Alexander Calder:

Alexander Calder first started working mostly within sculpture, focusing closely on mechanical sculptures then moving on to wire and other household objects to create abstraction of form.

Throughout Calder's work, he used wire to create shapes on various different surfaces to act as 'drawings' of people and animals etc. He referred to them as linear sculptures which then could be re invented into hanging sculptures, paintings or prints.

later on in his work he started to work closely with Marcel Duchamp, which then lead to focusing more on the abstraction of the shape rather than the realistic representation of the form. Calder's work inspired me to work in more of an abstract way experimenting with different colours and shapes and exploring using different materials. I also enjoy working with lots of bright and bold colours.

Wassily Kandinsky

His Geometric work was inspired by his time at the Bauhaus, where he focuses more on colour theory and abstract forms. Throughout his work at the Bauhaus Kandinsky becomes more focussed on certain shapes such as circles half circle, the angle and curvature of the lines. This freedom is shown in his work by the use of rich colours and gradations such as in Yellow , red, blue where Kandinsky illustrates his distance from constructivism and suprematism movements which were influential at the time. I enjoyed looking at his work as it inspired me to be more free with colour and shapes and work with them on a larger scale.

Piet Mondrian

His paintings are quite basic, as they are mostly blocks of colour and lines overlapping each other. Throughout his work, he starts to stay with certain colour palettes such as primary colours for most , making it bright and bold which then contrasts well with the black and white lines. the mixture of bright colours and harsh black lines mixed together creates a sense of depth to the painting. I enjoy looking at mondrians work and has ispired me to focus of linear geometric representation.

Jackson Pollock

Pollock was introduced to the use of liquid paint first. This technique was known as 'paint pouring' . Later on in his career, he decided to change from paint pouring techniques on wall canvases to working on to cut canvas which has been laid out and tacked out on the studio floor, and he developed what was later called his "drip" technique.He started using synthetic resin-based paints called alkyd enamels, used in paints and in moulds for casting and household paints. he also used hardened brushes, sticks , basting syringes and this is how he developed the 'Drip Method'. I enjoy using Pollock's Drip Method' in some of my works as its a different technique to use, I enjoy working with canvas on the floor as it allows you to paint from every angle. I also like how with his paintings his brushes have not touched the canvas at all he has just dripped various paints from different heights and let the paintings themselves build up on their own.

Mark Rothko

Pained various sized canvases with rectangles creating a block effect. These are known as multiform paintings Several of them, including No. 18 and Untitled (both 1948), For him, these blurred blocks of various colours, and the use of symmetrical rectangular blocks of two to three contrasting or different, yet complementary colours, for example. The green rectangle in Magenta, Black, Green on Orange, appears to vibrate against the orange around it, creating an optical flicker to the viewer.He even went so far as to recommend that viewers position themselves as little as eighteen inches away from the canvas so that they get the full experience, a sense of intimacy. I like that the scale of the work along side the contrast of the colours creates a sense of unknown about Rothko's painting and would like to study into them deeper.

Cy Twombly

His paintings are mainly large-scale, freely-scribbled or drawn, and graffiti-like works on solid backgrounds of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colours. his main influences were Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns all working with a very fast paced a free style with their paintings creating almost a manic type of effect for the viewer. Within his paintings, Twombly uses a combination of painting, drawing and also scratching into the canvas to create different layers. I like hoiw thew work reminds me of childrens drawings, when all of the paint has layered and over lapped to create a manic effect in the background.

Robert Rauschenberg

was a painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his "Combines" where he collected non-traditional materials and objects and tried working them in new combinations. Rauschenberg was both a painter and a sculptor and the Combines are a combination of both, but he also worked with photography, printmaking. I also like the bold use of colour throughout all of his works. I also like how the sculptures are also apart of the paintings themselves, things which he has collected and have roughly been painted or sprayed over .

