Phoebe Adams - Fine Art

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Adobe Illustrator 

https://www.pgsd.org/cms/lib07/PA01916597/Centricity/Domain/202/illustrator_for_beginners_tastytuts.pdf

This is a file containing links to all the videos I have watched and made notes on surrounding Illustrator. I haven’t had a lot of experience on this programme so I decided to start from the basics and after looking through many guides, I found this one to be the easiest to follow and went into the most depth. It ranges from opening a document and saving, to drawing and colouring and customising your own design. I did enjoy following this and my confidence in using the programme has definitely been raised by following his guide, but I think I could improve my skills on this in a physical session as I am quite unfamiliar with digital art making. As I do not have my technical journal I have made notes and steps on how to use the programme and will transfer these to my journal when I can. I enjoyed using this programme the more I got used to it and I also think that being taught how to use Photoshop previously had really helped in using the tools and the format of everything. Some parts I particularly enjoyed in this process was learning how to create and custom brush stroke, moving and dragging anchor points, and learning to accurately trace a physical drawing to a high quality.

In the PDF was this chart which shows common shortcuts to some of the actions that are used most so I found this really helpful. 

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More Bookbinding

I really enjoyed making the previous book using a kettle stitch method and so I tried another method of bookbinding. This is a method I found online called the Japanese stitch.

I began by folding paper to allow me to make markings of even increments across the paper. I then placed this on top of my folded paper, which would be ideally folded using a bone folder but I didn’t have access to this, the pages, and pushed a push pin through each marked hole and through each sheet on the folded end. Then I removed the guide paper and help the sheets together using crocodile clips, and began the sewing process, which would usually be done with waxed thread but I had embroidery thread.

I found this method quite a lot easier than the kettle stitch, however, it was less effective in my opinion. With the kettle stitch, each page in the book could open up flat with ease, allowing the full page spread to be seen, with this method you had to fold the book on the seam to allow the page to be flat and the stitching took up a lot of page space. Despite this, I prefer the look of the stitching in the Japanese style. I don’t have my technical journal with me as is it still at University, but I made some notes on the process to later transfer to my technical journal.

The artist I have included in the last two posts in called Susie Wilson, her work usually surrounds the idea of the fragility of the body. She often uses transparent layers, much like skin, allowing partial vision through the pages, seeing different layers of the body, which I thought related to my topic well. She initially stood out to be because of her adventurous style. When I think about bookbinding, my mind goes to a practical object that can be used to store information, but her work pushes these boundaries and allows bookbinding to have a sculptural essence. Still storing information, and telling a story, but through more than a simple practical method. 

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Working Man’s Hand - Acrylic Painting

This is by far my favourite piece I have created in this project. It is 16x12in and is painted onto hard solid mounting card. This is painted from a photo I had taken and posted on my blog previously of my Dad’s hand, showing lots of texture and cracked skin. I have shown the same painting in several different lights in the included photos.

Throughout my project I have looked at many methods of creating skin textures and textures in general that allow likeness and detail in images. When creating this piece, I combined many of those skills together along with my own style. I wanted to create specific texture in this piece but make it seem that way using flowing brush strokes instead of going crazy over replicating the photo. I feel I have achieved this, using the thick brushstroke technique used by Michael Williams, but on a smaller scale, and the patterns and shapes that Zuhra Hilal followed in her work. 

I often seek a life like appearance in my pieces and doing that using looser techniques is a great achievement for me. This pieces holds the texture I have been looking for despite it not being a relief, as the angle of the piece and the contrast in the shadows give such a depth to it. I am so pleased with it!

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Acrylic Painting

These are 2 acrylic paintings I have done of skin texture patterns. I have noticed it is common to see waves in skin textures, and lines which cross over often in a figure or 8 motion, or branch out like trees. I have tried to capture some of these movements in these pieces. The first piece is around 25x25cm and the second is around 15x15cm. 

The first piece here was much more successful, I used the method I had used inspired by Michael Williams and adapted it to my work. I painted the background smoothly following shadows and highlights, before adding detail in thicker bolder stokes afterwards. The strokes in this piece are not very bold, but in the close up images you can see their sharp nature more, I am pleased with this piece.

The second piece is a lot less pleasing to me, I flicked a brush to create splashes on the piece, like freckles or natural skin marks, however I think it took away from the specificity of the piece. I decided to leave it as it is as the marks underneath the paint splashes are working well and I didn’t want to cover them up in an attempt to alter it.

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Textured Skin Photos

These are photos taken using my phone. They show my Dad’s, worn hands. Definitely working mans hands, showing cracks, cuts, and lots of texture and detail. I really like these photos and hope to work from them soon.

