"Maria Collection"

To push my work forward I have gone even bigger scale, for the stew gallery I suggested that I would need at least 2m wide as I would be creating large scale stitch illustrations made up of my fabrics. Using the prints I have made already I have started to play with compositions and place them within their contexts.

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Using the same colours and scale to see how it would work when blown us as I appreciate objects and colours look very different in different scales.

"Maria" Collection

So as my title to this post suggests my first mini collection is named 'Maria' named after herself as this is the house I have chosen to concentrate on first. I am going to make mini collections within a 2 week period so I can draw, sample, and produce within a quick time frame giving me the energy to keep going and get used to the tight deadlines that are awaiting me after university life.

From my drawings; I have further progressed with them, developing them until they work visually for me.

I have been trying to make drawings that I can then translate into print, I want to take my work into a digital format, so this would work as devored circles over the image, however I realised after I had done this that the colour would be on the reverse of how I have positioned it.

Large scale repeat motifs is something I am interested in undertaking to capture Marias personality: she is both structured and routined, however has the fun, carefree side to her. Therefore layers to prints will be important along with the print content (ie.imagery) so the colour are neutral to mimic the contrast in characteristics, not using colours that are typically stereotypical, both calming and as they repeat are routine.

Taking my repeats one step further with different coloured backgrounds to accentuate colours within the drawings, and to contrast to highlight the details. The checks have been inspired by her bed linen which is a checkered spread, it also contrasts with its harsh lines in comparison to the organic feel of the flowers.

This is probably one of my favourites, and is very kitsch which is something I don't want to be associated with, however it does pick out the layered contrasting elements I want to capture within Marias identity.

Drawing development.

I have taken some of the patterns distinguished from my linear drawings and previous drawings and started to collate them together in my blue/yellow/orange and green colour palette to see how the different styles of patterns relate with one another.

I want to try to create a slightly different check from the standardised ones within the market, by bringing in my imagery as the vertical line.

Subtle checks work well against the organic contrast of floral watercolours. It means the imagery can intertwine with one another, merging the layers and creating a flat pattern.

The pattern and imagery has been taken directly from my primary sources. I think this method of working works well for my way of thinking and helps me to create mini collections around my whole final collection of prints; that all tell a story.

Back to the drawing board.

So now I have developed a colour bible I have put what I have learnt about mixing colours to the test by creating more imagery to richly inspire my work.

I have looked at objects and depicted patterns and imagery from these to create collections based on a person and their objects. I have taken the idea of a floral, a ditsy and a stripe/check from jills workshop.

Colour has given my drawings another depth to appreciate and the tones and colours are rich in intensity. They pop out of the white background and come alive taking on the personality of its user.

Flip book

From going to Poland it was advised that I make myself a colour book to help with my use of colour to develop my work. I split my a5 book into watercolour and gouache as these are primarily my mediums that I use ! I think it has really helped and allows me to flip between the colours to identify tonal colour stories and see how they work with one another and improve my use of colour and mixing my own shades.

I have kept a written record of the colors so that I can use this as a reference guide.