graph, or computer screen.

Dingbats:

A dingbat is an ornament (used for decoration/embellishment), character, or spacer used in typesetting (composition of texts), often employed for the creation of box frames.

BlueGobletOrnaments

The term continues to be used in the computer industry to describe typeface that have symbols and shapes in the positions designated for alphabetical or numeric characters.

Dingbats2StrongForms dingbats-hero_image

In summary, I understand Dingbats as a form of ornamental embellishment OR symbols or shape that acts as a semiotic. (Correct me if I am wrong surprised)

Icons:

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Icon has a physical resemblance to the signified, the symbol being represented and is usually a pictorial representation.

Engravings:

800px-2008-engraving

$_32

Engraving is putting a design onto a hard, flat surface (stone, wood, metal etc.), by carving into it resulting in a decorative piece.

958405b42008a8f67267a4eb1f60579b

Or may provide a printing plate of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper which are also called engravings.

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More research will be done on my visual journal starting from this project onwards (I hope), and I will be uploading images of my journal in the furure!

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling~smile

Before I dive into the project, some research and reference artists required to get my creative factory to start its engine~ But as of now, I am pretty uncertain about this project because it is rather abstract and lots of limitless imagination is required which I am rather worried about. ( Sounds familiar to my Project 1 woes…) And because I am a technology caveman, I predict that I going to have a hard time using the Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. :'( Wish me luck~!

Surrealism

Surrealism is a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind by using irrational juxtaposition of images.

surreal-painting-vladimir-kush%2017 6354760-r3l8t8d-800-18

To my understanding, surrealism is to create meaningful images that are illogically possible in reality.

DADAISM

Dada was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. The beginnings of Dada correspond to the outbreak of WWI. And the movement was a protest against the bourgeois nationalist and colonist interests, which many Dadaists believed were the root cause of the war.

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Many Dadaists believed that the ‘reason’ and ‘logic’ of bourgeois capitalist society had led people into war. Hence they expressed their rejection of that ideology in artistic expression by embracing chaos and irrationality. Dada was not art: it was “anti-art”. Dada represented the opposite of everything which traditional art stood for.

duchamp

Based on my own understanding, Dadaism is ‘Anti-art’. It’s purpose is to reject any logical and reasonable thinking, going against whatever traditional art stood for. It seemed like a mass rebellion against traditional art. Fighting Art with Anti-art.

Russian Constructivism

Russian Constructivists had the intention to reinvent art and reconstruct art from level 0. Constructivism was primarily an art and architectural movement. It rejected the idea of art for arts’ sake and the traditional bourgeois class of society to which previous art had been catered. Practicality with beauty was the main thrust behind the constructivists.

manwithmoviecam

Instead it favored art as a practice directed towards social change or that would serve a social purpose and be practical in its nature. Developing after World War I, the movement sought to push people to rebuild society in a Utopian model rather than the one that had led to the war. Art, music, architecture etc. were influenced by constructivism. 

gustavklutsis-workers-everyone-must-vote-in-the-election-of-soviets-1930

Based on my observation, I realize that Russian Constructivism has minimal colors in its artworks. Variety is added by using basic element of design such as contrast of color and lines.

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Chinese Political Pop art by Wang Guang Yi’s Great Criticism Series instantly came to my mind when I searched for ‘Russian Constructivism’.

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Artwork by Wang Guang Yi

As you can see, there are some forms of similarity such as red is the dominant color, and use of lines draws the viewer’s attention to an area of focus.

Hannah Hoch

At first glance into her works, . I assumed she was a modern artist initially as Hoch’s work seemed timeless and is applicable to the present times.

hannah-hoch

Hannah Hoch was an important member of the Berlin Dada movement and a pioneer in collage and was one of the originators of Photomontage. She also consciously promoted the idea of women working creatively more generally in society. She explicitly addressed in her pioneering artwork in the form of photomontage the issue of gender and the figure of woman in modern society

tall

Surrealism and Dadaism seems to be heavily involved in her works. The effect of her work is initially one of visual confusion, and yet a kind of nonsense-narrative begins to develop. To me, she is like Picasso who used magazine cutouts to create collages instead of paint!

