Art Exam

Project based upon the human body, I focussed on the ambiguity of the human form, using layers and colour to convey ambiguous shapes and textures. I didn't love my final piece, (bottom right) which consisted of layers of canvas showing the layers of the human body, but I got an A in the end, so all the hard work paid off.

 And this is the last school project I will ever do! Next stop- Falmouth Uni...

Big boat - unfinished

Oil and Acrylic on board

loosely based on this photo I took in Curitiba, Brazil.

Portrait of Rafael

My brother did not sit for this portrait, its impossible for a 13 year old to sit still for more than 5 minutes, however I think he rather likes the idea of being a model/muse. I painted from a photo of him on a boat in Brazil, hence the water... I would like to think that my own style of painting comes across in this piece, it's something I have been trying to develop throughout my A-level coursework.

At St Martins...

Before Christmas I did a short Art & Design course at St Martins in London. The project title was 'The body', we visited the fascinating surgeon's museum, full of organs in jars, I was inspired by the intricacy and delicacy of the organs and their ambiguous appearance.

This was my final piece, acrylic on canvas with paper and fabric 3D heart... I wasn't happy with the legs in the end and have changed them now so that they are crossed over.

currently working on

Photo I took of a slum in Brazil.. edited on iPhoto

Painting I'm working on based on this photo... unfinished

Using acrylic paints on canvas

Blog make-under

Here are some recent portraiture sketches...

1. Phoebe Philo 2. Tribal girl 3. Best friends 4. Tracy Emin

What a stud

I have had this pink jumper for a while and I find it kinda dull, so inspired by the Topshop jumper above, I thought I'd do a bit of DIY...

I found these studs amongst my beads and buttons and I thought I may as well put them to use, you can find them in most haberdashery stores. They are pretty simple to attach; Just pierce them through the fabric and fold over the little tabs using pliers.

You can arrange them however you like and it's not hard to prise them off with pliers if you change your mind.

Voila! You have one tough jumper!

Photos by me (except the top one, from google)

Floral brooch tutorial

This is perfect for a gift or just to treat yourself to something new for free!

You can use scrap fabric and it is super simple to make.

-First you need to cut a flower shape out of some card, I used a heart for the petal shapes, but it can be any shape you want.

Next you need to find some scrap fabric or if you don't have any, you can buy end of line fabrics in many shops very cheaply.

Then you need to pin your flower shape onto your first piece of fabric and cut around it.

-Next trim the flower shape so that it is slightly smaller than the shape you have just cut out, this is so that the layers will stand out when you stack all the fabric pieces together.

-Continue pinning and cutting, not forgetting to make the flower smaller as you go along. You can have as many layers as you like, depending on how big/thick you want your brooch.

-Once you have your desired amount of flower cut-outs, cut some circles from felt, or another thick fabric; these are to strengthen the brooch.

-Sew the layers together, placing a felt circle every few layers. I would advise sewing about 3 layers at a time so that it is strong.

-If you want some extra decor, find some buttons or beads that you think will look good with the fabrics you've used and sew them on.

-Finally add a safety pin or brooch pin, or you can even add a hair-clip to create a headpiece.

-Voila! you have a beautiful, layered, floral brooch. Wasn't so hard was it?

I hope this was helpful, I'd love to see your own creations!

Doodles

The other day I had a book-making class at school, its a good skill to have as you can make your own blank sketch books cheaply or make a book full of your own work. My first attempt was this small red book which ended up pretty lopsided and the pages are not sewn tightly enough. Nevertheless I have started to fill it with doodles, I have used fine-liner because I love the clean lines it gives especially with miniature drawings and one page includes a cut-out from Dazed.

Now I must get back to reading Wuthering Heights.. I've almost finished, soon Cathy, Nelly and Heathcliff will be out of my life!