Henri Matisse

mostly known for his use of bold and exciting colours along side simple cut out shapes. Matisse was a painter as well as print maker, I found that he often mixed the two techniques together to create depth and definition to his work.He began creating cut paper collages, or decoupage. He would cut sheets of paper, pre-painted with powder paint by his assistants, into shapes of varying colours and sizes, and arrange them to form lively compositions This techniques was then used on a larger scale to create wall sized murials.

International Print Biennale 2016

The 2016 Print Awards are the centrepiece of the International Print Biennale and showcase the most exciting artists working in print right now from across the world. I viewed this exhibition at the Vane gallery (Newcastle) and also at Northumbria university

and found both gallery spaces very insightful. I also enjoyed learning about all the different printing methods you can use to get different effects of various surfaces.

some of the work I viewed came from various artists such as

Marina Bindella
Zenon Burday
Kevin Frances
Tom Hammick
Claire Hynds

and many more....

from viewing this exhibition it has encouraged me to become more vinvoled with printi=making and learning about the different methods it can be done.

Self Negotiatied Project part 2

Landscapes and Nature.

Ana Teresa Barbosa

Using embroidery, yarn, and wool, she creates landscapes and other imagery over the top of photographs or drawings. I enjoy Ana Teresa's work as theres always a 'natural' theme thoughout her work. simulating the flow of waves or grass and leaves, each piece breaks out of its embroidery hoop and tumbles down the wall upon which it is being displayed almost turning it into an installation piece.

Edith Meusnier

I enjoy Edith Meusnier's work as she creates colourful installations through various ancient techniques such as plaiting and sprang, knotting and weaving to create her colossal art pieces, simple geometric shapes which are mainly exhibited outdoors. her work sits comfortably within the surrounding nature, while also standing out from the environment, giving it a much nicer 'pretty' feel., these structures are installed in different urban or rural areas.

Juliana Santacruz

She uses braided, long strips of colorful fabric to create this effect. Seeing the many cracks and potholes around the city as a ‘blank canvas’ for her project. The site-specific pieces are a playful addition to the normally 'grey' urban setting. Long lengths of dyed fabrics are braided, woven together and even knitted, then coiled into the shallow breaks in the street to create these bright, colorful installations. I like how the simplicity of this creates such a nice affect and can work in both natural and urban settings. I plan to try working like this from trees and branches first them moving onto covering larger, industrial areas.

Janilaine Mainprize

likes to work with everyday objects such as papers, wool, and also found objects such as newspapers and maps. Combining mixed media alongside found objects enabling her to explore these connections and create her own personal response, the outcome frequently resulting in collage, sculptural and relief pieces. I enjoy looking at her work because each piece is different. I also enjoy the variety of shapes and textures which are created from wrapping and binding objects together.

Dana Barnes

Dana Barnes is known as a renowned fashion designer, has created collections for lines like Elie Tahari, and Tommy Hilfiger.however, she then started to explore more of wool and textiles. Dana has continued to experiment, trying different ways to emboss felt, using knots and macramé, making braided rugs and giant crocheted squares that can be sewn together to create larger pieces. Her work always has textural elements to it. its not just to look at. She often works with woven and braided balls of unspun wool, rugs made of sewn-together crocheted squares, twisted and knotted ropes, intricate sculptural pieces, and massive braided circular rugs. Her work is often inspired by natural elements such as expansive fields, valleys, hay bales, and trees.

Evan Nesbitt.

Painting has been defined as a two dimensional work made by an artist using pigment with a binder to create a wall-bound object that suggests an image or an idea which a person has thought of. he creates his pieces by pushing acrylic paint through the open weave from the burlap behind. The appearance of lumps of acrylic against color of the burlap gives the work an optical effect. In some works, the burlap has been dyed and cut and sewn together before it is stretched.The seams act as a grid giving his work a geometric feel which connects the pieces of work together. The way the fabric has been dyed, stretched and manipulated causes each piece come out differently. I enjoy looking at his work because each piece is created using the same process however each piece of art work looks different and looks like there has been more than one process used.

