Nick Knight

Nick Knight is most known as a contemporary fashion photographer, and is responsible for filling our minds with iconic imagery. He's worked with a huge variety of leading designers over the last three decades, however amongst his prolific working career he has also worked on a variety of personal projects, one of these being 'Flora'. 'Flora' has been hugely inspiring for me over this unit. The way he has isolated the subject invites you to scrutinise the detail. Each print is individually photographed almost as if he has photocopied them, the subjects are all cut up, and laid out in a certain order as if we are judging them. Its an unnatural environment for the plants and flowers to be shown in. Stereotypically this way of displaying imagery on a page would be avoided, the photos have no weight. They hold a sense of presence but absolutely no form of space, their existence is questionable because to a certain extent the viewer will struggle to judge the scale, weight, and even texture.

However Knight has somewhat managed to capture this incredible simplicity within the works, each specimen does not need anymore explanation then what is described from the camera, within my work I have idolised this ability to capture the presence, when working observationally with my own organic structures I want to gather a similar amount of detail. The lack of perspective within each of his images allows the viewer full focus on the complexity of detail. By Knight removing the specimens from the natural environment we usually associate them in. It has educated the viewer into understanding the beauty of these structures when they stand alone.

Clearly Knight works in a very different way to myself, however since coming across 'Flora' I have tried to gain some of his love for detail, however using graphite rather then a camera. I will never gain the elements of detail he can out of a lens, however with precision and a strong hand I have been recreating with delicacy and time some of the organic structures I have previously documented from Fletcher Moss.

Chelsea Harbour Design Centre

It's really important for me to continuously direct my work into industry. Familiarising myself with the market trends and styles helps me to construct and move forward my ideas, with a current outlook. The design centre has most of the leading interior companies under one roof so allowed me to quickly utilise my time and see as much as was possible. Romo Black, particulalry influenced me, shown above to the right, the 'Xanthina Collection' in Botanica french grey. Subject wise it is not dissimilar to my own work, however the simplicity is stronger and holds more of a silhouette form, which i'm going to try and reciprocate in the print room. Similar to my own work, the've used the negative to draw with, holding a presence within the print.  Colour wise i'm not interested in mixing the grey and the lime into my own work, at this moment in time. Its simply inspiration for market awareness, design and process.

Zinc, under the same umbrella company as Romo, follows a more muted palette and focuses on the tactile qualities and surface texture rather then print design. It equally played a part in influencing me, I want to show diversity within my collection and Zinc's fur collection 'Shadow Mountain Furs' inspired me to work with the idea of putting fur to the wall rather than its more general use for throws or decoration. Particularly the colour way Z333/01 REX I see as the most fitting, i'm looking into getting hold of some for sampling. Thought process wise I want to somehow, melt the synthetic fur from an element of my drawing, so my drawing is sunken into the pile. Potentially using the heat press.

Mark Alexander again another umbrella company of the Romo group, influenced my design process as well, the fabric samples shown above to the left, (the dragged spot like design) was inspiring colour palette wise and design. The idea of  the dragged spot could work as an idea for a corresponding print breaking up my more graphic quality work, broadening my collection ideas. This dragged spot is seemingly very on trend, whilst on my work experience at 'The Colorfield' a print design company for womenswear based in London, one of the designers Lucy, was working on a print group combining this idea of dragging the colours into each other blurring the print, using a variety of forms to cumulate the collection. 

Large Scale Drawing

During a tutorial we spoke about how I would manage to transfer the same qualities if I were to take my work into a larger scale. Contextually wise I need to experiment with how my designs will sit to the wall and understand what scale works the best.


I'm looking to complete several collections by the end of the unit, so working on different scales adds a diversity to my work and hopefully could reach a broader market. I really enjoyed working on a different scale. I have never worked to A0 before just with pencil and graphite but by using a projector I could automatically gain the suggested size, so could focus on my quality of line.
I'm definitely going to continue in one direction with this large scale, I've scanned on the large format scanner all of my work in and experimenting on photoshop at the moment I feel this work lends itself to a large voile, flowing material, potentially never repeating. Fabric testing is the next step for me regarding these, it will give me a sense of where my drawing lends itself to best.