John Heartfield

John Heartfield was a pioneer of modern photomontage. Working in Germany and Czechoslovakia between the two world wars, he developed a unique method of appropriating and reusing photographs to powerful political effect. The process of cutting and pasting together elements to form a brilliant cohesive image became the foundation of Heartfield art.

yet-it-moves

To compose his works, he chose recognizable press photographs of politicians or events from the mainstream illustrated press. He then disassembled and rearranged these images to radically alter their meaning.

15johnheartfieldkriegundleichenHeartfield’s strongest work used variations of scale and stark juxtapositions to activate his already gruesome photo-fragments. The result could have a frightening visual impact.

john_heartfield

I felt that Heartfield’s work are rather heartfelt as his ‘Anti-Nazi’ and ‘Anti-politics’ works held significant meaning behind the photomontage of satirical humor.

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From this round of research, I am inspired by a few concepts and methodology of artists, which I may use for this project:

  1. Basic Principles and Elements of Design can help direct the viewer’s attention to an area I want to focus on, AND to emphasize on a certain intention.
  2. Stray away from conventional traditional art mindsets, focus on the idea you want to bring out instead of the aesthetics. UNLEASH YOUR IRRATIONAL UNCONSCIOUS MIND~ RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!
  3. Create nonsense-narrative
  4. Use recognizable images
  5.  Vary scale of object and create stark juxtapositions

Cheers~

Seng Yi Ling.

More exploration of mark making! (23 Aug 2016)

20160825_092046

Mediums

20160825_092122

Tools for Monoprinting

New mediums and tools I tried out are white mono printing paint, Chinese calligraphy ink ; cardboard, kitchen towel, fake flower. My gut feeling for that day was the same as the previous self-exploration post! Just have fun and explore the possibilities of what each tool can do! 🙂

Chop chop

Used the cardboard with chopping motion to create curved lines.

Tried out Jackson Pollock's drip painting technique.

Tried out Jackson Pollock’s drip painting technique.

Tried out Jackson Pollock’s drip painting technique while I was literally jumping around the work area, hoping to generate some extravagant and expressive motions on the lino-cut.

P.S: The tool was very clean when I dipped it in the mono-printing ink.

BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE POP

Gabrielle brought up the idea in the mono-printing room to use bubbles as a medium for our mark making, and many of us decide to give it a shot! Clara made a bubble blowing device by tying a rigid string into loops and lent it to me to experiment! (Thanks guys! ^~^)

The results were beautiful, but yet messy because the direction and size of bubbles are hard to control. In addition many of us who experimented with the bubble blowing techniques in the room ended up with black spots all over our faces when the bubble popped ! cool

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Brain-Storming Session (30 August 2016)

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I labeled each age range in a different colour and I’d realise that majority of my yellow stars lie in the Negative emotions category whereas my pink stars lie in the Positive Emotions category. This goes to show that more of my emotions has taken a downwards direction as I grew older.

After attempting with using my childhood item ( beads for braiding my hair) as a mark making tool in the previous post,

Childhoods beads

Childhoods beads

Short preview of the beads post

Rolling the beads down my newsprint paper.

I realised that something that had brought me joyful memories produces a mark that resembled something very distressful… I brought this problem I faced to group discussion where Miss Joy and my classmates gave me very insightful suggestions and I think I might really try them out to produce more emotive marks !
My classmates suggested to…
– Use the tools differently instead of sticking to the one way conventional method.
(For instance, rolling the entire paintbrush over my paper rather than simply using the brush tip.)
– Use the same method and same tools on different paper types.
– Inverse the colours. For instance, white marks on black paper instead of black marks on white paper.

Hence I decided to do more mark making explorations while trying out some of the suggestions given ! ^^

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Self Exploration into Mark Making (4 Sept 2016)

Was inspired by a few sceneries I spotted earlier that day which made me feel good, so I decided to recreate them to generate more ‘Positive Emotion’ marks.

Creating water blobs with water colour pen

Creating water blobs with water color pen inspired by rain on the window shield.