Julia Wright

she is often inspired by shapes, patterns, and textures found in nature such as grass, trees, rocks and sea etc. From this, she creates these beautifully weaved textile pieces. Almost abstract in a sense following the shades and colours of the things around her. I enjoy looking at her work because she creates very textural pieces using things such as wool string wire, copper and various other things which can be manipulated and re- shaped.

Isabel Berglund

Isabel creates giant knitted installations of abstract shapes and forms, most of the time keeping to the same colour to make the installation appear more vibrant and intense to the viewer. she also knits over the large area such as houses and various opther structures. Her work is so big it has to be created in panels and then all attached to other by her own team. I enjoy looking at Isabel Berglund's work because it shows that something like knitting can be fun. I like how she takes something which is very time v consuming and is mostly considered to be small and done the complete opposite and created these amazing sculptures.

Megan Geckler

She creates these site specific sculptures by using everytday structures around her e.g. doorways, large crates, and walls. to make these sculptures the artist assembles them from thousands of strands of flagging tape, a tape which is found mostly on construction sites. This kind of material is very easy to find in day to day life and is a good product to work with, as there are many elements in which to explore using them. Megan said that in some of her later works the translucency of the tapes worked well with colours of the tapes, so started to experiment using various different sized lamps and flourescent tubes to see the effects of the shadows created. however, in her main body of work, she weaves the tapes together to create large installations or even just wrap them around different structures.

Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam

is a Japanese textile artist based in Bridgetown, Canada. She is best known for her work with large-scale textile structures, especially "textile playgrounds" for children, brightly-colored net-like structures of crocheted and knotted nylon. She is the leading fibre artist in Japan and Canada using methods such as knitting, crochet and knot making techniques to create all of her work pieces. She also makes s these huge artworks by creating smaller pannels first of knitting and weaving and then she attaches them together to create the giant installations that she makes such as the 'textile playground' project.

Olek- Queen of crocheted expressionism

have been industrious on the streets of New York, leaving large and small pieces, frequently full of color, their implicit humor of the things around us, lightening our heavy daily routines. Olek prefers to cover practical objects that you use on a daily basis, such as bikes or shopping trollies or baby strollers. She also likes to make big statements sometimes by knitting over large areas strollers. She also likes to work big covering larger surface areas by taking over iconic monuments. I like how she works with other materials than just wool. She uses other everyday objects like bed sheets, linen, ribbons, laces and her most recent exhibition she uses plastic balloons.

Gallery visits.

Rodney Graham- That's not me

This exhibition combines works in film and video with an extensive presentation of his photographic images which he has created. Rodney has various other talents such as painting, writing, philosophy and also music. He uses this to influence part of his artworks by recreating an iconic scene or setting to them make a photo still or a film from. Most of his works often reflect on the question what does it mean to be an artist today? I enjoyed looking at this exhibition is it was mix media so there was more than one version of the image to look at e.g. the photo itself, painting and also short films which he also made and his lightbox photographs. these striking complex images are from moments in time, mostly involving Graham himself in the style of the other character almost acting as an alter ego type figure.

2nd year fine art

Fede Sanez

Spanish born artist mainly specialises in mix media art working on both canvases and wooden boards producing very large scale work. he fist started off as a street artsist but now works on commissions too. Throughout the work there is use of mixed materials such as paints, spray paints, chalks and pastels. I enjoy looking at this artists work as its bright and eye catching even with the limited colour pallet, as he mostly just uses black shades of grey and pinks also. This has inspiured me to work in a similar away keeping my colour palette to a minimum to explore all the shades and tones that can create from a set amount of colours.

