Graffiti Meets Catwalk

  

Manish Arora A/W 12
 hotelfashionland.com

A time and a place!

http://www.buzzmuseum.com/

This image really got me thinking about is there rules about when and were is graffiti acceptable...I actually felt a little bit cross when I first viewed this photo because I felt it had crossed a line. For me to see a dark drab dirty urban street covered with graffiti which adds colour feels acceptable (not that I am in anyway condoning illegally defacing property...by the way), but i do get it and often if the work is good I feel that it adds to rather than takes away from the scene? But to see this piece of nature in all it's purity with graffiti on it for me was a no go zone. In spite of fact that I knew that it will inevitably melt and be washed away was no consolation for the violation in my book. Ultimately I think the thing I love about graffiti is when it colours something not already beautiful...then I get it!

Gum Wall...a thing of beauty?

http://www.flickr.com/

I found this image of a gum wall while hunting for street art...I still can't make up my mind whether I like the fact that it brings such an abundance of colour to an otherwise drab wall or whether it is just totally gross...the jury's out on this one and may stay that way!

Fashion on the Streets

Monsieur Qui brings a whole new meaning to bringing fashion to the streets with the fashion illustrations he paints on the walls of French streets...he claims that it adds glamour to a city. I love the way in which street art is starting to embrace sophisticated and refined artwork as part of the whole genre of street art!

http://www.designtopnews.com/

More sketchbook work...

I have been playing about with mixing repeat patterns and abstract designs. I used fineliner and coloured pencil on tracing paper to create this design. I am not keen on it and find it a bit jarring to look at. I think potentially it would look much better in stitch but am not sure if I would pursue any further development with it. To make it more sophisticated more subtle contrast between the tones would improve the look.

Potential embroidery design

Mixed media sketchbook page

Sketchbook Pages: Ink and masking tape

Ink and masking tape

Masking tape remnants

I loved creating these sketchbook pages inspired by the Tree Rings drawings. I used masking tape to create the layers and make a resist and then brushed with water before adding the ink. This created beautiful inky water marks. When the work was dry i removed the masking tape and found that all the little individual pieces had lovely marks and had been coloured like little jewels by the ink. I loved them so much even more than the main design so I added them back to the side of the page. I would definitely think about how I can develop these pieces of tape in further work towards the final outcome. I feel that this work has been really successful and would like to explore resist work more extensively into fabric with batik.

Inky water marks

Street Art & Graffiti: Love it or hate it?

Swoon for Swoon...

I have become fascinated with the how gritty and dirty urban scenes and landscapes can look beautiful with even the smallest addition of colour. This got me to pondering what I feel about street art and grafitti, but I felt that to have a valid opinion I needed to do some research...

www.brooklynstreetart.com

I found this work by artist Swoon and fell in love...not only is the use of pattern and colour just divine but I was particularly struck by the fact that none of the graffiti underneath had been cleaned painted over to make way for such a stunning piece of artwork. The more I reflected on this, the more I understood the integrity of the artist. I felt that perhaps that it was in some  way it had been intended to show respect towards the graffiti artists and was not asserting a greater right to be there. I also love the tenderness and affection in this scene. I feel that this is an antithesis to the stereotypical image of street art which may be perceived as anarchic and agressive.

www.thecitrusreport.com

Street art is not just confined to painting and spraying but also encompasses deconstruction and reconstruction. The artist is unknown, but for me this little blasts of coloured Lego among the drab and decay are genius!

http://thisiscolossal.com/

If Lego isn't your thing then this gold geometric inset might be more your style, which appeared on the streets of L.A. Personally I am more of a Lego girl...a little bit square and very bright (ha ha)!

Keep Drawing...

Beautiful tree rings

It's no secret that practice makes perfect and I desperately want my drawings to improve, to help with this I have begun to keep looking for drawing styles that I personally aspire to. I was captivated by the work of Tony Hong and have totally fallen in love his Pen and Ink Tree Rings drawing which echoes back to my original thoughts about producing a design with layers which have meaning in terms of their history. I have decided to draw on this for my own drawing work.












http://www.thisiscolossal.com/

Another illustrator who totally inspires me is Alexis Marcou, I adore the way guide lines and marks are not removed in the final outcome which adds to the fluidity and beauty of the final outcome which juxtaposes organic and geometric mark making making the work simply beautiful. In this particular work The Dragon Year I love the way in which the image has been cut and rearranged to abstract the form. The use of colour within the black and white drawing is striking and is something I will experiment with in my own work.
























http://alexismarcou.com/

WANTED...one large dose of inspiration!!

Layers of life...

http://reubenmiller.typepad.com/

For those of you who have ever been stuck down a creative dead-end I want to take a moment just to empathise with you, for those who have never been down this street consider your self blessed...it is the most frustrating of experiences!! The antidote is however always close at hand, a walk down your own street can be enough to start the engine again... for me enlightenment came in the form of graffiti and peeling paint...This photograph by Amy McKenzie shows a piece of paint chip 1cm thick with 1050-200 layers of paint!! Started me thinking about how layers of history can grow over time and how beautiful it can look even if it is just a chunk of urban debris!

Leslie Shows

http://leslieshows.com/

This work by Leslie Shows is totally awesome...I love the sophisticated collaging and the amazing use of colour...have just reversed out of my dead end and have ideas ricocheting round my head!

All things bright and beautiful..

Today is the start of a new adventure...the journey to Wonderland, otherwise known as the end of my foundation degree, the culmination of two years of the biggest roller-coaster ride of my life. Some have said I am a late developer...others that I am having a mid- life crisis!! Either way having worked in healthcare for many years I have set my compass to true North and made a monumental U-Turn! So far I have encountered the dizzy mountain tops of joy and valleys of tears but boy have I enjoyed the ride and before I conclude this part of my journey I want to invite you to join me on my way to the finishing line....