Cosmin

Cojocaru
Personal
Investigation
My project can be considered a disjointed success, my influences vary from artist such as
Joe Cartwright who’s work demonstrates the many layers that can be seen as part of a rural
landscape, to the works of Milton Avery who focuses on composition and colour.

Joe Cartwright.

Figure 1: Watercolour painting of

Romanian scenery.

Joe Cartwright is a watercolour artist who also

incorporates pen, ink and pastel into his work. His
work depicts a landscape usually a rural scene, but
focuses more on colour intensity and fluidity instead Figure 2: Top – Sand Dunes Fingal Bay
of detail in order bring out shape and form. One by Joe Cartwright.
could say that in his paintings his use of colour gives Bottom – My recreation of artist work
a seasonal and time element to his work. He tends
to use a range of blues, greens, and browns
changing the intensity ever so slightly in order to
give off the overall mood of the image. When I
initially started my project, I wanted to become
more familiar with other medias, I used watercolour
but had a lack of understanding. After looking into Joe
Cartwright, I began to experiment with water and
colour ratios, focusing on gradient. I tried to capture
some of the rural scenes from photographs of my
home town in Romania. I worked with a range of
greens focusing my greenery around the ‘initial wash’
which Cartwright states holds the painting together.
Upon reflection I found that the image lacked shape
and depth. The colours although slightly different sat
on top of one another and there was no indication of
the foreground or background. Cartwrights work
carried a sense of depth. Closer analysis made clear that the objects in the foreground
having a distinctive shape and the objects in the background becoming out of focus, thus
creating the mood of the image.
I tried to bring these ideas across to my next piece, where I focused on a close-up section of
the image. Varying the water to paint ratio, I was able to create a sense of depth through
using darker and harsher tones in the foreground and a more subtle colour palette in the
background. When painting the water, I first set a layer of water with a paintbrush, and then
immediately after that, I added the watercolour allowing it to flow freely, brushing it in a
horizontal motion across the paper, which helped create the feeling of ripples in the water.
In order to create a better sense of depth, I used pen to bring out some of the detail of the
rock.

Figure 3 – Watercolour painting Figure 4 – Watercolour and ball point pen.

using Joe Cartwright techniques.

I wanted to continue to explore the idea of depth and

how it can be created. Cartwrights work forced me to consider the relevance of information
and I started to question what and how much information is necessary.
My curiosity led me to look at the work of Matisse. Only Matisse who had mastered both
sculpture and painting could be so daring to apply the technique of the sculptor to the
painting, and carve a block of pure colour. It was more natural for him because ‘drawing’
with a pair of scissors implied no real change in aesthetic. Taking about the meaning behind
Matisses work.
His use of colour of and pattern is often deliberately disorienting and unsettling and Matisse
once declared that he wanted his art to be “Of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of
troubling or depressing subject matter”.
The human figure was central to Matisse’s work both in sculpture and painting. At times he
fragmented the figure harshly, at other times he treated it almost as a curvilinear,
decorative element. Some of his work reflects the mood and personality of his models, but
more often he used them merely as vehicles for his own feelings, reducing them to ciphers
in his monumental designs.
looking at negative space would enable me to understand the composition of my image
more.
In order to able to understand the way that
Matisee works, you first need to know which
information to pick up. As we can see from
the N&P work, not everything is coloured
black, some elements such as the rock in the
bottom right corner is not included at all.
The purpose of this is for the viewer to have
a centre of focus.
It is also important to view the image as a
whole and not look at it in sections, this way
you can take everything into consideration.

Figure 5 – Negative and positive space, tracing

paper and markers.

I set focus on another element of the image, this time recreating it using a different material
but with the same layering techniques learned from Joe Cartwright.
On the right the different test can be
seen. Red didn’t work well because both
colours are dark and there is not much
contrast. On the other hand, the green
background worked best since there is a
strong contrast created and the textures
can be seen much better.

Figure 6 – ProMarkers and different methods of

creating contrasts.
Further on, I wanted to break down the images the same way as Matisse did in his work. I
focused on separting the rock from the background, this way the viewer had a clear point to
draw their attention, since there was no detail to do so.
In the first trial I wanted to experience the cut out
technique that was used by Matisse. I drew out the
shape before cutting it order to focus more on
technique than shape. I chose these colours because
it offer me a strong contrast.

The patterns around the border where inspired from

“The Horse, the Rider and the Clown”. I decided to
keep the main composition the same for now.

I wanted to break up the rock, like how Matisse did in

“Two Dancers”, the lines were cut at random. The
border was inspired from “Large Decoration with
Masks”.

Taking inspiration form Matisse’s “Blue Nude” which

depicts an image of a woman whose shadows are cut
out from the figure. In this image I wanted to try the
same method while still preserving the shape of the
rock.

Figures 7, 8, 9, 10 - Response to Henri

Matisse. Collage.
Milton Avery.
After discovering Fauvism with the help of Henri Matisse, I wanted to further research
colour theories and in order to do that Milton Avery is the most suitable artist to do so.
Milton Avery’s work is clearly representational, it focuses on colour relations and is not
concerned with creating the illusion of depth. After the Avery research I created the
landscapes in Photoshop as this gave me more freedom to experiment with colours and
compositions.
Working with borders made it easier for me as it gave a space to work within. When doing
the first one there was not much thought behind the colours or patterns.
 When looking at the last one created there is a significant
difference. There is now a strong contrast in the rock, between
the orange and the grey. The ripples in the water can be
interpreted in two ways, one way as just normal ripples
through the water, the other way as both flying in the sky. Even
though Milton Avery was not trying to create this double effect
in his work, same as his him I created this unintentionally.
I also picked up more background information so that the
viewer is able to tell what going on much more easily

Figure 11 – Response to
Milton Avery. Photoshop.

