November 2025

In this first piece, I explored the idea of pattern and the different places it can be found. I used water carefully shaped into rounded squares, then added red and blue pigments to form various shapes and patterns within the painted water. I really like how the two pigments didn’t mix but instead remained separate while still interacting with each other in a unique way each time. The marble-like effect that happened is great to observe and will give me ideas on shapes and designs that I can later incorporate into my prints.

In this piece, I used red acrylic paint pressed between two pages to create completely random and unique shapes and marks. From there, I added green acrylic paint, working around the red shapes. The green areas are much more structured, calculated, and solid this creates a strong contrast with the messiness and randomness of the red. I really like this balance between no control and control, and I think this piece gives a good foundation for developing prints and experimenting with editing.

This is an edited version of the green and red piece. I was particularly drawn to the outlines formed around the marks and shapes, so I increased the contrast to make them stand out more clearly. I also adjusted the colours to create a wider range of options and explore different effects and outcomes.

This is another edited verison of the red and green acryic paint. i kept the original colours just slightly tweaked them. i realy love the outlines.

This pattern was inspired by the repetitive designs found on tube seats. I was drawn to the simplicity of the shapes and how they come together to form intricate and detailed patterns. For this piece, I used a simple colour palette of greens, yellows, and blues, along with a thick black marker to create bold lines and curved shapes. I think this design also can be used as a strong base for editing and could give me ideas for simple block prints.

Theese are edited version of my orignal pattern. I really love how theese turned out i love the grain and depth theese both have.

This piece focuses on keeping the expressive, messy marks of the paint while filling the negative space with simple block shapes that still add a sense of detail and pattern. The combination of them reminds me of the conservation of old buildings in London, where the original structures are maintained and new modern architecture is built around them, complementing rather than disturbing the old. And i wanted to turn it into a pattern.

While exploring patterns in the city, I noticed that many designs use shapes to create symmetry. I wanted to experiment with this idea by using objects such as the end of a paint tube to print repeating shapes that remain the same in form but vary slightly in their marks. I really like the layered effect created by the different colours. This piece was inspired by the hidden shapes and curves of the underground structures within the city.

REFLECTION

Exploring London while responding creatively has been a deeply sensory journey that reshaped how I perceive and record the world around me. Walking through Shoreditch, Spitalfields, and other corners of the city, I was drawn to its textures, brick walls layered with graffiti and its contrasting atmospheres. I have used mixed media approach to capture the diverse experiences that I encountered. Observing the city’s interplay of structure and spontaneity allowed me to see beauty in the small moments and made me feel like I was exploring myself. Working outdoors made my process more instinctive.

One of the main challenges I faced was learning to let go of control and work intuitively. At first, I found it difficult to capture the fast pace and unpredictability of London without overthinking composition or detail. However, embracing spontaneity without worrying much about the outcome through live sketching practice and mark-making became one of my key successes as it allowed me to create more expressive and dynamic outcomes.

Moving forward, I would like to explore and experiment further with scale and layering perhaps translating larger sections of my drawings into fabric samples or digital prints. I also plan to explore colour relationships more intentionally to strengthen the connection between my sketchbook exploration and future textile design practice. I aim to refine this dialogue between observation and interpretation by transforming my drawings into textile designs and print.  If I were to do it again, I would focus on adding more layers into my work to explore how different materials interact. This could enable me to achieve a more dynamic and visually engaging outcome that would be helpful for my textile design development as well.

For when researching patterns, i looked back at the graffiti images i took when i was researching talking colour. I wanted to express the shapes i saw, into patterns. With this pattern i really like the graphic bright colours. I used oil pastels to create the initial drawings but then used photoshop to duplicate and resize the image so i could cut out and collage back together.

To create the original drawing i used gouache paints and a black fine liner to replicate a piece of graffiti i saw. I love the bold geometric shapes which i wanted to recreate. With the duplicated and resized images i wanted to imagine how this pattern could look in different ways by rearranging and rotating. I think the crazy, all over the place aesthetic fits the vibe of the original graffiti better than the uniformed straight pattern as it reflects the fun and rebellious feel.

Again, using an oil pastel i drew a pattern that combined harsh pointy line work with meandering soft line work. I really love how this pattern comes together when lined up next to each other.

Here i combined all the patterns at once and i really like the mixture of all the different colour palettes and line work. I love the funky bright feel.

From my talking colour work, i was so heavily inspired by this door in Hackney Wick i captured. I felt as though it had a lot of character and wanted to extract all the different patterns i could see from this one door.

All my inspiration starts with things from real life—exhibits in natural history museums, combined with my recent subterranean exploration at the Horniman Museum, gave rise to these fantastical worlds. Covering fossils of marine life and ocean species, extending to terrestrial creatures such as birds and insects, this journey from sea to land embodies the infinite potential for life’s continuity within nature. Throughout my discourse, I express a sense of inspiration— This inspiration stems from living fossils and the evidence they provide of life’s existence, demonstrating the innate drive for biological evolution. I have integrated this evolutionary mechanism with my own vision of the world, using this instinctive drive to transport them into an alternate, fantastical realm. One can also observe the altered colouration of certain species, This is as I contrast their original forms with the imagined reconstructions I have created for them. During the creative process, I tried every means to incorporate more visual elements into the illustrations themselves. Thus, after completing each piece on paper—merely as a drawing on paper—I further edited them in Photoshop to imbue the textures with greater visual depth. Many of these effects were achieved through Photoshop filters.All the chromatic patterns are based on biological species, their appearance, form, body structure, internal anatomy, and the anatomical illustrations displayed in museums. My outlining of the lines and forms of living creatures draws from this source.As for why I chose them, it is because I wish to undertake a secondary construction of life, to rebuild a space existing beyond the three-dimensional world. The contradictions within it can, to some extent, be understood as an alien space, though not entirely one populated by monstrous and mutated creatures.

