Identity Project

Although I enjoyed my previous brusho project, my personal study prompted me to develop my skill in oil painting and to move away from such abstract pieces. However I still wanted to keep some of my original concept, just increase the subtlety of it. Therefore I chose the same image as before and although I didn't copy the symbols of my brusho piece into this, I kept the presence of yellow. I was happy with piece as I felt I was able to create realistic shading on the face through prominent brushstrokes and a varied palette - I used a range of browns, yellows and blues. However my inexperience meant the eyes lacked realism due to bright white creating an overwhelming contrast between the eyes and the rest of the image. 

Identity Project

As I enjoyed the process of my last piece, I decided to try it again using an image of my friend. For her symbols I decided to focus on her interests as she is an incredibly passionate person and her hobbies influence her a lot. For example her love of music is a very important aspect of her life; she attends gigs regularly, plays the guitar and keyboard and hopes to become involved in music in some way in her later life. Her other love is America. She has visited New York and hopes one day to live in California. Furthermore she is doing 'American Politics' at university. To highlight these aspects, I used a music note to create the shape of her eye and shading on her face, this symbolises her vision of working in the music business. In addition, I used the American colours throughout her face however her central features are predominantly red to reference the central redness of the United Kingdom flag and how, although America may be her ultimate passion, she is equally as proud of her British roots. 

Identity Project

Using my passport picture as a template, I designed this brusho piece. Although it is far from photo-realistic, I felt the incorporated symbols portrayed a more realistic image of me than the original photo. The predominant colour of yellow has connotations of happiness, something I believe is a key aspect of my life due to friends and family. Yellow also connotes a sense of positive thinking, which I try to maintain however the main features of the face are a much duller colour due to the insecurities I feel towards some aspects of my appearance. Overall though I tried to showcase the positives in my life; my features include Japanese lettering spelling out 'Ellie' as a symbol of how lucky I have been to experienced such travels and I gave myself a more animalistic nose to show my protectiveness towards my friends and family. Furthermore it links back to my question on identity as it relates to my date of birth as my star sign is a Leo and the overall image I've produced looks slightly feline. 

Identity Project - Inspiration

Whilst re-searching my last project I looked through my souvenirs and belongings from Japan. This led me to my passport, it struck me as weird that one document could showcase your entire identity and allow you to travel and buy alcohol among many other uses. Ultimately this was the beginning of my next project as I began to question what 'identity' really was - is it your date of birth and gender? Or is it your experiences, family and interests that make up your identity. In the end, I couldn't decide however I thought that it would be interesting to explore in my next topic. I used my passport image as a starting point.

Geisha Project - Main Piece

This was my main piece for the Geisha project and also was the one I chose to enter into the Gallery Exhibition. I was very proud of this piece as it seemed to solve all the problems I have previously encountered with my prep. During the project I had experimented with collage and how it was able to portray certain messages and meaning. 

In this piece the collage included:
- coloured paper to create an interesting background and provide contrast to the whiteness of the paper extracts and the painted faces of the Geisha's.
- extracts from the book 'Memoirs of a Geisha' to reference the personal experience of Geisha's and their historical importance in Japan. 

- photocopies of brochures from Kyoto that I brought back from my trip there in Summer. These were to link back to my initial inspiration for this piece whilst also showing how Kyoto and the Geisha are fading into more of a tourist attraction rather than a current tradition

From my prep, I decided that paint would be the best medium to use over my collage as it provided the detail of the biro and felt pens, whilst also maintaining some of the fluency of brusho. Using my own photos, I decided to only use a limited palette for the faces as the make-up of a Geisha is often referred to as 'her mask'. Therefore, although, I didn't achieve perfect photo-realism I feel that the faces portrayed a that mask-like feeling.

Finally I included a few other images alongside my faces. 

- The Japanese writing at the bottom of the piece says 'Iconography' to link back to my prep and re-search into the changing icons of Japan. 

- The red circle on the left is referencing the Japanese flag as I felt it was necessary to

establish which country this was relevant to. A lot of people I first talked to believed

Geisha were originally a Chinese idea. 

- The other red, slightly more detailed circle, at the top right of the piece is a link to

some Japanese art: in particular, Hokusai and his "Amida Waterfall on the Kiso Road"

scene. 

Geisha Project

Although I loved brusho I felt for this topic collage allowed me to put across a message more effectively. Firstly I took some pictures of myself (as seen as the top of this picture) in traditional Geisha dress. I decided these would be best to use in my main piece as secondary images wouldn't allow me to reference my personal journey to Japan and my feelings toward to rapid decrease in the Geisha culture. The ripped coloured background, whilst first be focused as aesthetically pleasing, can show how colourful and varied the life of the Geisha is. Whilst describing my topic to people, they labelled Geisha as 'prostitutes', something that  no doubt is offence to rich Japanese tradition. The varied opinions of Geisha's was again something I wanted to develop.

The biro drawing allowed for a simplistic design that didn't clash with the bright background. It also was able to remain subtle, something I thought worked well. 

Geisha Project

Instead of trying to establish a message in this piece, I focused on use of other materials. I enjoyed using brusho as it allowed me to portray a more fluid piece as the water-based medium was great for movement and also for varying shades. However for my main piece, I don't think I would use brusho as it is quite difficult to achieve detail and precision, although I would like to use it later in the year.

Geisha Project

For this piece I wanted to compare iconography in Japan again however this time I decided to achieve the detail that lacked in my previous piece, it was best to have collage as a base instead of incorporating it into the main image. Therefore I decided to draw the Geisha as cartoons as a reference to the massive culture of anime and cartoon drawings in Japan.

I drew this on top of ripped up, coffee stained extracts out of the book 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. I read this book as I began re-searching my topic and it gave me a much better understanding of Geisha culture and the history of it. I coffee-stained them to show how the Geisha community is in serious decline and instead of being one of Japan's current icons, it is instead a fading tradition.

Geisha Project

I decided to focus on the development on Japan as a country and the contrasts I saw whilst there. Although I went to places that were rich in tradition, it was clear to see how technologically advanced Japan is in comparison to England. However it was the contrast between the changing icons of Japan that interested me the most. Whilst visiting Nagoya, images of cartoons and anime such as Hello Kitty and Astroboy were overwhelming however I also visited Kyoto, the birthplace of the Geisha. Seeing impressive temples and some Geisha themselves really gave me a sense of tradition.

In this piece I experimented with collage to combine these two iconic images of Japan. The 'Hello Kitty' symbol allowed me to keep the whiteness of the Geisha's face whilst also ensure the redness of the lips was shown. Whilst I loved the message this sent, the execution lacked the detail I wanted to achieve in my main piece.

Geisha Project

This is one of my sketches from my life-drawing classes. I tried to keep it a simple line drawing without much shading/detail as I wanted it to have a more cartoon style feel. This was to incorporate it into my theme. Although I found it difficult to stylise whilst drawing from direct observation, I feel I achieved a simplified look whilst also maintaining the correct proportions. To link my study to my theme further, I altered the cloth he was sat on to resemble a sumo belt to relate back to the historical aspect of my project. 

Geisha Project - Some of the sights in Japan

Inspiration

In July - August 2012 I got the amazing opportunity to go to Japan with 5 other people my age from across the globe to counsel 40 children in areas such as poverty, peace, stereotypes and prejudice. Not only did I make loads of new friends and have a great time, I also got to experience a new culture. Whether this was through trying new foods, struggling in the humid weather or, in particular, looking into Japanese art and architecture, it was very enriching. It also provided the bases of my personal study and my first official project of A2 art.