Blog 1 - Getting Started

Planning my blog, I knew that I wanted to concentrate on things that I was interested in and look at types of medias that I was interested in too, for example photography, film and art. However I wanted to link these to the course that I was doing, media with Television. This was a real test for me, especially where I was going to start off.
I decided to go back to my previous visual diary from last term and see if I could find a starting off point from there. Last year we looked at identity, and I really focused on the things that I love and what make me up as a person.
I did an A level in textiles and my love for the subject and fashion really came through in my visual diary, so maybe that is something that I would like to pursue in this one? There was also a lot of art influences in there especially work from photographers and graffiti artist such as Banksy. I think that this will be a great starting off point, as I would like to think of a way that will combine the two. Throughout this blog I will be carrying out this task as well as trying to link it to my course.

Blog 2 - Hiroshi Tanabe

Hiroshi Tanabe picture – picture 1 - appendix

I got this picture from ‘Fashion Illustration Now’ by Laird Borrelli (picture 1 in the appendix is also from the same book but couldn't be scanned in or found on the internet). This is one of favourite fashion books as it has a range of different styles of drawing from ink to graphic.
I have always been inspired by the work of Hiroshi Tanabe. His work is fashion illustration but with a graphic twist – it more likes anime than the usual drawings in fashion illustrations. Some people have even compared his art to japanese wood carvings. These out of them all are my favourites. I love the colours, even though they are dark and there are only two used, it gives the picture its edge and makes them eye catching. I love the simple use of lines to make the picture come alive on the page. This picture proves that fashion and graffiti can be link together and have a lot of similarities between art and graffiti.

Blog 3: My line drawings

Picture 2 – appendix

I used inspiration from Hiroshi Tanabe and other fashion illustrators to make my own line drawings used from model shots in magazines. I think that they turned out well, especially for quick drawings and my first attempts. I just used simple line, no colour or major detail as this is how Hiroshi Tanabe normally works. My favourite is the one of the right as I think I picked all the right detail of the creases on the jacket well with the pen. These images will be a great starting off point for future drawings and future work. From here I might try other line drawings to practice and experiment with different line techniques and where I can go with this; what direction I can now go in.

Blog 4 - Banksy

Banksy is one of my favourite graffiti artists, he is one of the main reasons that I got interested in the art in the first place. So I knew that I had to find a way to blend some of his work into my visual diary. This image is one of the most famous that he has done. It is in the city of Bristol, his home town and it depicts the riots that went on there. This shows one of the many reasons why I like Banksy; his sense of humour. In this image he was trying to show how harmless the rioters actually were by making them cute white bears. This image is great as it shows colour and humour which is something that maybe I could incorporate into my drawings.

Blog 5: A way to merge the two?

To progress on, I am going to find a way to merge both of these art forms together; art and graffiti, by doing some simple line drawings like I have done in blog 3 but do them more in the style of graffiti. I will do this by studying not only Banksy’s work but also other graffiti that have followed his styles. I will look these up in my books ‘Untitled’ and Untitled 2’. Both are very good graffiti books that focus on Banksy and other artist, but also talk about the inspiration behind all the pieces. These should give me a great starting off point for merging the two.

Blog 6: My drawings of both

Picture 3/4/5 - appendix

I tried to blend both graffiti and fashion illustration to get something that combined the two. In the first picture (see picture 3 in the appendix) I did some drawings of examples of graffiti work from artists around the country. I did this to get a feel for the style of drawing. Then, in the next pictures (see picture 4 and 5) I tried to blend both into a fusion of fashion and graffiti. I think that I pulled it off with the use of lines and colour. I tried in picture 4 to just use lines to see what techniques I needed and what style of line I needed. In the picture 5 I tried to use water colour pencils and felt tips to get that spray paint feel in graffiti. I think that a blend of the two really worked well, and is something that I will use in future drawings in this coursework.

Blog 7 - Images of Banksy and other graffiti art

Some of my favourite art work is graffiti art. I have to admit that it started with the arrival of Banksy. I followed all the hype, something I don’t usually do, and I became a dedicated fan owning all of his books and even seeing his movie. I then went on to own more graffiti books including ‘Untitled’ which is where most of these images come from (images in the appendix). I love his wild sense of humour and his mix of irony in his pieces. I also like that fact that no one knows his identity which I think adds pride to his work. The book also shows other graffiti work from artists that have been knocking around for a while or those that have just started and are wanting to be like Banksy. I believe that these are art work, depict what some critics might say, and that they are a art for a modern generation making them accessible to everyone and brightening up our down-in-the-dumps streets. Picture 6 in appendix shows art from other graffiti artists that are published in the book ‘untitled’. I scanned these images in but they would not upload to blogger.

Picture 6 onwards – appendix