Home.

About Me.

Shop and Commissions.

Achievements.

University of Reading Degree.

Collaborative Work.

Public Exhibitions.

The Caversham Print Club.

Exhibition Portfolio. 

Autumn Term Preparation Work.

The above images show some of my preparation work that helped to create and develop my final pieces for the exhibition, experimenting with a range of media, for example; pencil, watercolour, acrylic, pen and oil pastel. The concept behind these pieces was to gain a range of images and media that I can incorporate in my exhibition pieces.

Autumn Term Exhibition Piece.

This images at the top show my experimentation with different angles and the image on the bottom properly shows what my exhibition piece was. Normally the insects are hidden in the environment meaning that the trees are bigger signifying higher importance. However, in my exhibition piece I wanted the insects to have greater significance to represent their importance. I have enjoyed incorporating a range of media into my work as well as using real life nature in my artwork, which is a concept that I would like to explore and develop further. By creating these four interlinked pieces I hope to have captured the importance of nature in my work by including insects that can appear in anyone’s gardens.

Spring Term Preparation Work.

This image shows my experimentation with the use of words and pressed leaves to convey what my project is about as well as experimenting with the idea of texture in my work. In addition to this, the contrast between the different colours makes them stand out compared to using normal white art paper. Moving forward with my project I want to explore using pressed leaves in my work more and how this will affect and change the meaning of my artwork. My project will also highlight my memories through the importance of nature to mindfulness and how art that incorporates real elements from nature is a way of bringing the outdoors indoors, which may be especially important for people with limited access to outside space.

This is the plan that I did in my sketchbook, which demonstrates a variety of ideas that will incorporate numerous materials and media, such as paint, pencil, pen, canvas, paper, material, wire, and pressed leaves, which has helped me to have a clear understanding of how my project will develop throughout this term.

The concept behind these three pieces was to explore pattern work and to create an image that could be used for numerous uses, such as wallpaper, bedding, bags and wrapping paper. By photoshopping the colours to be bold and pastel it has allowed me to consider how my choice of colour palette affects the way my work looks and if this changes the meaning. The bottom image has incorporated my exhibition piece from the autumn term, allowing me to explore layering and the contrast between bold and pale colours. This piece has been inspired by William Morris’s idea of repeating patterns.

Following on from my work above this work was inspired by my practical 6. This piece allowed me to explore how my work would look if it was published, for example in a book, and has allowed me to explore how the style and arrangement of my work can vary to create different impressions and qualities.

Influenced by Jennifer Bain and Alex Katz’s concept of abstract paintings, this is a quick pen drawing of different sized and shaped roses on white art paper. This has incorporated and explored the use of size and the use of line to create shading and detail in my work. Moving forward I will use the same rose design but experiment with patterned paper and sewing to see how the composition changes and develops.

Influenced by Jennifer Bain and Alex Katz’s abstract composition, this flower was drawn on patterned paper to explore the idea of layering images and surfaces on top of each other to create an image. By not colouring the flower and leaves in it has created a sense of transparency and delicateness suggesting that nature is fragile and tranquil.

The flower on the left was my first attempt at sewing a flower, however, I am not pleased with how bumpy and uneven it turned out. In comparison I did the flower on the right using a circular wooden frame to prevent the material from moving, which means that the surface is much smoother and moving forward I will attempt more complex sewing design. Furthermore, the colours remind me of the spring and summer season.

As part of my exploration and experimentation, I created some origami flowers and animals. These have turned out well meaning that I have the scope to incorporate these in some of my paintings and other artworks to add an element of 3D, and I could also experiment with painting them to add more detail and texture.

This has been inspired by Kurt Jackson’s use of working larger scale and using the sea as the subject matter. The watercolour sunset sky contrasts with the sand dunes in the foreground of the paintings and the reflection of the sun in the sea creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquillity about the environment, that makes you feel relaxed and calm. Furthermore, the sand dunes stand out from the reflection and it looks as if they are moving in the breeze and creates a summer time feel, which brings back memories of my holiday in Wissant where I took this photo. Also the sun in this piece reminds me of the work of Edvard Munch as the sun looks like the sun in his work.

Continuing on from ‘Wissant Beach Sunset’ I zoomed in on the sand dunes and created eight lino prints of them experimenting with how the quantity of acrylic paint applied affects the outcome. Moreover, I also experimented with different coloured and textured surfaces by doing four lino prints on normal white paper, two on shiny brown paper and two on black paper. On reflection the brown paper worked the best as the surface was slightly shiny resulting in the paint transferring more easily. This has been inspired by Kurt Jackson’s use of using the sea as the subject matter.

For this piece I took the concept of zooming in on a rose and created eight lino prints of them experimenting with how the quantity of acrylic paint applied affects the outcome. Like my piece called ‘Sunset’, I also experimented with different coloured and textured surfaces by doing four lino prints on normal white paper, two on shiny brown paper and two on black paper. Similarly on reflection the brown paper worked the best as the surface was slightly shiny resulting in the paint transferring more easily. This has been inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s close up artworks of flowers and Alex Katz’s abstract feel to his artworks of flowers.

These show my experimentation of creating quick 3D objects, each one taking about a minute to produce. Moving forward I will create a 3D flower and continue my experimentation with 3D objects by exploring other materials, such as plastic and clay, while also considering the size of the object and if this affects the outcome.

Material session: ArtLab Scans. An introduction to 3D scanning.