Decided to go ahead with my classmates’ suggestions of inversing the color and changing the choice of paper, and a few turned out pretty alright!

Dragging white water color paint over black vanguard sheet.

Dragging white water color paint over black vanguard sheet, to recreate the reflection of the sea at night.

Correction tape

Using correction tape as a medium

Thank you for reading through this extremely long post! The final post for ‘Project 1 : My line is Emo’ is coming to an end soon, so stay tuned for my last and final post on this project!! smile

Cheers,

Yi Ling.

 

Today I tried to do some self exploration on the marks I can create with some of the mediums at home, bearing in mind with the suggested solutions I came up with in my previous post! So I began my journey into mark making with an open mind with no expectations of myself, except to just have fun with mark making first! 🙂

20160821_153537Image 1: My tools and mediums used:  Acrylic paint, Watercolor paint, Poster color paint, cotton mesh, straw, an old tooth brush, a tea spoon of salt, nail varnish, Q-tips, a rock, nail polish remover, different sizes of paintbrushes, cloth, eyeliner, plastic teaspoon, scrunched up cling wrap, beads and scrunched up aluminum foil.

20160821_153747Image 2: Because I didn’t have a roller like the mono-printing post previously, I used a kitchen towel cardboard tube as a… low-budget roller. Hope that it works just as well.

I was very interested in knowing how each unconventional medium would react with the other. For instance, mixing acrylic paint with nail varnish / mixing watercolor paint with nail polish remover. Hoping that upon my experimentation I would discover a texture or pattern the 2 mediums could produce. Will they be miscible? Or no reaction will be observed?

20160821_154725<< Image 3: I tried mixing watercolor paint with nail polish remover and to my surprise and excitement, the 2 mediums are not completely miscible! Black paint coagulations were found at the bottom of the palette.

20160821_154904Image 4: After vigorously mixing the mediums in image 3, I swung my wet paintbrush onto the newsprint paper, creating far-ranged splatter patterns.

My first attempt at doing mark making without much visual aesthetic thoughts was considered pretty successful. I was intrigued at how far the splatter could go and the intensity of each splash as I channeled my inner Jackson Pollock. Soon I realized that this is a rather fun and cathartic activity!

I felt more carefree while being more bold in my strokes and actions (as I have already placed a lot of newspaper around me to prevent unwanted marks on my furniture at home) and I felt less restricted and more daring in my choice of mediums than before.

Then I went on to try out using nail varnish and nail polish remover!

20160821_155653Image 5: I cut open a tube of white nail varnish and poured it over the newsprint, and then adding a few drops of black nail varnish onto the white.

 

20160821_155855_020_01Image 6: I then used the plastic teaspoon to pour nail polish remover over the white nail varnish, and then using a Q-tip (with the cotton portion cut off) to swirl the mixture; creating another  pattern that is a result of 2 immiscible mediums!

Then I began trying out using a very fluid medium like black watercolor paint, and then using a straw to blow at the paint. Creating an unpredictable pattern that goes in different directions according to the dispersion of wind emitted from the straw.

blow art Image 7: Blowing air out from a straw onto an A2 newsprint with fluid black watercolor paint.

The distance of the paint travelled varies, depending on the amount of air I exhaled from my weak lung capacity. Distance of paint travelled decreases with time as the ink has already been spread, and I was very out of breath…yell

Then I was inspired to recreate an artwork I did as a child! The one whereby my kindergarten teacher gave us marbles coated with different colored paint, and a clean A4 sized paper in a paper box cover. She told us to place the marbles in the box cover with the paper and shake it. Resulting an unpredicted abstract pattern created by the colored marbles rolling in the box!

20160821_163503Image 8: I didn’t have marbles so I used beads and coated them in dense poster color paint.rollingImage 9:  I tilted the paper in an angle and allowed the beads to roll downwards, creating a linear rolling pattern that goes in different direction.

Afterwards I tried to recreate what I have learnt in mono-printing class, but didn’t do so well as my choice of medium was not thick enough.

20160821_16424420160821_164305 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 10 and 11: I resulted in painting one size of my scrunched up aluminum foil and then rolling it across the newsprint paper with my kitchen towel cardboard tube. 