Cy Twombly

paints using acrylic and also elements of chalks broad pens and also crayons in his work. I enjoy his work because what he produ7ces remind me of children's drawings / paintings, by the frantic style which he works in however some remain quite abstract where as some end up looking almost like story boards. I also like the way he uses both colour and te4xure within his work, creating soft fuzzy like textures with chalks and crayons and sharp textures by using elements such as marker pens and paints. the use of everyday items has been a huge influence through out my style of work.

Gerard Richter

I particularly enjoy the charcoal and graphite work of Gerard Richter as he also has a large series of oil paintings also. I enjoy the simplicity of his sketches / drawings on basic materials such as cars or newspaper. he produces rubbing of his surroundings with the graphiote then works back into them creating interesting marks. i am very inspired by his work as he works in a vewry francit like way producing lots of pieces at a time, ive took this style of working and found it very useful. ive also been encouraged to work using items such as graphite to create quick absteact sketches from to produce paintings with in the future.

Windslow Homer

An American oil painter and printmaker. I've referenced this artist in my blog as I enjoy the settings and scenarios which are captured within the paintings themselves. I've used traditional methods of craft within my work e.g knitting, weaving and binding, to create various forms of abstract sculpture. I feel that this links with Windslow Homer in the sense that he paints traditional women folk using traditional textile cradfts to help support the north east working class industry. E.g this painting fisher lasses Women are knitting together in a circle waiting for there men to return home from sea. This was also painted in Cullercoats making it a direct link to the north east culture.

Dana Barnes

I enjoy this artists work as she creates large textile pieces experimenting with binding and weaving materials together.im very much inspired by this artist and have been encouraged to move more into making larger scale 3d textile pieces using different materials such as wood, wool and metal. using these materials I intend to create abstract sculputres using found oir re used materials.

Fish Quines- Herring lasses

Throughout this project I became very interested in traditional textile crafts, how they were created and what were they used for. I discovered something called the 'Herring boom'. This happened late 1800- early 1900's. thousands of women/ girls were employed as fish gutters in areas such as Shetland, Yarmouth and Cullercoats. whenever they had free time they were knitting to the point where there was almost a sense of rivalry or 'one up man ship' if someone was using a new knitting pattern which no one else in the village had. these women were mainly the wives and children of the fisherman who were away at sea and they would all be waiting at the shore lines or harbours ( mainly around the scottisah costal area) until they returned. I have referenced this thoughout my work by practicing traditional textile techniques such as knitting weaving ad macramé.

Shelley Rhodes

This artist creates large scale canvas work using found materials which have been cut into patches and woven/ lashed together with thick bits of rope and threads. I like her work because of the basic use of materials she prefers with work with such as painted canvas , plastic bags,rope and hessian to create large abstract forms with. Looking at this artist has inspired me to use more textile materials within my work e.g. hessian and canvas/ offcuts of canvases to produe pieces of work with.

Ivano Vitali- 'Paper knitting'

this artist hand spins his own 'yarn' using strips of newspaper to create a thick rope like yarn. once he has created the yarn he then creates large abstract knitted forms which remain quite abstract. this has inspired me as n artist to create my own yearns using different materials such as paper and plastic/ bin bags to spin together and thj knit with. I really enjoyed h this process and I intend to use more of this in future works to come. I find that using this technique creat4es a more urban feel to my work which is what I was trying to create.

Sheila Hicks

Fibre artist who uses natural elements to create abstract artworks with. she uses materials such as pigmented felts and fibres which have all been dyed in bright different colours, then bound together with various different sizes of threads. I aim to produce more work like this in the future as I enjoy the large abstract shapes which are created from binding an shaping these natural materials together.

Robert Hillestad

Textile abstract artist/ fashion textile artist. Robert Hillestad also uses traditional textile methods to create abstract style 'clothing'. I also enjoy the range of colours displayed throughout his work it almost has a tribal sense about it. I've recently found this artists work and have been hugely inspired to create work like this in the future using found materials which I have knitted and bound together to create costume like clothing.

