A FEW EXPERIMENTS

I found throughout experimenting with different materials and coloured paint, that you don't know what the final outcome is going to be, which was exciting and led onto different ideas and thoughts. I finished with 21 experiments, however I haven't put all of my experiments onto this blog, but a few of my favourites as well as my final piece which you can view below this post. there are endless opportunities and outcomes I could have experimented with, however due to time consumption I had difficulty producing this. I really enjoyed experimenting with different papers however feel I could have pushed myself further my experimenting onto different and unexpected materials such as fabric, tracing & tissue paper, however this is something to consider in the future. 

NEWSPRINT EXPERIMENT

This experiment was not intentional, where I had layered newsprint over my material to protect it from paint [from other students work] it had left a really interesting print of my bird. I really liked how this looked, the line around the image looks really effective in contrast with the soft nature colours. I also really like how the paint hasn't spread over the whole shape of the bird, which has left some areas of white from the material, this almost gives of a realistic approach. I love how the claw on the bird seems to have come out very clear and outlined with a thicker line. As well as the bird I really like how the paint has come off in the background, the splatters of paint work really well with the bold image as well as the line detail and adds texture and interest. i do really like this image however below shows some deliberate experiments. 

EXPERIMENTS INTO NEWSPAPER AND COLOUR

This experiment shows how I have experimented into newspaper and different colours. To achieve these colours is simply mixed orange with blue which created this moss green shade [which I loved], this colour really represented nature and when combined with the orange gave of a slight Autumn feel to my work. I really like how these colours have been positioned, the orange tinge on the tale of the bird shown at the bottom of the page looks really effective and has a subtle but attractive feel. The bird shown at the top of the page looks more orange like, the orange paint has been positioned at the top of the bird and around the beak. I feel these colours look like they have been deliberately positioned onto the lino, however like said before you don't know what the final outcome is going to be, so this was a pleasant surprise. as well as the birds I really like how the background suits the colour of the birds, its almost as if where the darker bird is on the material the dark background connects with it, getting lighter as its getting close to the lighter more orange coloured bird. I also really like how the writing on the material has come through in some areas of the bird showing writing, this really boasts a vintage feel and I will take this choice of material and amount of paint into consideration for future reference. 

EXPERIMENTS ONTO WHITE PAPER, BRIGHTER COLOURS

I decided to take inspiration from the previous experiment and I produced the same lino cut [with a textured background] and the same colours, however I have used a brighter orange for experimentation. I found with this type of brighter background the colours did seem more brighter anyhow but with increasing the amount of orange, it really stands out and grabs your attention, however I wanted a more subtle print rather than this bright piece of work, so I carried on experimenting with different textured paper and colours. 

EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT COLOURS AND TEXTURED PAPER

I found this pre-prepared paper from when I produced a series of Mono-prints. Therefore there was paint already on the paper which had dried completely. I have used the same lino cut as previous prints but changed the colour to a bright, vibrant blue, I chose this colour as in some elements from the paper there was this blue shade, which I felt would link in nicely with the choice of material but also stand out from the busy detailed painted background. I really like the layered and unique feel to this print and how parts of the bird have slightly faded [probably due to lack of paint], I like how the blue and red paint clashes together and creates an interesting feel to the work. I love the close up of the bird which you can see in the second photograph. the detail on this has worked really well. The dotted effect you can see throughout this bird image  has created a wing shape and incredible detail, especially around the tale and chest area. I really love how this looks however it wasn't purposely produced and would be hard to create this effect again. This material has worked effectively with creating this detail however I feel the busy background distracts from the birds and takes away the attention.  

EXPERIMENTING WITH LARGER AMOUNT OF PAINT ONTO LINO

This was a quick and easy experiment to produce, I simply used more paint then previous experiments to create a bold dark effect. For this experiment I also cut away the background and cut the lino in half which you can see at the bottom of this post, I really love how this worked out and it inspired me for my final piece. I really like the brown coloured paint I had used to create this print [it almost looks black & adds texture]. The brown coloured paint works well with the old paper I used for this experiment, it creates a vintage organic feel. I really like how the bird has been positioned on the page and feel it could be a final piece itself and would look really effective if framed. the writing on the page adds to this detailed and textured effect, and doesn't distract from the bold coloured print. I took this brown colour into consideration and used it for my final piece, as well as the amount of paint used. 

EXPERIMENTS INTO CUTTING AWAY LINO

As said before in the previous experiment I had cut away the background of the lino, I felt it took to much attention away from the bold shapes and didn't give of a professional feel to the print. I love how this print looks now that the background has been decreased as it lets the birds shine through. I used white card paper for this print which was strong and added to this professional element I wanted to create. I decided to position the birds facing each other, I found this challenging as it was hard to place the two separate images so that the claws were in line, as you can see they are slightly off but I feel it still looks attractive and effective. I have been influenced to use the same brown colour as before as I felt this really represented and communicated the nature feel to my symbol. This would also connect with the audience more than a black shade [which could have been mistaken for death]. This colour led me to my final piece idea and enabled me to see what bird looked most effective in my eyes.  

MY LINO CUTTING AFTER EXPERIMENTS 

This photograph above shows my lino after being cut apart and having the line background cut away. I decided it would be more effective to show the birds out from the background, rather than cutting away the bird shapes to leave a square image in colour and the birds without. This would have been quicker to produce but would have looked less effective. I found cutting away this particular lino difficult and challenging as it was stiff and hard. However I'm very happy with the outcome and the detail around each birds claw. Even though it took me time and effort to cut into this lino, it will now last for a very long time period and will print many images because of the strength and durability of the lino itself.