Summer Assignment 2014

Visit toThe National Portrait Gallery

I visited the National Portrait Galley and I found Alistair Adams work inspiring through the texture of the way the artist applied the paint.

I looked at Jelena Bulajic and I did a study of his work, I found working in HB was easiest to show shading.

However John Keane portrays the face through the use of two main colours which are extended into the background.

John Keane

Jelena Bulajic

Alistair Adams

A study of John Keane

John Keane was born on the 12 September 1954 and is British artist, whose paintings have contemporary political and social themes. He is interested in why human beings want to kill each other for political ends and has frequently addressed specific issues, one of which has been the conflict in Northern Ireland. The trustees of the museum commissioned Keane to do a group portrait of four key individuals including David Trimble of the Ulster Unionists, John Hume of the SDP, Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein, and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam. However not all individuals agreed to participate in the end, but John Keane decided to go ahead and paint a solo of Mo Mowlam.

The official painting by

John Keane-’Mo Mowlam’

My study

Practical studyI painted myself in the style of John Keane, I was interested of his technique. He focussed on three main colours for his background; yellow, white and brown, these colours make the figure three dimensional. I aimed create the same effect on my own portraits. I painted my face with a wide range of colours, showing the dark and light tones, with a technique that may look patchy, however this is how I view john Keane style when painting faces. I found that this style was most suited when showing the different tones of dark and light.

My first self portrait in the style of John Keane

John Keane

Practical studyAs my second portrait I decided to paint myself from the side of my face. I challenged myself when as I found this position interesting as more features such as ears were added. I also decided to change the background to lighter colours, focusing on yellow, like john keane.

My second self portrait in the style of John

Keane

John Keane

Summarising the work of others

• John Keane painted Mo Mowlam using oil on canvas in 2001 with the dimensions of 60 1/4 in. x 48 1/4 in. (1528 mm x 1224 mm).

• The painting was painted in 2001, it originally began as a proposal by the artist to paint a group portrait commemorating the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations. It shows this approach through his style of painting. He uses mark making and tonal colours, that can describe the negative feeling of this painting. He portrays this through the dark murky colours.

• This painting originally began as a proposal by the artist to paint a group portrait commemorating the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations.

John Keane- ‘Mo Mowlam’

The official painting by

John Keane-’Mo Mowlam’

Opinions and evaluation of my self portrait

Overall I really enjoyed painting the self portraits of myself. I started off with experimenting and working over my skin colour several times to get the shadows right. I also found that once the first portrait was complete I realised that I made my skin tone slightly too dark when it painting the shadows, which made me look slightly wrinkly. However I was able to learn and understand how to make changes for the second painting and I found this one more successful. This is because I made the skin tone smoother than the first portrait which looked a lot more like me. I did have some problem whilst painting the first self portrait, this area was focused on the arms and shirt. After painting the face it was more noticeable that the head looked bigger than the body, which meant that I had to alter and make the figure slightly bigger and with the end results being successful.

Professional Practice Case Study1. How they clarify and negotiate a brief, interpret the requirements of the

brief and the needs of the client

Interviewed Rachel Levi, who worked in the mosaic industry. On meeting a client, the artist would discuss the requirements of the client in detail, showing examples of previous work to guide the discussion. The client-base was predominantly Israeli companies and the company’s designs were usually based on Jewish traditional symbols or containing elements from ancient mosaics.

2. How they organise and manage a project plan

The size of the mosaic would be determined and the timescales agreed. This would be done through a visit to the site to take accurate measurements.

The most suitable base material would be decided after the site visit

The stone types and colours would be agreed and acquired which would be reflected in the final cost.

3. How they liaise with clients, customers and the general public

Having a shop on site is really curtail.

Rachel Levi was a mosaic designer and an artist she was responsible for the quality control

4. Their attitude and approach to their specialism

The best part of being in the mosaic industry is creating beautiful artwork. However it’s a difficult business and very time consuming.

5. How they modify and develop initial ideas to produce a final outcome

Before producing a final outcome you always have to draft the design first.

Working out the quantity of stones needed and then acquiring the stones by working out the costing and time scale.

The size of each mosaic piece would be determined, to enable easy installation.

6. How they choose materials, techniques and technology and the processes they use to produce the work

Through colours, most mosaics tend to use the authentic or Morden and bright colours through synthetic stones or glass.

7. How they respond to constraints that affect their work The issues on the base worked on- depending the on the dimensions

that are made to work on the fibre glass or mesh (net). Mesh cheaper than fibre glass which benefits to install on the ready made floor. As said that a lot of work depends on the amount of money spent on the materials.

8. How the commercial viability of the work has been considered The stores are particularly expensive meaning that the business can

lose clients. A lot of the work are done for hotels and banks (big companies).

Professional Practice Case Study - Summary

What have you learnt from this study? Did the person offer you any advice?From this study I have learnt that to be in the mosaic industry you have to put in a lot of time and thought into a design. You have to have patience and be able to work quickly for it to be cost effective. What will you do differently now you have this insight ?I will make sure that every art work, whether it’s designing, making or creating it into something, lots of time and thought goes into it. Making sure I never give up and trying new ways of making it successful as if it was sold to a manufacturer. Has this inspired you to choose a pathway – Fine Art or Design in the second year of the courseIn the past year I started to have a mind set to work in the design industry of fashion and I have been inspired to work harder for this career.What are your current progression goals? – application to a specialist degree course and/or an art foundation course.I’m currently looking at applying for a BA fashion design degree.

Professional Practice Case Study-Rachel Levi mosaics

. Brief summary from case study:

• how they modify and develop initial ideas to produce a final outcomeAs an overall summery to be in the mosaic industry you have to start an idea from

sketching a draft, then working out the quantity of stones, costing and time scale needed to make this a successful piece.

• how they choose materials, techniques and technology and the processes they use to produce the work

Through colours, most mosaics tend to use the authentic or Morden and bright colours through synthetic stones or glass.

• how they respond to constraints that affect their work (these will vary according to the situation but could include costs, scale, resources, time)

A lot of work depends on the amount of money spent on the materials.• how the commercial viability of the work has been considered.

The stores are particularly expensive meaning that the business can lose clients. A lot of the work are done for hotels and banks (big companies).