Evaluation - Design to Sell

Evaluation - Design to Sell

Henry the Chimp

As stated in my project proposal my initial idea was based around a canvas I created over the summer, this canvas was a black and white chimp painted in acrylics. I wanted to make a black and white pop art slash art deco inspired image but due to the way I painted and the colours I used (which gave me a lot of highlights and low lights) the chimp became more realistic than when I first pictured it. Overall this change in style worked well as my other paintings followed suit and they all fit together as an ensemble. I chose to work in black and white as I have done before in previous projects because i'm almost magnetised towards towards it, I understand things better when they're in black and white, as if the lie has gone and you're seeing something raw and exposed. In my opinion colours project feeling and emotions on to you (eg. red = anger, yellow = happiness) which isn't a bad things in some situations but once they're gone it's as if you can perceive it how you wish to.

Black and White Animal Canvases

Overall I achieved what I wanted to achieve, I created canvases with animals on painted in black and white acrylic paints. There was never really a message behind the animal element and why I chose for animals to be my subject matter but I felt drawn towards expressing these animals in my own way and I believe I have achieved that. As I talked about previously I initially wanted my first canvas to have a very different look (pop art/art deco) but this didn't happen because as I was painting with the black and white I was mixing to make shades which created shadows and highlights which brought the image out to be more realistic. So I learnt that to create different styles you have to think about shades ad colours as well as their placement. I also learnt that texture was important in my art work, I used heavy body acrylics which are thick and although my canvases don't have a lumpy and abrasive feel they layered in both shape and colour.

Vincent Van Gogh - Two Crabs

The artist that inspired me most in this project is Vincent Van Gogh. His brushwork is so beautiful and he knows perfectly how to use it to create something impeccable. I tried to emulate this somewhat as I thought it'd work well for what I wanted to create. Similarly I used short and layered brushstrokes to transform into a realistic image. In contrast to Van Gogh I used a very limited colour palette, I focused on taking the colour out and creating a bold and impactful yet emotion free image.

A problem I faced during this project was the pressure from myself and the work load. I felt as though I needed a huge quantity of work, lots of canvases and lots of evidence and research and as a result of this I panicked. To overcome all of this I decided to focus more on quality rather than quantity, I painted a few canvases that I was proud of whereas previously when I was panicking I painted canvases that weren't to the best of my ability. I learnt from this to keep calm and focus of the things that are important and doable in the time limit and that is what i'll try to improve for better success of the next project.


Megan Chilcott