As my second year of university is now officially over I thought I'd create a post highlighting some of the things I've achieved over the past twelve months. I've worked extremely hard over the course of the year and my efforts seem to have paid off so I just want to reflect and brag a little. I can do that, right? Here are the top five highlights from my year in no particular order:
1.) This month marks the one year anniversary of Masking Paint! Before May 2015, blogging was a mystery to me, something I only heard people talk about. Amy introduced me to the world of blogging and helped me establish what is now a place I update you on my practice, share artists that inspire me and review exhibitions I've seen or been a part of. I've tried really hard to maintain consistency and share interesting content with you and I believe I've succeeded to a certain extent (although there has been a couple of times where I've struggled to post anything, sorry!). Masking Paint may also be undergoing a slight makeover in the next few weeks which is really exciting so make sure you keep your eyes out for that! I want to thank all of you who give up a small part of your day to read my posts, especially those who comment and the eighteen of you who follow me on Bloglovin, it is much appreciated!
2.) I know 'it's not all about grades' but its nice to know that the time and effort I've put into my work and the small sacrifices I've made along the way have been reflected in the grades I've been awarded. Being an art student is hard and it takes a lot of self discipline to get up and research, make and write about art from 9:30 in the morning until sometimes 7:00 in the evening, five days a week. It's a full time job and it's not something you can easily leave behind once you pack up for the day. So far I've received grades for three out of five modules and I'm currently averaging 74% which I am delighted with! I'm waiting for two more results and I'm a little nervous but I've got my fingers crossed that they too will be a handsome reward for my hard work.
3.) This year I believe I've found my style. Over the course of the year I've focused on two main concepts; Still Life and Interiors. I've taken inspiration from artists such as Caroline Walker, Anna Valdez, Elizabeth Barnett, Guy Yanai and Dexter Dalwood as well as elements from Home Style Magazines such as 'The World Of Interiors' and 'Real Homes'. I've sought to create abstracted compositions of still life pieces and interiors to communicate the idea of wealth and sophistication. My painting style has become the use of bold colours, superimposed shapes and clean lines to play with notions of the artificiality of what we see and read about in television and advertising. These themes and styles have become the centre of my practice and I am going to expand on them next year during my dissertation. I'm pleased to note that I've been given the go-ahead on my dissertation as my proposal received a 'green light'. My task over the summer is to do a large amount of reading and research so that when I return to university in September I have an extensive bibliography ready to hit the ground running.
4.) I've been involved in a lot of external exhibitions as well as being one of the project managers of the second year Exhibition, XOXO. Engaging with the art world outside of the university environment is extremely important because it is the best way to gain experience, contacts and accolades for your artist CV. I've spent lots of money and countless hours filling out application/submission forms to be part of exhibitions and I've had plenty of success. I've been part of six exhibitions; I'll Show You Mine; A Happy Medium; Disposable Society; XOXO; Fresh and Hope//Fear as well as having a feature in the Seagulls Resuse Pop-Up Room. I've also been shortlisted to the second round of judging for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London and for a group exhibition in the University of Syracuse, New York. I was also one of three project managers for the XOXO exhibition which was a huge achievement having drawn in hundreds of visitors with positive feedback. I've worked really hard and have taken rejection on the chin; it's reassuring to know that my work fits into the art world and is gaining recognition.
5.) Last but not least, I've experimented with a lot of other mediums. Although I'm primarily a painter and have been placed firmly within the painting and printmaking strand, I've made sure to expand on my field of practice. Ceramics, metal casting and screen printing has been fantastic in increasing my knowledge of other two and three dimensional methods of working. Last year I was a little scared to investigate other workshop areas which meant I was almost exclusively a painter. This year I've tried to push the boat out and play with other disciplines as it would be a shame not to utilize the equipment university has to offer- I am pleased with my efforts to experiment and I want to continue to do so.
This concludes my five 'second year highlights' and I hope there will be many more to come. Thank you for joining me on my artistic journey!
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