Sharon Adams-

Again, another artist which I recently have found but aim to work towards. I use similar methods and techniques as her such as knitting and weaving materials to gather . however, she paints over the top of them to create different textures within her paintings. it almost adds a geometric feel to her work with the hsape4s becoming almost repetitive e.g. painting over knitting. she also creates her work using oil paint which has been thickly applied and some scraped back off again to reveal more p0atterns from underneath the paint onto the canvas.

James Hutchinson- "Nine images with no more nails' (Priestman Gallery)

I really enjoyed looking at this exhibit and it has inspired me to work using more house hold materials to create different art works with. I enjoyed all the different textures he had created with elements such as wallpaper paste, household paints and hard wearing glues e.g. 'no more more nails' it was very interesting to see them displayed in a different way rather than just being used to fix things together with. I also liked the idea of keeping old pieces of work to fix or glue toigether to create new piecews frokm creating an almost collage like effect withih the paintings themselves.

Exhibitions.

Edda Gimnes-

fashion artist fashion design , but also creates work in sculpture and installation. by drawing and priting her designs directly onto the fabric and then the together to create costumes, id say the work is more sculptural in the sense that they aren't noirmal clothes to be worn everyday. this has massively inspired me to work in the style creating pieces of 'wearable art' to branch out in sculpture more.

Dana Strumpf and Hettie Stewart

collaboration artists both work using mixed media techniques, painting over the top of surfaces able images e.g. magazines. I love how animated and cartoon it looks compared to the photographic image itself. i have been inspired by both of these artists to work over the top of photographs and magazines. I would also like to be able to work more freely in my drawing adapting to the more doodle like effect. I would also like to work more digitally e.g. using Photoshop to edit over magazine to achieve this look more. i think this method of working would be great for advertisiing, using reg#cognisable faces or symbols can grab the audiences attention better.

Alana Dee Haynes

A mixed media artits playing about with diffrent art mediums such as illustration, fashion and also photography. She hand draws over the top of high quality,gloss shine photographs going along with the natural shapes and patterns of the faces within the photo. This style of working is something that i have been trying myself lately and has worked out really well for me. Ive found that using paint pens gives a nicer finish to the pattern once its dried, using regular biro or fineliner pens i found scratched the photograh and chipped bits off the i was trying to do more intricate areas of pattern.

Suzan Pitt

Fashion designer and also illustrator hand paints and screen prints onto items of clothing. her work/ clothing has been displayed in many catwalk events,showcasing her work. This is somehting I have been trying out lately myself.. Ive been enjoying directly hand painting onto old clothes which ive recycled,. re using old materials, such as old tshirts, jeans and bedsheets/ curtains ect, is always a technique which i try to apply tp all of my artworks to keep it more personal to myself. I would like to apply this technique to a bigger scale so that i could make my own fabric prints to upcycle interior items with e.g. chairs / settees ect.

Delphine Diallo

Visual artist who challenges notions of race and gender through her collage and masked portrait series. I love the simplicily of the photos themselves just being in a genral portrait style series , however,she capures the emotional side perfectly which adds more meaning to the work itself. I also think that using the black and white images works better as a background, as the pattern itself shows up alot better. I found that using paintpens or tippex was a great way for achieving this style of work and it is a menthod I plan on using more in the future with my work. I also aim to produce my own portrait style series like this so that i can develop my photography skills aswell as leaning how to draw intricately over photographs. I also ant to work more in this tribal style print i love the details careated through connecting different shapes together.

Dan Vient

Hand painted on to denim using fabric paints gives these jeans a whole new quirky look. Ive tried this way of working myself and its something I have really enjoyed and plan to keep doing in future work that I create. Ive recyled old pairs of jeans which I no longer use anymore and I have bleached out parts so that the fabric paint is more vibrant on some parts more than others. This effect works really well when using neon paints.

