Author: Nicole

I struggled a lot with surface and the art making process in general because I was too focused on the subject of the art itself. I wanted to experiment with charcoal on paper, and so to do that I felt I had to have a subject to illustrate with the charcoal. while I was able to create an illustration, it wasn’t necessarily an artwork that focused on the idea of surface, or one that felt significant as a piece itself.

After speaking with Nova, we decided it would be better to zoom in much closer, focusing less on an image, rather the strokes themselves. trusting myself was difficult, as I felt without a full drawing my work may not have as much quality – however I took a risk and because experimenting with charcoal and beige pastel.

I smudged, ripped, folded and scribbled and that outcome was something I’ve never created before. I really enjoyed that process of creating without worrying about value or meaning, and actually feel the piece I created definitely holds some merit.

With iteration, I was really fascinated with the art making processes that go into iterative works. The repetition and commitment to the artwork is a unique process, and one that I’ve previously explored little of.

Combining repeating shapes to create form and depth. I was fond of the way I was able to create depth using the density of smaller shapes and dots, and want to do it on a greater scale in the future.

[ Using pen liners of different thicknesses, I drew triangles and dots in a circular zone on the page, focusing more triangles and dots in certain areas where I wanted to create depth.]

I was liked how these lines looked uniform yet organic, however they looked pretty graphic and I felt there should be more depth. In my second attempt, I added vibrant yellow behind deep red lines, resembling a rising sun.

[Using pen liners and alcohol based markers I first drew circles and line on the page which overlapped. i then round each overlapping line to create thickness where they meet. I first made marks using a larger pen, and after that more line with a thinner line. lastly, I added a shape with colour to create tension in the piece.]

Lastly I wanted to illustrate something twice, as if it had been copy and pasted, it was a quick drawing and I feel i could explore the idea more by illustrating an identical image many times over.

For this collaboration we worked in small groups, looking at how art can be made together.

In these early stages, we were all getting to know each other – while we didn’t know each other as individuals, we still had things that connected us. My group decided that something we had all been affected by was Covid. We chose to make some illustrations related to Covid 19 and how the pandemic has made us feel. Each of us made illustrations in our own styles, however we saw fit, and planned to combine them later.

After all of our drawings were scanned digitally, I combined them in photoshop to overlap in a sort of chaotic, retro effect. The addition of red added emotion, as well as simply tying the piece together. I think it is significant how although we were all individuals battling with the pandemic/ isolation personally, we are also a community that is able to share a collective experience, which only brings us closer together.