Summer Reflections- Starting Second Year

Coming into the final weeks of what seems like a year-long Summer break, I thought I'd write a short post on what I've been up to and my thoughts on starting the second year. Since lockdown began, I feel like I've accomplished quite a lot in terms of personal growth. Starting an Illustration Instagram has always been top of my 'To-do' list and this year I accomplished that goal. I've loved the networking aspect, following illustration students from different Uni's and seeing how they approach projects. This October, I'm hoping to take part in Inktober, a month-long art challenge founded by Jake Parker. Thousands of artists worldwide take part to improve drawing skills and have fun with ink! I'm planning to use the Furry Little Peach Inktober prompt list as she's one of my favourite illustrators- hopefully, I'll be able to find the time to do it between coursework! It should be a good way to gain followers as some entries get posted to her story and people will be looking at the hashtag #FLPinktober20. Originally, the challenge was limited to ink (ballpoint pen, Promarker, water-based ink, etc..), but people now utilise the challenge to learn a new medium. I want to use sepia ink as its a traditional style I want to develop. At the end of October, Furry Little Peach collates all the illustrations to make a zine which I'd love to do if I successfully complete it.

In June I finished my last project of first year and decided to take part in the Cheltenham Illustration Awards Competition after my tutor recommended it to me. I was apprehensive of entering a larger competition as I hadn't taken part in something like this before but looking back I'm glad I did. I handed in my entry for 'I am Many Stories', this year's chosen theme, and am waiting for the results at the end of October. I also took part in a competition hosted by Ohh Deer to design the packaging for their online stationery store which you can see in my last blog post. I'm glad I utilised this Summer and stayed productive given the weird circumstances we're all in. Taking on competitions helped me stay motivated and they can be added to my portfolio to show more variety in my work. 

Currently, I'm taking a break from commercial illustration before rushing back into my new project. This extensive amount of time off has made my realise how much I want to be producing more art for myself as I've always been driven to do well in Uni projects, personal work has taken a backseat. Over the summer I've had a story concept developing in my head about a scarecrow whose afraid of the dark.  

This week I received my summer project and found out the theme of my next project. I've been researching Typology and artists linked to the movement such as Bernd and Hilla Becher who travelled Europe photographing prominent industrial structures in the 19th Century. I'm excited to start as the project will focus on printmaking with workshops on screenprinting and opportunities to use the Risoprinter. I've chosen to focus on Portuguese Architecture because its one of my favourite locations for its beautiful streets, tile designs and old towns. I have lots of photos from trips over the years which will be a good reference and enable me to create etchings and experiment with new types of print, possibly look at creating some tile designs. This year will be very different in regards to teaching with the Coronavirus but I'm optimistic and glad to have a home studio to work in.