Ruby French

Response to artist research

Recreated oil paintings by the artist Antony Micallef in acrylic (left) and soft pastel (right) as a way to experiment with colour and texture.

Materials used: acrylic, soft pastel.

Artist research

Researched into the work of Francis Bacon, intrigued by his use of colour and distortion of the human and bestial figure. Recreated snippets of his work in biro and oil pastel to see which mediums would work best for further experimentation and responses to his work.

Materials used: acyclic, biro, oil pastel, gel pen.

Francis Bacon further responses

Responding to his painting ‘Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X’ exploring his use of colour and texture.

Materials used: Hessian fabric, acrylic, gel pen.

Further investigation

(left) Response to his work taking inspiration from the composition and fleshy subject of his ‘Painting, 1946’ and the piece ‘WEST WINDOW, ST MARY’S’ by the architectural glass artist Martin Donlin for the blood hued stained glass window in the background. (piece shown on the attached tab to the right).

Page to the right features blackout poetry created and a few snippets from various poets. Looked into the poetry of Thom Gunn, ‘Moly’ and ‘Rites of passage featured here, what stood out to me in these poems was the way the line between man and beast is blurred and distorted that I saw in Bacon’s work that fascinated me.

Materials used: acrylic.

Final experiment and research

Experimented with charcoal and fine liner looking into anatomical structures seen in Bacon’s work using a loose, expressive style. To the right further investigated his triptychs. Was interested in the saturated raw red hues and dynamic compositions.

Materials used: charcoal, fine liner.

Artist research

Researched the work of artist Joseph Loughborough, recreating aspects of his pieces using gel pen, biro, charcoal and soft pastel, experimenting with his bold chaotic style of linework recreating various pieces by the artist.

Materials used: gel pen, biro, soft pastel, charcoal.

Responses to artist’s work

I took inspiration from Joseph Loughborough’s subject matter in both, often featuring the human figure in various degrees of abstraction. On the left I wanted to try out this is my own style, while the other I lent into the quick bold lines using oil pastels I saw in his paintings, drew from the monochromatic hues of one of his works (on the tab seen in the image).

Materials used: oil pastel, pencil.

Further Reponses

(left) I expanded on the previous quick pastel piece and wanted to explore this image created, the sketchbook page shows the progression of a painting, the uneven lines extending beyond the canvas attempting to draw the eye into the focal point. (Right) Here are a few sketches I did, inspired by the dynamic poses often seen in his paintings, interpreting these in quick expressive sketches.

Materials used: graphite pencil, acrylic (painting shown in images).

Research

Looked into the Vanitas/ Memento Mori art movement, taking inspiration from literary sources creating blackout poetry pieces. To the right I analyzed the exhibition ‘Mass’, 2017 from the artist Ron Mueck who I was inspired by in his use of scale in his sculpture in a way that confronts viewers with ideas of mortality using the human form, ideas that would inspire future pieces and ideas.

Materials used: sharpie, biro.

Response to artist work

After researching into the work of street photographer Lee Jeffries I reimagined his photos in my own expressive style, inspired by the raw, authentic nature of his works.

Materials used: graphite pencil.