After experimenting with lino printing I decided to try experimenting with another type of printing, 3D printing. For this experiment, I attended a material session. As a result, I have created a 3D flower using the 3D printer which I might incorporate in my future 3D sculptures and artwork, and I enjoyed the process of designing and making my object. The image on the far left is the flower in the playdough and the two smaller images show the original flower scanned onto the computer (on the right) and what the flower looked like after experimenting with filters (on the left). In future projects I will continue to use the 3D printer to create more nature and animals to experiment with composition and layers in my work. The bottom image is the flower in plastic, however, I am not happy with how this turned out as it doesn’t have the same detail as the playdough version.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s vibrant colours, Alex Katz’s abstract feel to his work and Jennifer Bain’s use of layers have all inspired this piece. The top left hand corner shows the original wire dragonfly I made but it was too flimsy and big so I made two smaller ones. Moreover, the use of tone and shade in this piece has worked well by creating depth to my work and by using clay as the material it has created texture to my work. The wire dragonflies provide another element of 3D to my portfolio and also links back to part of my part of my autumn term exhibition piece of the watercolour waterlily and wire dragonfly, however this time I have explored with a different material and have lost the ‘flatness’ that was created before.

This piece is based on the four seasons showing how nature changes throughout the year. Instead of making all the colours look like a realistic landscape, for example always having a natural blue sky, I have included a variety of colours that you would typically find in each season. This is seen in the use of red and green tones for spring, lighter shades of green and pink for summer, oranges and browns for autumn and blue and white representing winter. This has resulted in the colours complementing each other well as well as including texture in the leaves on the tree by using a sponge. Going forward I aim to explore seasons more and how the colours I use affect the feel of the painting.

Inspired by the seasons the colours in this artwork to me represent the colours of autumn (orange and brown), summer (red and pink) and winter (blue and white), incorporating the concept of insects into my work as well as exploring the use of layers and textures. Both Jennifer Bain’s and Alex Katz’s abstract paintings and Jenifer Bain’s use of layers have inspired this work. The varnish has worked well as it makes it stand out and glisten in the sunlight like nature does in real life. By using the wooden element it brings out the trees and the woodland of nature which is a big part of the environment.

Taken from my own photography this flower links to past memories and the summer season and was inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s close up flower drawings and Alex Katz’s use of colour and composition. The incorporation of the gloss varnish allows this piece to glisten in the sunlight like flowers do in real life, and the tones and layers in this piece make it look 3D. Moreover, the red and light green tones in this piece link to the spring and summer season.

The images show my experimentation of different backgrounds and angles, as well as testing out how different media applies on a surface I haven’t tried before (glass). I found that the acrylic paint glided across the glass and I found the application very easy. This artwork links to the theme of memories as to me photo frames are normally used to display memories from holidays and weekend trips. Furthermore, this has been inspired by artists Alex Katz, as it gives an abstract feel to it, and Jennifer Bain through the use of layers.

This artwork has been inspired by Alex Katz’s abstract feel to his work, Jennifer Bain’s use of colour and the idea of layers in her work and Kurt Jackson’s use of subject matter (landscapes and water). This brings back my childhood memories of growing up and visiting my Gran and going to RHS Rosemoor garden, which creates a nostalgic feel to this piece, while allowing the viewer to remember their own experiences of visiting lakes, gardens and open spaces. By incorporating pen into this piece it has allowed me to add more detail and tone and shade to my work to create depth, whilst using a sponge to apply the paint creates texture.

This artwork links to the ‘Dreams’ work I created in the intensive session at the start of the academic year. However, I have now developed the idea to link to memories and I have incorporated things I have explored in art since then, by replacing the dreamt up image of water and moonlight with a real, daytime memory of the university’s lake. I have incorporated pressed leaves in place of the painted ones to link to the importance of nature to people’s psychological well-being and the idea of bringing the outside inside, which may be especially important for people with limited access to outside space, and the reflections of the clouds on the water have an additional calming effect.

Initially inspired by Hyewon Kwon who showed us postcards in her artist talk, I created postcards as they remind me of past memories going on holiday and sending postcards to friends and family. By having each artwork as a separate postcard it signifies a different moment in time and a different moment in my childhood, allowing the viewer to see a snapshot of my journey growing up and how these memories how influenced my practice.

When I think of the concept of a suitcase I think of traveling and creating new memories which is what inspired this piece in the form of a memory box. The outside clearly demonstrates a variety of my work from my studio practice and when you open the box I have placed some of my artwork inside to show my own memories in order to create my own memory box. By doing this it has allowed me to explore different ways of presenting my work that I would not have thought of myself and it has made me think about how the way I exhibit my work changes the meaning and concept behind it.



Throughout this studio project I have kept a concertina book showing my journey to demonstrate how my project has progressed and developed as well as my experimentations, highlighting what has worked and what hasn’t worked so well. Each page shows a photo of my work, the media, material and size used as well as a brief sentence about the work. The purpose of it is to show my development and journey and how I have linked my ideas together and how I have been inspired by artists Jennifer Bain, Alex Katz, William Morris, Kurt Jackson, and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Spring Term Exhibition Piece.

This image at the top depicts my experiments with multiple angles, while the one at the bottom depicts my exhibited piece in its entirety. I have incorporated a combination of landscapes, flowers, and insects in my exhibition piece, connecting them to the different seasons through the use of colour, mixed media, textures and scenes. My exhibition display highlights a range of memories and experiences and the spare postcards encourage other people to anonymously share their own memories.

Previous Page      Home     Next Page ->