Chosen item: A heater with an emphasis on heat
Collected many different papers and collage ideas about heat for my moodboard, lots of orange and blue too. The moodboard method helps me visually and gives ‘pause for thought’, nice and logical balance to the creative process.
Play on the word ‘melt’. Melting is synonomous with heat, maybe liquid metal or molten acid yellow mixture into the picture? Got a picture of liquid nickel during smelting process but looks like orange juice.
Found Robyn Eckhard’s paintings (UK artist) with glossy sheens because of her use of glue!
Found Robyn Eckhard’s paintings (UK artist) with glossy sheens because of her use of glue!
Kept the frame of the heater as simple as possible because it's the coolest part of the visual. Got a good blaze going playing with the glue mix inside the actual heater elements.
After some doodling and contemplation I decided to use old dress netting as a mesh cover - the resin pushed through the grid in some parts.
Almost lost the plot by getting carried away with the glue and colour and realised the message and strategy in the visual was to communicate.
I’d originally intended to use a fineliner to achieve the scrabbled texture of burning coals but it didn’t work, too large a space and heavily textured cartridge paper.
I’m surprised at the outcome of my first try: it’s not quite what I set out to achieve and the heater itself is a bit stilted, the lines too thin and not strong enough. Wondering about using thick permanent markers but don’t think this will solve the problem. The thing floats in the air and would've worked better with some perspective. In other words, smaller on the page.
What have I learned? To loosen up and experiment and play. Check that the paper quality tolerates different media. In my case the cartridge paper I used buckled with the glue and straightened out a week later thankfully.
One of two final drawings. Tried to convey 'heat' through the use of food colouring, glue and paint. Glue worked well. I found net dress fabric, the kind used on a ballet tutu or a stage costume and used it for the heater grid. I needed a uniform dull black pattern with molten heat underneath. The coals are cut from card, the elements I drew in coloured pens and I stamped circles of glue with the lid to follow on from a mistake I made with lid. I believe this does convey the idea of heat, I am not sure the circles work and perhaps the heater is a bit stilted. I tried to solve this by twisting the cord around the back of the picture to get an organic yet linear feel.
I’m surprised at the outcome of my first try: it’s not quite what I set out to achieve and the heater itself is a bit stilted, the lines too thin and not strong enough. Wondering about using thick permanent markers but don’t think this will solve the problem. The thing floats in the air and would've worked better with some perspective. In other words, smaller on the page.
What have I learned? To loosen up and experiment and play. Check that the paper quality tolerates different media. In my case the cartridge paper I used buckled with the glue and straightened out a week later thankfully.
One of two final drawings. Tried to convey 'heat' through the use of food colouring, glue and paint. Glue worked well. I found net dress fabric, the kind used on a ballet tutu or a stage costume and used it for the heater grid. I needed a uniform dull black pattern with molten heat underneath. The coals are cut from card, the elements I drew in coloured pens and I stamped circles of glue with the lid to follow on from a mistake I made with lid. I believe this does convey the idea of heat, I am not sure the circles work and perhaps the heater is a bit stilted. I tried to solve this by twisting the cord around the back of the picture to get an organic yet linear feel.
I found that sticking cut paper with different textures and thickness really appeals to me, because it creates depth and interest. The cut lines suggest solidity I think. I like this aspect of collage and will use it again, probably intuitively.
The frame of the heater is tracing paper stuck over a textured yellow background, it's smooth enough to suggest a plastic surface and uniform too… It’s getting into very graphic looking territory now.
Preparatory sketch in pencil and pen with acrylics, glue and food colouring:
Mucked about with glue and food colouring, and realised I could get a melted plastic look with some really intense colour through the use of powdered food colouring, acid yellow and ponceau red - lovely for flame textures which I copied from my moodboard. The glue bubbled up in some sort of chemical reaction and formed 'creative lava flow'.
Pencil and pen sketch, primary drawing. Deciding what to emphasise for my chosen word 'heat'. Definitely the heater elements and maybe if they melt or catch fire, it'll relate visually.
My moodboard for 'heat'. I took the words from my spider diagram about heat and interpreted them quite exhaustively.
After collecting so many pictures, I found it very difficult to be selective about my drawing. I see now, how this could be an amazing resource years in the future for many other things.
Looking at these collections after doing the exercise I'm I see I missed opportunities to expound things in the colours and the design.
There are some good possibilities still.
My tutor suggested I research more on the work of Lauren Child (Charlie and Lola and others). A large portion of Lauren Child's work involves fabrics and cutouts.
I really have a fascination for beautiful fabrics, for me it is like being a child in a sweet shop. Lola always has a pretty fabric dress, and the sets are collaged. And cutout. I love cut outs. I seem to be prone to wanting to superimpose shapes, colours and textures on pages and make them into something else. There's always something new to discover...
After collecting so many pictures, I found it very difficult to be selective about my drawing. I see now, how this could be an amazing resource years in the future for many other things.
Looking at these collections after doing the exercise I'm I see I missed opportunities to expound things in the colours and the design. There are some good possibilities still.
My tutor suggested I research more on the work of Lauren Child (Charlie and Lola and others). A large portion of Lauren Child's work involves fabrics and cutouts.
I really have a fascination for beautiful fabrics, for me it is like being a child in a sweet shop. Lola always has a pretty fabric dress, and the sets are collaged. And cutout. I love cut outs. I seem to be prone to wanting to superimpose shapes, colours and textures on pages and make them into something else. There's always something new to discover...
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