Next, with the remainder of the group, I did a piece of abstract mark making, experimenting with a pencil and eraser seeing how many different marks I could make. In keeping with the rest of the group I tore one section of my work and mounted the collage on to a black background in place so that the tear was observed like a page break.
When I came to the point of searching for an influential artist, Guido Reni appeared to obtain relevance to the project. Reni is a Master of chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro means a light and dark theme. This light and dark contrast concept flows through the whole of this project. In order to learn the modern brushwork needed for my project, I researched the art work of Jackson Pollock as his art emphasized the uses of the paint brush. The original idea for this project was to have a squid in front of us in order to get full effect from observation and analysis to the main transcription. However the Squid was not suitable for the environment it was in, and produced an unpleasant scent therefore we each had to photograph them for further reference. From this source material I also created a colour tonal drawing emphasizing the light and dark with colour.
The previous drawings helped me to do this one and the next stage was to develop theme and colour. I was now ready to start my final piece; I was going to bring all these ideas into one like the masters of old renaissance.
Using transparent washes of colour very much like Leonardo Da Vinci would have done hundreds of years ago, we started this work on a prime ground and we built the picture up layer by layer.
My drawing was accurate and the quality of my analysis was effective towards the remainder of my piece. We started work with a dark murky background using the traditional colours of Bista Siena and Indian ink. This layer created the under shadows of the squid.
The painting was quite difficult using transparent layers of squid like colours, however it gradually built up the form of transparent layers of squid coloured paint. I then enhanced the shadows with complimentary colours but the painting eventually sprung to life when I added the sharp, thick white highlights and final varnish shine.