It's Friday and today we had studio all day (my favorite) since D2 (the second design project of the year thus far) is due Monday. That is only 3 days away. I still have a lot to do. But really it serves me right as I didn't manage and prioritize my time well last weekend or this past Wednesday.
Today my main focus was deciding how I would render my plan. D1 was with colored pencil, and while that was a great exploration I knew the same techniques weren't right for D2. And while D1 turned out great, I don't feel like it quite reached the very depths of me and pulled something out.
But I believe that this afternoon that happened. And it made for a good way to end a school week.
I have these certain markers from the States (I decided to go with Chartpak) which create fumes (mmm, fumes) and fill any studio with said fumes. And while my classmates enjoyed them for the first 10 or 20 minutes, it was apparent that I would need to relocate to finish working and experimenting with my plan.
I went to the lecture room, but not long after I settled down I was relocated again as a meeting was about to take place. I found the "storage" room - filled with files, drawings, projects and a table to spare. Perfect.
At one point I became frustrated with the direction the rendering was going. I initially wanted something monochromatic, sophisticated, elegant. But what was resulting in front of me was something bland. And it was bothering me.
I started adding color. Whatever color I wanted - wherever I wanted - nevermind that I was coloring the grass blue and grey and yellow. It did take me a few seconds to feel okay about this, but inside I was thinking, "but this is what I want to do. This is what I feel." And so I went for it.
*******
For years I have been wrestling with my personal rendering style as a landscape designer. I have been having a hard time finding "my look" - something that connects to my very center. I have wanted my designs to feel more expressive and painterly...rather than a literal interpretation of a landscape. Rendering the grass green and the stones grey is not a poor choice...but I have been wanting to try something a bit different. And I have been wanting to try something different for at least 5 or 6 years.
This is just a trial run...tomorrow I will render the final version. But I am pleased with where it is going, and what it is saying. Plus, I received a "well-done". :)
This is the song I listened to while rendering...
Fingers crossed that tomorrow goes amazingly well.