Observational Studies- I have created continuous line drawings using ink which are inspired by my theme of cityscapes which have a mix of block colours and different lines.

Observational Studies- I used ink to create these lines which are inspired by my theme of cityscapes. I also then used tape to again create lines to represent the skyline. These techniques created different thicknesses of lines and direction.

Tailoring Moodboard- This is my moodboard of inspiration for my theme of cityscapes. Stephane Rolland was one of my biggest inspirations because I love how he manipulates the fabric and makes a big statement on the runway. I was really interested in the detail of buildings in the city, especially the windows.

Tailoring Sketchbook Pages-I was inspired by designers such as Stephane Rolland and Calvin Klein and cities such as New York and London. I then created a customer profile so that I was aware of my customers’ needs which is important so that my design sells. I did research on different collars and made some designs out of paper so that I could get ideas of what I think would be best for my design. I then created pages of observational drawings which were created using ink to make different thicknesses of lines to create a high level of detail.

Tailoring Sketchbook pages- This is artist research of textile designers that I looked at for inspiration of my theme of cityscapes. I created samples in the style of each of the designers, using techniques such as continous line embroidery, applique, and reverse applique.

Tailoring Designs- These are my final designs of suits with surface pattern print.

Tailoring Print Development- I looked at different colours and positions of print to help me decide on my final design which is shown to the far right of the page. I used photoshop to position my print design onto my collar and lapel which helped me to review and refine my design.

Live Project Moodboard- I worked on a live project for a company called Ashwood Leather where I was assigned a brief for a brand called Unbranded. I designed a jacket suited to the customer and added a print detail to the belt and lining of the jacket, which was inspired by the observational drawing below.

Multi Media Illustration- I used ink to show how the more water you add to it, the lighter it will get. I then showed the different marks you can make by ink and how they can change by the amount of marks you make. I also created hand illustrations where I showed the creases in the hands by using a darker shade of colour. At the bottom, there is an illustration of a women’s body which shows the contour line detail.

Mixed Media Illustrations- I used medias such as ink, charcoal and water colours to create these illustrations. I was inspired by artists such as David Downton and Cate Parr. I used lighter colours to highlight where the light was hitting and darker colours to define the shadows.

Male Illustration- This is a mixed media illustration of a male in a suit. I used a mixture of water colours to bring out the colour and to create light and dark shades to show where the light was hitting and where the shadows were. I also use black ink to define dark areas in the illustration and to outline it.

Couture Dress Moodboard- This is full of inspirations for my theme of Argentine Tango and under the sea. I really liked long sleeve dresses and the colour red was something that inspired me as it is a colour used a lot in the Tango.

Couture Print Development- I started by creating observational drawings of shells with the use of an ink pen to define the line detail within the shell. I then repeated it in a circle direction which was inspired by the designer Craig fellows. I then turned it into a repeat pattern on my dress design. For the other design, I started with the observational drawings of the shell and the seaweed which I then developed into a print for my garment.

Couture Dress Designs- These are my final designs with surface pattern print.

Couture Dress Photoshoot- This displays photographs and a technical drawing of my dress with my surface pattern print. I have my print repeated all over the bottom of the dress with appliqued netting on the starfishes.

Menswear Moodboard- This is a page full of inspirations for my theme of 'The Night Sky' which included a lot of different shades of blue and different samples I had created of the night sky. I was really inspired by the different effects that the sky can create and the different shades of blue.

Menswear Print Development- I started by creating a sample by using procion dyes and water to create a bleeding effect. I then took this onto photoshop and made a repeat pattern which was then transferred in different ways to my shirt drawing. I then used photoshop tools to change the brightness and edit them differently to create lots of ideas for my final design.

Menswear Illustration- This is an illustration which I have developed further by adding my print development onto the shirt and jacket area and repeated it in different ways. I added the print and colour using photoshop.

Menswear shirt photoshoot- This includes a technical drawing and photographs of my shirt with my surface pattern. My shirt included a dyed fabric in a bleeding effect with screen printed spiral graphs repeated in different areas across the shirt.

Essay- Art Nouveau

 Art Nouveau

Consider and contrast the work of two artists from either art deco or art nouveau movements

This is a style of art which began to be popular from the 1890’s until the First World War, it is a style of art which portrays architecture and design. It was most popular in Western Europe and the USA and was best described for its natural forms and softs colours.

 Aubrey Beardsley: 1872-98

Aubrey Beardsley is most famous for his beautiful Art Nouveau illustrations which were often black and white. He is known as ‘one of the most controversial artists of his time[i]’ Even though his life was short he was known as one of the best graphic artists of modern art.  He was one of the major figures in art nouveau and will always be popular for his original but beautiful style of work. Drawing was always a big love of Beardsley’s since a young age which motivated him to study at Westminster school of art. He had loads of jobs over his lifetime like being an art editor and illustrator of a new quarterly. His work has a big influence of the style art nouveau and the designs found in Japanese wood work and Whistler ‘encouraged him to collect original Japanese prints’[ii]. Critics were shocked about the eroticism of women in his drawings which he used a lot in his work. He then caught a disease at the age of seventeen which caused him to die at the age of twenty five. His work will always be widely loved and appreciated and periodic revivals during the 1960’s. His unique styles and meanings behind these pieces is what makes Beardsley so well-known and famous for his art.

One of Beardsley’s Art Nouveau paintings is called ‘The Peacock Skirt’ which was created in 1893. The ‘Black and white line block print’[iii] illustration which displays a woman in a long flowing garment with embroidered detail at the bottom of peacock feathers. There is also a peacock that is to the left of the women and flowers surrounding her head. The woman is starring angrily in the man’s eyes like she was about to devour or seduce him. Sexuality and gender roles are something that is challenging in this illustration as well as others for ‘salome’. In this particular illustration Salome is coming across as very possessive and dominates. It shows that Herod offers a peacock as a gift. This illustration is a classic example of Art Nouveau due to its flowing, arabesque lines, strict two-dimensionality, and decorative patterns.

