FMP project proposal

Project name: Water
26th March 2012
Fine Art

The diagnostic phase has enabled me to explore non traditional drawing methods; blind, contour, learning that drawing can be done for both function and aesthetics. I have been encouraged to use obscure materials, not necessarily related to art practices; boot polish, spaghetti, graphite on garden canes, mud, berries, moss and soil. A trip to Ilam Hall utilised the new techniques; blind drawing, continuos drawing whilst walking, combing harsh graphite and fine liners. Working within the elements created unusual finishes; the effect of rain pebble dashing watercolour, rain trickling over fine liner making it smudge and run. The fast paced nature encourages ideas to be developed and executed within a short space of time, on instinct with little time to ponder, making impulsive decisions.


The theme for my final project came to me whilst walking through my local park, surrounded by water; boating lake, river, pond. A combination of natural and man made water sources, both still and moving. The moving water intrigued me the most, the forms and patterns created by the slightest movement. The colours found within the waters were astounding, not just the blue you would instantly think of, but the tones of grey, green, brown, yellow, white and of course blue.

To gain first hand research I intend to return to Wyndham Park, visit Skegness, Queen Elizabeth Park and Empingham Resevoir. In terms of second hand research I plan to watch the Human Planet and David Attenborough's television series based around the natural world, they will give me an insight into the life forms within water along with processes and formations. To gain a wider knowledge I will read newspapers and online articles to find out global issues concerning water, including drought, flooding, coral depletion etc. Along side the global issues I plan to research the geographical processes that create these water forms and maybe look into arial photographs that show off the forms in their entirety, I will most likely source these from National Geographic publications.

Following my initial walk through Wyndham Park, along the River Witham I noticed a vast amount of rubbish; along the river bank, floating in the water and sunken to the river bed. I intend to experiment three dimensionally during this project, I dabbled in sculpture in the previous project and would like to develop this further. To enhance my work I intend to look at Maggi Hambling, David Hockney, Colleen Flanigan, Katsushika Hokusai and Rafael Lozana Hemmer who all have different approaches to working with water.


I intend to continually evaluate my work throughout the project, weekly I will intuitively and instinctively evaluate my work, my sketchbook will act as as diary recording my thought processes. As well as personal reviews I will take part in weekly critiques with my peers, whether this is constructive critism, praise or critism I will take note to allow my work to develop. T keep track I will evaluate against my initial plan, allowing me to manage my time and stick to my plan the best I can.