business cards

Here's my business cards :D  I'm not very good at designing them, even though I spent a whole semester on it in Graphic Design but I enjoyed using my own artwork and photography as a grphic for them (the middle one is a personal work I did in makers which I forgot to put on the student drive, whoops!)  Too bad I was a bit lazy with the font...

Digital Art Websites

www.deviantart.com

  Deviantart is an artists’ social networking site I’ve been using for about a year now but has been around for quite a while.   Most of the works posted are digital but it also caters for traditional artworks as well, which is why I find it so appealing.  Chances are if you’re an artist you’ve probably heard about it at some stage so Googling it won’t be a problem, but a search for ‘art websites’ will direct you to it as well (it’s the first one after the sponsored links).

  The home page displays the most popular artworks within the last 8 hours and down the side tab you can find the different art categories.   Once signed in you get your own page to submit artworks to your gallery, post journals on your thoughts and search through other artists works and add the ones you like to your favourites gallery.  This website is very diverse which is probably why it’s so popular, with amateurs and professionals alike posting their works.

"Greed" by Liol

http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/paintings/?order=9&offset=24#/d1skn08

 I enjoyed this one because of the concept and the artists approach to the concept.  It's a very fresh way to look at the topic of climate change and man's abuse of the world's resources as it doesn't take the usual approach most green campaingers take.  I also thought it was well executed, in technique and composition, with the man's face just cut off to make it that little bit ambiguous.  He still looks corporate, but the balme doesn't go to any one person and rather many people.

 

"Ink Angel" by sakimichan

http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/paintings/#/d4fg313

  I like this piece for because of the way the artist has mimicked ink using digital tools and also by the way they were able to add small digital detail without affecting the overall effect of the piece.  The composition is quite nice as well, lending a lot of energy to the piece and the stark contrast between the red, white and the black makes this work all the more effective.

"The Workstation" by Jujika

http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/?order=9#/dbkols

I found this piece quite fun.  The artists slightly cartoony style is balanced by semi realistic shading, allowing it to adjust to the unusual setting quite well.

Mouse Drawings

In this exercise we were to do drawings of objects using the mouse.  I did mine at home so the objects are a bit different to my classmates.  My old gameboy pocket also makes an appearence again, it seems to be becoming a common theme in my artworks lately :/. 

Work Documentation

  Documentation of some of the works I did in other classes this year.  I liked seeing the difference between the white and black borders.

Photoshoot

  Here's the final image for the photoshoot assignment :D  I didn't have as many props as I would have liked and it didn't turn out quite how I pictured it but I'm still happy with it all the same.

Object Selection

Here's the selection with the pen tool exercises.  I actually found this very helpful since I didn't know you could use the pen tool to make selections. BTW the objects in the cupboard are disproportionate on purpose :P

Photo-shoot Proposal

Ideas

-          Incorporating a giant ball of string in an unusual situation (i.e. in the background of two people casually drinking tea, in the middle of the street, etc.).  This is reference to things being out of place and that aspect of society that expects us to “fit in”. 

-          Incorporating numerous different cultural items in a normal setting. 

-          Incorporating different items that have a reference to today’s popular culture and the materialism that is often associated with it.

Chosen Idea and Concept

Incorporating numerous different cultural items in a normal setting.  Australia is a vastly multicultural country.  The influx of so many different cultures over the last 100 years in particular has definitely had a profound effect on our own culture to the point where it’s difficult to distinguish what is definitively ‘Australian’.  Recently I met a Chinese woman who is very well travelled but being her first time here she wants to know about Australian culture, which of course is hard for me to explain because of the previous explanation.  The incorporation of different cultural items in a casual setting suggests that perhaps this amalgamation of different cultures probably is what defines Australian culture.

Props

Table and chair

Chinese lantern and string to hang it from

Japanese teapot

Maxwell Williams country garden pattern teacup (English)

A fez (Turkish)

A plate and some samosas (which will be my lunch after ;D) (Indian)

Australian flag

Photomanip/montage Research

I know I was supposed to post this before my own photomontage but anyway...  Here are some examples of really good photomanipulations :D And yes one of them is from the examples Dave gave us but I really liked it so there :P

Photomontage

  Here's my photomontage.  The idea behind this is the integration of old folktales into popular culture by placing them in a contemporary setting.  Some of these are very successful and some are not *coughtwilightcough*.  Anyways the idea of an elk or deer skull on a human skeleton is something I've seen around alot and unfortunately I don't know exactly which mythology it comes from, but one book I have links it to Scandinavian folklore.  Usually it's depicted in a black robe, much like the Grim Reaper, so I thought putting it in contemporary clothing would work with my concept.  The background's not for any particular reason, mainly as a reminder that the myth actually is to do with nature, which is usually forgotten when these folklores are adapted for a contemporary audience.  This could have been done better but given my level of experience with photomanipulations I'm pretty happy with it.

