Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Artist: Carne Griffe

Since I've just put up the post on Agnes Cecile, let me introduce to you guys the artist who I've liked and admired even before her  (and still do of course!). The guy who got me interested in the splattering and washing of watercolour, and the magical combination of ink and watercolour---Carne Griffe.

I found him by accident last year, when I was passing time by randomly google-ing  for tea painting or some sort while waiting for my tea-stained paper (it really turned out looking kind of like parchments, so I was happy:) to dry.And then I came across him. Carne Griffe is an artist and illustrator who works primarily with calligraphy ink, graphite and liquids, such as tea brandy, vodka and whisky. His works explore both human and floral forms, figuratively and in abstract sense (He had worked as a gold wire embroidery designer for 12 years, hence the floral patterns, repetition and flow in his works).

Taken from his bio, I couldn't have explained his works better:

"He is fascinated by the flow of line and the ‘invisible lines’ that connect us to the natural world. These may be considered lines of energy or spiritual connections between ourselves and our surroundings and his work is often an emotional response to images and situations encountered in daily life. These daily images are recorded in a dream like sense onto the page where physical boundaries are no longer important. Carne’s work takes us on a journey of escapism, often focusing on scenes of awe and wonderment, they offer a sense of abandonment to the artist and to the viewer an invitation to share and explore this inner realm.
The violence of flowers series explores our relationship with nature further.  It draws an analogy between our darker side and the deception and violence inherent in the plant kingdom that is often masked by their beauty."
Here are a few I liked the best:
Comfort - Ink and tea on paper by Carne Griffiths - Sold
Comfort
Carne Griffe
One of mine favourites!!
Goldleaf
Goldleaf
Carne Griffe

Flight - Ink and Tea on watercolour paper 22 x 30 inch Framed £1400 (Large)
Fragments
Ink and Tea
Carne Griffe

Torn
Torn
Carne Grif


Revive
Revive
Carne Griffe

Sunlight
Sunlight
Carne Griffe

Metamorphosis
Metamophosis
Carne Griffe
Smother
Smothered
Carne Griffe

It is one thing when an artist uses one medium well, but it is another thing when an artist combines multiple mediums (graphite, ink, tea, brandy and so on) all on a piece of paper, have them complementing each other and  supporting each other to make a great piece of work. And this is one of the the main reasons why I love Carne Griffe. In his works, the different mediums seems to be made for each other, each playing a key role in bring out the mood and atmosphere of the works. Also, I really really like how he incorporated floral designs into the works, they fit very well with the mood and everything, and with flowers, there's always a sense of delicacy, which I think helped to make the work more emotional.

Another thing about his works that appeal to me is the details on top of the washes, splatters, drips and slashes of colours. His works do not only look amazing from far, the amount of details and the delicacy of the lines are enough to awe me too.

As I am writing this, I'm  also kind of comparing his with Agnes Cecile's works, as both artists do have some similarities in styles. I felt that though though both artists' works are emotional, Griffe's feels more delicate, more sensitive, there's a softness to even the most emotional feelings in his works(perhaps it's because of the colours). while Cecile's is more vibrant, even when her work is portraying grief, thoughtfulness and so on, there's always that glimmer of hope (It's like saying: 'at least they still have the vibrant colours, no hope is entirely lost yet.')~ I do like most of her colour palattes. Therefore her works are definitely more eye-catching, but sometimes I wish that she'll explore more types of emotions, and not painting 'perfect' faces (they are awesome of course..in a good way:), and more desperation in their eyes, to show the viewers their emotions. As for Griffe's, his works catches the heart better, that's all I can say:) 

Anyway, I still love both artists and I think they rock in their own (still) unique ways, and I am glad that I can be inspired by both of these two awesome people:)



Chinese Ink Painting


So. After going to the art class to do pencil sketches for months, my teacher (陈老师) finally convinced me to pick up the calligraphy brush again and learn Chinese ink painting with him. (I was in calligraphy club for 3 years in primary school...we did mostly calligraphy though, and I've only painted bamboos before.) It felt really weird working with Chinese ink again--I almost forgot how difficult it was to control the brush and the ink at first, especially controlling the amount of water to mix the ink and paint with..my first few attempts were either too dry or too wet:(
So here are the few attempts and 'paintings' (they are more of practices than actual paintings) I've done in the class in chronological order..words are written by my teacher..my calligraphy has failed me too many times:


Bamboo
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
As you can see, I had used too much water at first, so the bamboos at the back were really smudgy. But after going back to practicing the leaves and branches for a long time, I decided to rescue this piece. It certainly look much better now, though the stems are still too thin.
Orchid 1
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
This was the result of painting before I've practiced well. The forms are awkward and there was too much water. Heck, it doesn't even look like an orchid..well, at least I've learnt not to rush the learning process of Chinese painting.
Orchid 2
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
Orchid 3
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
I personally loved this one the best...it's the evidence of my hard work:) Since I really liked painting orchids (especially the leaves), I had practiced this one really really hard. And I think it had certainly paid off! I am most proud of the flowers, since it was pretty challenging to get the colours and shapes right- it needed a certain amount of lightness. The darker leaves were added by my teacher, since it was just a practice, he was just correcting me, but I'm still quite disappointed that it's not entirely my work...No matter what, at least I've learnt something from it--contrast! 
(I've done another one after this in colour, but I've given it to my teacher, I think.)

