Into digital 'collage'

Having found a range of further practitioners using digital 'collage' as a creative and illustrative medium I have begun to develop some of my own work along these lines. Whilst the images are digitally assembled I have aimed to ensure that the majority of the texture and image resource comes from my own collected ephemera which has been scanned in together with textures and 'distressed' surfaces that I have recorded photographically. This digital approach is not as much fun as the hands built collage but does allow for considerations of textures and overlays. Equally I feel that it would be all to easy to overwork images and create too many conflicting layers and elements in building the image. For this reason I have tried to keep the number of layers and elements used in the compositions limited. My initial exploration of the medium is shown in the illustrations below.

Initially I was resistant to the digital approach to collage. However, in response to my research into the work of others' and contemporary approaches to producing work of this kind for publication and editorial purposes, I felt that it was important to investigate my own creative responses using this medium. I am pleased with the initial outcomes and what is clear to me, is that without my initial research and experimentation with hand built collage over the last year I would not have had the same self-critical awareness in respect of image building with digital processes; my understanding of space, balance and aesthetic apreciation has come from getting back to basics.

'There were days when it was important to be heard on the radio'

'Some are gone... '

in progress

Further Artists research

After another morning of Library research i have unearthed some further contemporary artists/illustrators that are utilising collage as a starting point to their work. much is digital but has starting points in hand made collage and utilises aged ephemera. This visual inspiration is useful to me as I consider developing digital styles of 'collage to support the development of,  and offer comparison to my hand built work. Some of the artists that I have found:

Caroline Tomlinson who seems to utilise starting points of hand made developing outcomes with digital techniques. I like the balance of much of this work. The use of large areas of colour/textures to offset images.

Ian Caulkett uses cut photo montage with the addition of colour images and digitally drawn shapes

Jackie Parsons.. works in a similar way to Sarah Hanson, mentioned in earlier blogs. Looking at Parsons' web site I would say that she has developed a farther ranging set of styles than Hanson but there are clear similarities

Kerry Roper works in a wide variety of style ranging from digital collage in the sam vein as Sarah Hanson through bold photo montage, paintings and these mixed media pieces utilising bold Line drawings with distressed coloured backgrounds. This small selection does not do justice to her wide range of styles evidenced on her web site.

Lauren Simkin Brewer works with collage but also introduces line drawings copied from the collaged images. She uses photocopy transfers and builds work in a range of styles. The work has the compositional appearance of both Jackie Parsons and sarah Hanson's work with the added twit of the line drawings.

Walter Vasconcelos works with painting and mixed media. However in amongst he portfolio of work there is evidence of collage starting points like the above

MA work in progress: 'NINE' show

Our work in progress show which  previews on Tuesday 22 March is coming together and the Website is now up and running.

English/Russian Book project

As part of a collaboration for the BABE (Bristol Artists Book Event) being held at the Arnolfini at the end of April 2011, artists from the UK and Russia are collaborating on a calendar from the following brief:

Concept: We depend upon time, we depend upon the seasons, we depend on the sea.

According to science life evolved from the sea, and that is why we are the children of the sea…

Seasons change our mood, influence our art, that is why art also depends upon the sea.

This project is an art-investigation of seasons, an attempt by artists to open new views of

every season, every month. 

I was invited to take part and have produced a digital 'collage' in response to the brief above for the month of December. My response considers that the traditionallity of Christmas and whatever that means to individuals in terms of both 'sacred and secular'  considerations, the period of December is becomming, more and more an opportunity to get away from the UK to warmer resorts and the sea. A secular return to the sea.

 'Tidal Predictions'

This piece of work has allowed me to integrate both hand-made collage and digital manipulation to create the final piece. The final piece was printed on archival, off-white digital watercolour paper.

On going influence Research

I am continuing to find a growing range of collage techniques used by contemporary artists. I am still focussed on recording and reflecting on the work of practitioners whose considerations are for the aesthetic organisation of elements, particularly aged ephemera. Additionally,  I am increasingly finding interest and potential inspiration from artist who juxtapose limited elements on a page or who add limited additional elements to a page to alter meaning and allow the viewer to consider and narrative/meaning which might be generated by the 'new' composition.

One such artist is Valero Doval who studied in Spain as a fine artist  and who is now a practising illustrator with a broad range of clients. Some work below:

Stamp Collection 2 and other collage development

Following a series of over 20 'stamp collection' collages I have now moved on to explore a slightly different approach; still using stamps and aged ephemera but concentrating on the placement/alignment of the 'franking' marks on the stamps or envelope sections with found images. Ispiration for this has been partly from my recent visit to the John Stezaker exhibition at Whitechapel and also from other collage artists, in particular, David Walace (salaczar.com) whose work I have a continued interest in. I see this second series as ongoing and will broaden it out in developing styles.

I am still finding inspiration from my continued research into artists using handmade or digital collage. I aim to consider how I might approach a move into digital collage so that I might compare processes and outcomes from these works. What I must do, but keep putting off, is develop my website!

Ford 74x105mm

Miss Germany 105x148mm

Mis USSR 105x148mm

Not Miss Portugal 105x148mm

Drums, Sir

Some additions to the stamp collection

Some further collages to add to the 'stamp collection' posted below. I could go on to make many more of these and might create some additions over the next few weeks.  However, currently I am considering other styles to investigate in developing my collage research.  I have a set of Beatles bubblegum cards from the 1964 which I am keen to develop in to another  series, so that may be another set in the future. Through recent practitioner research I have found a number of influential 'collagists' who bring together hand made starting points with additional digital intervention - such as Michelle Thompson and Marion Deuchars. I may investigate this approach as an alternative to print developments stemming from collages for this semester to extend my own style development of collage/montage.

I am aware that I must start developing an on-line presence in order to share my work, get some feedback and as a goal for the, not-to-distant future, get some of my work into print. At the moment I am considering approaches to developing my web site, in particular the overall design styling of the site. I see this as a major part of the work I will do this semester to support my developing practice and to provide myself with a focus for on-line access to my work. Other considerations will be the usual social network sites but I want to establish the web site first and foremost.

















Daddy's Younger Days

Rickshaw

Copyright


















Two Boys

 
















Rail Accidents


















Voltage