3rd year project

during my 3rd year of study i have decided to work with more natural elements such as leaves and flowers an including them into my more abstract work which i have shown examples of in me previous years of study. For this project i plan to fuse nature and street/ urban art together, being both in an out door setting i think its also interesting that both nature itself and street art is only there for a limited time itself before its removed, i.e with nature seasons change therefore the selection of flowers plants leaves etc change. again when a piece of art is made e.g. graffiti art its mostly classed as vandalism and therefore is normally removed after a certain amount of time.

i decided to start this project with more neater approach, working from observation i collected a bunch of leaves , sticks, parts of plants etc to paint from creating a series of subtle watercolor paintings. this was a challenge for me at he start as im not used to working in a delicate way. i enjoyed the outcome and its something i intend to carry on doing throughout this project. when i started to become more confident with working in watercolor i started to introduce bits of ink work into my paintings to add more depth and tone to them. i really like this outcome, giving a slight abstract feel to the paintings with them being slightly drippy and off center, once i started to loose the definition of some of the details in the leaves i have painted i filled parts in with fine liners and pencils , using mark making to fill in the gaps, again adding little bits of water to keep it subtle.

plant-life-textile-art-ana-teresa-barboz

I decided to take influence from an artist called 'Ana Teresa Barbosa' an embroidery artist who also uses a lot of mixed media elements in her work such as prints and photography which have been stitches into and work over the top ,of to create more levels of depth and texture to the photos themselves. she also works a lot with natural elements such as leaves an flowers within her work, this is where i got my inspiration from.

I started to take my own photos of plants and flowers etc to start sewing into them adding sections of knitting into the work its self to give it good spill out effect from the canvas, taking inspiration from Ana Teresa's work. i also enjoyed creating natural prints, painting onto leaves making mono prints then picking out details within the prints themselves with embroidery and knitting. i created a series of prints using leaves and branches i gathered myself to create this effect.

I've been making use of the autumn seasons and spent some time collecting different types of leaves to work with. Iv'e created a series of mono prints sticking with seasonal colours such as brown, greens and yellows, colours i dont normally use but i have enjoyed working with an experimenting with new shades. I plan to work more into these prints adding more shading into certain areas and re printing over the top of them to create layers and depth into my work.

I attended a few wreath and garland making classes at the local church hall as i though it would benefit my work a lot. I am very interested in looking at various ways to preserve flowers. I found these classes very useful as I also learned how to bind plants and flowers together without damaging them and how to arrange them properly so you see them at their full capacity. I plan to preserve my own flowers which i can then weave into canvases and create paintings from them with the flowers in and around the paintings. this is a simple wreath i made using an embroidery hoop and some fine mesh, i used plastic flowers for this example, I do this sometimes to see how the colours work before using the flowers which ive dried myself as they can become quite brittle to work with if over used.

In my work, I have enjoyed working with acrylic, oil and spray paints but lately I've been experimenting with using all 3 elements together when creating work this technique is something that i hadn't tried before . After trying these methods, i preferred working with acrylic and spray paint together to create patterns and prints from. However, I found that the oil paint was a lot more difficult to work with as it doesn't dry as quick as acrylic or spray, so became problematic when trying to layer up paint or putting stencils over to build up my work.

lately I have been looking more at abstract street artists such as Mr Jago, graffiti artist born in Suffolk. Started out in illustrations but his interests changed and felt more comfortable working with more abstract colourful paintings. I have always admires the work created by Mr jago as its always so free flowing and imaginative. his work to me has a certain deepness to it bringing people together though the intensity of colours , textures and forms and ignoring strict rules, shapes and norms. he lets the free flowing of this paintings determine his style. This is a way I have been working latlely and it has worked out really effectively for me this is a method of working which I intend to carry on with in my future works.

