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I tried to use colours to represent memories in this experiment. This experiment may be quite different from what we did before, but we hope this can inspire us to use other ways of expressing our ideas.

Statement: My topic for assessment 2 is also ‘glitch’, and the final work I made is a decoration filled with colours. I started with making a reflection on my assessment 1 first, and I thought the 3D drawing I made before was not good enough. As I realised creating a 3D drawing needed a lot of time, I then tried to create my work by using photos and this became my first experiment. I was not satisfied with the result so I tried other ways of expressing ‘glitch’ in the experiment afterwards. I then used digital software to edit photos to make it look ‘glitched’ in experiment 2, but I only tried to invert the colour of some part of them at first. After I did an experiment on changing the colour of photos, I found that I could also try to play with colours to represent ‘glitch’. By changing the original colour of things, that things became abnormal as their colours were unnatural. As people tend to refuse accepting abnormal things and consider them as weird, this can be related to ‘glitch’, as glitch means a small problem or fault. I could also explore possibilities of colours by these experiments. I then came up with the idea of playing with colours and discovering the relationship between ‘irregularity’ and ‘colour’ in the later experiment. However, I should know what does colour means and look at other artists’ works before doing more experiments, so I did some research on basic colour concepts and related artworks to get some inspirations. For the research on colour concepts, it helped me to think of the choice of colours, such as how can I make the combination of colours looks more attractive and harmonious. While for the research on artworks, I did research on Kristen Handelmann’s, Candace Campbell’s and Josie Lewis’s work as they are used to create colourful artworks. As their artworks are abstract, this inspired me that I could just try to play with colours itself, instead of drawing specific objects or just changing the original colour of something, while this inspiration changed the direction of my experiments afterwards. I was also highly inspired by Campbell’s work, as I liked the way she played with paint. Her choice of colours was attractive and bold, and the patterns in her works were random but beautiful, therefore I found her artworks were really charming. I then decided to do an experiment on painting something similar in order to learn or practice the way of using colours. After doing research, I continued on doing experiments, but focused on playing with colours. I tried to mix paints by palette knife and put paints that are not well-mixed on plastic stones, and I thought it was somehow similar to the way Campbell paints. I was satisfied with the result of experiment 4 and decided to use this way to create my final work, and would focus on exploring the relationship between colours and glitch. I then created a small paint in experiment 5 and stuck it in different places. As I put it in places it was not supposed to be there (e.g. toilet, mirror, white wall), and the colourful paint was a contrast to the monochromatic background, this could represent irregularity in some ways. My final work for assessment 2 is a decoration that plays with colours. Inspired by Campbell’s painting, I used palette knife to paint my work as the outcome has some similarities to her painting, and my choice of colours has also considered the colour concepts I have learnt when doing research. Unlike the painting I made in experiment 5, this decoration is much bigger and is a long rectangular, as the glitch we saw in computers or smart phones is usually rectangular-shaped. I painted this decoration and put it different places in the house I am living, in order to bring a big glitch to the reality. To me, colour represents hope and beautiful things, and this is the reason for me decided to play with colours in this assessment. Many people are feeling stressed or have to face many difficulties nowadays, while experiencing happiness and hope have already become an abnormal thing. Therefore, I created this decoration, aiming to put those irregularities back in our life. I hope others could smile or feel better after looking at my work.

Bibliography:

Candace Campbell, Untitled, 2017, mixed medium, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BYFYwmhAb-J/>

James Peale, Still Life, 1924, oil on panel

Josie Lewis, Untitled, 2017, acrylic and oil paint, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BYyjeukHzrO/?taken-by=josielewisart>

Josie Lewis, Untitled, 2017, watercolour and pastel, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BYLS-b8nW9j/?taken-by=josielewisart>

I used the same way of playing with colours in experiment 4 and create a little painting. Although blue and pink are not analogous colours nor complementary colours (what I have learnt from the research I did before), I chose to use these colours as I thought the outcome would be interesting.

I haven’t tried to paint any works that are similar to Campbell’s work before, and I thought I had to paint all the details myself if I want to do something similar. I was worried about my experiment but I was inspired when doing my painting assessment.

When I was doing my painting assessment, I used a palette knife to mix colours together (just as the video above). I then found that the paint looked beautiful when they are not well-mixed, and was similar to the outcome I wanted. I then tried to put paints that are not well-mixed on plastic stones. 

I have found some artists who are used to play with colours, and their artworks inspired me a lot.

Kirsten Handelmann, Picnic with firs, acrylic on canvas

Candace Campbell, Untitled, 2017, mixed medium, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BYFYwmhAb-J/>

Josie Lewis, Untitled, 2017, watercolour and pastel, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BYLS-b8nW9j/?taken-by=josielewisart>

Josie Lewis, Untitled, 2017, acrylic and oil paint, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BYyjeukHzrO/?taken-by=josielewisart>

Before doing more experiments on colour, I think I should know some basic concepts and theory about colour first. I did some related research on a website (https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory), and I found it was really useful.

James Peale, Still Life, 1924, oil on panel I continued playing with colours but tried to use another way to do the experiment. I printed James Peale’s painting and cut out some part of the photo, then used colour pencils to draw the missing part, but in unnatural colours. 

I tried to edit photos by using digital software in this experiment.

I inverted the colour of some parts of the photo in the first two images, and I thought these images looked like photos that were glitched. I then tried to find other ways of making similar outcomes, and changed the colour of some part of the photos in the following three images.

I tried to draw a 3D drawing in assessment 1, but I found that drawing it was quite difficult and had to spend a lot of time. So I tried to try using photos to make my work in experiment 1.

After presenting my work for assessment 1, my tutor gave me some feedback. There is something I can improve the work for assessment 2: 1) I can do more experiments before doing my final work – Though I did a research on illusion art, I didn’t do any experiment it. This caused the failure of my final work (the picture is not 3D enough). I can try to draw some 3D drawings for my assessment 2 later. 2) The poster is not very relatable to the topic – Others may not figure out what is the topic of the poster at their first glance. I should also consider the audience will understand my poster or not, and how can I make the poster looks more relatable.