October 2022

Reflection:

Some of my work over task 1 and 2 is inspired by public transportation because I use it more than ever than before; for example, image 6 is inspired by the seats of the trains I ride (Victoria line and the overground). For this I used a sponge for the acrylic and stuck on old book pieces and newspaper collected from trains to build the aesthetic. I also sewed the newspaper to give it a 3D look, which I was pleased with, but I feel didn’t go far enough in that I could have added more texture, such as replicating how the seats feel. 

Previously, I was always given a specific theme to develop my ideas from, but Talking Color was based on freedom of making art on surroundings, which I’m glad for because it got me out of my usual way of responding, such as not always using a fine liner or sticking to a single colour palette for all my drawings. Overall, this task taught me to pay more attention to my surroundings and how to use them to create art wherever I went, which changed my perspective on how I see my surroundings now. My own style is abstract, as evidenced by some of my work, so trying to refine colours and shapes of objects was especially difficult for me. However, in the future, I want to experiment with different media collaborations and see how they work together in order to further my work in a more textured way, because, while I am pleased with the work I have created, I wish I had been more experimental with my materials.

Focusing on the how the text moves in a big wave formation. The font reminds me of something I could see featured at a carnival or a circus event. [Markers, Ink]

Crocheted jackets with two flower designs [Marker]

South London – Borough Market

South London – Stockwell

South London – Brixton

Brixton on the Map [Markers, Ink]

South London – Wimbledon

Test

Reflection:

According The Introduction to Fashion Textiles this task, I learned how to observe life and draw them. Before I don’t have any confidence of my drawing and I don’t enjoy it, because I think drawing need to be very perfect and exquisite. After this project, drawing is not a burden for me any longer. I have tried some different material for drawing, such as oil pastel, marker, gouache, fine liner pen and so on. I think I am more familiar to use them now.

For this color task, I think black paper and gouache are most attractive for me. Before normally I just draw on the white paper, I didn’t care about the background color. This time I try to use black paper to draw. The result is amazing. Different background can highlight the key point of the picture and it also plays a very important role of the whole image. I really like that drawing about the building which is under construction. That is an all white building and it with pink scaffold, red warning sign. There is a big comparison between black background with other color, especially red warning sign can catch people’s eyes. So I think this is a good try.

This is also a first time I used gouache. I noticed gouache color looks very gentle and smooth. It’s easy to make color transition and it also have a potential of color, because I can create color I want according mix color. Gouache also has a nondeterminacy. With different yield of water that color looks different. It’s very interesting, so I think I will try to use it with different media in the future to find more possibilities.

Life Drawing Workshop- Gel pens, Oil Pastels and Chalk.

Scale: A3

Half an Apple Observational Drawing- Watercolour, Oil Pastels, Gel Pens.

Scale: A6

Chilli Pot Observational Painting- Daler Rowney acrylic paint.

Scale: A4

Observational Painting- Daler Rowney acrylic paint. Repeat of original Chilli pot design in opposite colours.

Scale: A4

Life Drawing- Watercolour and Gel pens.

Scale: A3

Radish Observational Painting- Daler Rowney.

Scale: A5

Mushroom Observational Painting- Daler Rowney paints, Gel pens.

Scale: A6

Repeat Painting of Sloes- 1. Acrylic Paint 2. Watercolour

Scale: A4

For this task, I tried to explore London as much as I could. As the culture, architecture, and so on in London is different from my hometown, I was inspired by various things such as nature, people, and buildings rather than focusing on one theme. The work started with my new room in London. In my new room, I focused on variety, but similar brownish colours from moving boxes.

I drew them using pastels, however, there are two flaws. It was good to try to demonstrate the variety of colour on the brown spectrum. Although, since the colour palette consisted of similar colours. After I drew boxes, I realized that color diversity should be more visible. In addition, pastels have the feature which is smudging easily. For this reason, I think it would have been better to express the smudging of pastels with fingers or tissues. 

On the other hand, I was inspired by the autumn leaves seen through from the fallen tree’s branches at Hyde Park for one of my drawings. It is similar but shows the harmony of other colours properly. Many dots between the branches represent the feeling of autumn like the intensity, the softness, and the calmness through individual colours, in my opinion, it is a great way to express it.

Furthermore, I used materials to create colours and patterns such as coloured pencils, oil pastels, and watercolors that are already familiar with. If I had used various materials such as coloured papers, oil paints, gouaches, and acrylic paints, also other methods such as collage, then I could have improved my understanding of drawing and materials through this assignment.

Most of my drawings for this task are inspired by a trip to the Horniman Museum and Gardens. When I was looking at Frederick Horniman’s collections, I was amazed by the quantity as well as the quality of marine fossils there. I was obsessed with the exquisite yet imperfect patterns on shells in particular. So I tried to recreate the beauty of them by using large colour blocks and simple lines. For some, I drew the outside spiral shape and the inner pattern as a whole. During this practice, I focused so much on the objects themselves that the outcomes are quite graphic. I should have developed the patterns further by zooming in and out the photos. In spite of the lack of creativity in these drawings, I think the choice of colour can be more interesting as well. Not like the most common shells we see on the beach, which are greyish or brownish, some in this collection have bright and glorious colours, but I failed to present that. I believe the main reason is that I got used to drawing with markers and did not explore various media enough. Looking back now, both acrylic and oil pastels may give some surprising colour combinations and textures. There are two things I learned from this task. First, do not be trapped in detail. Drawing is a way of showing your personal understanding of something, so trying to draw down exactly what you see is pointless and time-consuming. Second, there is never a finished piece. You should always play around with previous works and try out different materials.