Dani Collenette Graphic Design Year three
Portraiture My work from the previous semester was based on the theme of colour theory. I considered within this theme, how colour can “Kill” an image, by reducing
its aesthetic appeal, and developed this idea by displaying this metaphor as a physical image,
where the colour was literally killing the subject. I found that I was beginning to hit a dead end with these images, and they were also becoming quite
disturbing to look at, which is not what I was aiming for. I did however find the portraits themselves quite visually appealing, and so that is why I have chosen
.the theme of portraiture for my FMP
Drawing Faces I first began with ‘drawing faces’ – or portraits of
my friends and family. I wanted to get an idea of how well I could create an image that was
a good enough representation of that person, that it was recognisable as them. I have used
coloured and sketching pencils, as it is a medium I feel comfortable with, I created these sketches as an experiment, so the focus was primarily on the
.content, not the medium
Research One of the most helpful books I have come
across so far is “Face; The New Photographic Portrait” by William A.Ewing. It contains many
photographic portraits all of which are so different, showing how much potential there is
within the art of portraiture. One of my favourite images from the book is “Migros Metropole, Renens” by Yves Leresche. It is fairly simple in
composition, it is of an elderly lady shopping in what looks like a supermarket, it is completely
natural, her expression is stunned, her body language un-posed, the bright flash rids her
face of detail and lightens her hair. After seeing
the obvious, the viewer is invited to read further into the image, for instance the fact that she has obviously made an effort with her appearance,
her hair is styled, her nails polished, beads hang around her neck, lipstick graces her lips. We can look even further into the fact that her basket is
empty, has she simply not began shopping yet? Or is it possibly symbolic of emptiness within
her life? It amazes me that what appears to be such a simple image of a lady shopping, in fact
.presents so much to be discovered
Famous Faces Face by Ewing also contained a number of quotes along the
theme of portraiture, one that particularly interested me was “It is our peculiar fascination with celebrity that may be responsible for a culture in which appearance is a shimmering illusion, one
It made me .2005 ,that changes from day to day” Jonathon Lipkin think about celebrity culture, and how a face can become so well
known, how an image of my mother or father, no matter how well it replicates their identity, only has an impact on the people
that know them. A famous face, however, has a much larger audience. With this in mind I began to create portraits of celebrity figures. I have also begun experimenting with different mediums,
from simple line drawings, to wax crayon, lino printing and .watercolour
Research Another book I have found particularly interesting is“ “Painting the Century“ which included one hundred
and one portraits from nineteen hundreds to the year two thousand. It was very interesting to see
how portraiture in general has developed and changed over the years, how it has moved through
art periods, and the influence they have had. An artist who stood out for me was Gerald Scarfe. I have
come across his work before, but this time it really got my attention. I think his ink and watercolour
images are amazing, the combination of the harsh ink lines, and soft watercolour block colour really
.works well
Ink face I found Scarfe’s work so interesting and
inspiring that I began to create my own Ink portraits, I moved back to drawing my friends
and family for the time being as they are the faces I know well, and for improving my illustrative skills I felt they were what I could
work best with. I first began working just with an ink pen alone, and then I moved to
.adding watercolour to the image
Watercolour When experimenting with the celebrity
portraits, one of the mediums I most enjoyed working with, and also one that
I felt worked really well is watercolour. So, I decided to create a portrait of my
cousin, Daniel and my mother, Sue, using this medium. It was while creating these portraits that I began to see a style
emerging, as I look back through my portraits, although they are often created
in different ways, there is a certain look that brings them all together, a certain
something which I think makes them appear to be from one set of images.
The way in which I create portraits I have been told, has a naïvety to it, my images lack detail, they are slightly exaggerated in areas – not to the point of caricature,
but so that they are no longer completely realistic. This simplicity and slight
exaggeration is what I aim to continue with, I realise that if I want to practice as
an illustrator then I need to have my own style, my own niche, which makes my
work stand out from the rest. I know it still needs to be developed further, but I feel I
.now have the foundations to do that
Photography When I graduate from university the two
areas of my work I want to continue to practice are illustration and photography, and so I have looked at portraiture within
both mediums. I really wanted to get beyond just the image of a face, just as
Leresche did in the photo of the lady at the supermarket. I have also looked at the work of Gillian Wearing in which she got people to hold signs, and thought I could practice my portraiture using this concept. So I got
my mother, father and brother to each hold a sign, I asked them to complete the
sentence “I am…“ and to write down the first thing that came into their head. I know
this is not work I can use in my FMP itself, but i have used it to experiment with the
connection between what they wrote and what the viewer can see, I wanted to find a
connection between words, body language .and expression
I feel that in their own way each image was quite successful in what I aimed to achieve.
