Shape and Texture

As the course has progressed a have naturally gravitated towards work in which texture plays an integral part. I found this visual language particularly insightful as it allowed me to take a step back and consider exactly why we choose to use texture within our work and what value it can give work when applied successfully.

The main points I came to were as follows:

- Adds a certain level of authenticity to your work as it gives evidence of your hand as a maker.
- When using analogue media it gives your work a more visceral quality.
- This can be used to reinforce information you are trying to communicate through you work, particularly emotions/sensations/feelings
 -Is of particular importance within shape driven work as it can soften harder forms leading to a more harmonious composition that will feel more human and less clinical.
-Help describe light and tone within a piece, given my tendency to steer clear of more traditional ways of describing tone I feel this last point is one of the main reasons I gravitate towards texture driven work. It has consistently allowed me to break down elements within my work with out have to resort to highly rendered imagery something that I don't have a strong affinity or skill for.

Iro Tsalavala

Scott Bakal

Both Iro Tsalavala and Scott Bakal manage to employ texture effectively so as to produce highly emotive work that has a real human quality to it. They also predominantly work with flat shapes/imagery but manage to create a level of depth and intrigue through the use of texture. Depth has been/still is an issue within my work and texture could be an effective way of addressing this within my own practice. 

Finally what I love most about these two artists is the moody and ephemeral nature that is consistent through out there work. This is something I try to create within my work as It is often central to the themes/issues I try and tackle through image making.

I was reasonably happy with the two portraits that I created. Naturally texture helped reinforce to reinforce the moody and introspective feeling that often goes hand in hand with self portraiture. I really like the use of block printing ink due to the chaotic textures that it creates that can be easily manipulated to create different tonal variations ( ie the less ink the more faded/light the textures will be.

Given my issues with depth I also decided to create a large scale image consisting of a fore mid and background. Although I liked the initial layout/composition of the image I should have used media experimentation when roughing as in the final image certain elements have been confused ( ie the sky, floor and for figure ) due to over lapping of similar/same tonal variants.