250 Word Reflection- Esme Waterhouse-Duignan

Personally, in my work i believe i displayed a great use of colour. I’m happy with the decision to use mediums such as posca pens and acrylic paint when responding to my images of graffiti. The bright bold colours from those mediums really carried the fun rebellious atmosphere of graffiti into my own work. I also really enjoyed extracting the distinct shapes seen in graffiti and really enhancing them with the use of colour. For example, on image 4 of my talking colour section, i used blue pencils to shade around the funky lettering, i believe this gives a more striking and prominent affect that i wouldn’t have got if just using a blue posca pen.

I also like the way I’ve depicted pattern in this project. I used Photoshop to duplicate and resize my initial drawings which i then printed out and hand cut and stuck back on paper- to imagine how they would look as repeat patterns. I think a simple method like this is really good to envision how these shapes would look as textile designs. In my opinion, the the small collages i made inspired by my graffiti photos display a lively and interesting array of patterns that communicate what i saw in the graffiti.

However, if i was to have more time with this project, i would’ve liked to experiment with more texture and expand my use of mediums. I would’ve loved to have tried using materials that i found in the area i was taking photos from and perhaps collage them together. I would’ve also loved to have seen how i could’ve responded to my graffiti photos using mediums such as chalk and pastels, not just paint. In my next projects i want to be more experimental and step outside my comfort zone when researching and responding.