As I took the photographs I also spoke to my subjects so they did not as, Roland
Barthes says in Camera Lucida, “constitute
[themselves] in the process of posing“ The image that I think was the most successful
from the group is the one of my father, who has written “A twit“ on his board. His
expression for me is perfect, completely caught In the moment, it looks to me as if
he is sighing at what he is written, the way his eyebrows are slightly raised and his eyes
sit just below the top bar of his glasses, his mouth is almost a smile, with the corners
.pointing up ever so slightly
Research I visited the Lucian Freud Exhibition held
by Blain Southern, which contained a large collection of his drawings , paintings
and etchings, including his famous “Startled man Self Portrait“ and also
his last piece of work, “Head of Jeremy King“, an etching that he was working
on when he passed away, which will never be printed as then it will lose the
chalk marks, and so the etching plate itself was on display. I thoroughly enjoyed
the exhibition, something I particularly enjoyed is that Freud experiments with
many different mediums, the variety of work on show was huge. His work varied
from very basic sketches, to oil paintings that were so realistic they could be
photographs. His drawn and ink portraits I could relate to very closely, he seems
to exaggerate parts of the image, use a distinct lack of detail and I also feel they
are fairly naïve in some aspects. Yet, they are so appealing and eye catching. His
work is a real inspiration for my own, his.skill, variety and body of work is amazing
FMP Reflection [ri-flek-shuhn] noun
The throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it:
the reflection of light
An amount of light, heat, or sound that isreflected by a body or surface
An image seen in a mirror or shiny surface
A thing that is a consequence of or arisesdrom something else
A thing bringing discredit to someone orsomething
Serious thought or consideration
)Oxforddictionaries.com(
I thought of a theme that ties together , what I have done in the past, what I would
ideally like to do in the future and what I .am currently practicing
For my final piece I am going to produce a series of images on the theme of reflection,
combining the mediums of photography and illustration. The word reflection can
be applied in many different ways, as the
dictionary definition suggests. I think it is very well fitting as a theme for my final major piece as it works on many levels,
and applies to near all of the definitions .reflection harbours
Metaphorically I will reflect what I have learnt, practiced and developed during
my three years at the UCA. I will also demonstrate what I have to offer to the
design industry, and my skills within the art.of both photography and illustration
Physically I will create a series of images in which I have photographed someone looking at their reflection, the reflection
however will not be in photographic form, .it will be illustrated in some way
A drawn, painted or printed image of someone is exactly that, a reflection of
them, it is not an exact replica of what they look like. A reflection allows for distortion,
may the mirror be bevelled, or if water, rippled, as does the space between what
an artist or illustrator sees and what he/she .puts on canvas or paper
It is said that you never see a true image of yourself in the mirror, because you are
always seeing your face back to front, similarly to in a painted image you are not
seeing a true image of that person – not .like you would in a photograph
I have combined these two mediums as not only do I think they work well together as
a montage, creating a contrast between reality and fiction, but also because they
demonstrate what I feel are the strongest attributes of my skill set – photography and
.illustration
If this work was to be displayed in an exhibition environment, I envisage a zine
or possibly a book containing the series of reflection images, and hung above them on the wall an interactive reflection piece
in which the visitors of the exhibition are invited to reflect their image. I hope to create around twenty images on the
theme, which will be contained within the zine or book, along with the wall hung
.interactive piece
In the coming weeks I will be visiting the National Portrait Gallery, the Gillian
Wearing exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery and both the David Shrigley and JeremyDeller exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery
After Graduation After graduating from university I will be
going travelling for several months, I hope that this will allow me to gain a better
understanding of different cultures and generally broaden my knowledge. I have
only been to Amsterdam, so I think I really need a culture shock to improve both the
quality and conceptual foundations of my work – and so my travelling begins in Thailand. However, while travelling I
will not be resting, I will be visiting places of interest and both photographing and
sketching them, and people of the area. I aim to produce two to three sketches every day, so I can choose the best images to take
.to illustration agency’s on my return
I will also build a large collection of photography works, which I can take
with me to photographers, as although I currently work in a photographers it is a very small business of two shops, and as
much as I have enjoyed my time there and I have learnt so much, I feel there just isn’t.enough potential to consider it as a career
I am very aware at how competitive the illustration industry is, and so it is not really
a consideration as a full time job. Therefore, my plan ideally is to apply to photographers
and photographic studios in the hope of finding a more nine to five, Monday to
Friday job, while )if possible( I freelance.illustration
Whilst working at the photographers I am currently at I have been able to make a
few connections which, although small, could possibly be a gateway to a career.
There is a small art gallery café in the town where I work, which sells original art works,
who have agreed to take a look at my work. A picture framers we use, based in
Purley, who also sell original art works, and.photographs
I understand that freelancing is not only based upon artistic skill, but
also business practicalities and so I have begun to take a look at the business side
of my work I have begun to read “The Professional Practice of Design“ by Dorothy
Goslett and “Graphic Design – A users.Manual“ by Adrian Shaughnessy
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