Another classic illustration of Beardsley is ‘How Sir Tristram Drank of the Love Drink’ which was created in 1893. This illustration was created to help people understand the story of king Arthur who was beloved by the pre-Raphaelites. It refers to Tristram and Isolde’s love story, which showed the romantic tale of Lancelot and Guinevere. The couple are represented as androgynous figures which have been separated by a pillar. The flowers surrounding the edge of the image look ready to blossom, which suggests the blossoming of something more sinister. Beardsley's androgyny figures questioned lots of Victorians sexuality and made them think about the concepts. As well as being an example of Art nouveau ‘it was also a social critic’ [iv]which is why a lot of people thought about the meaning behind this illustration. It was created in black and white which is a common trend that Beardsley used and a lot of patterns and lines which describe the art nouveau style.

Gustav Klimt 1862- 1918

Gustav Klimt went to Vienna School of arts and crafts to study and learnt how to be an architectural painter. His big aspiration was to be a drawing teacher but began his career painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings. This was a business created by him and his brother and a mutual friend which was appreciated and loved by a lot of people. In 1890 Klimt met Emilie Floge who was his partner for life but no one is sure if it was sexual. Klimt managed to father fourteen children throughout his life. He took a lot of summer holidays with the ‘Floge’ family where he painted a lot of his landscape paintings and he has been said to do a lot of them by looking through a telescope. He got lots of amazing jobs like creating thee paintings to cover the ceiling of the Great Hall in the University of Vienna. Klimt went through a ‘golden phase’ [v]which got a critical reaction but very positive. This was where he used either gold paint or gold leaf in his pieces to create a range of luxurious paintings. The use of gold made his pieces stand out as one of the grandest monuments of the Art Nouveau age. Klimt was a very sexual man and had numerous affairs with women as he became very obsessed with them and looked at them as objects. This is shown a lot in his drawings which often include women which were often prostitutes. Klimt’s style was inspired by Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Byzantine style[vi]. As well as the use of gold Klimt also used a lot of bright colours to make certain objects or symbols stand out.

One of Klimt’s works was a painting called ‘The Kiss’ which was created in 1908. This painting was one of Klimt’s most famous pieces. The canvas showcases a couple embracing each other in robes covered in patterns influenced by the linear constructs of art nouveau and the arts and crafts movement. The piece has been designed using oil paints and layers of gold leaf. Klimt uses gold a lot in his pieces which makes them look more modern but very effective. This painting reflects eroticism which is partly because Klimt had a very sexual appetite which shows in a lot of his paintings he has created. The patterns covering the robes are a clear link to the organic forms of art nouveau. Klimt got inspired by a lot of contemporary painters which helped him to create some of his amazing pieces. He was influenced by their style of work which was the use of Dutch symbolist that Jan Theodor uses and Belgian Symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff. A lot of people have wanted to identify the women in the painting but some say that she is Klimt’s partner Emilie Flöge, but also Adele Bloch-Bauer.

Another painting created by Klimt is ‘The Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze’ created in 1909.

It consists of a series of three mosaics which was created for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. The main feature of this piece is the big tree with swirling branches. To the right of the picture there is a couple embracing and to the left is a standing women looking at the couple. This piece represents the ‘connection between heaven and earth and the underworld’[vii]. He used oil paints and gold paints to create this beautiful piece.  The swirling branches suggest the purity of life but they twisting of the branches can also show the complexity of life. The tree reaches all the way to the sky showing the connection between heaven and earth.  Others say that it symbolises masculinity and feminism which shows the ‘care and growth’[viii]. People look refer to this piece as being very beautiful and luxurious due to the techniques used. The black bird draws people to the middle of the painting and is a reminder that everything that has a beginning also has an end.

The main comparison of the two artists are that they both produced work in the Art Nouveau style which was very popular and still is to this day. They both also use a lot of patterns in their work and swirling lines which shows that both artists like to add detail which has meaning. Each artist uses a lot of couples in their work to show off different factors of relationships which have been from personal experience. Their presence dominated this era of arts and were influential figures in Art Nouveau which is why they both achieved such success in the art world and really made a statement which inspires a lot of people.

The big difference between the two artists is the colours they both use are very different as Beardsley only uses colours like black and white and Klimt uses a range of different colours. This was because they were inspired by different things such as Japanese wood work for Beardsley which is why he loved using black ink and colour for Klimt as it was a way of him expressing the emotions of the paintings. Another difference is that Klimt uses a lot of symbols in his work to show off different meanings whereas Beardsley uses more patterns to show his meaning.

Overall Art Nouveau is full of amazing talented artists which use this style and apply it to their work which will always interest us and inspire us. The beautiful lines, patterns and figures Is what makes art nouveau so special and memorable.

Olivia Thomas

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[i] http://www.theartstory.org/artist-beardsley-aubrey.htm

[ii] http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/aubrey-beardsley.htm

[iii] http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O140256/the-peacock-skirt-a-portfolio-print-beardsley-aubrey-vincent/

[iv] http://www.theartstory.org/artist-beardsley-aubrey-artworks.htm

[v] http://www.klimt.com/en/biography/1899---1910.html

[vi] http://www.klimtgallery.org/biography.html

[vii] http://www.gustav-klimt.com/The-Tree-Of-Life.jsp

[viii] http://www.gustav-klimt.com/The-Tree-Of-Life.jsp