Final studio photographs, high key lighting.

Finally I wanted to create more flat images with less shadow as it was difficult to edit the colour schemes with the different lighting setups used. I also asked my model to wear darker clothing as I found it difficult to adjust the colour schemes against a white background in the previous studio photographs.

To create my flat lit photographs, I used two strobe lights at the same height as the model against a white background. These strobes were angled towards the model in order to illuminate shadows on the subject. 

2 strobes, 2 light stands, 2 20" soft boxes. White background, high key lighting. 1/60 Shutterspeed, aperture F8, 100 ISO. 

I wanted to experiment with different poses, some of which were quite unusual mad awkward looking, these could then be used with my surreal colour schemes and layered to provide me with my source material for my paintings. 

I placed a table in the room with the backdrop hanging over so I could have the model pose in more unconventional positions. I felt this fit my theme much more as my theme deals with facades and identity and the awkward, shy and uncomfortable positions show how the subject truly feels. 

I wanted to use more unusual poses as I felt these would work well layered over the top of each other creating interesting compositions to be used as reference, these could then be digitally rendered to change the colours creating more surreal colour schemes. These could also be used in my own digital collages which could work well in my final outcome. 

Here are some of my favourite photographs I have taken which I feel would work best when converted into a painting;

Model- Ami Jacobs.

Digital layering and composition

I wanted to experiment with different emotions and psychological feelings, I thought these would work well with layering images, dealing with issues such as; split personality, facades and some mental illness's. These would then be used to decide how my painting would be portrayed and provide the source imagery for the pieces.

I started by using photoshop to blend the photographs I had taken in my second lot of studio photographs. To do this, I first placed one of the photographs onto a blank background (layer 1) I then pasted my second image over the top of this (layer 2). I chose images that I felt would flow into the previous photograph and would work well together. Due to the photographs being very opaque I couldn't see the photograph beneath it, to resolve this I then changed the opacity on the image above to allow the image below to peer through. Once I had done this I then moved the images into different compositions to experiment with different images for the piece.

These images could then be converted into my colour schemes and used for reference in my own surreal coloured paintings in the style of Jen Mann.

Martine Johanna and Jen Mann.

Martine Johanna and Jen Mann are both contemporary artists who specialise in portrait paintings. They both produce pieces which focus on psychology and feeling which gives deep meaning to their work; these meanings may be personal to themselves or interactive with the public. 

Both artists use a very similar colour palette consisting of very cool shades such as cool pinks and blues as well as pastel shades and some more unconventional colour schemes when it comes to portraiture. They also both delve into surrealistic elements in their very realistic portraiture, this includes overlapping images and surreal imagery. 

Martine Johanna is an artist and illustrator based in Amsterdam the Netherlands. She likes to use bio-degradable materials when painting and creates pieces using a mixture of layered materials including watercolours, oils, graphite and acrylics; these may be used on paper, wood panels or canvas.

As well as realistic colour schemes, and realistic style painting she also used more unusual colour schemes which guide her work a more surreal appearance much like Jen Manns work, only Martines work is not as surreal in terms of colour and more in terms of the imagery used.

Martines piece have been inspired by many things such as folk art, music ect. But much like Jen Manns work she also concentrates on deeper meanings as seen in the piece below 'phantom limbs'.

Jen Mann however is a Toronto based artist who paints pieces inspired by identity and relationships, this interacts with the public well as many can relate to her pieces of work. Like Martine Johanna she uses interesting and surreal colour schemes such as pinks, blue, ect these convey each ,essays and are carefully picked out to make the piece interact with the viewer.

Jen Manns work is worked in a very different way to Johannas, her pieces are created from one corner to another rather than working in layers so she does not miss any small details. These are crated in a large scale using oil paints. 

Her pieces are very meaningful much like Johannas work but I feel as though the ,earnings are both personal and public making her pieces very interesting to look at. An example of this is the painting seen below, created to show how the things we try to hide can escape and consume us even though we try so hard to hide them. 

Both artists are quite similar in terms of colour, meaning and subject matter and are also very relevant ,to my own theme 'identity'. When I saw these artists work they i ideally caught my eye and I knew I wanted to research into them, it wasn't until I started doing research when I realised the relevance to my own art project which I feel shows how the meaning behind the pieces are quite clear and interact with the audience well. These artists have inspired me to create pieces in a very similar method, but also to spark feeling in the viewer much like these artists do in their own as the public are able to come to their own conclusions about the artwork allowing them to relate to the pieces themselves which I feel us very effective and makes these two artists very alike.

Exhibition Space.

For our own exhibition our pieces will be displayed in 2 relatively large art studios with high ceilings. These studios will be converted into the exhibition space using tall white boards, these boards have allowed the space to become a blank canvas in which students can paint, decorate and wallpaper the boards if need be before placing the pieces in the exhibition. 

The space also included several plinths in which students could place 3D pieces, allowing the audience to walk around the entire piece much more accessible. This also meant the space did not feel as empty as some of the plinths could be placed in the centre of the gallery space filling the empty space in the middle of the exhibition. 

The space itself was very large, allowing the public to move freely through the exhibition making the space a safer space to move around in. It also means the public can step back and look at the artwork. The space is very clean and open which I feel compliments the artwork well making it the sole point of interest. 

