Month: May 2021

Duke Mitchel – artist talk

Post author By Mel
Post date 9 May 2021
No Comments on Duke Mitchel – artist talk

Exploring the links between photography and painting

This work by Mitchel was made from a record he found one day and repurposed into a painting. He likes the idea of recycling found objects, we see a lot of rubbish around the streets, and e would have the compulsion to go and pick that stuff up. Around the edge are clumps of paint which had fallen off of other paintings and are repurposed into a frame around the record. He would go out to find street litter to use as raw materials for more sculptural works.

Here I see links with my own works, these objects have been lost or abandoned in the same way as the spaces which I have been photographing and painting.

I would also like to explore the concept of bringing found materials into my work, in paintings where there re abandoned structures for example, I would paste actual found posters or images onto them like what may be on the walls themselves, or actual signs that may be in place there.

The textures of the paint around the edge are also similar to some of the experimenting I did with pint and other substances to create texture, through my work I also tend to keep scrapings of left over paint from my palette to perhaps use later, which I would incorporate into my paintings to create textures.

Mitchel also has a series of works which are somewhat the opposite of how I have been working. The photograph on the left was taken to mimic the painting on the right. He has a series of photograph taken in this way. In my work I have been going out and taking photos, with the intention to make them into paintings later on. These paintings can be constructed with parts from different images and edited how I want the same way that a photograph can be adjusted and staged in the moment and in post.

Contextual

Catriona Leahy – Artist Talk

Post author By Mel
Post date 9 May 2021
No Comments on Catriona Leahy – Artist Talk

Catriona Leahy / Aesthetics of Disappearance

Drawing attention to a sense of loss and disappearance

“I examine time, duration & memory both in a personal and wider social context, giving these inherently ambiguous, intangible and subjective phenomena a material and spatial context. I am intrigued by the apparently enduring presence and stability of structures and form – social, physical, geographical and cultural – and the transitory and malleable nature of memory, a moment in time, where time as well as these constructs are perpetually moving and in flux. Redundant or vacant spaces often pose as protagonists in my work; their structure and form have a virtue of clarity, coherency and vividness but by their curious appearance and ambiguous setting, they remain notoriously evasive and ambivalent with the ever-present possibility of dissolution. As conduit spaces for my exploration into time and duration, they call to mind the brevity of our occupancy of space, and the dependency on our presence to ensure their abiding memory.”

Found photos of purpose built game areas, 3 sided structures to play hand ball in. she was interested in these photographs because they seem out of place, out of time, no longer used how they were made to be, rather they may now be used as places for storage or dumping grounds. These structures are gradually falling into disrepair. Mirrors the gradual decline in local populations and micro communities in small towns. These structures are left behind as emblems of a community that no longer had that community to activate it. Bult by funds, community spaces, people would come to play and as spectators.

Her work developed from this is shown as a projection, the video of the game area is show along with sound which she recreated. the camera is positioned where the spectator would be.

Spit bite etching miniatures, documenting different ball alleys.

These photo etchings are the same ball alleys, but these show the podium where the spectators would watch the game, where the camera was placed in the video work. These were built at a later date than the ball court, perhaps to encourage spectators and renew interest in the sport.

Photo etching of a factory on rusted steel (abobe). Closed in the 1980, causing the loss of hundreds of jobs. It remained empty until very recently when it was dismantled due to the amount of asbestos used in it so people were reluctant to get involved in dismantling it

This print (below) of the same factory was printed using a laser printer, and then transferred using chemicals onto Japanese paper, each small piece that make it up is about a5 in size. These pieces mirror the fragmented appearance of the structure itself. They are assembled onto the wall only by the tops of the paper, which causes the fragile paper to move with the audience, which results in a floaty, dynamic appearance.

These works of hers in particular are of interest to me due to their similar subject to some of the work I have been doing. These abandoned empty spaces which have lost their purpose. Although for Leahy she is more interested In the shift of society and cultures, where mine are more fantasy like, looking at the stillness of empty spaces as if society as a whole has vanished.

Professional

Illustration

Post author By Mel
Post date 9 May 2021
No Comments on Illustration

one professional are that i am interested in is illustration, this could come in the form of comissioned drawings/ working from a breif, making my own to sell or even working with a company.

a large part of considering this avanue for making money is being self amployed, and everything that comes along with that. Anyone making more than £1000 of income as a sole trader must set up as a sole trader, register for self assessment, and fill thus out yearly at the end of every tax year. To do this, records of sales and expenses must be kept, such as keeping track of sales, invoices, bank statements, and reciepts.

usually, an employer would take income tax from wages before they come to you, but this is not the case if you are self employed. someone who is classed as a sole trader has to declair their proffits to the government so that they know how much income tax they owe for that year.

Income Tax rates and bands

The table shows the tax rates you pay in each band if you have a standard Personal Allowance of £12,570.

Income tax bands are different if you live in Scotland.

Band	Taxable income	Tax rate
Personal Allowance	Up to £12,570	0%
Basic rate	£12,571 to £50,270	20%
Higher rate	£50,271 to £150,000	40%
Additional rate	over £150,000	45%

You can also see the rates and bands without the Personal Allowance. You do not get a Personal Allowance on taxable income over £125,140.

Although this was not paid work, it was helpful to gain experience designing something for someone with real world application. This design was made with the intention of it being a tattoo, as a memory for a deceased family member, showing their favourite type of flower and dog breed. I started by spending time sketching out each individual part and learning what they looked like (the specific breed of dog and its features, the way the flower is constructed)

Another project which I worked on was a commission for a Dungeons and Dragons character, or rather a character’s pet. This was paid work which I did in 2020. This was also done digitally on a tablet. This piece especially was a very helpful experience for me, as the client was someone I had never met or spoken to before. This was very out of my comfort zone nut was a good experience to have.