Scanner Art

This is the scanner art exercise.  We had to scan in different objects including a part of our body to create a self portrait.  I like how these turned out and wish I had have done these sooner.

Artists CV

 Jessica Sinclair

  Australian, born 1990

Web: sinclair13.deviantart.com, jesssinclair.blogspot.com

Education

2011 - currently enrolled in BA Fine Arts at Charles Sturt University and Diploma Fine Arts at TAFE Wagga Wagga

2010 - finished first year of BA Graphic Design at CSU Wagga Wagga before changing courses.

2008 - Completed HSC at Cobar High School, Visual Art as an elective.

Exhibitions

2011 - "Rated Art" Diploma 1 annual art exhibition

2009 - Cobar's "Miner's Ghost Festival" annual exhibition

2008 - Cobar High School's annual MADD (Music, Art, Dance and Drama) showcase

2002 - 8 - Cobar Show Arts Showcase

Artist Statement

  Coming from an artistic family I've always been interested in art.  In terms of developing my skills I've been left mostly to my own devices, as there weren't many opportunities for artists in Cobar while I was at school.   Probably deciding to further my studies at university and changing to the Fine Arts program has been the best thing for me.  I usually work in a Japanese manga influenced style, but I have recently started to expand and started experimenting with different styles, with a focus on illustration and fantasy art.  I also work mostly in ink and other traditional media, with a drawing background but I've also worked in paint, printmaking and sculpture.  I'm now starting to work digitally and with photography as well.

Creating Filters

In this exercise we had to create filters by overlaying different layers?  I wasn't there for that lesson so I wasn't really sure what to do but I hope what I did was alright :D.  For these three I had a layer with a gradient of black coming from each corner, set on overlay.  I then overlayed a layer filled with blue and set it to 16% opacity then a scarlet fill and set it to 22% opacity.  It worked pretty well with the two landscape shots but not so much with the closeup of the mask.

Copyright Reading Answers

Here's the answers to the copyright readings:

The Copyright Act does not prohibit any kind of photography, as it is more concerned with the use and selling of material and ideas without the permission of the person who 'owns' them, for example, selling a knockoff of an artist's work without their authorisation.  Photography can be included in these issues if the photographer has taken the concept of another, created a similar shot and claimed it as solely their own. 

  There are Privacy Legislations in place which give some restraint to photographing people.  Anti-Voyeurism and Anti-Terrorist Laws also present limitations to photographers.

  If you are taking photos on private property the owner can stop you, even if the property is publically accessible.

  Market places and malls are not considered public spaces.  The person running the market can ask you to stop photographing and the stall holders have some rights as well.

Railway stations are public spaces so it is fine taking photos as long as you don't tread on too many toes.

You are allowed to photograph the Sydney Harbour Bridge as long as it isn't for commercial use, and even then the definition of commercial use is quite ambiguous.  You should be fine with a hand held camera.

  Police can stop you taking photographs but only if they feel you are breaking the law or being disruptive.  They generally don't mind being photographed but be cautious about taking photos around crime scenes.

  Consent is not needed for the one off or occasional shot of a person but it you are going to be photographing them a lot it's a good idea to ask, otherwise they can have you charged for stalking.  Good etiquette however suggests getting the person's consent first.

  Consent is generally needed when you are using the person's likeness for commercial purposes through them signing a 'model release'.

  Art exhibitions are considered non commercial as you are selling the photo itself and not using the person's likeness to endorse anything.

Property release forms are not needed in Australia to photograph private buildings or land, so long as you have the owner's permission to take the photos or take them from a public place.

  Straight photographs can't be considered as defamation unless they are severely unflattering.  Also people with a higher reputation are more likely to have their claims against you to be taken seriously.

  You have copyright claims to pictures even if a third party has commissioned it and it is taken in a public place, provided you aren't employed by anyone in which case the employer owns the copyright.

  With private functions however the client owns the copyright.

  After reading through the article it is clear that you can photograph someone in the street without their consent then sell that picture at an art exhibition.  It is not breaking any copyright or privacy laws as you will own the copyright of the photos, it is taken in a public space and you won't be using that persons image for endorsement.  I think it's a good think that the laws aren't too restrictive but these laws can also be very ambiguous so it is hard to know where to draw the line.