Unit X | Investigation

Since deciding what my direction is going to be I have been experimenting with colours and patterns.

I started to look at the designs used within typical fairgrounds and circuses. I then wanted to somehow portray this imagery onto animals to put across the idea that they are seen as part of the fairground rather than actual living things. I started with silhouettes because a basic shape is a lot easier to put a pattern onto. I quite like how these turned out, and I really liked the hand painted element.
Although I do really like the silhouettes filled with bright patterns, I also wanted to experiment with more real looking paintings. Bryan Holland paints the animal as it actually looks and turns its surroundings into pattern and imagery. I wanted to try this out for myself.

 

While I was doing some research on Pinterest I found lots of artwork that showed elephants on newspaper and book pages. I really liked how it looked but it also relates to my work, as newspapers were what told people all over the UK that the animals were in Belle Vue to be seen. That's where they were advertised.
I have painted a circus elephant onto newspaper, this time as the elephant actually looks rather than the silhouette filled with a pattern. I found that I really like the texture of the paint on the newspaper, and the finish was lovely. I plan on taking the newspaper idea further in my work.