Fishes 1 (三余)
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
This reminded me of the '留白' principle from the SoVA assignment! Anyway, I've learnt that in Chinese painting, most of the fishes should swim 'upwards', as a symbol of good fortune or luck, if my memory did not fail me.

Fishes 2
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
Again, just saying that the fish on the left was by my teacher..this really shows how much I have to improve on. I admired the way he painted with such ease, and how the fish looks so lively and like it's really swimming. Not like mine, which kind of look like fishes, but they still look too 'painted-on', and not alive.
Cherry Blossom
Chinese Ink Painting
2011
This was the last painting I've done before stopping class. 

I loved painting the flowers, but the branches was really hard to get right...but I think after so many practices..it looked ok:) Though I would still want to practice more in the future to get a more bark-like texture, which might be able to achieve with a drier brush.
As for this, I learnt about the composition for these type of subject matters. Since as for the previous few, I had been pretty much following my teacher's examples, he would usually show me how each of the parts are done and how I should compose my painting. But as for this one, his composition..was too complicated, and also due to time constraint that day, I came up with my own! And I think that it had turned out quite alright:)

Of course, these are definitely not good enough, since I was still having some trouble controlling the ink and the brush, but I think that I did improve a lot since the first day I started Chinese painting in that class, in both the ways I handled this medium, and the confidence I gained holding a brush after so many practices. And since I am on the topic of practice, one thing I've learnt was definitely the importance of practicing. Because each time I make a mistake in painting something, I would learn something new, be it the composition, the colour or the way I applied the paint:). Also, I think that the sense of accomplishment I felt after finally painting something that looked fine was really worth the effort put in during the practices. 
So, if I have the chance, I will practice more in the future, and continue to improve!:D Oh and practice calligraphy too!--I want to be able to at least write my name myself without destroying the whole painting..

Conte Crayon: Chinatown

Conte Crayon
A3
Chinatown, Singapore
2011
This piece was done as an assignment in Sec 2 when we were just being introduced to conte crayons. We were brought to Chinatown to take photos, and from those photos, choose one to replicate in this medium. I chose mine mainly because of the subject matters and the contrast in the photo, since this work was to be done in black and white, I felt that having a contrast was especially important.

I felt that I had done a okay job:) It felt more impressive then, perhaps due to it being a new medium to me, and the size of this work. But as I look at it now...I think that there are still quite a few areas I could have done better in. Such as the blending of colours (the way I blended some of the grey areas made the work seems kind of..dirty..), and also the details of some places (The letter boxes were not done very well, as there were a lot of reflections, but it can definitely be worked on).

Generally, I felt that this medium was quite fun to use, it really made me take note of the contrast of subject matters. I do want to use this medium again in the future:)

Comments

http://galiauxy.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/55/comment-page-1/#comment-6
http://skatches.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/right-on-target/#comments
http://hotchocolate-peppermintwhippedcream.blogspot.sg/2013/09/dot-painting-with-pens.html

Drawing and Painting Assignments

These are one of the drawing and painting assignments we had back in Sec 2. We were suppose to visit a market in June and take photos, then from there, we were to choose 2 to draw with pencil. The painting was just to paint a still life, which must be food, with acrylic paint. 

Pencil
A3
2011
Pencil
A3
2011
Reference photos
To be honest, looking back now, I think that I did not really do a good job for these two. Perhaps it's just that I didn't use to draw very well back then, but the quality of drawing is pretty bad. There were definitely points that I should have done much better, such as adding in much more contrast, I think that I might have been afraid of making mistakes if I had shaded in too much shadows, but this made the whole drawing look very pale and lack highlights. Also, I really should not have blended the shadings, as without a proper blending stump, the whole drawing looked kind of dirty (especially for the second one). Though I am glad that the proportions were generally alright:) And at least I think I had improved in these areas a lot more in the past 2 years:) Improvement = good!:D
Strawberries
Acrylic paint on paper
A3
2011
I think this was the first acrylic painting on paper I've done..I remember getting quite annoyed when I was painting, as I was pretty bad with mixing colours back then (as you can probably see;), but overall, I am quite happy with it, especially because I painted without a photo reference:)

Monday, 23 September 2013

Artist: Agnes Cecile

Silvia Pelissero, who is best known as Agnes Cecile, is an Italian self-taught artist famous for her expressive watercolour and enamel paintings. She had always been one of my favourite artists because I love and admire the way she handles watercolour. She is able to control the paint, yet giving it freedom on the paper to express herself, such that each splatter of the paint in done with intention, the direction and area of the wash is in her control. But when we look at her works, there's a sense of freedom and expressiveness from those splatters and washes.

