Mother and child Evaluation

‘Live Brief’ Evaluation (1000 words minimum)

Throughout my Live project brief ‘Mother and child’, I was working for the artist named Sam Shendi, where I focused on researching about the relationships my family have with their mothers as we are a really close net family. I also wanted to show how mothers comfort their children, straight from the point of giving birth and throughout the rest of their growing up.

For my primary research I looked at old family photos, which I thought would link well to what I was trying to portray through my work. This includes photos of my mother holding me, hours after giving birth and teaching me how to walk at an older age. I have also included images of my Nan and Aunt’s relationship with my brothers and myself, as I see them as really important mother figures within my life. I have recreated a lot of these drawings throughout my sketchbook, experimenting with different Medias such as, coloured pencils, coloured inks, oil pastels and HB pencils.

For my secondary research, I used Pinterest to look for images that I could recreate to show the bond between a mother and child. For example, being able to see a bond that is forming between them before they have even met, being able to hold and comfort your child and even being able to see your child grow up and get married. I have recreated these images in the same media as my primary research; however I have also used oil paints to create some of these drawings, as I haven’t used this media very often and I wish I had, as I love how perfectly the colours blend together.

I developed my research by creating artist research sheets and design sheets that were influenced by my sketchbook work. For my first artist research sheet, I created an oil pastel drawing of a mother smiling whilst she’s holding her baby, however I was unable to find out who created the piece of work, which was a little frustrating. I really liked this sheet as I felt that the media created a really nice effect, when blending the different tones together. For my second artist research sheet I created 2 drawings; both of a mother and child’s hand. These were both originally created by an entrepreneur mom named Vicki, who I found whilst researching other people’s blogs. I first recreated the drawings in HB pencils, but I didn’t feel that it created the right effect, so once I had drawn them in pencil, I then went over the drawings in black oil pastel, which I liked a lot better as I feel that it now looks a lot more similar to the original drawings.

For my first design sheet I wanted to make sure that it linked to my idea of a mother’s comfort towards her child, so I recreated a primary image of me and my baby brother when we were little, asleep in bed. I recreated this using coloured pencils, however some of the image slightly had the colour blue included, which I had to change. This is because it was the one constraint that we were given and not allowed to use. If we weren’t given this constraint it wouldn’t have really affected me, as it was only the smallest part that I had to change. The only problem with my first design sheet was that my mother wasn’t in the photo, so within my second design sheet I merged two images together to create a single image. I also used coloured pencils to create this design sheet, however once I had created them both in coloured pencil, I decided I wanted to develop this by using the same design for my final piece; but by using oil paints instead of coloured pencils, as I liked the effect it had on the oil painting that I created within my specialist subject area – fine art. The image that I have recreated was originally painted by the Spanish artist known as Cayetano de Arquer Buigas, born (January 11th, 1932-September 13, 2012) He was a contemporary figurative painter, who was known for captivating women’s beauty, sensitivity and delicacy throughout his era by using pastel, oil and charcoal techniques. This was the first time that I had used oil paints, which is why I chose to use it for my final piece as the outcome turned out so well.

My final piece links more towards the oil painting I created within my specialist subject area, than it does my artist research sheets; since I have used the same media and style. Whilst trying to create my designs and final piece, I had to make sure that it was appropriate for all ages. Within my specialist subject, I also created some samples using different processes such as monoprinting; where I traced over a photocopy of my design sheet with a pencil so that the ink that was underneath the paper would engrave the design onto it, which I was really pleased with. I also created a wood cut; which I found a little bit harder as it isn’t my strongest point within art and design. The design wasn’t very neat as I couldn’t carve into the wood properly; therefore when I went to print the design it wasn’t very clear.

Working for someone outside of college was a little bit hard, as you don’t know whether they’re going to like your work until they see everything completed at the end of your project, which is a little bit worrying. You also have to comply with their demands/needs, which if you already have an idea in your head could potentially mean having to completely change it, however this worked in my favour as I didn’t have to change any of my ideas.

 I created blogs throughout my project to show everything that I have been working on, from the research in my sketchbook – both primary and secondary, to the samples that I have created within my specialist subject; which vary in different processes, all the way to the end of the project, where I have created my final piece. I have also created a time management diary; however I had forgotten to fill in most of the days on the sheet, so I had to try and remember what I’d done each day and try and figure everything out that way. I found myself rushing a lot of things towards the end of the project, as I didn’t manage my time as well as I should have, which resulted in me not fully completing my sketchbook.

Overall, I am pleased with the work that I have created, however I do feel that I could have completed a lot more work if I had managed my time a little better.