Experimenting with materials

This week I have been developing my work based around graffiti and the man-made mark. As was discussed/mentioned in my previous post, the advice I was given in my tutorial was to experiment more with different materials and the way I process them. So I cut up a couple of squares of different fabric and applied bleach to them. I really like the outcome of these and so used the same process but applied it to paper, tissue and material that I had already made marks on, using black ink. These also turned out as well as I had hoped.

denim marked with lines of black ink, bleach applied on top

 One material that the bleach had an interesting effect on was dark leather. The outcome is photographed below.

appearance when bleach is first applied

2 minutes after bleach was first applied

5 minutes after bleach was first applied

Going back to the work I did a couple of weeks ago, where I was experimenting with different media to recreate the faded qualities of old black and white photographs, I found whilst experimenting with applying different substances to materials, that oil on paper gives it a translucent appearance similar to that of tracing paper. I love working with this.

The marks I was making with the bleach reminded me of the work by the artist Cy Twombly. I also found his work to be quite similar to some of my earlier drawings. This piece 'Untitled 1, 2005 (Bacchus)' (photographed below) interested me the most. I love the movement, colour and scale comparable to the marks made by graffiti.

 'Untitled 1, 2005 (Bacchus)'