In the next set of images, one major difference is that

there are no borders now. In the last image, I attempted
to do what Matisse did with his work (Blue Nude) where
the background is also the shadows.
The third image was the most successful in my opinion,
this is because with just five colours I was able to tell the
story of the image. The yellowish colour on the rocks tell
us that there is a sun shining, also the separation of white
and blue means that the white colour must be land. The
lightest grey being in the middle of the rock creates many
contrasts throughout it, darkest grey being at the bottom
and the yellow at the top.

Figure 11 – Response to Milton

Avery. Photoshop.

Animation
After the Fauvism research I wanted to explore ways of how stories can be told through
moving imagery therefore animation would allow me to do this the best. I started off by
looking at three very different animation styles.
“Abney and Teal” are a series about two puppets who live on an island in the middle of a
lake, in the middle of a park, in the middle of a city. Each episode depicts Abney and Teal’s
adventures. The cartoon combines techniques such as puppetry, painting, photography and
some CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). Through these techniques Joel Stewart, the
creator and producer was able to create simple yet complicated imagery which children are
able to understand. What made me look into this cartoon in particular was the mixture of
textures, which was rather similar to Milton Avery’s work,
Furthermore, the aim of “The Hungry Caterpillar” research was to understand how the
author was able to convey a dark period of his life into a children’s book. The bright colours
represent how Eric Carle’s father was a changed person when he returned from the war.
The images in the book were created through the use of coloured tissue paper, that would
later be scrunched and layered.
Lastly, “The Amazing World of Gumball” uses the traditional method of drawing each frame,
but it is put together modern computer software. The backgrounds used in the cartoon are
real life images that are drawn on top of. Through its humour and animation style Gumball
was able to tackle heavy themes such depression, censorship, divorce, adoption, morality.
After looking at these cartoons I was able to understand how industry professionals
combine various techniques to convey meanings and experiences in their work, while at the
same time it is children friendly.
I came to the conclusion that stop motion animation would suit me the best, this is because
the process is fairly fast and simple and doesn’t require industry standard software such as
Maya or Blender. I set of with the thought to create multiple mini animations and in the end
to combine them all into a final animation.
Since this topic was new to me, before creating my character I realised I need to have an
understanding of different body types, facial compositions and so on, and how artist in the
industry exaggerate proportions when drawing.
The purpose of the “Groot” research was to learn how the creators of the movie were able
to show the ageing of Groot. The textures of the tree bark change as he gets older. This
made me think how I could use texture on my character to represent change.
After this research was carried out, I began designing my character. What I learnt was that
every character would have a unique feature, therefore I set focus on the hair. The first
concept was based on the hair being a mop, I started off by beginning to simplify the image
of a mop. Instead of focusing on the mop as a whole I thought that focusing on the
individual strings that make up the mop would allow me to come up with a better
composition. The second concept was having the hair tied up, but I soon gave up on the idea
as it will be hard to make. The third and last concept was based on the hair being a paint
brush, and different emotions would make the hair move.
Before setting off to create the stop motion animation I needed to have an understanding of
the process behind creating these animations. I started off by looking at a very famous stop
motion animation, “Pingu”, I was able to see the equipment used and the way that the set
was set up. Storyboarding is the most important factor when creating an animation, this is
because it allows you to have an idea of how the events will play out.
“The Clingers” research gave me more insight on how my character would move, since
realistically the final version of the character would very much be like a puppet.
Furthermore, both “Pingu” and “The Clingers” use simple, plain backgrounds, since the
movements are very small and a single colour background will allow the audience to focus
on the character rather than other elements in the scene.
“Wallace and Gromit” research allowed me to understand how small the movements have
to be in order to get a smooth animation. Optimal setting will be 24 fps.
I wanted to try to create a stop motion animation myself before looking at some
professional examples. There was no story behind the animation, I just wanted to get used
to using the polymer clay and equipment.
The flow charts enabled me to get a clear plan for when creating the storyboards, I would
transfer the main events from the flow charts to the story boards. According to the ‘Pingu’
research I good story board will not just include character movements, but camera
movement as well.
The story boards were very complicated in the early stages, there was too much going on
and the scenes were too elaborate in order to been created within a suitable time frame. I
picked one frame in particular from a story board and decided to break it apart, that way I
was able to create more simplified versions of the story.
Bibliography
Websites
 https://www.joecartwright.com.au/
 https://www.paintingwithwatercolors.com/
 https://www.youtube.com/user/joecart01/videos
 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/henri-matisse-1593
 https://www.henrimatisse.org/
 https://www.theartstory.org/artist-matisse-henri.htm
 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/mar/29/henri-matisse-cutouts-
tate-modern-drawing-scissors
 https://www.google.co.uk/search?
q=milton+avery&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsxqGNov
zeAhVFCuwKHQKGBekQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=966#imgrc=_
 http://www.artnet.com/artists/milton-avery/
 https://www.theartstory.org/artist-avery-milton.htm
 https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/04/news/milton-avery.html
 https://hiddensideofthestory.tumblr.com/post/122732798211/the-real-story-
behind-the-amazing-world-of-gumball
 https://comicsverse.com/brilliance-amazing-world-gumball/
 https://londonmumsmagazine.com/mums-tips/get-creative/the-adventures-of-
abney-teal/
 http://joel-stewart.blogspot.com/2012/05/making-abney-teal.html
 http://mentalfloss.com/article/66090/15-delicious-facts-about-very-hungry-
caterpillar
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar

Books