20160821_161744Image 12: I also used a scrunched up cling wrap dipped in paint to dab it all over my newsprint. Creating a blotchy and detailed patterns as the pain began to dry a little.

20160821_161434Image 13: Incorporating a tooth brush, I created tiny splattered patterns . The blotchy watercolor paint drip was created by accident. So I decided to add some salt crystals onto it, hoping to achieve a water color to gather the water pigments. But the experimentation has failed as the paper absorbed the water color more efficiently than the salt could.

These are just some of the mark making process I have documented! In conclusion for my first self exploration of mono-printing, I think the results were rather successful ! Though I took videos of how the process of each mark making attempt was done, sadly, I couldn’t upload the video as the file is too big and the format of the video is incompatible. 🙁

But still! The results of the final products were rather fine and I liked how each mark has its own feeling and different textures and patterns to it. :)4

Until next time~

Cheers,

Yi Ling.

Had my first mono printing lesson and it was extremely fun!

We started our day with Miss Joy by dividing our class into 2.

Our group taped pieces of A2 paper together and brought it downstairs to do a giant mind-mapping session to share our research regarding mark making.

Afterwards, we went to the print lab where Miss Joy showed us how to do mono printing by using mono printing ink, lino-cut,  rollers, our mark making choice of items and paper.

20160818_105306 - CopyImage 1: Spreading the mono-printing ink onto the lino-cut with the roller.

Mark making tools I have brought were: Twigs, leaves, Q-tips, toothpicks, plastic string, bubble wrap, cling wrap and aluminum foil.

Screenshot_20160820-183151 Image 2: Placing my mark making objects onto the wet lino-cut from Image 1.Screenshot_20160820-183251 Image 3: Placing a piece of A2 newsprint paper on the lino-cut from Image 2.Screenshot_20160820-183325 Image 4: Covering my newsprint paper with a stack of A2 newsprint, which acts as a ‘Blanket’ to protect the roller machine from getting stained.roller machine Image 5: Begin turning the wheel which moves the platform below it, rolling the A2 newsprint over the lino-cut.peel off

Image 6: Return the wheel to its original starting point and peel off your A2 Newsprint to reveal the mono-print you’ve just created! 😀

reverse mono printingImage 7: After gently removing the mark making tools, place another clean A2 Newsprint on top of the lino-cut and repeat the step in Image 6 to achieve a detailed print of the mark making tools!

 

The rolling machine was very fascinating! And I liked the result where the mark making tools were removed better as more intricate details are printed onto the paper.

I have learnt that an even pressure applied to my paper creates an even and linear ink spreading appearance, as compared to manually using a clean roller to spread the ink on my own table; whereby the direction and uneven pressure I apply can produce unintentional lines that somehow also make the final product pleasant.

Issues faced during session:

I find it frustrating that I couldn’t focus on conveying my emotions into my mark making techniques.

For instance, I would like to express the emotion: Happiness. But I was really concerned about the patterns I have created. “Is it too spiral-ish? Why do I keep repeating the same pattern? It is not symmetrical enough!” Visual aesthetic concerns like this hinder my sincere thought expressions and I think it is something I should work on to resolve.

My possible solutions to my problems:

  1. Do mark making in a way that I would not be able to see the final product as soon as I begin, as I would worry how it looks before I even end. So I would suggest closing my eyes as I proceed, only revealing the final product to myself when I am done.
  2. Crop out the portion of my end product that depicts the emotions I want to convey.

I will try out these solutions and see how it works for me! 🙂 Stay tuned for my progress!

Photos are taken by my buddy, Queenie.


Thanks Queenie! 🙂20160818_110148

 

 

 

At first glance into the research of Automatic drawing, it is fairly similar to Mark Making. But let me dive deeper into the research to confirm my hypothesis. Lets go! surprised

What is Automatism?

Masson_automatic_drawing

 Automatic Drawing (1924)

André Masson

Ink on paper

(23.5 × 20.6 cm).

“Automatism” most often refers to a technique of subconscious drawing in which the artist allows his unconscious mind to take control. It is the primary method of surrealism.

