Drawing

Buddha-inspired - 4B graphite on art paper (in my school VAPD)

Nude - 4B graphite on art paper (in my school VAPD)

Here are some drawings I've done quite recently. The first is inspired by Buddhas and the second by Brett Whiteley's elongated paintings, drawings and sculptures of the female form.

At the moment I'm feeling most comfortable in drawing. It's always been something I've done since I was a little kid and I've noticed myself starting to shy away from painting and focusing mainly on this particular medium. I feel that I can get the most expression and my best technical ability out of graphites and pencils. Anything that I can do darrrrrk. I'm not aiming to portray a subject with photograph-like quality - that's what we've got photographs for, after all - but rather with a more distorted quality.


I really like cubism, and in particular, the 'soft' cubism works of Tamara de Lempicka really interest me. I supposed you could pick that in the first image. By the way, speaking of the amazing Australian artist Brett Whiteley (1939 - 1992), yesterday I went to my regional art gallery and saw an exhibition which showed his various 'periods'. It was really quite inspiring. We also saw ArtExpress at the same gallery, which focused on HSC students from my area which was very interesting. We saw an array of works in all different mediums - painting, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, graphics, video. It was a pretty damn good day as a matter of fact.

Works in Progress

Just an update of works I'm completing at the moment... two works, portraits as a matter of fact.

The top series is of a woman, which demonstrates illness, self image, self worth and all those lovely things in the disfigured body she possess. It originally started as a very yellow colour and then I did it over, changing the brushstrokes realising that otherwise she'd look like she had scales. It's nowhere near finished, many elements of the face (ie: nose, chin, lips, forehead, the whole other side of the face) need to be completed, in addition to the rest of her abdomen and flailing limbs. I feel it's turning out well and I am having a great time making it :)

I'm undecided as to whether I should alter the background or not. I like that the gray tones add a feeling of isolation and entrapment.

The next two, below, show a portrait I'm working on. Feeling inspired by Tamara de Lempicka's soft cubism, I thought I'd try and adapt it in my style. We'll see how this turns out.

Subliminal (Rauschenberg inspired work)

"Subliminal" - mixed media on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

This is my Rauschenberg-inspired work I've done at school. It's not really Rauschenberg, but I guess you could say I stole some of his practices. Layering paint, etc. While I am fond of Rauschenberg's works and those of people who are able to use this style to their advantage, such as my friend Jacinta :), it's not really a style I would like to utilise. I think it can be very effective when approached correctly. This has turned out far too busy and involved, not to my liking at all. Oh well.

Media involved:

Acrylic paint, oil pastels, shellac, ink pen, impasto, string, and last but not least; anatomical images retrieved from the internet (the head is from Gray's Anatomy which I got off Wikipedia; the other surreal illustration is off Google Images if you search "Dreams", or the singular).

The next topic we'll be covering is Dadaism, much to our teacher's chagrin. I think it will be interesting. We briefly brushed over it two years ago, in year 9, never really to be heard of again until now.
In addition to this we're learning a little about the Heidelberg School of Art, which is a collective of European-trained artists who came to the realisation that in order to capture Australia's unique landscape they'd have to retrain themselves and develop their style once again.

And now I believe I'll post some works in progress :)

Some Ink 'Drawings'

Here are some ink & brush 'drawings' that I've made recently. I absolutely adore the Australian artist Joy Hester (1920 - 1960) who used this medium frequently through out her career. You should check her out. I feel that her style has most definitely influenced how I draw people and my use of line.

Man 1 - ink & brush on paper

Man 2 - ink & brush on paper

Androgynous - ink & brush over graphite drawing on paper

Update

In my art class we've been studying Robert Rauschenberg and I'm not sure how my work will turn out. My theme for it is "Dreams & The Subconscious". In the year 12 art class (one year above us), 4 or 5 students out of about a dozen are doing Rauschenberg inspired pieces for their HSC works. I'm so scared about the HSC, but I'm planning what I'm going to do. Probably definitely not Rauschenberg. Just two and a half more terms til it all begins! But there's time to discuss that later.

Everything I'm working on at home is in a stagnant state. I haven't been painting much, or drawing. But then again I've had alot of assignment work lately. I've applied to become involved in a community art project in my area called "Art Across the Ages" which will be collabarative work between High School-aged students and retirees (Over 55's). I'd love to be a part of this as it's very open-ended and they provide all the supplies.

I will post some photos of works in progress soon, both pieces created at home and school.

