Initially, this project began with various perspective drawings. I moved from one room or space to another because I felt like I wasn’t successfully executing the drawing in the way I had hoped. For this reason, I ultimately chose to trace over an image in Illustrator to ensure that my drawing was accurate. My hand drawings were not up to par with how I wanted to complete this project to best of my abilities, so after many attempts at perspective drawing, I moved on to Illustrator with another space– the picture of my staircase at home shown below.
In the midst of perceptive drawings, I created this mood board as an element of the project. I was inspired by the 70s aesthetic of Los Angeles and the rich colors that come to mind when I imagine home in California. I love the aura of sunshine I feel when I’m back home in California, so I ran with that feeling. I researched images of the Beverly Hills Hotel, one of my favorite places, from the 70s and fell into a rabbit hole filled with old Andy Warhol polaroids, David Hockney pictures, and images of the hotel from then and now. While my project started off from this mood board, the end result morphed into a mood and feeling of its own.
Then, I drew the staircase space in Illustrator. I accepted my shortcomings in my hand drawings from observation and ultimately made the choice to draw in Illustrator to achieve a drawing I could be happy with. I traced over every line and curve in the image, paying attention to all the details in the space and maintaining accuracy in the perspective.
I wasn’t sure how I would design the space, since the assignment required the use of analog and digital tools, and I was already utilizing the digital tool of Illustrator. To me, analog means working with my hands without digital tools. So, I chose collage. I know I couldn’t manipulate the perspective of the collage images by working on paper, but I wasn’t worried about that because I wanted to make my collage what it is– a collage. When you’re working on paper, it’s not possible to manipulate the perspective. I wanted to keep things that way and use the traditional medium of an analog collage in my project. I traced out every piece of the staircase space, sliced it with my Olfa knife or scissors, and then traced over the collage images and cut them out one by one. It was a very tedious and time consuming process to make sure every piece was cut out exactly and fit into one another seamlessly. Plus, I had to lay out the different collage images and pick what content I thought would look harmoniously in my project. Overall, I am proud of what I created and feel content in seeing my time reflected upon the page. I understand how it may seem abstract or conceptual, but I like that about my project. I created a piece of art that evokes a sense of etherealness throughout the use of florals and strong colors, as well a poetic moodiness through the contrast of colors. And for that, I am happy.
Kelsey – Your upload was very insightful. Thank you.