Contextual Research - Drawing

Life & Decay of Flowers


MICHAEL LANDY

Artist Bio;

Michael Landy borin in 1963 is one of the Young Birtish Artists (YBA). He is best known for the performance piece installation Break Down (2001), in which he destroyed all his possessions, and for the Art Bin project at the South London Gallery. On 29th May 2008, Landy was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

I decided to look at Landy's work as his drawings of weeds because he had a particular style of detail to them which is what I wanted to create within my drawings. They seem very small but detailed at the same time. They are all etchings and life size to the study he was drawing from. I like how simple they are and they make you want to look at them more closely to see exactly what details he was able to capture and I think he has done well as they almost look realistic. 

BILLY KIDD

Artist Bio;

Billy Kidd is an American self-taught photographer born in 1980 in Panama City, Florida. This set of images titled “Decaying Flowers” shows us that there is something beautiful and purely natural in the process of dying. He sees a beauty that other people often dismiss. The roses can be just as exquisite and captivating even in their decaying state. In some ways, Billy Kidd has breathed new life into them. The roses were captured with every bit of detail and colour against a black background with a single light source.

When researching for decay in flowers, I came across Billy Kidd's work and it really caught my eye. I would call these photographs of decaying flowers 'Beautiful Decay'. I like the way he has captured them in dark lighting to somewhat enhance the focus onto the decaying flowers. It captures so much detail and makes them look almost like they are not decayed. Looking at his images helped me decide what flowers I wanted to look at. 

JOAN WADLEIGH CURRAN

KEIKA HASEGAWA - CHRYSANTHEMUM

These wood prints are very interesting to me. I like the bold use of colour throughout most of them. The flowers that the artist has drawn are very beautiful and are known as the symbol of sun, perfection and long life. The prints are very much similar to the work I want to create with a lot of detail within them and subtle hints of colour. To me they look very realistic and I think that's what the artist was trying to show.

ELIOT HODGKIN - MILKWEED

Throughout all these paintings and drawings there's a similar tone which makes them interesting to look at. They look like a good series of work. The artist has used much more colour to add tone and a life likeness to the images but still capturing detail. The colours are very dull but it seems to work very well for these images.