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Skin Texture Painting

This is a piece I painted using acrylic on a hard board cut off, It measures at around 70x70cm. I was inspired to create this piece after looking into the work of Michael Williams, who I discussed in my previous post. He uses bold graphic strokes in his pieces, often portraits holding a high level of likeness. Although this piece is not a portrait, I used bolder strokes and a wider bristled paint brush to create the thickness. I painted the first layer on the canvas with no bold lines, only smooth shadows and highlights to create the depth and feel of the piece before adding the detail. Once this was dry, I went over on a second layer adding all the deeper and bolder lines. Using this allowed me to be able to add shadows to the piece so the bold lines had a dark or light area to exaggerate.

This piece is how I had imagined it and it was very interesting to alter my style and explore other methods. I really enjoyed how free I could be with the brush with little worry behind each stroke, despite them being bold. 

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Charles Williams

After watching Portrait Artist of the Year 2020, I was surprised to this artist who stood out to me a lot. Professional Artist, Charles Williams, teaches art at Canterbury Christchurch University and has written two books about the art of drawing and painting. He also worked for a month in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. I am usually not drawn to artist who take a more abstract approach, however, when following Williams’ method and the likeness of his final product on the episode shocked me.

This is a painting of sitter and actor, Asa Butterfield, who featured on episode 1 of the series. In the end, Charles Williams had created about 4 sketches of the sitter before using his final drawing as his submission. He did this to learn about the positioning Asa’s features and stance, and after each sketch he learnt more and more about the overall composure of the piece he’d like to create. I can’t believe the likeness he has been able to achieve using such think and bold lines, the shadows and contrast is harsh but well placed and allows the piece to be so well rounded. 

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Painted Clay Panels

These are the small clay panels I used to create skin textures in, earlier in my project. On debating whether to paint them or leave them blank, I thought painting them may add more depth but I didn’t want the paint to cover some of the texture. I have photos of the pure clay pieces so I saw no harm in painting them.

I’m really happy with the way these came out, these are the pieces in my project in which I have been able to show the most precise level of detail and specificity in, most relating to the textures found in skin.

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Textured Skin Photos

My friend Emily, and her family, all have lovely red hair and freckled, pale skin. With her knowing the direction of my project she sent me these photos really showing the textures in her skin and the prominence of the freckles, of which I have edited, using my learnt skills on Photoshop, to exaggerate them. I really love these photos and I’d love to work with them some day.

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Working with Latex

Whilst looking at the work of Zuhra Hilal, I was inspired to try and work with liquid latex to see what textures I could create. Initially, My plan was to work with sheets of latex and build onto that with liquid latex, however I wasn’t able to access the materials, so I may do this in the future. 

The first piece (top three photos), I spread the liquid latex, quite thickly, onto a piece of serrated cardboard, just to see the way in which it would mould and be mouldable. My intention was to carve and build up texture by layering and cutting into the latex, but I found it a lot harder to work with than I have initially anticipated. The latex dried quite fast and so was difficult to work with, however some bubbles formed which I have photographed as it gave some texture, but not to the extent I wanted. Painting over the latex with acrylic also improved it but the piece isn’t as I had imagined.

Noticing how the paint stuck differently to the latex, I wanted to see how this could create some texture. I used a large holed sponge and dabbed the latex roughly onto a piece of hard cut-off. Once dry, I painted a layer of acrylic over the top and the areas of latex showed up against the board and created a lovely texture, as shown in the last three photos. 

My experience using latex was mixed, I found it difficult to work with but I only had access to one type of latex and a limited amount, so I’d be interested in working more with this in the future.

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Life Drawing

This is one of my favourite pieces from the life drawing classes. I was really struggling with getting the proportions of the limbs and body right was difficult for me, but Chris really helped. He explained to me how to sketch an overall scale for the drawing and point in key features and angles. He also taught me how to incorporate shadows and create contrast. I am happy with my progress in this. 

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Bookmaking 

I was unable to attend the Bookmaking workshop, so I have looked online for some methods surrounding book making and tried my own at home. I didn’t have many of the correct tools such as a bone folder, cutting board or waxed thread but I created one without these, It will be less sturdy this way but I’d just like to follow the process. I followed a video of someone talking through the process of making a simple book using a Kettle stitch bind. This was a good method as it allows the pages to move easily and each page can open flat. I really enjoyed this process, although it was quite confusing at first, the method became more repetitive and simple. I believe what I have made here is a text block, as it doesn’t have a case, but I will look into further developing my bookbinding skills, using different stitch methods and possibly adding a case. 

