This is a photograph I took of ‘Swarm’ when visiting ‘The Saatchi Gallery’ in London

It is a close up of a glass cabinet filled with similar insect-like figures by Tessa Farmer that instantly captured my attention when entering this particular gallery room.

Although contrasting to this image slightly in relation to scale it then inspired me to begin my first AS project based around the word ‘Crowded’

As part of further development from the word ‘Crowded’ I completed several sample pieces in order to find out what works most effectively for the outcome I was wishing to achieve. This particular sample was one  I found worked well. Especially considering the varity of medias used.

 I felt I was drawn to the image due to the two ways the photograph could have been interpreted. Although it initially appears to have captured a man’s literal struggle from the cloth suffocating his face, it is also open to metaphorical interpretation as ‘Claustrophobia’ is offer referred to a disease within the mind. Where what is thought to be there, is actually not so. Therefore, although it is clear there is material covering his face, this material could be a way of capturing the emotion of the individual.



The text beneath the photograph of sample piece reads;

Here, I have taken an image related to claustrophobia and added my own style and interpretation to it through a variety of different medias in order to improve the overall mood and feeling of the composition.

As a result of this, the vibe given off from this sample piece is far more aggressive and disconcerting than it could have potentially lacked through the under usage of varied paints & stitching.

The black stitching in particular  helped bring out the outline of the distressed figure and the fabric covering the face in order to enable it to become more effective.

However despite the stitching and watercolour working exceedingly well together to complement the pale skin tone and severe darkness of the cloth, I still felt it was necessary to add a small amount of acrylic paint to help bring out the emotional struggle the figure is having trying to viciously escape from the cloth using his teeth.

These two photographs are of samples from Life Drawing classes I undertook for two years in order to develop my drawing technique and own unique style.

Although both very different I felt as though they summarised the skills I learnt from taking part in the classes.

For example, the charcoal drawing on the left enabled me to understand the complex qualities of the human form and understand the tone within the figure in order to create show distinction and light.

The second is slightly more complex as through the process of the first image, I felt it helped me in completing such a successful ‘Blind Drawing’

Through the understanding  I gained, I was able to create a unique abstract piece of the body, despite not actually looking at what I was creating on the piece of paper. 
As well as providing variety within my life drawings , it contains variety within the drawing itself through the two different types of material used; biro and pencil.

 As part of developing my understanding of the human figure, I chose to look at Jenny Saville, an artist who looked at the human form in a bizarre, yet unique and fascinating way.

In a large number of her works, she has chosen to capture a certain look many would not expect her to. The un-aesthetically pleasing characteristics of ‘overweight women within society’

I felt this linked to my ‘Claustrophobia’ project that was gradually beginning to focus on other types of Fears & Phobias as the pressure for women to look a certain way is growing continuously.

This is then resulting in many women becoming fearful and afraid of not doing due to the opinion other people may have of them.

 Here i took a painting in the style of Jenny Saville, and created this sample piece through the use of a felt machine, acrylic and watercolour in order to  try and create my own adaptation of this inspirational artists style.

When completing first hand photographs as part of my AS Exam Book, I felt they helped me gain the inspiration needed for my final piece.

Through taking these photographs I was able to experiment using different materials and come to a conclusion as to what works best for me as an individual as well as being capable of completing successfully in the required time.

These photographs allowed me to move from ‘Fears & Phobias’ into childhood fears in particular. Something I found particularly interesting .

These two images are pieces taken from my AS coursework book.

At the beginning of the year, I chose to concentrate on the human form. However, I chose to go in a different direction to the one I undertook for my exam piece later on in the year.

Here, rather than remaining specifically on the human form, I decided to direct  my project  towards focusing on ‘Animal Anatomy & the Similarity of Humans and Apes’

This then lead to ‘Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil & See no Evil’  (‘The Three Wise Monkeys)

The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Kikazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

However, I then added my own style to this idea through the use of more first hand photographs.

It was here, I was able to develop from the ‘Three Wise Monkeys’ to the pencil sketch above, and then finally to my Final Coursework Piece.



Dry Point.

Here, I took an image from a visit made to ‘The Imperial War Museum, Duxford’ and attempted a dry point from it.

1.) First, I etched into a piece of acetate the outline of the image i had chosen. The pressure I used varied, in order to try and transfer the depth and tone.

2.) Once I felt this was complete, I covered the sheet in black thick ink and once evenly spread, wiped the excess ink away, in order to stand a greater chance of the final product varying in light and dark areas.

3.) After, the image was placed under a roller in between two sheets of sugar paper and the sheet my dry point was planning on printing on.

This dry point was the first attempt I had, and I felt it went successfully as little detail was lost in the darkness of the ink.

After completing the dry point, I then stitched into the used acetate in order to see what it would look like.

Experimentation with acrylic. In the style of Frank Auerbach, A figurative painter who focuses on portraits and city scenes.

The previous painting and textiles sample are examples of what I have been completing since September.

During the Summer, I visited Duxford Imperial War Museum, in order to try and find inspiration for my A Level Project.

By doing so, as well as completing a photo book full of potential ideas, I managed to find the direction in which I wanted to take my next project.

Although I found the Planes and Tanks fascinating, I realised that this particular element of war is not what I want to focus on the whole time, instead, I wanted to look at ‘the belongs of people who were fighting in the war’

After loosing my Great Grandma half way through the first term, I realised that as difficult as it may be in relation to my personal emotions, I could transfer this into my work, and establish a interesting and somewhat moving project based around the ‘preservation of loved ones memories and belongings’

Therefore, these two pieces are part of the experimentation I did in order to try and establish what would work for my final piece. The first painting, is my Grandma herself, one of the last photographs I took of her, and something I feel I want to include in my final piece in someway.

The second is a portrait of my Grandmas husband during the time of the war. Beside him, I have then included a quote from the obituaries published at the time of his death. All of which my Grandma kept throughout the years, along with others of friends she had that passed away.

In the next term, I will be looking to conclude what techniques and ideas will work best as part of my final idea, and then developing them further until I am ready to start.