Roche Bobois

I came across Roche Bobois when carrying out research for my ‘Ugly Beautiful’ project. Numerous designers create for Roche Bobois, the items are modern and many of the pieces of furniture are quirky and very colourful. I was particularly inspired by the work of Hans Hopfer. Below are some of the pieces I like:

http://www.roche-bobois.com/

Beatriz Milhazes

I came across a book of work by the Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes in the library. I love her work, as it is bold, bright and beautiful! Beatriz Milhazes uses a lot of stripes and flowers. Pattern is also prominent in her work. I would definitely recommend her work to anyone passionate about colour as it was of great inspiration to me and quite heavily influenced my large developed pieces for my 'Ugly Beautiful' project.

Below are some images of her work:

Ugly Beautiful - Development

After collecting drawings and photographs of flowers and architecture and looking at the work of numerous artists and designers i began to draw everything together and create developed pieces. I used gouache in bold block colours to create a background applied using masking tape stencils and a sponge. I then worked in layers using gouache and applying it with a brush and ruling pen. I also used masking tape and masking fluid to create my pieces. Below are some of my earlier developed pieces unfortunately i haven't yet taken any photographs of my final pieces, i will have to remember to do this and upload some images at a later date.

The small pieces in the bottom right and the small piece in the top right of the image below were created using a mixture of bleach, water and gouache applied to black card using a ruling pen. The larger two pieces were created using gouache on black card.

Ugly Beautiful - Flower Photography

Here are some of the numerous photographs i took at Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens.

Ugly Beautiful - Source Drawing, Flowers

I used Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens as a source of inspiration for my 'Ugly Beautiful' project. I chose to draw mainly in the glass houses but i also did some drawings in the extensive gardens as fortunately it was a fine day. I mainly worked in fine linear creating quick linear drawings to capture a range of bold and delicate shapes. Below are some of the pages from my sketchbook documenting 'beautiful' flowers.

After visiting the gardens i began to try and merge both 'ugly' architecture and 'beautiful' flowers together. In the piece below i used ink and watercolours. The colours were inspired by one of the flowers in the glass houses.

Ugly Beautiful - Source Drawing, Architecture

I began this project by drawing 'ugly' architecture in Dundee city centre. I explored different materials such as gouache, pen and ink, ink applied using a stick or pipette, charcoal, fine liner and water colour. I did some drawings with my left hand (as i am right handed) and some without looking at the paper in order to create slightly more abstract drawings.

Below are some of my initial drawings with a little more development in the last image which is a mixed media piece.

Ugly Beautiful

For my next project the title i have selected is ‘Ugly Beautiful’. For inspiration I intend to look at the ‘ugly’ architecture (tower blocks, derelict buildings etc) and the run down unpleasant areas of Dundee. I aim to combine this with ‘beautiful’ florals and intricate patterns. This will be largely inspired by the Botanic Gardens in Dundee and Edinburgh. For further inspiration I will look at the work of current designers and artists. I intend to research in to those who primarily work with collage or who are known for their linear drawings or mark making techniques. This is because I would like to gain more experience of working with collage as I have only had the chance to touch on this in recent weeks. I also think collage will be a useful technique for combining a range of ideas and materials within my work.

I will use as much of my own primary source drawn research as possible and I will also incorporate photography, as this is a useful method to record information. I expect to take time concentrating on the composition of my work. I feel it will be necessary to consider the dull tones of the urban environment and also the vibrant colours derived from nature as colour could play a significant part in determining if something is ‘ugly’ or beautiful’. I will also think about the proportion and combinations of colour used within my work.

I plan to produce a series of collages, which combine a range of linear, structured drawings with organic shapes. This will incorporate a wide range of materials I may consider materials such as pen and ink, charcoal, gouache, pastels and chalks. I also intend to experiment with a variety of collage papers (decorative, textured, painted papers, photographs etc). Layering materials that vary in opacity may also be interesting. If time allows I also hope to develop my work in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

So far I have been out and taken a few photos of some ‘ugly’ architecture and unpleasant areas of the city. I also researched in to artists whose drawing or collage has inspired me. Below are some of the photographs I have taken so far: