05.11.13 - Research report Outline + Review Group Feedback

Research Report Outline

Chosen style of writing: Extended Essay

TITLE IDEAS

“How to read hidden narratives. – A breakdown of what goes into Narrative Art.”

“Is a Hidden Narrative still used in a symbolic way in current art and illustrations?”

“Has Hidden Narratives in art has moved forewords and is it still effective?”

“Are Metaphors and Symbolism still used as effectively in Modern Art and Illustration”

Breakdown of Research Report

Introduction:
Looking into the effectiveness of hidden narrative, starting with the first use of symbolism to tell narrative in religious and renaissance paintings. Then, moving onto into key elements used in hidden narrative with key examples, then finally showcasing the use of hidden narrative in modern art and illustration and concluding on whether it is still used as effectively.

Chapter One: History of Hidden Narrative
- Religious paintings
- Depictions of gods and myths in renaissance paintings
- Royalty portraiture (?)

Chapter Two: Key elements of consideration in Hidden Narratives
- Place
- Objects and their meanings
- Colour
- Body language
- Composition
Show clear usage of each element throughout art history and discuss the paintings symbolism.

Chapter Three: How hidden narrative is still used in current art and illustration.
Narrative illustration (?)
Sequential illustration (?)
Are these topics chosen to go into publishing (oh comely?)

Conclusion:
Is it still used as effectively?

Reference books
- Symbolism by Michael Gibson
- How to read contemporary art by Michael Wilson
- How to understand a painting by Francoise Barbe-Gall (?)
- Art in Theory: 1900 - 2000 by Harrison and Wood
- The secret language of Art by Sarah Carr-Gomm

So today was mostly spent going though our research reports with one another in a group review session.

The main feedback (as always) is that the whole thing needs to be simplified down, which i completely agree with.

One thing that Chris advised to go along with in the development of Hidden Narrative against earlier uses of it.

I think i will be putting more information about the report on my blog, as when I'm working on it, the blog goes quiet as I'm buried away with my head in book somewhere. So sorry but theres going to be a little bit more writing on the blog

I'll keep you up to date with how things go.

Update Soon.

05.11.13 - The Weekly Schedule.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE Week 3 of 5

DATE: 04/11/13

AREAS TO COVER: Scan in and highlight all books taken from library Start a log/bibliography of what you have been looking at Decide on an overall theme for essay Draw falling male figure for Phaethon  Draw more female forms for Juno  Get initial ideas started for other interior illustrations  Look into female figures in symbolist paintings for Juno (blog post)

AREAS TO COMPLETE – INCLUDING NON WORK TIME. Sort gas and electric people Contact estate agents about painter Clean room

AREAS OUTSTANDING: Development of colours on Photoshop/ general colour theme for five illustrations Look at what emotions are being used in each of the illustrations Make links with these emotions to specific paintings and artists 2 Artist studies on the blog Sequential illustration blog Oh comely blog post

Remember to cross off/tick completed areas for your reference.

05-11-13 - Sunflowers and their Symbolism.

Clytie’s unrequited love for the sun god caused her to pine away until she was changed into a flower which always turns its face towards the sun. For modern readers, the primary source of this myth is in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

In Book 4 of theMetamorphoses, the sun god (referred to only as “Hyperion’s son”, but who is obviously meant to be Apollo), after ratting out Venus/Aphrodite during one of her own escapades has a curse put on him. He falls head over heels in love with a sea goddess named Leucothea (sometimes spelled Leucothoe), to the point the he causes the sun to set and rise at abnormal times. He forgets about Clytie, his former love, and disguises himself as Eurynome, Leucothea’s mother, so he can have an opportunity for a tumble.

Clytie becomes furiously jealous and tells Orchamus, Leucothea’s father, that his daughter has been defiled. Orchamus buries Leucothea alive. Apollo, after vainly trying to bring her back to life, douses her grave in perfume so that she will evaporate with the rays of the sun and return to the heavens with him.

When she realizes that what she has done will not return Apollo to her, Clytie goes insane. For nine days, she sits with her gaze fixed on the sun until the gods take pity on her and turn her into a flower.

Ive been finding quite a lot of information recently about the relationship between unrequited love and the use of a sunflower.

Although it is not the same text as one of the passages i have chosen to look at, i really feel like it would incorporate into my illustrations well and still keeps some basic themes that i want to be strong in them.

I understand that a lot of the blog posts that have been going up recently are all taking about what I'm GOING to do, rather then what i have done.

Im finding my balance between the essay and the project really tough at the moment, its a real struggle to balance my time well so just keep with me for now!

Update Soon.

05.11.13 - Female Figure Studies

After my one to one session with Glynn on friday we spoke about making my figure more feminine for the representation of Juno.

After spending most my time this week working on getting information for my 1000 draft of my research report, I've come across these pieces while researching and they really stood out to me.

Im planning on doing a whole separate post on finding Gauguin while going this project, but the outline used in this top painting (named"the woman in waves") is a stylised version of the female form that i can appreciate.

