2018 ART 🎨🖌️

This year in art I have been working towards completing two projects: an art nouveau/Kowhaiwhai style wood cutting piece and an art nouveau/Kowhaiwhai style painting. 

What did I find most challenging about the print design process?
Learning to feature negative space in my drawings to provide a woodcut including both inked and negative areas, as well as cutting the wood with gouges as it was such a complex drawing I created. 

What did you find the most challenging about the painting composition process?
I think the most challenging part was finding the right skin tone out of all things, surprisingly. I found that mixing yellow and white wasn't effective enough so I included a tiny bit of magenta to provide some pink undertones to the colour to resemble skin more realistically. The other thing I found difficult was painting the most detailed features, such as the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and lips. I used the smallest paintbrushes available to do these parts and I found that using tiny strokes was the most effective technique to use.

What mistake did you make that taught you something?
For woodcutting: I definitely should have used a less complex design. I found carving around tiny lines and etching textures was not really possible with the woodcutting tools. 
For painting: Again, I really should have used a less complex design, and tried not to include many detailed features like those you find on a face. Next time I would have done a design that was something other than a human, and would have focused more on patterns and physical objects such as flowers.

What was the most successful about your work?
I'd say the most successful thing about my finished woodcut was how I used my negative space to create the design. It was something I definitely struggled with but in the end I was super proud of. I was able to create a complex hair texture and background just by using negative space.
The most successful thing about my painting was probably the mixing of colours and tones. It's something I enjoy and was able to do effectively. I understood undertones well (I have experience with using pigments and paints before this) and was able to mix the right colours to suit the paintings and go with others. 

What could you do to improve your work?
For my woodcutting, I feel like using a less complex design and creating new ideas rather than just using the first one would have been a lot more beneficial towards the final design. I found I was making just a few designs and in the end I would have gone back and taken a bit more time to perfect these as well as take time to create more. 
For painting, I should have given myself more time. I had to finish the painting at home with little time and I believe I could have completed a much better artwork if I had more time on my hands. Next time I could work on how I used my preparation time prior to beginning the painting.

Overall I could have more resilient and given it a better try in art this year. I am really excited to get another chance by planning to take it again soon. Thank you to Ms Keene and Mr Collins for putting up with me this year no matter how many times I nearly gave up. 

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WOODCUTTING IN ART 🎨🖌️

For the past term I have been working towards the completion of a woodcutting piece.

We had a choice between a Manga/Kowhaiwhai painting or an Art Nouveau/Kowhaiwhai woodcutting. I chose to woodcut because I am genuinely very interested in art nouveau works. I think they are very beautiful and elegant, and I would love to be able to paint or sketch a proper art nouveau inspired piece some day. 
I ended up actually being the only one in the class doing woodcutting. 

First of all I had to plan out some sketches of art nouveau and kowhaiwhai pieces. I took inspiration from Pinterest to design three pages - Manga, Art Nouveau, and Maori inspired designs. I thoroughly enjoyed this process because I like sketching new ideas. 

Now I am going to PAINT an art nouveau/kowhaiwhai inspired piece.

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The Artwork Of Reuben Paterson 🎨

The Work Of Reuben Paterson

Reuben Paterson is a 45-year old New Zealand painter whose mediums including diamond dust and glitter. He is known for is his pieces which include both art nouveau and kowhaiwhai inspired design.

This piece is called "Generations Stopped By The Bomb" from 2003. 

What are some ways they have composed their image well?

This piece is an open composition that can be recognised by its design features that escape the frame slightly. The artist has creatively used layering excellently as the patterns overlap one another. 

They have used shapes well as the piece includes both geometric and circular designs with sharp and curved edges. I don't think this is a traditional in terms of Kowhaiwhai design because it includes colours that are bright and bold which you wouldn't see in Maori culture.  However, in Art Noveau bright colours are often seen in the designs. It is because of this I think the artist has merged and incorporated both Art Nouveau and Kowhaiwhai designs well into this piece. 

What can you take from this work and apply to your own?

I think I can take the colour palette from not only this work but also lots of Reuben Paterson's art. He uses colour confidently to incorporate the colours of Art Nouveau to Maori designs. I can also take the use of shapes - a mixture of geometric triangles, swirls, and circles. I really like the layering in this design but I think the composition is too much of a bold choice. I would have enjoyed it more if it was a closed composition because the piece would be symmetrical.