Automatism is a sort of accelerated or intensified gestural movements. Unexpected and unpredicted images can be made to appear, while avoiding conscious control over the image.

Automatic techniques not only involves doodling or marking marks on paper.

Some other automatic techniques include:

Grattage

Grattage is a surrealist painting technique that involves laying a canvas prepared with a layer of oil paint over a textured object and then scraping the paint off to create an interesting and unexpected surface

Grattage

Max Ernst
Forest and Dove 1927
Oil on canvas
support: 1003 x 813 mm
frame: 1200 x 1012 x 66 mm

Frottage

Frottage is a surrealist and ‘automatic’ method of creative production that involves creating a rubbing of a textured surface using a pencil or other drawing materialuntitled

Phoenix Landing

2003

Roger Clark Miller

Fumage

Fumage is a technique in which an image is created by painting with smoke from a lighted candle into a ground of wet paint.


Fumage, gouache, and color pencil work, by Antonio Muñiz

1955

Oil, sand and glue on canvas

551 x 380 mm

Sand painting

Sand painting is the art of pouring colored sands, and powdered pigments from minerals or crystals, or pigments from other natural or synthetic sources onto a surface to make a fixed, or unfixed sand painting.

Star, Winged Being, Fish 1955 Andr? Masson 1896-1987 Bequeathed by Elly Kahnweiler 1991 to form part of the gift of Gustav and Elly Kahnweiler, accessioned 1994 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T06822

André Masson

Star, Winged Being, Fish 1955

Froissage

Froissage is a method of collage in which the lines made by crumpling up a piece of paper are used to create a drawing.

Froissage - Andre-Pierre Arnal

Torn paper collage etc.

Paper collage is a technique of an art production where the artwork is created using an assemblage of different forms and shapes using paper.

Wren in Winter Original Framed Torn Paper Collage by DawnsGallery,:

When did Automatism begin?

Popularized during the 20th century by Surrealist artists, they sought to unleash the creative force of the unconscious in art.

The Surrealists embraced automatic drawing as way to incorporate the subconscious into their artwork, and to free themselves from artistic conventions, social norms and everyday thinking.

Automatic drawing and painting was seen as the only way then to escape from cultural, intellectual and historical constraints and unlock the basic creativity supposedly lodged deep within the artist’s personality. This technique, Surrealists felt, was a way in to access meaning and information that were unavailable through tradition and the conscious mind.

Impact Automatism had ?

Apart from Surrealism, other movements/ group in which Automatism has played a role includes: Dadaism ( In the early 20th Century), the gestural style of Action Painting and a late-1940s Canadian artist group known as Les Automatistes.

Probably the most famous painters associated with automatic art are Salvador Dali (1904-89) and Jackson Pollock (1912-56). Since the 1930s, Automatism has become a part of the technical repertoire of both modern and postmodern art.

What I admire about automatic drawing is that it is an immediate way to start creating art. It can be done when one feels completely uninspired or faced with a mental block due to lack of ideas. Automatism is a great way to free your creativity. It lifts you out of your logical brain’s desire to make something that’s “good” or “accurate”, unleashing your subconscious mind and breaking free from societal constraints!

Hence, to conclude the research. I feel that Automatic drawing incorporates mark making. Automatic drawing is the idea, and mark making is the technique to carry it out. cool

 

  • What is mark making? And what can be used to do it?

Mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures we create in an artwork.

It applies to any art material we use on any surface. A dot made with a pencil, a line created with a pen, a swirl painted with a brush, these are all types of mark making.

  • How is mark making done?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ5ConE6kgM

The above link is a brief video on how mark making can be done. The ways of mark making are free and limitless!laughing

mark makingMark making can be loose and gestural, or structured and controlled. Zen-like doodles, expressive and emotive paint throwing techniques and simply rubbing a stick/ comb/ toilet brush (??) through some acrylic paint are just some of the many creative ways mark making can be done!

