research - Find a Seat

SEAT 1 - the canal

I found a spot on the canal by a red pattered bridge.

I followed this man's walk along the canal, could possibly be a good starting point for something




I met some fishermen...




This is Arthur, best angler in all of Leeds
they come and fish everyday, from 9 untill it gets dark. Think it would be interesting to go back and find out more about their fishing stories.



20 Questions
- when was the red, patterned bridge made?
- how long is this canal?
- who's that man walking acorss the bridge, talking to?
- how long have those fishermen been there?
- why is that part of the canal blocked off?
- what is that screaming noise and why is it going on for so long?
- why is that man across the canal limping?
- how long have that old couple been together?
- how come no one walks on this side of the canal?
- do the people in the flats opposite talk to each other?
- what's it like to live on a canal boat? do you get sea sick?
- why does that sea-gull not want to touch the water?
- do the people on the top floor of the flats get a good view of leeds?
- whats at the top of that tower?
- where does this canal lead?
- where does that ladder lead?
- how deep is the canal?
- wheres that boat going?
- how many people have fallen into this canal?

20 Observations
- the clouds look like a quilt
- it smells like a harbour
- the sea-gulls follow each other in circles, not going anywhere
- an old man on a bike in a bright blue jacket rode down and went back up, 10 mins later a man rides down on the same bike in the same jacket but 20 yrs younger...timetravel?
- everything is made of red bricks
- a lot of people wearing bright blue when exercising
- theres a third man talking to the fishermen
- the trees on the other side have no leaves, on this side they have lots
- these wooden posts aren't comfy to sit on
- an old man dropped his keys
- sea-gulls love bread crumbs
- everyone seems to walk on the oppsite side of the canal to me
- people find joy in feeding sea gulls
- there are ducks as well as gulls
- people walk faster on this side
- at 2:24pm the sky got a pink tint
- trees on the other side have no leaves

20 Facts
- there are 33 wooden posts along the canal
- 1:55pm; 12 sea gulls are on the water
- one longboat in this section
- 14 leafless trees opposite me
- 52 gulls appeared when bread was brought out
- there are 8 ducks across the canal
- 2:22pm oppsite side got significantly busier
- boat that passed was called 'JADE II', what happened to 'JADE I'?
- 2 people dropped their keys
- there have been 2 people in, and 3 people out of the flats opposite
- 13 double decker buses and 10 smaller buses have crossed the bridge above
- 22 people in pairs, 54 singles, 4 triplets and 1 four have walked along the canal on the opposite side 

EPHEMERA

STUDIO BRIEF 1: Study Task 1 - 'The Visual Journalist'

STUDY TASK 1

A week to find three seats around leeds; spend an hour in each seat, collecting information. 

30 photographs

20 ephemera

20 questions

20 observations

20 facts

Think about different types of research:

- conceptual (listening, observing, asking, imagination)

- practical (photos, drawings, rubbings, collecting)

- theoretical (role of place in society, how this place has affected space around it, deeper questions)

- contextual (facts,history, artists)

Look for:

- similarities

- themes

- sequences

- anomalies

- patterns; visual/sequences/repeated 

- sensations

possible seats; train station, bus station, market, canal, launderette, church, shopping centre, late night shopping, cafe, galleries/museums, car park...

textures

I gathered some textures that could be used for collage or photoshop development:

shape and texture

Shape and Texture

Played with collage - ripping bits of paper and painting on top. Creates raised texture, gives the land a rough outline. Also blotted dots of paint for tone rather than blending in, feel it makes the land look patterned.

Working with 'quink', not using any outline, just having a shape. Means when I do incorporate a little detail, it is more noticed rather than if the whole figure is convoluted with lots of texture and detail. Drawing on the right is my favourite from the series, I worked from a reference but from little changes in the face I feel this monkey now has a much sadder expression, and combined with the dark ink it creates quite a sombre tone of voice.

 Love the shape of this monkey's face, was fun working with its bulbous shaped nose. Also started using 'Brusho' powder inks which I hadn't used before but really enjoyed them. Because its in a powder form, it leaves a sort of bleached, raised texture on the colour which I think works really well for the fur of the monkey. Haven't been working much with colour but have liked how these have turned out so will use more in the future.

Started working on an A3 scale, much prefer it - allows me to do bigger studies, I find I can be looser with my line work. Used a big, bristly brush for these, creates good fur texture. 

Been doing a lot of studies that are just floating around on the page, tried doing more of a finsihed piece - including some background detail. This is just a rough sketch but I like the style of having the main subject matter in colour and the rest in monochrome, so to bring attention to the main section.