OUGD502 - Studio Brief 1 - Pat Bradbury Workshop - Day 1

Workshop Day 1 

Part 1 

Pat Bradbury is a illustrator / graphic artist who primarily works in an abstract way using collage, textures, markmaking etc. His experimental approach to creating work is process driven and often includes layering pieces up to create a final piece. He also teaches and does workshops. 

We were given a series of quick tasks to complete which would give us a body of work to use later on. In one task we were given a word given a word which we had to drawn this as many times as possible which was difficult at first as once the obvious things were out of the way you had to be more creative in your representation, leading to some abstract forms. The continuous line drawing task meant we had to close our eyes then draw the things that were said to us without lifting the pen from the page. It was interesting to see which sections looked like representations of what we had heard and how they created new forms despite being something else.

Another task was to write a stream of consciousness for a minute then give the outcome to the next person who had to create marks, drawings or symbols for the content  

From the marks we created we had to then recreate them in different materials and textures. We were encouraged to experiment with materials and drawing material to create new textures. 

Transferring some of the line drawing shapes onto neon paper, then cutting them out with an outline made them stand out because of the bright colours. Gestural mark making with drawing materials on paper created new material to work with, from which the symbols could be cut out, creating a more organic, textural feel.

Using  white wax crayon to recreate some of the marks with a colour wash over the top, made the white stand out. Drawing around the marks emphasised the forms more, although from a distance the pen dominates meaning its less obvious how the piece was actually created.  

Using multiple washes sometimes became slightly muddy where the watercolour overlapped etc. They were more striking when the colours are more vibrant e.g. orange and yellow.  

A exciting effect was created by using wax crayon marks with a wash of colours over the top in certain areas, then spray painting over this and wiping away the spraypaint. When the spraypaint was wiped from the damp, colour washes it lifted the spraypaint revealing the wash underneath. The patterns of the washes were created when the wax repelled the water wash creating patches around the rough wax crayon marks.

Part 2 

After Part 1 we formed groups and discussed what was interesting with the materials we had all created. We had to focus on one aspect and run with it. There was an emphasis on making a physical thing e.g. product, three dimensional sculpture, packaging, album art etc.

Hazel had put eyes on one of her marks making them look like a children's character. We suggested that we continue to do this with a variety of other marks.  Adding eyes gave the marks personality, the shapes became bodies and features for the characters. 

It was suggested that we could make a three dimensional world for them however this was more effective when we collaged on the wall with the materials we had as we were able to create a more intricate design. By creating a 2D world it created context for the people.  

To create the world we used different materials,textures and marks to reflect different environments, e.g. the branch like structures from the wax drawings created a forest with the green paper.

Cutting simple shapes out of paper then layering them over other textures worked well in creating a mirrored pond and sky.

Adding a foreground of leaves created the impression of looking through a jungle at the world beyond, giving a sense of perspective to the scene. 

As another task we had to use materials to frame our work. By cutting out shapes and rolling paper up, then taking pictures through this, it created the sense that you were using binoculars to see the characters in the distance.

Thoughts for Day 2 

Using the piece that we had created we had to think how we could take it further for Day 2. It was suggested that we create a stop motion story with the characters. Having the piece collaged on the wall meant that the characters would be able to be moved easily and photographs would be taken of their movements. All the pictures would then be turned into a little animation. 

Interesting ways of working from the workshop:

- Having a a short amount of time to do the tasks was initially daunting however made you think quicker and more abstractly.

- Showed that material can be created from very basic sources, even just individual words

- Working with the same content in different medias creates widely different outcomes

- It was surprising how, from such basic scrap material, different environments and characters could be suggested to make up a world. 

- Photographing a work in different ways can impact the overall perception of the piece.

- The addition of eyes to the characters brought the basic shapes to life and made them look like recognisable animals.