CRITICAL REFLECTION 1

REFLECTION:
At this point in the year I don't really feel as though I have much to reflect on; after a bit of a stressful start to the academic year I definitely haven't got properly stuck into my practise or making work yet and for some reason I feel slightly nervous to start. I think I ended last year on quite a practical note in terms of my practical work so I want to get that positive energy back and make that evident within my work. I have been experimenting with some coloured pencil drawings which I have been really enjoying; I love the handmade texture they give my images I think the vibrant colours make them quite striking. I have also been simply practising just getting back into drawing by filling sketchbook pages with new ideas for images I could create; I've learnt I don't have to love everything I draw first time, and it's about roughing and sketching exhaustively til I do find something I want to develop further. I need to remember this!

GOING FORWARD:
As I have outlines in my statement of intent I'd like to experiment with a variety of different processes this year, so I'd quite like the develop my colouring pencil drawings and possibly turn them into screen print; this is something I keep putting off but I just need to force myself to give it another go before it gets too late into the year! I also feel like I need to start trying to apply my illustrations to things, or try a few competition briefs to see how my work could fit into the 'real world'. I want to carry on exploring colour and composition in my work which is a couple of things i've been considering a bit more recently, I think these types of things can really change the dynamic of an image. I hope there are some colour related live briefs I can submit to.
I'd also like to think about making work which can be sold at a print fair or something similar. I took part in Print Stuff last year with a group of friends which I really enjoyed, so i'm hoping we get a table again this year. I need to think about the type of things people like to buy and producing work I'm happy enough with to sell. I found that one of my colouring pencil drawings made quite a nice card so I could think about producing a set of greetings cards to sell, or a set of postcards. I want to produce work i'm proud of.

A few more coloured pencil drawings

• been working on a few more drawings in coloured pencil. i'm enjoying trying out different colour schemes to see what works well & what doesn't and from this i've found a colour scheme I really like (top two images)
• it's also good for me to experiment with different figures and poses and actions while I get used to drawing again
• I could take these further by producing a set of postcards or greetings cards but to be honest I quite like them as just images. the texture of these is something you can't really duplicate digitally which is why I like them
• I guess there's not really much point to these which is what is putting me off a bit. I could think about them in more of an editorial sense and see how they'd be suitable for this

Couple in colouring pencil

• This was an illustration I created in coloured pencil from a pencil sketch in my sketchbook. The sketch started off as just a single figure but developed into the couple
• It actually took quite a while to get the figures how I wanted them to look so it was a case of a lot of rubbing out and trying again
• when I got to an image I was happy with because of the re-drawn lines it was difficult to trace over, so I scanned it into my laptop, reduced the opacity in Photoshop, printed it out and went over the lines in a darker colour so it was easier to trace

• this was my final illustration!
• I kind of love how cute and calm the image feels. I'm happy I went with quite a simplified illustration as I think this adds to it
• I've said this before, but i love the vibrancy of these colouring pencils! I think they make the image stand out a lot more where sometimes I think that using colouring pencils can make an image look a bit dull
• I actually decided to make a card out of this image as well as I wanted to use it for something other than just a print because I was pretty pleased with it
• I think it might be nice to develop this into possibly a screen print? Or i'm not sure it would be nice to keep it as colouring pencil, I don't want to over-use it
• I'll definitely be using these colours a lot more in the future though

STATEMENT OF INTENT

RATIONALE:

I really started to enjoy my practise and enjoy making work towards the end of last year when I decided to stop making work I thought other people would like and started making that I liked; it made me feel so much more confident with my practise which was evident in my outcomes. I do feel like last year I focused so much on one particular project I seemed to neglect other ones, so this year I want to make sure i'm more exhaustive with ideas and give myself tighter deadlines to work to to avoid dwelling over things.
Something I desperately want to get into is screen printing! I love the aesthetic it creates but currently I'm not confident with the process at all; I want to push myself to try it again to see if I can master it. I really want to make work which makes people feel happy and images that people can resonate with; I want to produce energetic and fun imagery.

THEMES/SUBJECTS:

• SHAPES
• COLOURS
• COMPOSITION 
• PLAYFUL
• FUN

PRODUCTS?:

• Hopefully a print or a set of prints I could potentially sell at a print fair
• I've always wanted to get into making wooden illustrations so maybe this is something I could have a go at this year
• I'd also like to have a go at producing a gif
• Illustrations for magazines

MEDIA?:

• I'd actually like to try out a whole range of different media and processes this year. I want to make the most of the resources I have access to while i'm hear
• I'd love to book a laser cutting induction and experiment with wood cut shapes
• I also want to experiment with analogue print methods, coloured pencil, paint and possibly cut paper

Recent sketchbook pages

Here are some scans of my recent sketchbook pages !

• I'm currently quite enjoying working in coloured pencil. I think it gives a really nice texture and hand-made aesthetic. It's not a medium I have really worked much in before but I think it suits my practise quite well
• I feel like i'm just properly getting back into my practise after quite a long and stressful summer. It's nice getting used to drawing again and I'm using these little drawings to ease me back in
• I love the pencils i'm using (prismacolor) they are so bold and vibrant and also buildable if you want a more textured look or a solid bit of colour. 
• The process of these is pretty simple. I'm drawing out my characters first and then I usually just scan them, print them out and trace round the edges before colouring them in
• I'm planning on carrying on with these pencil drawings but not sure where to take them next? They might be nice for editorials or possibly even some greetings cards so we'll see