Priley Riley, Swan sculpture, 25th November 2013

To make this sculpture, I drew the swans onto MDF and cut them out using a band saw. I then used a belt sander to make the edges more accurate, and fixed them onto a block of MDF so that the two swans at the front are fixed to the block and the other two are raised from it. I did this to add height to the piece, which allows all of the swans to be seen when the sculpture is viewed at eye-level. I also made sure that there was a gap of 1-2cm between each of the swans to add depth to the piece.

Priley Riley, Paper vs canvas for ink drawings, November 2013

I was using drawing ink in my sketchbook to depict Loughborough canal, but wondered what it would be like to draw onto a different surface using the same media. I decided to experiment with ink on canvas. I found it more challenging drawing onto canvas because the rough surface meant that the ink didn’t flow as well. It also caused the drawing ink pen to get stuck occasionally, flicking small dots of ink over my work. However, the canvas did have some positive aspects; the material allowed me to dab or wipe damp tissue over the ink to create the water and tree affects, whereas using this technique in my sketchbook only damaged the paper. I also think that the drawing on canvas looks more like a final piece of work than the drawing on paper does.

 

Priley Riley, Self-made 60 x 60cm canvas, November 2013

I made this canvas from good quality materials that I cut to size and put together myself. Having this facility at university and being able to use it will come in very handy for me (as this canvas is a lot better quality than a shop-bought canvas would be, so it will last an incredibly long time). After making it, I covered the surface of my canvas with rabbit skin glue because it works well with oil paint.

Priley Riley, Etchings, November 2013

 

To make my etchings, I used the same process that would have been used in the 17^th century by Rembrandt. I enjoyed making the etchings a lot because it involved using a zinc plate, acid, a flame on a taper, wax, etc, which made the process very interesting. The subject of my etchings is the swans on Loughborough canal. My photos show my etching plate, all of my etchings together, and my favourite etching, which I did by rolling a layer of blue printing ink over the wax on my etching plate before printing it.

 

 

Priley Riley, ‘Swans on Loughborough Canal,' November 2013

This is a 16 x 20 inch acrylic painting on canvas of the canal running through Loughborough. I referred to a photo that I took on the 30^th of October in order to paint it (this photo is shown below). My aim was to make my painting look realistic yet idealised. In order to do this, I made the shades of blue and green in the photo brighter.

Priley Riley, Photography, 12th November 2013

This photo was taken during a photography workshop, which was about producing self portrait photos. This photo was taken using a Nikon D5100 camera, a white background, and lighting from above. I like the plain background because it focuses the viewer’s attention purely on the portrait.

Priley Riley, A few pages from my sketchbook, October 2013

Priley Riley, A double page from project 3, October 2013

For my third project I was asked to consider how one object might look like or represent another object. I completed an A5 40 page booklet exploring this. I started this book with a representational sketch of a light bulb. I then considered what other object a light bulb might resemble, and decided that it was similar in shape to a rounded test tube, so I then drew a combination of a light bulb and rounded test tube. Next, I made a representational sketch of a rounded test tube and considered what object this looked like, repeating this process to the end of the book. This is a double-page, from the middle of my book, showing this process.