Talking Colour and Pattern Project
For my Talking Colour and Pattern project, I spent time walking around different parts of London that I found visually interesting and inspired me, such as Brick Lane, Hackney, and Central London. I wanted to capture what interested me in these places, so I recorded them through photo and drawing, experimenting with different techniques and materials. I used oil pastel, watercolour, acrylic paint, pencil, and Photoshop to explore how colour and pattern can express the energy and the vibe of these places.
I was heavily inspired by the graffiti I saw all around London. I loved the way street artists used colour so freely and boldly. The bright tones and playful contrasts really stood out to me and made me think differently about how colour can communicate mood. I’m especially drawn to neon colours, which we don’t often see much in everyday life, but they always give me a vibrant, almost dreamlike feeling. In Photoshop, I experimented with different colour effects to create that neon “pop,” and I really liked the results.
For the pattern side of the project, I used real flowers and plants to make interesting textures and compositions. I liked how the natural patterns and organic shapes contrasted with the artificial, bright neon colours. This combination created a sense of tension between nature and urban life, which I found exciting to explore.
Overall, this project was something completely new for me. It encouraged me to look at my surroundings differently and to express what I see and feel through bold colour, experimental materials, and unexpected contrasts.

Reflection
Taking photos and drawing from them, as well as doing still life drawing, has been a hard task for me. I’ve done lots of paintings and drawings before, but rarely in this kind of format where I have to observe and translate what I see directly. This project really pushed me and challenged me to work in new ways. It made me step out of my comfort zone and try techniques that I wouldn’t normally use on my own or in my spare time.
Experimenting with different colour ranges instead of sticking to the original or realistic colours gave me a new way to see things. It allowed me to think more freely about how colour can be used to express feelings rather than just to represent what something looks like. I enjoyed pushing the limits of colour and seeing how different tones can completely change the mood of a piece.
Another part I really enjoyed was seeing my peers’ work. Studying with them and sharing ideas was very inspiring. I learned a lot just by observing their techniques, and it gave me new ideas and motivation for my own work. I realised that inspiration is everywhere. In people, in places, and even in the process.
Using a variety of materials was also something I explored in this project. Some of them were quite new to me, and at first, it was difficult to start. But once I became more familiar with them, I found it really interesting to see how different materials can work together. I still don’t enjoy using watercolour on its own, but I discovered that when I combine it with other materials like marker pen, it becomes much more fun and feels more like my own style.
Overall, this project helped me grow as an artist. It challenged me to experiment, to stay open minded and to keep exploring new things.

For my Talking Colour and Pattern project, I spent time walking around different parts of London that I found visually interesting and inspired me, such as Brick Lane, Hackney, and Central London. I wanted to capture what interested me in these places, so I recorded them through photo and drawing, experimenting with different techniques and materials. I used oil pastel, watercolour, acrylic paint, pencil, and Photoshop to explore how colour and pattern can express the energy and the vibe of these places.
I was heavily inspired by the graffiti I saw all around London. I loved the way street artists used colour so freely and boldly. The bright tones and playful contrasts really stood out to me and made me think differently about how colour can communicate mood. I’m especially drawn to neon colours, which we don’t often see much in everyday life, but they always give me a vibrant, almost dreamlike feeling. In Photoshop, I experimented with different colour effects to create that neon “pop,” and I really liked the results.
For the pattern side of the project, I used real flowers and plants to make interesting textures and compositions. I liked how the natural patterns and organic shapes contrasted with the artificial, bright neon colours. This combination created a sense of tension between nature and urban life, which I found exciting to explore.
Overall, this project was something completely new for me. It encouraged me to look at my surroundings differently and to express what I see and feel through bold colour, experimental materials, and unexpected contrasts.

Reflection
Taking photos and drawing from them, as well as doing still life drawing, has been a hard task for me. I’ve done lots of paintings and drawings before, but rarely in this kind of format where I have to observe and translate what I see directly. This project really pushed me and challenged me to work in new ways. It made me step out of my comfort zone and try techniques that I wouldn’t normally use on my own or in my spare time.
Experimenting with different colour ranges instead of sticking to the original or realistic colours gave me a new way to see things. It allowed me to think more freely about how colour can be used to express feelings rather than just to represent what something looks like. I enjoyed pushing the limits of colour and seeing how different tones can completely change the mood of a piece.
Another part I really enjoyed was seeing my peers’ work. Studying with them and sharing ideas was very inspiring. I learned a lot just by observing their techniques, and it gave me new ideas and motivation for my own work. I realised that inspiration is everywhere. In people, in places, and even in the process.
Using a variety of materials was also something I explored in this project. Some of them were quite new to me, and at first, it was difficult to start. But once I became more familiar with them, I found it really interesting to see how different materials can work together. I still don’t enjoy using watercolour on its own, but I discovered that when I combine it with other materials like marker pen, it becomes much more fun and feels more like my own style.
Overall, this project helped me grow as an artist. It challenged me to experiment, to stay open minded and to keep exploring new things.