For her watercolour works, she would normally just do a simple light outline, and then paint everything in watercolour. As the process progresses, colours would flow, paint would drip and dots of colours would be splattered in some places. And this is where the magic takes place. It is amazing to watch her paint, seeing how a watercolour portrait that is already so fantastic by itself, transform into an emotional and expressive piece that I just want to look at all day long.

Agnes Cecile with her works
She's pretty too! haha
Ragazza Falena
Watercolours
This one was in my coursework prep board as an Artist Inspiration!
I love the fact that the colours she chose are beautiful and deliberate to fit in with the mood too. The faces she paint always mangaged to draw me in, like each of them is trying to tell the viewers their stories with the colours, the splashes, and their expressions.

(Though I do hope she can try faces with a larger variety of expressions)
Miss Universe
Watercolour and Ink

take off in flight / spiccare il volo



the water workshop II
The Water Workshop II
Watercolour and Ink


Also, another reason as to why I love her so much is that she's really really versatile. She's amazing at watercolour, yes, but the way she handles other mediums are just as good! Below are several works she's done in different mediums:
Anyway Just Tell Me Who I Am
Acrylic, Watercolour, Charcoal, Ink

Breathing-On Blackboard
Watercolour and chalk 


our lines, our story, it isn’t a linear path
Our Lines, Our Story, It Isn't a Linear Path
Varnish
My Eyes Refuse to Accept Passive Tears
Oil

Clint Eastwood
Pencil
Embrace
Digital

About a New Place
Acrylic on Wall
After following her for a while, I am now much in love with watercolours and really wish to be better at handling that medium (I don't think I did too badly for my coursework...considering it's the first time I used watercolour:) So after the exams, I am going to work on my watercolour skills definitely! I don't think I'll ever be as good as her, but I'll try my best with this medium!:)

Nanyang
Watercolour on Paper
2013
(One of the drafts I've done for my coursework- I didn't exactly follow her style though)

If you are interested to find out more about Agnes Cecile (I know you are), below are links to her website and deviant art account, go and take a look~immerse yourselves in her pro-ness;):

Oh and do check out her Youtube video, where you can watch her paint (they are speed paintings, so don't worry, they are not too long)

SPH Photography

Since photography had always been something that I really enjoyed and loved, I jumped at the chance to become a member of the student photojournalists at Singapore Press Holding (SPH), when I first saw their notice in Dou Hao in 2011. One criteria was to send in 5 photos I had taken that are of different themes along with my application form. So after rejecting many photos because they were of the same theme, I was left with 7 to choose from. And since I still could not decide, I printed them out, and well, I got my answer (I had printed from the school printer--I saw the notice too late so there was no time for me to send them for professional printing):, as the colours turned out pretty different after printing.

Anyway, these were the 5 I sent to them:
Landscape
Yunnan, China
2011

Animal
Yunnan, China
2011

Flowers (and a little of animal though..)
Yunnan, China
2011

People
Yunnan, China
2011

Motion
USS, Singapore
2011

 And here are the 2 that I rejected, mainly because their colours turned out a little horrible after printing...though I really loves the first one..

People
Yunnan, China
2011

Landscape
Yunnan, China
2011
As for the results...I got a phone call from SPH a few weeks later to tell me that I have passed the first round, and that I was to go for a trial shooting, and interview. It was pretty exciting, of course. W

e were given 5 themes (One of them was that we have to go up to a person and ask if we can take a photo of them)and a free theme (a photo that is not under any of the 5 themes, and we have to come up with the theme for it ourselves), and was brought around Toa Payoh in groups to do the shooting.It was definitely a new and enriching experience, I had to look at the place I had lived in for years (Yes, I live there) through a camera lens, and try to identify potential subject matters to shoot, and also, one of the themes were actually pretty hard to do...we had to go around searching for people doing that action (I've only got a good one in the last minuet--luckily there was a performance going on at the central..phew). Another very challenging part was that since all of us were taken along the same route, we see pretty much the same things, so we do have to try and come up with something that is good, while different and stands out from the rest.

Of course, this experience was fun too! I've made new friends, and it was really cool looking through each others photos, seeing how the same thing we took photo of could look so different on each of our cameras, because of the difference in styles. And also learning little tricks from each other on how to take better photos;)

I didn't get in in the end---I kind of really nervous during the interview (my first ever interview): and I think I blabbered nonsense so... I was pretty sad at that time, but I now I think it's fine too, since I have learnt a lot from it (from both the shooting and the interview--I now realise the importance of looking at where the camera is focusing on)! And I'll definitely try again in the future if I have the time:)

I'm not uploading the photos during the trial though...since I think they keep the same themes every year so..yeah.