Abstract Expressionism

Whole piece

Close-up

Close-up

This piece was inspired by Jackson Pollock's "drip" technique. I used paint layered in a cup and poured it onto the canvas in a pattern. As the layers were poured, the colours created the effects seen above. I really enjoyed creating this piece, and I love how hard to control it was; some areas really work, others don't, but it's impossible to tell how each part will turn out. I used ten plastic cups of acrylic paint in this piece!

Barbie

This was my final piece for an art class. The task was to use something appropriated from popular culture and rework it to form a cultural critique. I chose to use Barbie as there are a lot of controversial issues tied up in her physical appearance; she represents women in an unrealistic "ideal" form.

White Sheet

This is a drawing created using a graphite pencil on drawing paper. This is actually one of my favourite pencil drawings that I have produced; I found creating it was really relaxing, as I love shading, and I think the final product turned out really well.

Skull

This piece is a drypoint etching. I enjoyed this technique, although it was very time-consuming and the plate could only be used a limited number of times as the lines became fainter each time due to the pressure of the printing press.

The Ultimate Chance

Broadside

Poem

Image

Image close-up

This piece was one of a series of broadsides printed on handmade paper. There are 18 prints in this edition, on a number of different types of paper that I made. I printed the poem on a printing press, and created the drawing of the silhouettes of birds to illustrate it. I transferred the drawing to a special type of plastic plate using a laserjet printer.

Thanks to Orlando Rodriguez for allowing me to use his poem in this piece.

Feather

This image was created using a mezzotint on a zinc plate. I love how it appears to be floating, and how the white of the feather almost glows against the really dark background.

Serenity

I used an acetate stencil to create this print. I cut out the black areas with a scalpel, rolled them with ink and laid them on the paper. I then made a rainbow split fountain and placed it over the top of the black pieces, and ran it through the press together. I love the white outline left behind by the gap between the layers of acetate, and I really like how sharply the bright colors contrast with the black.

Moonlight

To create this effect, I used a square piece of acetate, and cut the line between the ground and the sky using a scalpel. I inked up each half separately, then lined the pieces up on paper and printed them together. I used a split fountain to create the sky, and then erased the moon. I love the way the horizon appears to be glowing against the dark ground because of the color gradient in the sky.