What do you believe drawing to be?
For me drawing is using any medium that expresses an idea.
Any tool can be used, pencil or homemade tools with random objects, whatever you connect with.
It can be used to document an idea or design a structure, e.g. architectural drawings / engineering or can be used to express another design medium such as sculpture or pattern in textiles. It can be used to create a feeling and express emotion or to create a memory.
1.I have decided to use nature to draw, exploring further my mark making with sumac and avocado stones in exercise 2. I will also incorporate collage in my drawing.
2. I plan to photograph and look at flowering plants to make floral and leaf Marks. I will use different Inks and paints to explore what works for me.
Research point 2.
To give your work for this project a frame of reference, choose at least three examples from the list below of Artists, designers and companies that employ floral and leaf motifs in their work and do some research into their practice.
1. why the motif is important, dominate or recurring in their work?
I choose the following artists and designers after researching the listed suggestions.
After researching online through the V&A, I discovered William Morris designed over 50 wall papers throughout his design career. After looking at the designs of Morris I see how important the use of flowers and nature is in creating pattern. For example; The flow and fluidity of the flowers in his first design 'Trellis' see below.
When I see a Morris pattern design I think it is truly British, the celebration of hedgerows and British gardens, you can see his connection to nature and the British countryside in his design.
'his well-practiced and close observation of nature'
and a natural eye for pattern creating distinctive designs for this time,late 1800's. Wallpaper was popular during this period which is why Morris concentrated on creating wallpaper,his first being in 1862,
ref2.
'Trellis' a pattern suggested by the rose trellis in the garden of Red House, Morris's home in Kent; the second was 'Daisy' (1864), a simple design of naively drawn meadow flowers. The next pattern, 'Fruit', (1865), also demonstrated the same informal naturalism of Morris's first two designs. All these papers, and nearly all that Morris then went on to design were printed using hand-cut woodblocks loaded with natural, mineral-based dyes.
After being featured in lots of home design manuals he was eventually embraced by the 'artistic middle class' in new build homes.
Today Morris is incredibly popular, his design used in fabrics for clothing and wallpaper, showing how timeless his design was. I have made skirts and tops from his fabrics which look fresh and modern and are always recognised by people I meet as Morris.
designed fabrics;
his first being in 1868, they were copies of 1830s white -ground chintzes, produced by Clarkson in Lancashire using block prints.
He was happier with his second design Tulip and Willow (1873)
as you can see Nature and flowers as motifs span throughout his design career creating bold powerful , impactful design.
William Morris
After researching online through the V&A, I discovered William Morris designed over 50 wall papers throughout his design career. After looking at the designs of Morris I see how important the use of flowers and nature is in creating pattern. For example; The flow and fluidity of the flowers in his first design 'Trellis' see below.
When I see a Morris pattern design I think it is truly British, the celebration of hedgerows and British gardens, you can see his connection to nature and the British countryside in his design.
'his well-practiced and close observation of nature'
and a natural eye for pattern creating distinctive designs for this time,late 1800's. Wallpaper was popular during this period which is why Morris concentrated on creating wallpaper,his first being in 1862,
ref2.
'Trellis' a pattern suggested by the rose trellis in the garden of Red House, Morris's home in Kent; the second was 'Daisy' (1864), a simple design of naively drawn meadow flowers. The next pattern, 'Fruit', (1865), also demonstrated the same informal naturalism of Morris's first two designs. All these papers, and nearly all that Morris then went on to design were printed using hand-cut woodblocks loaded with natural, mineral-based dyes.
Unfortunately,
Morris was not popular in his early design, they were 'flat' in comparison to
the popular French designs seen at the Great exhibition in London which were in favour, his design was considered ‘peculiar'.
After being featured in lots of home design manuals he was eventually embraced by the 'artistic middle class' in new build homes.
Today Morris is incredibly popular, his design used in fabrics for clothing and wallpaper, showing how timeless his design was. I have made skirts and tops from his fabrics which look fresh and modern and are always recognised by people I meet as Morris.
After my wallpaper research I decided to look at Morris and
fabric and I found an interesting ref3. article through the V&A.
I discovered he did early embroideries which led to him
designing fabrics.
designed fabrics;
his first being in 1868, they were copies of 1830s white -ground chintzes, produced by Clarkson in Lancashire using block prints.