But in Project 1 “My line is emo”; my project restricts me to have a black and white outcome in the end, as well as avoiding illustrating emotions literally or creating anything representational…sealed Come on now brain, time for my creative juices to start flowing through my Factory of Creations~

  • When has mark making been introduced?

mmmm

According to the trustworthy search engine: Google, it seems like there is no exact date as to when mark making was officially introduced. It just happened! So in my assumptions, I suppose mark making began when mankind discovered art! Because making patterns or tracing your fingers with a medium that shows a physical and permanent mark, is after all a pictorial attempt at mark making isn’t it? surprised

  • Where and when has mark making been used?

kids

Mark making has been used frequently as an expressive leisure form of art work, art therapy as well as a form of expression and development for children during early childhood.

According to the book ‘Navigating Art Therapy: A Therapist’s Companion’ by Chris Wood, mark making has served as a form of therapy for the physical, spiritual and mental health for humans.

“Indigenous mark-making has been associated, since prehistoric times, with understanding the connections between interior and exterior. Spiritual and religious rituals have also used mark making in aspects concerning health, healing and the sustaining of life.”

-Page 16, Navigating Art Therapy: A Therapist’s Companion by Chris Wood

  • Who has done Mark Making?

Mark making has been done by everyone in one way or another, regardless of an accidental or intended attempts.

For instance, when you accidentally knocked your colored beverage onto your homework, and despite the momentary hysteria, you’re like, “Wow, this is a rather gorgeous splatter I have created by accident!” (true story).

Some artists who has taken mark making into the next level, and are very good at it are:

  • Julie Mehretu, who makes large-scale, gestural paintings that are built up through layers of acrylic paint on canvas overlaid with mark-making using pencil, pen, ink and thick streams of paintJulie1

Kabul
2013
Graphite and acrylic on linen
96 x 144 in. (243.8 x 365.8 cm)

Mehretu’s work conveys a layering and compression of time, space and place and a collapse of art historical references, from the dynamism of the Italian Futurists and the geometric abstraction of Malevich to the enveloping scale of Abstract Expressionist color field painting.

In her highly worked canvases, Mehretu creates new narratives using abstracted images of cities, histories, wars and geographies with a frenetic mark making that for the artist becomes a way of signifying social agency as well suggesting an unravelling of a personal biography.

  • Yves Klein was a showman and one of his most famous events was the imprinting of paper with naked models smeared with blue paint, as he directed their performance to music. The-Great-Battle-Yves-KleinGrande Anthropophagie bleue
    Hommage à Tennessee Williams, 1960

    (Large blue anthropophagy, Homage to Tennessee Williams)
    Grande bataille [Great battle]
    Pure pigment and synthetic resin
    on paper marouflaged to canvas -276 x 418 cm

The Grande Anthropophagie bleue. Hommage a Tennessee Williams is an accurate reflection of the fragility and suffering. In reference to the final scene of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer, adapted for the screen by Joseph Mankiewics in 1959, the work is an expression of great violence by the chaos and force of its marks

Klein presented his work in forms that were recognized as art but would then take away the expected content of that form (paintings without pictures, a book without words, a musical composition without in fact composition) leaving only a shell. He wanted his subjects to be represented by their imprint: the image of their absence.

  • Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter, and the leading force behind the abstract expressionist movement in the art world. His dripping technique (where he danced around the canvas in a trance like state) turned painting into a performance where the canvas bore witness to the act of painting and the resulting work represented an event (of painting) rather than an object.pololockPollock also incorporates the use of different unconventional mediums. Instead of using the traditional paint brush, he would add depth to his images using knives, trowels, sticks and even his own foot prints as part of the artwork, as he works while standing IN his monumental artwork. In that it had a direct relation to the artist’s emotions, expression, and mood, and showcased their feeling behind the pieces they designed. Thus, achieving different patterns and forms in midst of his expressive mark making.

jacksin

Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)

1950

Enamel on canvas

105 x 207 in. (266.7 x 525.8 cm)

 

 

With that, I conclude my first round of research into mark making.

Cheers!

Yi Ling smile

 

 

References for research:

http://painting.about.com/od/artglossarym/g/definition-mark-making.htms

http://whitecube.com/artists/julie_mehretu/

http://www.jackson-pollock.org/autumn-rhythm.jsp