Prima Ballerina

"Prima Ballerina", mixed media on canvas, 14 x 18"

Another canvas for the Tender Age series. This one explores the psychological disorders that can be attributed to the stimuli of childhood. I'd estimate most women (including myself), or their daughters, have attended dance classes as a child, and so I believe the ballet slipper is a good symbol for this concept. To be the prettiest dancer, to be the most graceful and most of all to make Mummy and Daddy proud. Let's not forget comparing our immature bodies to that of our tiny, dancing peers.

Tattoo face girl is surrounded by the roots of negativity, and they've already begun planting themselves in her head as the slipper's ribbons curl around her legs, drawing her into a life of misery. I think it's pretty easy to understand.

The usual mediums; artist ink, black acrylic paint and graphite pencils. Hoorah!

Good Old Visual Arts :)

"The Duchess", mixed media on cardboard

Ah, the first Visual Arts topic/project of the term. Basically we were instructed to collect items over a weekend, just like Andy Warhol, and thus create a mixed media work out of our garbage. I collected all sorts of goodies I found around our house and swapped little pieces from my own pile of crap with friends.

I didn't want to make the sort of pretty things most of the other students in the class were bound to create. Pretty isn't for me. I have a male teacher this year, and being the sort of "artiste" I am, it's a little troubling describing the meaning of my works to him. This is about the sex trade, how violated women go on to sell themselves just so they can survive day to day. The title, The Duchess, comes from finding a ticket to the film of the same name starring Kiera Knightley and Ralph Fiennes which was released in 2008.

I got 10/10, and the same score for a graphite drawing of it which I may post later.

A run through of the crap on this piece of cardboard:
Acrylic paint, a random doll I found at an op-shop (thrift store) I found about a month ago, a piece of foam from a box of soft pastels, an old tape I used to interview a veterinarian for an assignment last year, a holiday photograph, a poem from an old Moon Diary, a paper heart I peeled off the box of a Christmas present, a Joker card, an empty packet of pills, the wrapper for dissolvable paracetamol tablets, Band-Aid packaging, movie ticket, an magazine advertisement for the TV show True Blood, cut-out pictures of meat from Woolworths weekly special brochures, a brochure about customer privacy from FoneZone, and an old makeup sponge. And glue.

Sorry for the crappy photo as per usual. I think I need a better camera. I'm also studying 'Photography, Video and Digital Imaging' in addition to Visual Arts and so I think that'd be quite beneficial. Might post some of my new photos up too :)

Obsession

"Obsession" (mixed media on canvas, 12 x 16" )

Another one in the Tender Age series. The one on the left (Tattoo Face Girl, kitted out in blue this time) falsely idolises the seemingly perfect character on the right.

Scratched (finished)

Scratched (mixed media on canvas, 12 x 12 ")

Ta-Dah! The finished product and once again my camera just doesn't do it justice. I like to feel it's got a little bit of IMT inspiration, Peeling Paint was this week's prompt. So, this isn't peeling, but scratching.

Education and Resignation

Today I started my eleventh year of schooling, and it's strange to be a senior. Year eleven is rather weird... this afternoon I had free "study" periods and I felt down right geeky to be in the white senior shirts as opposed to the regular sky blue for years 7 to 10. It's strange to be seen as on the cusp of adulthood and quite frankly it doesn't seem any different.

In saying that though, I'm certain that I'll soon get used to it. It seems better than the past 4 years of high school, that's for sure. This year the only compulsory subject is English, and I absolutely adore it. I'm in Advanced English, actually :)
So, basically I have every subject I could have possibly asked for. I was a little let down when I had to choose between Ancient History and Music, but hey, that wasn't enough to rain on my parade.

This year I have Advanced English, Visual Arts, Photography, Music, Business Studies and Legal Studies. All of these subjects will carry on next year, except for photography... which is a little sad. I'm very lucky for getting what I want.

I quit work yesterday afternoon, at the beginning of my shift. I handed in my letter of resignation to the store's big manager this morning, but I consulted another manager on how I should handle it. I've given them two weeks notice, which I believe is definitely ample time for a casual employee... especially when I could have walked out straight after I told them I was going to leave.

I told them I want to concentrate on my school work, which is partially true, but the truth of the matter is it's just not for me. While I do understand that it's just a part time job and most definitely not a career, I can't help but feel horrible every day I go there. I probably should have searched for another job before I left, but to be quite honest I'd rather bludge for a while.

Anyway, I will report more later. Maybe I'll open an Etsy shop to support myself in the time being, learn to make silver jewellery as I've been plotting with Nadiah (LeArmoire) and make a fortune just liker her :)