This painting I have used everyday objects which i have found around the house to create my own mark making tools with. I've really enjoyed this way of working and have added some great new patterns and shapes within my work. i have found using objects such as toilet roll tubes, filler spreaders are great tools. tubes are good for creating uniform circular patterns whereas filler spreaders are excellent for creating nice sharp line or edge to any piece of work. I also found that floor lino was good to work with cutting it into shapes to create prints from. Once I've layered these marks up a few times on canvas with spray and acrylic they start to create some great uniform shapes and patterns work with.

The original version of this painting I didn't like, so instead of throwing it away I experimented by cutting the work up and re arranging the work back together again in a random order. After that, I then started to work back into the painting again with fine liners,markers and paints using the original piece as a background. I really liked the outcome that this produced and is something that I plan with more pieces of my work rather than throwing it away if it does not go right. I found that its sort of like recycling or upholstering my work to create something better.

I have used old pieces of lino from my kitchen floor, which I have cut into shapes to create printing tools with. I found that this method has worked very effectively . This is a method that I still apply to many pieces of my work and as become one of my favourite methods to use, as they are very quick and easy to work with.

Milk artist reflection.

MILK is a group of artists who range from costume design, performance art, music fashion and much more. They use these methods of working to express and talk about day to day issues and interpreting them in their own ways to create new contemporary art. I have been inspired by many artists who take place in the MILK art organisation such as Eda Yorulazoglu, a female artist who creates a fine line between the question of when des something stop being fashion and turn into costume art? i have really enjoyed looking at her work in more detail, it has an almost alien vibe about it, like leaving reality and all things normal and entering into another crazy colourful dimension. I really enjoy looking at her costume that she produces as she creates them all from things which she has found in her day to day life e.g. plastic bags, boxes and tubes ect. this is also how i like to work collection random objects which i have found about the house to create prints and marks from for my paintings. i find that this style of working is really interesting, as it can be applied to various different styles of working e.g photography. Eda applies this method to her work by taking close up images of the costumes she has made focussing on the fabrics and textures used hen using these images as a starting point for new backgrounds to work on top of. This is a method of working that i would like to have a go of as i would like to include more mixed media within my art work to create more in-depth paintings with.

End of year Art Exhibition

'Found about the house.'

This year my work will be displayed at Shaun project space, Priestman Building (Fine art ), I have decided to name my show as Things found about the house, this is because I've chosen to work in an abstract style using mixed media techniques , including making my own shapes and patterns. throughout this whole project i became more confident with creating my own mark making and print making tools from items i had found from around the house. this style of working has been really fun for me and have achieved some great patterns and effects from using certain household items, this is a way in which I plan to carry on working in the future and has perhaps inspired me to start working more in sculpture, in future work.

Piece 1:

This is my largest piece of work in which i will be showing in this exhibition. i really enjoyed creating this painting as i found exploring and using all different methods of painting all in one piece really interesting. My main influences for this piece are artists such as Basquait, Mark Rothko and Cy twombly. ive used a mixture of spray paint, oil and acrylic on a large A1 piece of plasterboard. I really like the frantic style of the paint itself, this style was mainly created by using the spray paint adnd also sponges. With this painting i didn't use any paintbrushes to create this piece with, I used items i found in and and around my house and also university (studio), such as, rollers, pieces of card for scraping, sponges, old bottles with different nozzles for different splashing effects and also mixing paint and squirting it onto the plaster board using an old spray bottle. I think the pen and and marker detail in this work is influenced lot by Cy Twombly, how free flowing the patterns and shapes are almost looking like words within the painting itself. i also feel that there is a strong Basqiaut influence within my work with the free swirly patterns which are quite random and then have been compromised alongside hard geometric shapes and patterns, to crate my own sort of abstract style of working. I feel overall using all of these methods combined helps create a strong urban style effect on the painting which is a style I really enjoy working in and would like to carry on using in future works, i woul like to create other pieces like this but perhas on thin paper to create 'paste ups' of my work around the locl area, thisj is how i plan to take more influence from street art and apply it to my own working techniques.

