Visual Language_WHAT IS A LINE? Experimentation with colour

I have experimented with adjusting colour. With this image I reduced the amount of colour to make it appear more earthy and natural.

I think this image works best when the colours are as bright and as saturated as possible, creating dramatic contrasts with the simple white background.

Visual Language_WHAT IS A LINE? Development

In this painting I have tried to take on Steadman's style and encorporate it with my own natural stlye. I have tried to manipulate the lines in a way that makes them appear prickly and expressive. I also used indian ink to create large areas of solid colour so make the fine, spindelly lines contrast and stand out even more. I am pleased with the stylistic elements of the image, but instead of working blind, or from one of my original line drawings I worked from a magazine image. I think that the image looses the natural and abstracted quality that the other images have had.

Visual Language_WHAT IS A LINE? Sketchbook Images Morrocco

Here are a few of the drawings I did on the hitch hike to Morrocco over Easter.

I like tribal influence in these images.

I met a Moroccan painter who wrote some arabic calligraphy in my book

In spain on the way I met another painter in a bar. I asked him to draw in my book as well. He started by pouring his beer over the book, then when the pen wouldn't work he began drawing with cigarette ends. I think that that the results are pretty open to interpretation, particularly seeing as he couldn't speak a word of English, nor understand French. I am pretty certain that the second image is supposed to be a road, in reference to the hitch hiking? However I really like the practice; the idea of working with whatever materials are available to you at the time! Especially whilst traveling, I have encountered the issue of having to work with whatever implement you can find. I actually dropped my good pen in the middle of a duel carridgeway on the first day of the trip.

Visual Language_WHAT IS A LINE? Ralph Steadman experiment

I have been looking at the work of Ralph Steadman. I have always been a fan of his work. Not only do I love the scratchy, chaotic quality of his lines, but I especially love the way that he interprets and depicts what he's drawing. He tries to capture the atmosphere and the mood of the subject, rather than simply what it looks like. He uses expressive lines and marks which explain this. I also love the abstract faces of his charcters. This is my copy of one of his illustrations. I don't like copying other artists work, but I often find it helps me to understand the way that that artist has worked.