Artist Bio - Antoni Tapies

The area of this artists work that stands out to me is how he layers up his media and then works back into them to create a whole new meaning to a piece. The way in which he uses expressive marks to enhance the meaning to his pieces, adds another intriguing element to how he works with his media 

 Creu I R (1975) Mixed media on wood

 Ocre Marron Et Blanc Quatre (1972) Mixed media on canvas
The way in which he uses the contrast of black to white strengthens the meaning of the piece, and the texture he has created with his various media has changed the context vastly and made the piece more appealing to look at. this also shows his vast skill with various materials and his ability to use texture out of context to bring meaning to his piece.

Figura de Papel de Diari i Fils (1946) Mixed media on canvas
The way in which the harsh lines contrast with the softer lines to draw your eyes to the focal point of the composition.

Review Of The Exhibit In Foundation

The display of art during this exhibition shows a wide array of styles and standards of work which somehow blend seamlessly together and each piece has an individual effect on the viewer and an effect as a whole along with all of the others. However certain pieces stand out more than others through certain styles of working and taking advantage of their strengths

 I found that these pieces stood out to me as they were different to any of the other pieces and the use of colour was quite intriguing as by using the paint in an abstract way the artist has created an effect almost foreshadowing its own future inevitably. The use of varying scales makes the pieces look

 as if they have been fragmented apart but are still seem to be a part of one whole piece . This can allow the viewer to interoperate it in many various ways as the artists impression is rather vague which could be a way to allow the mind to wander. The way in which the artists to get the texture similarly across the three pieces links them together in a stronger way as if there was one piece like the larger one that had a different texture applied to it would make the piece seem like it didn't belong with the others so altering this would allow the artist to bring his pieces together.













another artists work that seemed to stand out amongst the other work of the various abstract art styles was this one as the artists use of the brush strokes and pallet knives show a great amount of skill and control and can emote some quite varying opinions that can be quite thought provoking for any viewing member of the public.

The way the artist bleeds the colours into one another creates a strong effect on the viewer as a whole multitude of different things can be seen and this can emote a whole vast array of emotions and thoughts.

 The way the artist has caused the colours to be contrasted by the white carries your eye across the piece and allows the viewer to experience the piece in a more detailed way 

The way in which the artist uses colour in a rather realistic way and the way the colours and tones have been blended together enables the viewer to feel as if they are almost there seeing, experiencing how these pieces came to be and the circumstances in which the base photographs came to be captured and immortalised in paint.

The artists clear skill in realistic portraiture is blatantly clear and the way she uses this to her advantage to create very effective and intriguing pieces is inspiring.
The bright colours displayed in an abstract way contrast to the realistic appearance of the rest of the face and other parts of the piece and although it is rather simplistic in its application on the piece but contrasts well with the rest of the very detailed piece drawing your eye to the focal point of the piece.

The dramatic change in scale draws emphasis to the largest piece which can draw away from the effect(s) of the smaller piece(s). However if you look at the smaller pieces as they are alone they have very strong effects on the viewer and can lead to a multitude of thought trails. the great amount of skill shown in the individual pieces is clear to see and the artist has utilised this effectively. 

Overall the exhibit showcases a wide range of skill sets and strengths and the artists have worked seamlessly with their media and styles of working. They have created an array of work that would leave any potential viewer stunned and in awe at the standard on show in this exhibit.

Acrylic And Oil Work

 

I began by painting in acrylic trying to be accurate in tone and colour and then adding highlights using white oil pastel or black oil pastel.

I then started adding oil pastel to my background which is supposed to be grass using lines similar to my artists but blurring them as to stop them standing out too much and to draw the focal point to the shovel in the centre 

 i feel the overall end result is effective and has the potential to be developed in a far more abstract way to experiment with different or further onto more ambitious way.

Refinement Of A Piece

 I began by using sandpaper to take the previous acrylic off the surface of the metal plate and to give it a good key for the next layer.

I then applied a new layer of acrylic paint in a similar technique to my previous two on other scales, I found this a more effective technique than my previous ones. 

Once the paint had dried I applied some chalk pastels which I blended down to create some accent lines and to get some further perspective to the piece.

 I didnt like how this experiment looked aesthetically and I thought that the technique wasnt my most successful, so I decided to wear it back and work over it again but after wearing it down with the sandpaper I found that the look it has now is far more effective in my opinion

I feel that this gives a good representation of what I was aiming to create with these pieces which was the antithetical form and colours of rust and after my refinement I feel it meets this criteria better.

Workshop With Foundation Students

We were split into groups and given the task to create pieces that could relate to our theme using the works of Nel Ten Wolde. The group I was in contained 4 foundation students and myself along with 5 other AS students.

My first study was of the ikon Birmingham and I used this source on A4 to create this piece along with some charcoal and pencil marks to create what I thought was a little too dull. I feel that to improve I must add some colour to this piece of items in the future.

I then went onto then do this piece and decided to use some colour to try and improve on the technique of my previous one. I went about this by using oil pastels to create my marks.

After doing the two previous pieces we compared work as a class the foundation students asked us to attempt another piece but this time on a larger scale and the piece I created I find very effective and the bright colours contrast with the dark background. I feel that this piece is more successful than my other two pieces as I culminated the best bits of each and what I learnt from them to create this. 

From this workshop I have learnt other ways to incorporate colour into my work and how to use contrast more to my advantage to create stronger compositions and more impacting pieces. I found this session helpful as their experience and skills helped me develop my own art skills and also how I will interoperate any future artists work.

Nel Ten Wolde

Fenestration in Orange (2015) Collage & mixed media on paper      

I liked this piece for its use of colour and how she uses the colours in an abstract way to enhance her composition

Fuente (2012) Oil on canvas

I like this piece for its simplistic use of line and colour i find it simplistic yet effective.

Spain - Alcazar I (2011) Collage & mixed media on paper

I liked the use of colour and the archways as it draws your eye around the composition attracting the eye to all the small details.

'In my investigation of nature for my collages I aim to combine the use of photo fragments as the basis of a composition, working together with drawing to create a harmonious unity.'
http://www.neltenwolde.com/ 
I believe she has followed this ideal quite well as in some of her pieces they seem seamlessly placed together 
Many of her pieces were created through inspiration such as 1200 kilo meter walk over old pilgrims’ routes and ancient Roman roads in Spain according to her website and this is evident through her work.
Her works are usually on canvas and paper and use collage and/or oil.

Acrylic Experimenting

I am attempting to use acrylic paint to portray or create the look of rust on various different mediums.

 I began by working into a tree stump i found this hard to scratch back into without the use of metal utensils I wouldnt really use this method either as no matter what I would do I cannot change the fact that this is a tree and it just looks slightly odd when put like this

I attempted using the spine of an old book but that wasnt very successful it just looked like a painting.

I tried using a shard of brick but however I found that I am unable to get the layers I would like and be able to take them away I feel that oil paint would be a more effective choice

I found working on clear plastic was the most versatile method I used as I could create multiple compositions using just one piece 

I found that the effect when I took away some of the layers was quite effective on this bright yellow card so I decided to put some of the same material over the top in tesalated pieces to give the impression similar to pain peeling away on a metal surface

  I decided to try using metal and then took away the paint I put it onto some card board and the effect is unusual but i didnt like the effect that i got on the metal so i attempted it again but this time used a sponge to apply my pain to the surface.

 I experimented on melted plastic and I found the effect different and in a way effective as the warped surface provides a nice surface to work on