Piece 2:

This piece is created on A1 size cardboard.This itself was a found material, so I chose to make this the base of my work. This piece is mainly a mixture of oil paint, acrylic, marker pens, fine-liners, watercolour paints and also wall filler (white). For this piece I mainly created all of the tools to make my work with from object in which I had found around the house or my studio. I manipulated and fixed these objects to make my own mark making tools. From this I then started to create my own abstract shapes and patterns to build up pieces of work. for the circular shapes in the painting I used a range of different objects to create a range of different sizes, e.g. toilet-roll tubes made a medium size circle whereas straw ends dipped into paint are great for creating small uniform circles, to create a grid like effect. This painting is mainly created by vertical lines and circles breaking up each others pattern to crate nice abstract effect overall. to create the sharp line effects is used edges of objects such as card folded different ways, these also worked well as spreading tools. I also used items such as wall filler cards, the edges on them created great uniform lines to make prints with, going vertical then horizontal over the top of those lines is also a good way to create a grid like effect to make block patterns with.

Piece 3:

This piece again as created on A3 size cardboard. i have stuck to a more limited colour scheme in this painting compared to the others, using mainly, black ,white , blue and pink. Colours which all contrast but all compromise each other nicely. I've used items such as clingfilm tubes to create uniform circle shapes, I achieved this by dipping the tube ends into the paint or ink and applying to canvas, or in my case cardboard. I created the spray paint style effect with spray bottles mixed with with water and acrylic paint mixed into watery solution. This method creates a great dripping effect, like spray-paint, adding more water makes it more translucent, great way to layer up colours within the painting. the heavy black lines i have created with, industrial oil paint pens, which created a great oily/ waxy effect to work on and also scrape away with a sharp object e.g cocktail stick to draw detailing into it . The triangle shapes are created by old pieces of lino from my kitchen floor, I used these to cut into various shapes such as triangle and circles to create prints with.

Piece 4:

This piece is the smallest piece in my exhibition that I will be showing. I created this using oil ,spray and acrylic paint, along with oil pastel and various mark making tools made by myself to make uniform geometric patterns with. I used tools such as wall filler scrapers to scrape the paint instead of using a paint brush, I find this way much easier to mix and blend colours in my work. I have created small dot like prints using the end of pencil dipped into paint, ,this effect looks great layered over block'y styles of paint and is great way of adding new colours in to the painting.

Piece 5:

This was made with filler and with oil, acrylic and spray paint to create various shapes and patterns with. for this painting my main tool to use was filler cards, using the edges to get really nice sharp crisp edges but also using the flat of the card to spread the paint over a large surface area. I also had fun creating the triangle shapes, cutting pieces of line left over from the kitchen floor, from this i then covered in paint, wiped leftover paint off and then created my own stamp tool. I carried on to use this process in most of my later works as well. this piece is on A1 poster size, but its wallpaper in which i have cut to that size. I gradually ant to start working on more thinner paper and eventually start to lean how to 'paste up' on walls and buildings, getting more of my work out into the public eye

Piece 6:

This is one of my smaller pieces of work, its usually shown as a pair with another piece which is similar to this one. I feel that this one has a great urban feel to it with the spray paint speckles across the painting plus the pops of neon orange and pink I have used to bring out the contrasting colours more. I used filler spreaders to move and drag paint across the surface. I then used items such as folded pieces of card to create straight uniform edges and uniform dots were created by dipping straws into paint to create marks with.

Piece 7:

This piece is normally displayed as a pair with the image above, there both created using the same techniques and there also both on A4 photo paper, giving them nice glossy shine creating a more unusual background to work on. these pieces are more mixed media, as they are spry paint, oil ad acrylic, but then i have also created arks within the working using sharpies and industrial black marker pens for more fine detailing. Ive used the edges of filler cards to create nice uniform lines to work with, this is a technique I use quite often within my art works.