Ideas

I firstly started my ideas/design work by drawing from my photos just as a starting point and see what sort of styles of drawing could be suitable. I tried different ways of drawing the flowers - for example, continuous line, without looking at the page.



This is one exmaple of my drawn work from a photo. I wanted to use a technique Nikki Strange used and mirror the image onto the other side to see what it would look like. I tihnk its come out really well and is a really effective way to make a design look more interesting.

This is an example of some drawings I have done using the techniques I was talking about above. There is a neat version, continuous line and drawing without looking.

I also wanted to create some drawings that were more textured and detailed, focusing a lot on the pattern and markings of the flowers.

Below are some continous line drawings I have drawn from looking at the photo below. I think this technique is really effective because its unique and interesting to look at. I think these designs would work well on a scarf either as one image or repeated.

I think this image above works really well and would look effective just as one print at the bottom of a scarf.

I also started experimenting with different background ideas using watercolours to mix together a blend of colours and then draw some designs on top. This is all just to give me some inspiration and ideas:

The image above and below have been created through splashing water colours onto the page and blowing through a straw to blend the colours.

 

I used water colours to create my own background and then painted the flowers over the top. I wanted to make sure the foreground was bold and bright so it contrasted against the background.

This last image below is a photograph I took. I made my own watercolour background just like the images above and then held it up against the light with an photograph of some flowers. I thought the result came out really well as you can vaguely see the flowers coming through the paper. I then drew over the top of this in a bold colour as I wanted to create a similar effect to Nikki Strange's work.

 



After looking at Paul Smiths designs, I wanted to create an image of flowers that was quite out of focus and to some people wouldn’t look like flowers. I came up with an idea of wetting the paper page and then printing the photo onto it simply by laying the photo onto the wet paper and pressing down. I found this created a really interesting and effective look therefore could be ideal for a background on a scarf.

The photo above is the original photo I took at Wisley Gardens. Below is the image printed onto paper. This was produced by spreading water over the paper and placing the photo face down onto the wet paper. I also think the image two down looks really effective. This is the photo after its had water on it.

 Above is the original photo that I took and above that is the print version and photograph afterwards.



The original photo is at the top and my printed version and photograph after are underneath. Overall, I think this is a really effective way of printing a photo because the image and colour comes out quite suttle. 

I then wanted to take this idea further and try doing the same method but onto fabric to see if it had the same effect. I have tested this out onto a cotton fabric however I want to use some silk next time as its a common fabric used to make scarfs particularly in the National Trust shop. 

Below is the flower image printed onto cotton fabric using the same technique as above. I would like to try this onto silk though as the material fits in more with my target group.

 

Again, below  is the photo, photo afterwards and the photo printed onto cotton fabric. I like this image because the colours have blended together to create a pink colour even though it's not in the original image. Again I would like to use silk as it will give a more expensive look, fitting in with my target group.

I think this looks really effective as a background colour because it enables me to add a design over the top and it also fits in with my target group. As I am used using a lot of colour in my work I think this is an effective way to still use that colour however toning it down so it fits in with the National Trust gift shop. At my interim crit my tutor pointed out that she liked how parts of the image had worn away on the photo after it has had water on it. I do also like this however I'm not sure how it would fit in with the National Trust theme.  

However, after trying to experiment this technique onto silk I found it didnt come out as well as I predicted. I found this quite a dissapointment because it came out looking really effective on cotton. When I printed it onto the silk it slightly ruined the image and it also didnt come out looking very good.