Up in the Woods

I have always been envious of anyone who can make collages look good, I have tried and failed, but admire those who can. Javier Pinon is one of those, with his animal themed collages, which remind me of my childhood love for the film 'Watership Down' (but a bit darker of course...)

http://www.javierpinon.com/homepage.html

A Blob

I came across the work of an American artist - Kim Manfredi.
Her work focuses on natural forms, with blobs of coloured oils merging into one another creating a controlled mess of texture and pattern.  
'Through immersing, sagging, burning and blowing I move into an experience of painting that expresses the ever-changing process of existence.'

http://www.kimmanfredi.com/index.php

The Twilight Hour

A few days ago I visited the V&A where I saw an exhibition called 'Twilight - photography in the magic hour'. I was drawn to the work of Bill Henson, whose photos have a unique sense of light and movement. There is a haunting feeling to his work, he captures young people on the way to adulthood, showing a dark and vunerable side to growing up.


'Now as the light from a row of TV screens blends with the last rays of the sun, both play over a face staring into a shop window, and as the sound of the mall dies away, imagine as that face curves off into shadow. Turn ever so slightly, a single camera movement brings the distant lights of a freeway into view, blinking through the darkening forest. And the sun goes down behind the mountains.'Bill Henson

Psycho

I recently came across the work of Douglas Gordon, a well know British artist who won the Turner Prize in in 2007. He uses film, photography and text in his artwork, which often have a surreal element to them. Gordon's work has a strong influence of Alfred Hitchcock, with the distorted faces and close up images of eyes like what can be seen in 'Psycho', he has used parts of the famous movie in his film '24 Hour Psycho'.

Misfits

This is the work of John Stezaker who is currently exhibiting at Whitechapel Gallery.  He uses old photographs and images taken from magazines and press shots, minipulating and collaging to create a different meaning, which often shows a witty side to the artist. Hollywood has a huge influence on his work, his fascination with the golden era of movie stars is shown in each of his collages. He takes a glamourous portrait and minipulates it, turning it in to a humorous image.

http://www.theapproach.co.uk/artists/stezaker/

Sketchbook Pages

Lovely Bones

I have joined up to a printing press called St.Barnabas Press in Cambridge so I can produce some up to date prints for my portfolio. I am currently working on a series of etchings of butterflies and moths, and have just finished a dry point of a human skull. I want to move onto looking at the form of a body - a protective shell which capsulates us. I am enjoying having open access to a working press and all the facilities that are available to me, I will put up some of my etchings asap!

I've been looking at the artist Doug Selway, and a series of dry points he produced after visiting a museum. His etchings look exactly like drawings, the scratchy lines that an etching produces really shows the structure of the bones, showing the shadows and marks that bones posess.

http://stbarnabaspress.com/

Two Faced

By Robert Crumb

Afterlife

Today I visited a print exhibition called 'Afterlife' at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

I saw recently produced prints by Jake and Dinos Chapman, Paul Coldwell, Jane Dixon, Hughie O' Donoghue, Marc Quinn, Paul Morrison, and finally Mat Collishaw, whos work I am very interested in.

It is a collection of work by some of the most renowned Printmakers, all concentrating on the theme of 'Afterlife'. There is a feeling of fragility and mortality within the small exhibition of prints. From Mat Collishaws photogravure prints of dismembered moths and butterflies, to the small and disturbing etchings by the Chapman brothers. I was very impressed to see how they curated a group of artists whose work is very different into one small exhibition room, and all using a similar theme. I liked the range of print techniques that I saw, from very traditional hand printing, to large scale digital print.  

Jake & Dinos Chapman

Paul Coldwell

The inspiration for these prints came from the media footage from the Baghdad bombings, the dots and blurred background represent both the carnage and the quality of the footage we saw on the news. He places a personal item in each print showing what was left behind after many lives were taken. 

Maurizio Anzeri

Anzeri is an artist that I have discovered recently through an exhibition I visited. He uses found and personal photographs in his work, using delicate hand embroidery to distort faces of the people in his images. The way he contorts these photos almost looks a bit like picassos many heads that he famously painted, a jigsaw of bright colours and rounded shapes making up a face. Many of the photo's he uses look antique - and were probably once very special to someone, which adds to the humour and brilliance
of his work.

http://www.saatchionline.com/MaurizioAnzeri

The Illusionist

Richard Wilson has a permanent installation at the Saatchi Gallery, consisting of a room full of thick black oil. Using reflections, he has created an illusion called '20:50' where the viewer can stand in the room, feeling as if they are surrounded by oil.

Maybe he was trying to make a statement about our obsession with oil, and the over consumption of it. Why should so much fuss be made over this destructive liquid?

Destruction of beauty

The following etchings are by the artist Mat Collishaw, printed at Paupers Press in East London. He uses striking electric colours in his photogravure etchings, which intensify the black background. He minipulates and destroys the delicate insects, contorting and breaking their wings. This series of work by Collishaw is very similar to Damien Hirsts collection of butterfly prints.

I was lucky enough to visit the printing studio whilst studying on my Art Foundation course last year. We were able to see all the preperation which goes into professional printing and how much involvement the artist has in the process. We were shown original prints by Paula Rego and Damien Hirst that have not yet been published.

Neverland

The following photographs were taken at Pin Mill in Ipswich. This is a place which I have visited many times and find very magical. There are lots of old Dutch barges that are moored here - no longer in use as working boats - which people now live on. There is something mysterious and fascinating about the landscape which I have always felt intrigued by. With a great view of the river Orwell and nature surrounding these boats, and a beautiful, untouched wilderness.

Dear Oh Deer...

I chose the title 'Tell me a story' for my final major project at the end of my Art Foundation. I wanted to create a collection of stories for children, not necessarily using words, with some aspect of a narrative. I created detailed illustrations of animals such as birds and deers using only pen, which I then decided to put onto a silk screen for photo screen printing. By using this technique, it abled me to use a wide range of colours in my project, developing and improving the original drawings. I then experimented with trying to print onto thin materials such as muslin, and cotton to see what effect the texture of the fabric created. I decided to go with the idea of producing a final collection of childrens wear, tee shirts and baby gros, with my drawings printed for the design and a catchy slogan of 'Dear oh deer' hand stitched on to the garment. Alongside these I made two picture books using monoprint and etching for the illustrations, all of which I exhibited in the Summer show.
Beautifully modelled by Freddie Rex Rae....

A Skeleton Ride?

I saw the stunning work of Tessa Farmer when I visited the Saatchi gallery recently, she collects deceased insects - in this case wasps and bees - and creates miniature  skeletons which ride these insects. The intricacy of her work is very inspiring, she uses organic, natural and found objects in her collections, creating a thought provoking view of life and death - a fantasy approach to art.

                                      
                                        
                                           http://www.tessafarmer.com/