Place in QuestionBy James Lane

Location studies

When doing my original studies I didn’t use a variety of materials or media. I wanted to focus on the detail and layout of my area. However in doing this I feel I helped myself later on in the project because it meant I had mastered the arrangement or the area so I could focus on different ways of portraying it.

My chosen location was the alleyway behind the fine art/fashion block in college, which meant when making studies of it I had to use perspective lines. The study I did of my area was a detailed line drawing done in pencil. After I had practiced my perspective drawing I decided to try do a study using charcoal which didn’t go very well because I couldn’t get the detail I wanted so I decided that for line drawings and outline drawings, I’d use pencil. Soon after that I started on a colour study, using water colours. Looking at different tones, shapes and textures that were in the area.

Unit 12 (Fine Art) a. recording of experiences or information to develop intentions What approaches did you use to examine and record your location? Representing the space; details; light etc. How did you decide and which worked the best? Why?

b  use of materials, processes and technology or a combination of materials, processes and technology to develop ideas What did you learn through your initial enquiries? Experiments and techniques, use of an experimental process to generate new ideas, suitability of some rather than others?

In this project I had to do a 3D representation on Google SketchUp. At first I didn’t know how to use it so I struggled with it and found it difficult to get any where with it, but once I learnt how to use it I quickly progressed spending a lot of time on in, in and out of lessons, I could have simply done a section of my area but I decided to do all/ most of everything I could see. My biggest problem was making everything as accurate as it should be , and due to the size of my area it meant I took a long time measuring things. However looking at the end result its worth it.The other bit of work I had to do on a computer using Adobe Premier, was to making a movie combining my 3D model, my Google SketchUp and real photos of my area. This was another software I had never used before, like Google SketchUp I found it difficult to use at first but got used to it and I was then able to create a short movie showing my work

Location studies SketchUp and Movie Multimediab) Developing multimedia ideas by combining the use oftechnology processes.

Making and developmental work - (Large drawing, 3D, print)For this project I had to represent my model in both

3D and 2D. For my 2D representation I did a collage and abstract

piece using different parts of my area and combining them into one image. For this I tried to use different types of media compare to what I used before, I mainly used black drawing ink mixing it with acrylic paint and water to get the colours and tones that I wanted. I also used charcoal and chalk to either tone down or tone up some areas but I didn’t use drawing ink or paint because they’re to sharp and I wanted it to be gradual.

For my 3D representation I made a large model of a section of my area. It was quite challenging because of the scale I had chosen to do it at. I started with the fence which I made out of thin strips of wood so I had the texture of wood and didn’t need to try and recreate it, from there I built around it. I decided to make the building next, making it out of card because it was easy enough to bend and cut but was also strong enough to keep the shape. Once that had been made I found a surface and added the rest of the things that would make up the section of my area.

I also had to do a dry point print, which I didn’t really enjoy doing because I didn’t like the outcome of it but I think if I had more time I would have had another go at it and tried to do a better one.

Unit 12 (Fine Art) a. recording of experiences or information to develop intentions What approaches did you use to examine and record your location? Representing the space; details; light etc. How did you decide and which worked the best? Why?

b  use of materials, processes and technology or a combination of materials, processes and technology to develop ideas What did you learn through your initial enquiries? Experiments and techniques, use of an experimental process to generate new ideas, suitability of some rather than others?

My 3D model

Using historical and contemporary researchUnit 9Contextual Referencesa      research into historical and contemporary work, showing understanding of the contexts which influenced the work .What have you learned about the influences on other’s work?b recording and presenting information explaining the use of visual language in others’ work. Where have you analysed examples? What did you learn?c    use of contextual references in own work How have you used references? What impact did they have on your ideas?

The first type of style I looked at was illustration. I looked at illustrations that all had a perspective so that I could practice drawing perspective. When doing studies of each of the pieces I was looking at I decided to use different media compared to what I had used previously. For example for of Stefan Lindblad’s illustration I used felt tip pens because I wanted to see the effect it gave, it gave a nice effect but the colours didn’t mix. I also used water colour for two other studies then for my final one I used black fine liner, which is the image on the left.The next research I did was

on way of representing space in 2D and 3D. These are linear perspective, isometric projection, aerial perspective, Chinese perspective, ukiyo-e prints, colour perspective and orthographic projections. I chose to do studies of my area in the styles of orthographic projections and aerial perspective. I did it in the style of orthographic projections because it represents my area in a way that I had represented it before and this helped me with my model. The other style I chose to do is aerial perspective because I wanted to do another painting of my area and in this style it would give it more depth.

The other research I did was looking at the illustrator/graphic designer Robin Day and doing a mixed media study of his British Transport poster, combining bits from the original poster and combining it together with different mediums to recreate him work.

Developing your personal briefUnit 13 (Design) a) Resolve the needs of the brief to develop intentionsHow did you develop the final brief? What client / end user is it for? Why?What constraints and requirements did you consider?What research did you undertake into your chosen area of creative enquiry?

b) Develop a range of ideas in response to the brief. How did you develop your ideas for the final outcome? What techniques did you use to generate ideas? What influenced you in doing this?

My final briefTo create I piece of work looking at perspective, architecture and working in 2D and 3D. This will be made for an architectural/perspective gallery, and use more than one material and media, must be a painting.

I found it difficult to write a brief because I'm not very good at setting myself a brief I can come up with all the idea and everything but I cannot right it down in a brief form. Before decide and starting my final piece I went to an art show at the Teddington landmark centre to get inspiration for my work. Also looking at different styles of work and materials used, that I might use in my work.

