Assignment 5: Formative Feedback

• Positives
• Improvements
• Own Comments

Overall Comments

This was a small submission for assignment 5. We have discussed how, as you progress, you will need to focus on finding ways to make work which are informed by your unique physical circumstances so that the process is sustainable, enjoyable and productive. This can be done constructively rather than perhaps seeing your energy and pain management needs as only impacting negatively in your work as they circumscribe the time you can spend on physical production.

This course is the first step on an open access degree and you, as someone with no previous experience of formal learning in the arts, have perhaps a more vertiginous learning journey than some. During this course you have moved across from making individual pictures, to beginning to understand the process of exploring a subject through materials and making. You have also moved across from previous experience largely copying art work by other people in an art club setting, to working from observation and challenging yourself to develop your understanding of composition, mark making and tone.

You have made the first steps here, and you will need to continue to draw and look hard at things to build up your visual muscle as your progress.

This has been your first foray into Higher Education, as it is for many Drawing 1 students. If you choose to do Understanding Painting Media next, I think you will find you are more supported by the course itself to undertake research linked to your own practice and thereby contextualise it through looking at other artists. You have done that here, but you will need to sharpen your critical edge and raise your ambitions in this area.

Feedback on assignment

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

The colour pencil study has a nice palette. It feel a bit throw away here but I think once you have trimmed off the wriggly edge and mounted it singly it will hold up better. There is some nice fragile drawing and sensitive colour mixing. Things feel a bit ‘floaty’ – partly because the vase is listing to the left, but also because the shadows at the base are quite light. If you lay a pencil vertically in the middle of the vase you will see it is not straight.

The painting, as with the drawing, show you focussing on a limited palette and that has been successful. You have been a bit more muscular with the shadow at the base of the vase here and that has worked. The vase looks a bit more upright too. The blackberry sorbet type colour on the wall shows me that you have taken care with your colour mixing. I quite like some aspects of the simplification of colour to single slabs (the green leaves at the base and the books) but at this level of study I think you also need to just be aiming for accuracy too, as a learning exercise. The white flower on the left looks great and that makes me feel that a bit more time experimenting in your sketchbook about how to deal with the different flowers would have paid off.

Sketchbooks

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity

You have made some thumbnails but more work drawing from hard and clear observation of individual flowers would have given you the understanding to model them (or abstract them) with greater accuracy.

Research

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis

You write well about artists and frequently link what you are looking at to your own aspirations. You could also usefully go back and reflect after or during your own making.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis

You make some good points and I think you could do more to act on your own advice sometimes – don’t be afraid to go back in and make the changes you rightly point out probably need making.

Overall, I would like to see you looking to build your criticality in your log. Really try to tease out what you are aiming for and what is happening in your work.

I also feel that your circumstances – managing your very significant health issues – could be mentioned in your log. Not as a negative necessarily but asking yourself what the plan might be.

What art does your particular body and mind need to make?

I really appreciate this question as it makes me realise that my own unique life experiences can be inspiration for artwork. What have I been through that I can represent on paper? Be inspired by my own story, not hindered. Turn the tired and slightly negative mindset round into positivity and productivity within my limits.

All artists need to ask themselves that question and it is important that we have both Anselm Kiefer nailing chairs onto massive canvases and Christine Borland making tiny sculptures out of dust.

To Do

• Use my health issues to positively influence my art. Think about what only I can make, using my experiences.
• Write about how my health influences me more in my learning log. 
• Spend more time experimenting in my sketchbook, continue to draw from life.
• Build on my evaluation and analytical skills  
• Be more proactive, change what needs changing sooner rather than later. 
• Go back and reflect on changes and include reflective thoughts within learning log.
• Aim for accurate representation at this stage – be precise.