Exercise 3: Big

Before deciding on an option for this exercise, I researched the artists mentioned in the coursework. I also revisited some research I did about street art and what is involved in working on a larger scale (https://catherinerouxillustrationdegree.uk/illustration-year-2/responding-to-a-brief/coursework/part-4/research-point-street-art/).

I found that artists use different techniques to create bigger artwork. Some will start with a smaller version of the composition and use a grid to recreate the design on a larger scale and that is often the case with murals. This technique helps to maintain a certain level of precision. On the other hand, some artists such as Heather Hansen will focus on the process (www.artistaday.com/?p=21508) without defining the outcome from the start.

I then wondered what support I could use to draw on a bigger scale. It would have been interesting to use a wall but that was not possible. I have a room divider made of 5 panels. The dimensions of each panel are 44.5cm (width) by 158cm (height). I decided to pin large pieces of paper on the panels to draw on them.

At that stage, I was aware that I had to keep the whole project manageable and that this would have an impact on the style and composition.

I researched different artists, styles and techniques such as David Hockney, Art Deco, panel landscapes, murals and many more.

I had some gouache and watercolour paint and wondered how vibrant the watercolour would be, so I did more research on this (ex. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vf-d_gxG3U).

I paid some particular attention to the composition of some landscape paintings (for instance, I noticed how David Hockney might use a road to lead the eye into the landscape).

I looked at photos I had taken in the past. At first I did not know if I wanted to create a composition on a smaller scale and use a grid or draw straight on the panels.

In the end, I used a photo I took of a tree in Greenwich Park as a source of inspiration. A few months ago, I played with the texture of that tree after following a course taught by Sorie Kim on Domestika (https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/2227-daily-sketching-for-creative-inspiration). This is the photo and a few sketches I did at the time.

I thought that the tree could be the highlight of the composition. I liked the idea of drawing a fantasy landscape where I could focus on the movement and the texture. I used my sketchbook and a large sheet of watercolour paper to experiment with compositions, media, and mark making.

I really liked the idea of using black ink to create texture. This meant that I had to use watercolour if I wanted to paint over the waterproof black ink. At that stage, I had some concern as I did not know how easy it would be to use watercolour on such a large scale.

I mounted the sheets of paper on the room divider. I made a few marks with a pencil to define the different areas and drew straight on the panels with a brush pen (Pentel brush pen, black). I did not draw a detailed drawing with the pencil beforehand because I wanted to keep some spontaneity when I created the texture of the tree and the foliage. This is the panels after I drew the tree and foliage with the brush pen.

I found it difficult to create a colour palette. I knew that it would take several days to colour the panels and I would have to mix the paint as I went along. I tried to keep the colour palette simple and experiment on a piece of paper before applying the paint. This is the work in progress.

I struggled with that part and was not happy with the marks left by the paint. I tried different techniques but found it challenging to paint a large surface successfully. This is my final work.

I had never created any artwork on that scale before and it had its challenges. The whole process took much longer than I anticipated. I spent several days to paint the panels. It was more difficult to draw or paint on certain parts of the panels like the bottom for instance. Even pinning the paper on the panels was not an easy task. As mentioned before, I struggled with the watercolour paint. However, I enjoyed drawing with the brush pen on that scale. I felt it gave me a certain freedom as I could make larger movements and create long lines.

Because I lacked experience with working on that scale, I kept the composition fairly simple. The branches were meant to warp the rest of the image a bit better but I did not completely achieve the composition I had in mind. This was due to the lack of perspective. It might have been better to draw the outlines with the pencil a bit more in detail at the beginning.

I feel that after spending a lot of time to create the texture of the tree, I might have neglected the flowers and leaves. There is also a lack of contrast between the foliage and the background.

I would like to draw on a larger scale again, but if I wanted to use a similar style, it would probably be better to colour the main shapes with a type of paint that is more opaque and draw some texture afterwards. It would have been interesting to create more texture as I did in my previous sketches. However, on such a large scale, this would have taken a lot of time and would have been quite complex. I would also need a better support such as a wall or maybe a large canvas.