He was happier with his second design Tulip and Willow (1873)
as you can see Nature and flowers as motifs span throughout his design career creating bold powerful , impactful design.
Takashi murakami
Known as the 'Japanese Warhol ', This post war artist Murakami blends high and low art.
A man who has a doctorate in Traditional Japanese painting from Tokyo University of the arts blends pop art and anime, his fun colourful ' pop art' style finding its own place in the art world. In this newspaper article it is discussed how he is a 'serious artist' in particular looking at Murakami’s exhibition In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow darker and bleaker work responding to the Tohoku earthquake of March 2011, as well as the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima that resulted.
A man who has a doctorate in Traditional Japanese painting from Tokyo University of the arts blends pop art and anime, his fun colourful ' pop art' style finding its own place in the art world. In this newspaper article it is discussed how he is a 'serious artist' in particular looking at Murakami’s exhibition In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow darker and bleaker work responding to the Tohoku earthquake of March 2011, as well as the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima that resulted.
My interest is with his fun colourful work , Flowers , flowers, flowers, reminiscent of Alice in wonderland, if Alice was pop art. His bright use of colour and flat flower head pattern is cartoonish and immersive and highlights the importance of floral motif in his work and in pattern design in general.
Flowers, flowers, flowers, 2010
Acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on aluminum frame
59 × 59 in
149.9 × 149.9 cm
Alice in Wonderland , talking flowers
Elizabeth blackadder
I decided to research Blackadders background through the tate as I was unaware of her work.
Bio:
born 24 September 1931) is a Scottish painter and printmaker. She is the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy.
In 1962 she began teaching at Edinburgh College of Art where she continued until her retirement in 1986. Blackadder worked in a variety of media such as oil paints, watercolour, drawing and printmaking. In her still life paintings and drawings, she considers space between objects carefully. She also paints portraits and landscapes but her later work contains mainly her cats and flowers with extreme detail. Her work can be seen at the Tate Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and has appeared on a series of Royal Mail stamps.
I choose Blackadder as it is work that I would not of been drawn to before but upon researching her paintings I see how they would lend themselves to floral motif pattern design. The flow of the flowers and delicate petals would work beautifully as a fabric pattern.
I particularly like her paintings with her cats, it adds another dimension to her work and I can also see it would also work beautifully in textile design,animals, foliage and flowers working in harmony with one another.
Still life with a jug used as a vase and a pretty bowl are also something I can see in textile pattern mixing home and nature. It has made me look outside what I am usually attracted too, seeing patterns in new ways.
Exercise 1.7 sources and media
Collect the flowers leaves or plants you'd like to draw. These can be anything that inspires you , aim is to choose a source or small group of sources that you'll enjoy drawing. You must work from life and not from photographs, only from first- hand observation can you capture the true wealth of visual information from its many angels and perspectives.
I love the brightness of St.Johnswort flowers, as a herbal preparation ( tincture) it is taken for low mood and depression, the brightness of the flowering yellow is mood brightening just from seeing it. The flowers are delicate and a rich deep and bright shade of yellow, the contrast with the blue sky is perfect. I will be using sumac, avocado stones and st.johns wort for my mark-making .
With these difficult times and self isolation I've decided to work with plants from our garden, we are lucky to have some beautiful colour and flowers .
After a look around the garden I have noticed our sumac has gone over so will look at a self seeded wild thistle head maybe or a gone over berry in another section of the garden. There is also holly which is a nice contrast and interesting shape connecting Winter and Spring .
I have decided to look at shape of the flowering bright yellow tree and its movement in the breeze, I am inspired by flowers flowers flowers by Takashi murakami, the happiness and fun of his work. Also Louise Bourgeois ' I do' the delicate Marks and use of strong colour.
Twig from tree to create Mark's and fingers
- Pencil and gouache
Gouache and bic marker
Also natural pigment watercolour
Yogi tea message from teabag
Washi tape
I find the earthy colours work really well together and I really like the shadow of the thistle.
I decided on orange to represent the thistle head ,a simple silhouette of the head. It didn't really work for me, the avocado stone not really working as a mark making tool,I do however like the washi tape and like the fading as I stamp with the avocado ,it represents the gradual dying of the thistle.
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