Sketchbook: 'Farmerkin'
Compared with the first few pages of my sketchbook, I think I have started to solidify the style that I want to use. I have taken the idea of borders and patterns further with more complex designs and figured out that my pen/ink drawings are more bold and successful than the watercolour sketches and are easier to visualise in textile form. I found lots of images of crows/ ravens from the medieval periods and made a couple of different versions because the originals were such different styles to each other. One was a typical bestiary crow which I did with the strong lines and layering on different colourful backgrounds, while the other was based on a much more crude drawing which I translated into lino print because I thought there was something very iconic and stamp-like about the design. I also made a pattern with miniature versions of the crow to border the page, which I really like the look of. On the other side I wanted to try out a round border/background which I think worked really well and it has a celestial quality to it; in fact, in my peer feedback, several people have independently said that it reminds them of constellations and the star signs. The image is a slightly unusual rendition of a lamb and I think as a whole it is one of my favourite drawings so far. I like the colour palette which has a good balance of soft and strong shades, and the silver pen adds a special quality that I think is why people are reminded of constellations, particularly with the dotted pattern on top of the deep blue ink and the kind of angelic pose of the animal. I also like the border that I added underneath, the colours bring the page together and feel well coordinated.
