Martin Ross Pringle

This last project has come to an end. I decided to work in 2D this time around and focus on photography and drawing techniques. I began looking into old buildings around Edinburgh after our trip to Berlin got me excited about architecture and history. After experimenting with materials and different approaches including observation - this snowballed into focusing on 1 building/structure in particular. The National Monument is based on the Necropolis and is part of a group of structures all up and down the UK. The Monument is Scotland's national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. This means it has significant meaning and because it is on the hill in Edinburgh that was once the hub of philosophy and thinking, drew me in even further. The numbers I chose to include in my development pieces and final works relate to sequence. I wanted to move parts of the building to represent change and the effects of time on physical structures like the National Monument. After going through phases of experimentation with my scanner and photocopier I began using my drawings of other buildings and incorporating them into some surface pattern. The visual response were exciting and I got to the point where I couldn't stop churning them out. In hindsight I should have reached the point where I was only focusing on the one building, a lot sooner. This accelerated my work rate and thus caused me to rush a lot of the art work. I took a lot of time considering composition and colour for my final triptych. Hopefully this is clear. My weakness throughout the course have been lack of confidence and fear of the unknown. Our artist in residence Lewis Bissett has played a part in my increased enthusiasm for getting in touch with my creativity and ability to experiment and try new things. His Shite Zine workshop allowed myself and others another outlet in which to create and produce, which I am very grateful to the college and Lewis himself for. My strength have been productivity, more so in the last 3 weeks of the project. I have learnt things throughout this project that I will remember forever, including a restored faith in my drawing abilities and general work surrounding 2D.

Today is hand in day! Above are 2 extra pieces that I want to include in my development. The National Monument is a structure I have grown fond of the past weeks and have produced a number of visual outcomes based on it's history and visual attributes.

Since our Zine workshop with Edinburgh College artist in residence Lewis Bissett, I've been using what visual material I have to throw together some rough ideas for Zines I might make in the future. The photograph I took of The National Monument has beautiful form, I love the lines and the shape of the structure from that perspective. Using stickers I bought from Rymans I am able to introduce text and numbers into my work.

I wanted to introduce a little surface pattern to my work, this was primarily to have a backdrop to see if it looked appropriate. I scanned in some material with a cut of card on top I had found in the shops using my printer and layered up a digital version of a drawing I had scanned earlier. I used an app called Afterlight on my phone and these were the results ^ above. I also tried drawing on top of the pattern with a fine liner. This looked nice but didn't quite achieve the boldness I was looking for, it was too subtle.

These are a series of drawings I produced soon after my observational drawing period. I wanted to play around with materials and use some collage techniques. Colour wise, I wanted to stick with yellow/green as much as possible, the reason for this is it’s fluorescent and bright, it stands out and highlights.

This piece is of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral on Palmerston Place. From the photographs I took, I focused in on this section of the central tower and spire. The sheer detail grabbed my attention and I got to work with my highlighter and fine liner. I marked down the flattest and un-damaged areas with the yellow highlighter, and made marks with the fine liner to bring out the large amount of straight lines.

In this case, I walked up Calton Hill and stood in a similar spot from where the drawing on the left was drawn.

Above are 2 images, one is an engraving of the Royal Scottish Academy before the addition of the statue of Queen Victoria. The other is a drawing I made from life. I researched all of the oldest listed buildings in the city of Edinburgh, then went out and got a look at them. Along with drawing what I saw in front of me, I used a yellow highlighter to mark out the old fencing that stood in front of the building in the 1800s, I also marked down all of the smoke spewing form the buildings in the background all along the high street. I want to consider merging both modern and antiquated elements of all buildings chosen. I have done this through fine liner drawings and want to move onto using digital manipulation techniques on the computers in college. Drawing from life I feel is a valuable thing to be able to do. I will continue this and also begin photographing each building in its entirety, from close up detail shots to wide panning photographs capturing the whole site.

Plan for the New Town by James Craig, Scottish architect, 1768

These are 2 photographs that the German photographer took in Edinburgh in the 1980s. Today I've been looking at his life work and decided to look up the 2 locations on Google Street Maps. There are a few obvious differences and changes that have occurred since the photographs were taken. This investigation has encouraged me to locate these places myself and photograph the area and the buildings surrounding. 

Berlin ground

Above are 4 images that look into the connection between the camera and the subject/subjects.

A selection of photographs from our college trip to Berlin. These particular images were taken with particular things in mind, I was looking for form, line, composition, colour and texture. Trying to focus less on the subject and more on the aesthetic features. What draws your eye the most? What part grabs your attention? These are the things I want to observe and look at.

Some photographs to kick off our new project. Viewpoint is my theme and I'm looking to produce striking photographs that take advantage of line, colour and composition.

Lastly, the editing process in which I went through for each of my final videos was an enjoyable one. Although time consuming, I felt a sense of accomplishment after finishing each one.