The fifth picture I included here is showing some notes and diagrams that I will add to my technical journal when I retrieve it from University. It explains the steps of how to create a kettle stitch. I was really happy with the final outcome, however, I ran into some issues later on as I hadn’t pulled the thread tight enough, I fixed this by taping it down, as seen in the fourth photo but I am aware this damaged the look of the book and would improve on this next time. I’m not able to produce a hardback cover at home but I would definitely like to try this when I have access to the materials.

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Acrylic Textured Portrait

This is a piece I created near the start of the term, when I was unsure of the direction of my project. I didn't want to post it initially as I didn't really like it, however, looking back at it now, I see that I have created a lot of textures in the face and around it. By using a pallette knife for the strokes of colour it has made a lot of texture in the piece. In these strokes I used colours that I had incorporated in the face to bring them out of the piece more.

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Texture Photos

Taken using my phone, capturing strong veins and cracked skin.

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Body Workshop

In this workshop we were tasked to draw ourselves using a mirror. This was quite challenging as it is difficult to draw what you look like, as opposed to what you think you look like. We looked into the work of Kiki Smith and so we focused mainly on recreating our face and hands to a high degree of detail, I tried to recreate her style in my piece. Her piece I have posted above focuses mainly on these sections and the clothes and rest of the body is drawn in a simpler style. Kiki Smith is a feminist and her work surrounds a lot of issues regarding women, sex, rebirth and generation. She also created a lot of figurative work surrounding AIDS. She became an emergency practical technician in an attempt to learn more about the physical anatomy of the body, reflecting this in some of her art. 

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Cyanotype and Meghann Riepenhoff

Cyanotype is a photographic method of creating prints, founded by John Herschel, and It gets its name from the Cyan blue it shows. I really like the look of cyanotypes and I hope to be able to create them in the future  Cyanotype needs to be kept in a light-safe bottle as this is how it develops, however there are many other methods of creating a cyanotype-like print. I really like the look of cyanotypes and I hope to be able to create them in the future, I did not attend the cyanotype workshop however I have researched how it works and followed other student notes to help me, what I understand about the process of it is this - The first step in the process is to cover the paper in a cyanotype mix, which is a blue solution, and then allow it to dry in a dark room as it is light sensitive. Then add objects or acetates (created by photocopying a photo onto acetate) on to the paper and expose to light to create the picture on the cyanotype (40 light units if using a box) and place the paper face down on top until the exposure to light allows the picture to develop, or place in the sun for a short time. Proceed to then wash the paper, squeegee and blot it and allow it to dry for at least a day.There are various materials that you can use to create different tones e.g. bleach, coffee, red wine etc.

Meghann Riepenhoff is an artist who uses cyanotype and really stood out to me. I love the textures in her pieces and although I don’t have access to cyanotype materials right now, I’d love to create something along these lines using another material. I have recently been looking into acrylic pours and how these form patterns and shapes of a cell like nature, and her work reminded me of the marks that are commonly seen in some acrylic pours. I also love the colours in these pieces, blues and oranges, which are complimentary colours and so work well together. The pieces I like of hers are created using water, which may explain the likeness to acrylic pours. “Riepenhoff's prints are formed by the action of water from the ocean or rain. She creates her prints by placing pre-treated paper directly in ocean waters, beneath rain, and along beaches in the surf.”

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Zuhra Hilal - Surface 2018

“The project SURFACE has been inspired by the question posed in the anthologyThinking Through the Skin: “how skin becomes, rather than simply is, meaningful”.This question suggests that skin must be read in order to produce its meaning. Different readings produce different meanings. For example, in the current consumer culture, especially women’s skin is being read as something in need of being artificially rejuvenated and corrected, so as to uphold the smoothness as a gender marker and conceal the signs of puberty, hormonal changes childbirth and aging.SURFACE is Zuhra Hilal’s reading of the skin.“

Zurah is an artist based in Berlin, who is trained in fashion design, which is prominent in lots of her work as she uses a lot of fabric forms. She mainly focuses on women and the empowerment of women. Her project ‘Surface’ really inspired me due to its attention to detail and close up nature. Each of these pieces are created on latex and use her own body hair, which she says ties her closer to her work. Her body hair is more promenant as she had darker skin and darker hair, which is often seen as un-aesthetic in todays society on a woman. She said in an interview with ‘stir’ that this is what sparked her interest in the topic. 

I created the clay skin tiles after looking at her work, I hope to make more relief skin and body texture pieces, possibly including hairs as she does here. Id also like to look into created pieces surrounding stretch marks and other ways in which skin changes and develops.

“The skin is the diary of our lives and we should not deny that.” 

- Zurah Hilal