Once I had done this I started my initial ideas looking at painting, sculpture and the ways I could combine them.

Unit 11 Develop & Produce Own Ideas

a) Create and develop ideas in response to the brief.How did you interpret your brief? What different approaches to the same theme did you explore? What decisions did you make to refine your ideas?

b) Plan and produce finaloutcome using specialist working methods and processes.How did you decide on the final outcome? Why was this the best approach? How did you chose the techniques you’ve used? Did they work effectively?

Developing your personal briefOn the right are my initial ideas brain storming how I could respond to the brief, my two idea that combined 2D and 3D were to either have painting with 3D aspects or to enlarge a photo/painting with model/objects coming out. In the end I decided to do a mix between the two, I would create a painting with the building and fence on each side of the paining coming out so they are both 3D objects, then depending on were you were standing it might fit in with the painting or it might not.For my final out come I started by

getting a surface. I chose to use card because it was strong enough to put paper on it and so it would be able to stand up with the 3D objects stuck on to it. Once I had it I started making the 3D building and fence, they were quite difficult to make because I didn’t know how big they needed to be, however once I made them and had drawn the view I was doing it was relatively straight forward I started by doing all the areas that were really dark in black drawing ink, then once that was done I started painting it, building it up in layers at some points, then later put the detail in.

My final piece

Unit 8 Personal, Portfolio Development & Progressiona      personal presentation and communication skills b      portfolio presentation techniques How have you presented your work? Did you make particular use of photography or presentation boards? How have you considered clarity of information in your sketchbooks and boards? c       identifying and pursuing progression goals What evidence do you have of research into progression? Photos of open days, website research? What have you learned so far?

For this project I have tried to present my work more clearly than in previous projects, showing my thoughts and giving my opinion on my work and the work of others. With the annotation I have hand written it which is fine its not messy but I think to improve it I could type it to make in neater and while doing this I could add/put my backgrounds on my pages to make them less plain. I haven’t used any presentation boards in this project because I don’t really have anything to present, however I could represent my 2D presentation of my area. Haven’t use photography for a specific reason in this project except to photograph and my work as I’m working to document it and as proof I’ve done my work. For my annotation I’ve tried to write about my work more, describing my thought processes but most importantly I’ve tried to give my opinion and look at what I could improve.I have been to visit a couple of universities my favourite have been Bournemouth arts university and Farnham university. However I went to visit them in the summer of 2015 so while I was there I didn’t take any photos of the work there, and I haven’t documented what I thought of them on my blog yet. But I really liked Bournemouth I got an instant feel and liking of it as soon as I arrived at the university, I liked how there was a wide variety of work, going in a fine art direction to interior architecture. I also like the area around the university. When I went to look at Farnham university I also liked it as soon as I got there, I enjoyed looking at the art work that was on display and the facilities available.

Evaluation In the project of The Place in Question I think I that my time has been managed very well, at least at the start of the project, towards the end my time management has become worse. When doing my 3D work like my model and my Google SketchUp I spent more time on them because I wanted them to be very good and portray my area very well And in a lot of detail. However with other bits of work I didn’t spend as much time as I should have. What went wrong is that I didn’t think enough about some ideas thoroughly enough when looking at other artists and initial ideas. What went right was the 3D work and my computer work because I spent a lot of time on them. I didn’t really do as much research as I should have done but with the research I did, I did it thoroughly. I've mostly looked at secondary sources then tried to incorporate and try different techniques in my work. Although I did go to an exhibition at the Teddington Landmark centre to look at different types of work to help and to give me inspiration for my final piece. I found that going to the exhibition was the most useful thing I did for research because it gave me a chance to look at a wide variety of work, which then inspired me to combine 2D and 3D for my final piece. The development of my ideas, I think is quite clear starting from drawings of my area, then a painting, from there representing by doing a collage and moving pieces around, then from there I made a 3D model of a section of my area, and a Google SketchUp model. Then with all the development I chose to combine 2D and 3D for my final piece. For m y model I chose to use material that best represented the actual material of the real life thing. So for the fence I used thin strips of wood which meant I already had the texture of the wood, then I used card for the building because it was easy enough to bend it into the shape I wanted but with that it was also strong enough to stand on its own. In my area I was simply trying to communicate what my area was like, there were problems with making them but I took time to think about them and solved them.In all my final outcomes for this project I have tried my best. The pieces with colour I have tried to create depth as best as I could, I have also tried many different compositions and had practices them. At first I struggled with perspective drawing and but once I had practiced drawing my area enough I soon mastered it which meant I could move on and develop. I think the most important features/feature of my work is the outline of the view because with out it being as accurate as it could be I would be able to do the rest of my piece to the best of my ability. All of this is relevant to the original brief because all the work I have done has come from one area, my chosen area in college. My final piece communicates my area and shows the depth of it in 2D form, I have I have done this by the application of paint, making some areas lighter and other areas darker and using different tones. If I was given the chance to repeat this project I would spend more time on research and showing clearly how I’ve developed my ideas, also using more media when first starting the project. In this project my perspective skills have improved massively as have my painting skills. My organisation of my work has also improved because I think that you can clearly see the development of my work and the explanation of my work. Also I have thoroughly done my blog, annotating and documenting each step of my project and things outside of my project. I think that my own working methods are good because I get most/all of my work done, however once it gets close to the end of the project all the work starts to build up and I start to fall behind, so I must try and make sure that doesn’t happen this year/for the rest of my projects.