Prescriptive needs

It has become apparent over this semester that I require specific boundaries to restrain myself from either producing work that is off on a tangent to what the brief requires or doing nothing at all. In essence it is essential for me to work to tight constraints where I know exactly what is required of me and what the finished result will be. For me this then eliminates ‘wandering’ work and work that has no backbone or actual focus. Take for example my personal project I started to develop over the summer months, the subject matter was really interesting and something which I enjoyed learning about, however without a particular aim and goal to focus on I was producing work mindlessly for the sake of it. The three projects that I have embarked upon since September have seen me produce my best pieces of work to date.

Colour has been an ongoing issue through the Negotiated Project module; the Helping Uganda Schools brief saw colour flying everywhere because this is what I thought children wanted to see, it took me a while to realise and with Lise’s help, that children at age 5 can actually have quite sophisticated imaginations and can engage with equally sophisticated visual imagery. Though I must say that in the Bugs project for the Manchester Museum and Little White Lies competition brief I have applied much thought to my colour palettes specifically trying to align them appropriately to the context and subject matter. The Bugs project is again aimed at a child orientated audience, yet the colour is much more muted focusing on the main character. My Gary Oldman portrait for Little White Lies has seen me change my working method slightly in accordance to the context of the brief aiming at a much more refined audience. The colour is very in tune with the 1970’s when the film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is set utilising beiges, browns, mustard and orange tones.

I have enjoyed painting during this first semester of my third year illustration degree but I think that a change of tact during semester two could be good for the soul. I understand that come May time when I have to start searching for work my experimentation and play-time will be much more restricted and so I need to get as much of it off my chest sooner rather than later. Now I have found a working method that I am comfortable with I can return to it at any time in the mean time I would like to try my hand at some different processes. Stitch has already featured to some extent in my work and I would like to push this further by incorporating more material work and possibly utilising the sewing machines available.

Because of my prescriptive needs I think it would be entirely appropriate to concentrate on live briefs for my Final Major Project, this way I can meet specific demands that someone else has determined. Additionally, if I make these live briefs competition briefs it will give me the opportunity to mix in the professional arena before I graduate. If I should be as lucky as to win any of these competition briefs it can only bode well on my cv for future work. I have decided that 15 weeks is too long a time scale for my concentration not to wane, therefore I have decided that I will complete either three five week briefs or five three week briefs to split the time up more efficiently for my working method. Initially, I am looking at utilising the Folio competition brief illustrating Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories’ which will give me the opportunity to explore a darker subject matter and add to my portfolio variety, the Puffin competition to illustrate Grimm’s Fairy Tales and the Marks & Spencer competition brief to design packaging. The M&S brief will be particularly useful for my portfolio as it will show that I can apply myself to different fields allowing a potential client or commissioner to see how I work with other projects alongside the children’s book illustrations I so love doing. If I am going to tackle the creative industry practically, although children’s book illustration is my number one love, I have to appeal to a wider audience in order to get as much work as possible lined up. Alongside this variation within my portfolio I also need to have a stronger presence in the art world. This will mean an online presence including website and visiting as many events and conferences as possible.

Over the Christmas break I aim to launch my first attack on the web by setting up a Facebook account dedicated to my illustration. I am making Facebook my first point of call as it’s free and I’m a techno-no-no. As for the web presence thing, it doesn’t help when I share the same name as a very well established porn star, any Google search for Chloe Jones fails to display me, my web presence therefore could be tricky to master. I already have a Behance and twitter account active however they do tend to get forgotten about. I have also decided that from the end of my degree course, I would like to move directly into a shared desk space where I will have the motivation and determination to go and do my work everyday.