The boards themselves have been placed at angles to enhance the artwork and sepperate each students pieces, this works well as it makes it clear to the audience which pieces are linked to each other and which ones are sepperate from others but still linking the pieces on a whole.

Aspex Gallery Portsmouth

Upon my visit to Aspex gallery in Portsmouth I saw numerous presentation techniques, these included plinths and wall hangings. In this exhibition there were several pieces displayed including photography, painting and illustration, these were each displayed differently. 

The gallery itself is very accessible to the public as it doubles up as a cafe, this means the audience can relax take their time looking round the exhibition and then settle for something to eat or drink whilst thru enjoy the artwork. I like the feel of this atmosphere as it is very relaxed and doesn't feel too formal, allowing you to appreciate local artworks. This is a very interactive way of displaying work in a gallery as pelple may be more inclined to visit the gallery due to the cafe inside. 

The space that artwork is placed in is very raw and compliments the artwork, pieces have been did played carefully did to colours and space provided so the texture and colour of the gallery space compliments the artwork well. There are also many high ceilings in the gallery, which gives a contemporary feel to the space provided, much like a lot of the artwork placed in the exhibtions. 

Many pieces within the gallery were quite small, this forced the audience to get very close to the pieces of artwork in order to appreciate them, these were also placed on very blank walls which emphasised the size of the pieces due to the large amount of negative space around the pieces. Most of these small pieces were nearly craned and ranged in different shapes, these were often paced my different orders but we're all consistent in height. These were always placed at typical eye level making the pieces easier to view by the audience.

Other pieces were much larger and were  placed in unusual compositions, the viewer can see piece clearly from afar but the viewer can still get up grey close and see much more prominent details. These were also placed at a convenient height for the viewers eye. I found the space these pieces we replaced in very open, allowing the viewer to step back and view each piece of artwork from a distance

The display methods in the exhibtion have made me think about how my own pieces would be placed in exhibtion and have allowed me to view different presentation techniques and analyse a gallery space much like the one my own exhibtion will be being placed in. I plan to use these methods to interact with the public and major my own pieces eye catching and interesting to view. 

Surreal paper collage

I wanted to experiment with surrealist imagery and paper collage, I first decided to experiment with found imagery before using my own photographs to get some ideas flowing from the images I found. 

I wanted to express emotion in my collages and make the viewer question the meaning behind the pieces, I found surrealist collages would be the best way to do this. 

The first collage I created was experimenting with fragmentation, to do this I cut small sections out of my image and placed coloured paper behind the broken fragments. I also then used imagery of large bees and honey comb to show how the subject is being attacked me to show the venerability. To add to this I then created a geometric honeycomb structure using coloured paper and an image of a human heart to show how the heart has been caged, but is still exposed. 

I then decided to create another fragmentation piece but use more subtle imagery. I used the same technique of cutting sections from the subjects face to show the venerability. Behind these cut sections I place d floral imagery to show the beauty inside the subject, I also placed the fragmented pieces over the rest of the image to how hiw they were breaking away, this showed how fragile the subject felt. I decided to use coloured imagery behind the black and white image to show the contrast between the two and to make the floral imagery stand out more.

Finally I then decided to experiment with the idea of feeling beautiful inside, for this I also used floral imagery but instead of placing them behind the subject I arranged them to look as though they were coming out of the subjects body, this was to show how beauty on the inside should radiate on the outside. 

Studio Photography 2

I wanted to experiment with portrait photography and different lighting setups, these included coloured gels, coloured lens's, flat light, badger and Rembrandt lighting; these were all used to show different shadows to show different emotions. Shutterspeed 1/60, 100 ISO.

For the first photos I used a high key flat lighting setup, this envolves using two strobes, two light stands, two 20" soft boxes and a white backdrop. The lights are angled towards the subject in hope to illuminate shadows, unfortunately due to the levels of light one of the strobes was lighter than the other causing shadows over the subjects face. 

I then decided to experiment with darker backgrounds and more shadowed lighting, this envolved turning off one of the strobe lights so the light would fall across one side of the subject face and body creating shadows. 

I then decided to experiment with coloured gels in order to experiment with more surreal colour schemes, thus would not work with the the flash of the strobes as they would over power the coloured gels. Instead, the flash was turned off and an ambient light setting was used on the light meter in order to determine what f number to use on the camera. The soft modelling lamps were turned up fully to the brightest setting to illuminate the subject as no flash was used. 

For the right light I used the barn doors rather than a soft box, over this I placed the coloured gel, this was folded over twice making the gel double thickness, this was to intensify the red colour of the gel. 

Camera settings; 200 ISO, f 5.6, Shutterspeed 1/30.

Finally I decided to remove the coloured gel and use the same lighting setup as before (barn doors on right light, soft box on left). Exposures were taken using a flash rather than the ambient lighting.

HEALTH AND SAFETY-

When working in the studio I had to ensure precautions were taken so that myself or my model were not harmed. These included;

🔻 No eating or drinking in the studio.

🔻 All words moved out of the way so there was no tripping hazard.

🔻 Main lights turned on when moving lights, as well as strobes being turned off.

🔻 When strobes were off, must be switched off on both the strobe itself and the wall.