Now, you have to understand, for the first break-in project i had to draw ALOT of female figures so i think subconsciously when it came to drawing a female for this project, i tried to draw the furthest thing away from what i had done previously.

The last two pieces i found while researching are strikingly similar.

The 2nd from last s a spread from issue 7 of NoBrow depicting men and women doing loads of weird and nasty things, but in very calming surroundings with cool and laid back colours

The last painting is by Felix Vallotton and i found when researching into symbolism. I really enjoy the figures at the front of the painting, they almost seem like they've been drawn by a different person from the ones at the back of the painting.

Use of simple lines to get across the basic nature of the difference in a female form is a big deal to me and i try to keep things as basic  on that level as possible because it gives me more control.

Anyway, i'll update you with some more feminine figure drawings for Juno later in the week.

Update Soon!

02.11.13 - Chat with Glyn

Hello again.

So yesterday i had my scheduled one to one with Glyn, it was about 5/5.30pm by the time we got to talk, so my head was a bit frazzled but we seemed to get enough spoken about.
I had earlier printed out some of the developing photoshop work so we could both look through them, the quality came out so terribly when i printed them out, i need to work out how i'm going to get around the printing out the illustrations in the future as i can see it being a really annoying problem that i wont know how to fix.
We spoke about the fact that the colours and overall layering technique is working well, but that some of the meaning to the patterns were not clear enough. Glyn advised that because its poetry that can be taken in different ways, it might make sense to make some of the patterns and their meaning of what they were a little clearer.
This, i'll be honest makes life easier for myself but is also a little bit frustrating. It was picked up on a fair few times last year that i was being to literal with my illustrations and that i needed to think more out of the box, so ive tried really hard this time to take a more abstract approach and take real thought into what i will use to visually symbolise certain parts of the story. But, it clearly isn't clear enough, so its two steps forward, one step back in a way, which is still progression, if not slow.
We also spoke about the fact that the composition is leaning towards just being dropped in the centre of the page, which is totally right as i've just been doing this exactly with the photoshop layers, so i'll be working on that next week. Also on the fact that the figure in the Juno illustrations needs to have more feminine features to her figure to represent more of her character, which can also be tweaked to help the audience understand a little more.
So in essence, to work on next week:
- bolder mark making (different sized brushes)
- work on figure/character drawing
- be brighter with colours (look at chris corr and alfred wallace)
- more clear symbols to setting a scene
- continue development on other 3 interior illustrations.

We then went on to talk about my research report, and i spoke about that i knew around abouts where i wanted to go with my title and that i wanted to look at hidden narratives and symbolism in art. Glyn advised that it was unclear what "hidden narratives" was and that my use of the phase made it sound like it was an art movement, so i needed to be more clear with what kind of art that i meant, but its really hard to describe because the intangible thing im trying to talk about is spread through art as a whole so widely!
So thats annoying.
I think i need to make life a bit easier for myself as start to break down a specific subject to look at, but i just don't know it yet.

Anyway, its saturday. Im working from bed today in fairisle print leggings and my big cosy scarf, leave me alone, i don't want to talk about essays, god.

Update Soon.

01.11.13 - More Juno development.

Hello again.

Its 3:30 at the moment, and I'm waiting for my one to one session on my work so i'll update you with a few more pictures on whats been going on.

So I'm still working through the plant cell paintings that i did yesterday, trying to find ones that work well with my pre existing figures ( i really need to get on and make more figure images to work with my patterns) and just playing around with colour and composition.

In the first piece I've put up today, is the one I'm most liking at the moment, i was trying to work with the painting that i had done on some of the structures i had done on the plant cells and i was trying to have it so that juno. the figure was somehow in the centre of the nucleus of the cells as she seems to be a centre point for all the character as she is Jove's wife. I also noticed while i was putting the images together on the computer that i had painting the nucleus red, just like how Jupiter (Jove) is in the solar system

I thought this was a really nice link of also showing the connection that Juno is always linked to Jove in some way. Plus they make a lovely contract together in that specific painting.

The two below are more colour and composition studies more than anything, its definitely the first one that i think has the most development.

I think i might do some very quick thumbnails of different compositions to try rather then just playing around with it on the computer, i want to put some thought into it rather then deciding what i like after I've painted it.

I do also have a few life drawing sketches from yesterday that i will hopefully be putting up later today/tomorrow.

Update Soon!

1.11.13 Artist Study: Laura Slater

Hello again.
Laura slater is a printmaker who is currently putting her focus towards home decor but first started with initial prints.
Her use of line and pattern is something i really enjoy both in my work (and in my home!)

After speaking with Glynn about making my marks bolder and using different brush sizes, things like this really set off inspiration of what my work could adapt like.

I love the use of the blue, i think this is where it works its best with the pattern making laura is producing.
This is less of an artist study, more of a visual thing i really wanted to share today.

Update Soon!