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Notes taken during delivery of project brief 24/01.

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Notes taken during delivery of project brief 24/01.

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Notes taken during delivery of project brief and To Do List 24/01.

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Notes on initial ideas 24/01 / To Do List for Wednesday 05/01.

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My preferred media for illustration are fineliners, alcohol markers, and paint pens though I will of course explore a variety of different media throughout this project. Other media/techniques I would like to consider include (but are not limited to) screen printing, digital art, mixed media, and creating a Zine.

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My hamster Oswald enjoying some pizza circa 2018-19.

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At first, I struggled with the theme given in the brief, but then I started thinking about the stories I tell both verbally in conversation and also in my art. I often portray my family pets in my art as they are as important to me as the people in my family - particularly my hamsters, and my dad and nannie's respective parrots. I also feed stray cats in my neighbourhood and have befriended my neighbours' cat Otis even though he plays with his claws and teeth! Though I have never owned one, I would love to have a cat.

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Sketchbook pages of development from Project One.

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Mental Health is another concept which comes up often in my practice as it's something I deal with every day. I thought this concept would be a good fit for this project's brief as there were quite a few times I abandoned the concept in favour of another during HND and I'd like to see where developing them further will take me.

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HNC Sculpture final depicting my bedtime routine.

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I have explored routines and their connection to my mental health previously, as in the sculpture above, and I think this would work well portrayed in illustration too.

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My Nannie's bird Chester perched on my arm.

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For my first concept, I'm pulled towards the parrots versus other family pets as I feel they have the most interesting stories to tell through typography and so would fit the brief well.

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Initial Sketch I - Concept 2: Mental Health 

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Initial Sketch I - Concept 2: Mental Health 

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'For the Love of Print' Exhibition at the Kelvingrove 31/01/23

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'For the Love of Print' Exhibition at the Kelvingrove 31/01/23

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It was quite difficult to gather photographs as primary research due to reflections on the framed prints but I saw a few works / artists I liked such as the hand-coloured linocut print above by Damian Henry which I bought a post card of from the gift shop. This work appealed to me because I really like the simplified, angular shapes in which the birds are represented. It has inspired me to consider taking a more abstract approach in my samples for my first concept!
Artist's website: http://www.damianhenry.com/page_folio.html

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Amber, Lex, and I gathering research, captured by Simone (she's very sneaky that way!).

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From left to right: Sulphur-crested cockatoo, scarlet-chested parrot, cockatiel.

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Information from the Kelvingrove museum plaques: "Cockatoos are curious and intelligent birds. When feeding together on the ground, one bird keeps guard high up in a tree. Although they're forest birds, they've adapted to living in urban areas."
"There are 56 different kinds of parrot in Australia, most found nowhere else in the world. Some, like cockatiels, are widespread, but others live only in south-eastern Australia."
When I visited the Kelvingrove last year, they had a Timneh African grey parrot on display but unfortunately I didn't see it there this time. Timneh African greys differ from my family's Congo African greys as they are a darker shade of grey, have lighter beaks, and are slightly smaller. Both species of African grey parrots are at threat of extinction in the wild due to poaching.

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Visited my favourite sculpture – 'The Harpy Celaeno'  by Mary Pownall – as it's a personal tradition :)

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This interactive exhibit was clearly for children but  that didn't stop me from climbing in the dinosaur egg.

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'Blue Parrot,' hand-coloured linocut, 185mm x 160mm, 2021.

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'Blue Parrot,' Damian Henry, hand-coloured linocut, 185mm x 160mm, 2021

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Colour and the psychology behind them are important to me in my work. When I use colour, I tend to think about what each one means. I will be applying colour theory in my development of Concept 2: Mental Health as I feel this will both reinforce and complement the theme as well as help me decide how to go about portraying each object which represents a step in my self-care routine.