University and commissions

University is going good. I have been briefed about my dissertation, and we are not expected to do any substantial work while we do this. So I'll just be doing a couple of commissions that I have for Christmas, and some sketches in a notepad. This means that I will not be posting a lot of images of my work until after Christmas when I'll have done my dissertation and the Christmas presents will have been unwrapped!

Droplets

Droplets is a Pastel and Pastel Pencil study 20 x 27 inches. (51 x 69cm) It is Currently on exhibition at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield (S1 2DS) until Saturday 3rd September.
Droplets took around 50 hours to complete.
The idea to do a study like this came when I was watching the rain run down a window, and I saw how the light refracted off the droplets, and how the water distorted what was behind it.

I created Droplets by working from photographs, and the photo was very difficult to take. I tried putting water on a piece of glass while it was upright, but the water simply ran down. I then tried putting an oily substance onto the glass, so it would hold the water. This worked a little better, but still did not achieve the look I was hoping for. I then decided to lay the glass flat and arrange the water into interesting shaped. I had stacked the glass on top of some books, so it was just the right height to keep the droplets proportionate to my face. I first tried taking the photo by having the camera on a tripod, but the angle was not right. In the end it was best to hold the camera just above the glass, with it fully zoomed out. This was very difficult to do because it was a very heavy Nikon digital camera (so I got the best quality image to work from) and I also had to look comfortable in the photo, so it looked relaxed and beautiful. I chose to take the photograph myself because I was able to get the exact pose I wanted, instead of what someone else thought looked good. Taking the photograph myself also make the work feel more of my own, rather than just copying someone else's photo.

Bank Street Arts

The exhibition has now started at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, S1 2DS. For those of you that have already been, I hope you enjoyed it. I will be there tomorrow 10-12, Friday 1 -5pm then 7.30 - around 10pm and Saturday 10am - 1pm. Feel free to have a chat with me and I will welcome any questions.

Johanna