Media, Colour Palette and Contextualising my Work

Whilst assessing different mediums to gain the delicacy I want, I've experimented with Quink Ink and bleach. Using it carefully and controlled it has allowed me to utilise those organic structures from my inspiration. I think its key how the dark backgrounds creates this heavy sense of an atmosphere, the negative space is created through bleach rather than purposefully drawn. I especially love how the black Quink is not a jet black. It has an indigo tinge and sits well on varied papers. I am enjoying not working continuously on a high quality paper, I love how successful my drawing has been and so restricting myself at this stage to stretching paper, I personally think would ruin the beauty of how i'm working on the different weights and sizes found and bought.

I booked myself into the print room last week to gain a sense of moving my work to fabric and assess the way I want to use colour. On reflection, I think it was too early for me to go in, I was working just with a blank screen, only really to familiarise myself with the environment again. Results wise it was not successful and stressed me colour wise. I've sorted out what direction I am going to go in now, Colour palette wise is, Yellow Ocre, Indigo, Hints of grey/silver (brings the collection a little more sophisticated in elements) Burgundy, and hints of Rust. I will Pantone reference at a later stage.

Contextually it has always been directed for Interiors, I'm looking now however to channel it into a tighter niche. I want to mildly direct some designs into interiors for a Chalet style. Colour palette wise and drawing structure links very directly. I can imagine this being an atmospheric, detailed collection for a winter lodge, hotel reception or boutique interiors for an off piste bar. I won't be pushing this so much that its overly stylised and unfitting for anywhere else, but visualisation wise and context for myself gives me that continuous direction and final vision.

Inspiration and Progress

In order to inspire and gather processes together to create my collection, I have looked at several artists, and designers to extend my ideas. In particular Susie Macmurray has drawn something so simple, but given it such an organic edge, simply drawing heavy gauze using fine liner. Its intricate and has a particular natural quality, for something thats manmade. I'm particularly interested in the flat, veiny and fern like look to it. The areas that are clustered tightly with thread/line particularly portray a certain fluidity within the gauze and delicacy, its almost like its moving. The space that she's given the drawing on the page allows the drawing to breath.

http://www.susie-macmurray.co.uk/project.php?pageNum_get_project_images=8&id=1001

Following from viewing her work, I have worked with muslin to pull forward my processes by extending my subject matter. Similar to Susie I have documented the muslin using the photocopier and pencil. Creating a similar organic drawing.

The link I made regarding a fern like appearance, has encouraged me to gather some of my own observationals. Using spray paint I have managed to capture the silhouette of the fern leaves on one side of the paper, unfortunately at the time I only had silver spray paint, but actually it created a better more subtle effect when you turn the paper around, hold it up to the light and the silhouette shines through. Working on top of the back of the paper has created a layered, deeper image, adding another dimension. I am looking to push forward with this way of working, my only worry is how I will manage to transfer this delicacy within photoshop or the print room.

Drawing

In reflection from soaking up the atmosphere in Fletcher Moss and gaining some interesting photography, I've begun to draw with graphite and ink in response. The concept of layering my drawings to covey the atmosphere I'm wanting from my work is fundamental. Tracing paper has become a key material I'm using, as it gives a natural and automatic translucency. I want this raw and natural feeling to continue to be present withing the final collection, I'm thoroughly enjoying going back to basics and throwing ink, water, salt anything to see what I can get from it. I'm making mistakes and creating new ideas. I really feel like my work is growing, I'm understanding a lot more of what I want to get out of this project, where I want to go and how I want the final results to look.

Organic Line.

Raw Depiction is about going back to basics for me with no rigid rules. Towards the end of last year my work became very refined with high graphic qualities. Eventually I will be creating a refined collection of prints, however I want to finally experiment with working from raw materials in a very exciting and fluid way. My theme is beginning by working from Nature, Lights and Darks and Negative space. Initially i'm trying to get a sense of atmosphere and eeriness within my experimentation. I'm hoping to refine and alter the eeriness of some of the marks into beautiful, sophisticated print designs for interiors. I'm gaining my knowledge and understanding of this area by visiting earthy forests, looking thoroughly at elements of trees and using autumnal colours. Fletcher Moss in Didsbury, Manchester is where i'm beginning my journey, photographing and working in situ. Working directly with organic forms and line will create fluidity and a sense of atmosphere that can be held and maintained within a room.