LEON THE LION (Weekly Art Project #21; inspired by the Alhambra)

 

It was somewhat of a shock to realise that this, being week #21, is my last weekly art project focused on the Alhambra. It seems to have gone by very quickly even with all the interruptions along the way.

My goal was to seek inspiration from what I saw & what moved me within the space of one day in one place. Of course, I could have used every art project to reproduce a piece of that wonderfully patterned plasterwork, but I wanted to respond to inspiration sources with a creation of my own, not just a copy. All in all I have created quite a varied range of responses in textile & they certainly do transport me back to that stunningly beautiful place.

What then to choose for this last project? 

Well it had to be Patio de los Leones, also known as the Courtyard of the Lions. This courtyard is in the centre of the Nasrid Palaces & it's centrepiece is the marble bowl of a fountain seemingly held on the backs of 12 lions. 

They are charming, but to be honest, they have never really looked like lions to me.  More like cats or dogs! The sculptor has given them wonderful texture on their bodies & if we were allowed to get close enough I can guarantee that few visitors would resist being able to stroke their hands over that carved 'fur'.

Some very quick drawings helped me feel my way around the shapes of their faces & to recognise two different ways that fur/hair was carved.  I wanted to give a lion some sort of mane. It didn't take long to realise that that might not be easy in a 20cm square, but I could at least try!

Here's how the cutting back went...

I'd slipped in a scrap of printed fabric from an earlier project as my background.  It gave a little bit of colour variation as well as contrasting the curved lines with straight angular ones. I was pleased with how my lion was looking, but wanted to un-cross his eyes & give a little more definition, so this is what I did...

All in all I'm quite pleased with the outcome, even if it may have been more impressive in a wider sized space. Leon the Lion still doesn't really look like a lion to me, more a striped cat with a lion spirit! 

It has been fun to do & I think he was a lovely inspiration for my last project.

Next week, I'll endeavour to compile each of my 21 projects into a book format, to sit alongside my Egypt & Istanbul ones.  I had initially thought that I'd follow this series of art projects up with one inspired by Morocco, however I've changed my mind.  I'll take a break from Islamic influences & instead refer to my photos from a trip to Iceland! There is a LOT of inspiration to be found there!

Thank you for accompanying me each week via this blog & for the encouraging comments along the way. I hope that I've encouraged you to revisit your own holiday snaps & have a go at exploring them through art making.

STAINED (Weekly Art Project #20, inspired by the Alhambra)

 

The past few weeks in Adelaide have been discombobulating & consequently it has been hard for me to return to my WAP (Weekly Art Project) rythmn.

 I'd attempted to start on a project last week inspired by the stained glass window above.  The simplicity of design, luminosity of  colour & contrast to the plasterwork are worthy of exploring. I got part way through & just couldn't maintain focus, so instead of  pushing myself that little bit further, I changed what I was working on.  There are definitely times to push through an energy hiccup & times when changing the activity is the wiser thing to do. 

This week however, I was in a much better frame of mind & was keen to return to my usual practice. Besides, I had a new toy I wanted to play with.

A very generous friend had just given me these beautiful Caran D'Ache water soluble crayons and I was desperate to try them out. 

Could I use them in a design that represented the stained glass?  

Why not?!

I started with a trial sample just to see how they'd flow on fabric. They are so smooth & were a delight to use. I liked the way they highlighted the weave of the cotton. Quite by chance some cotton thread got caught under one section & effectively created a raised surface for a rubbing.  I liked that added texture it provided so thought I might include that in my WAP project.

I then got the paintbrush & water out & applied to the crayon...oh my...yes indeed! What fun & possibilities. My head was bursting with the potential these could have in my textile work.

It was time to move from sample to art project, so I began by drawing freehand the design I've used before.  I made a bit of a whoopsie & consequently over did the black crayon to hide it!  Oh well....I'd do something with it later. Here's how it progressed...

I had placed loose coils of cotton thread under the blue sections & managed a 'rubbing' effect there. In the centre I thought I'd try my Caran D'Ache water RESISTANT crayon with the water soluble one layered over it.

Three different greens are layered here & I really like the way they look.

Time to add the water, & I'm very pleased with how the middle resist has worked out, I also like the subtlety of the 'painted' design in the green sections.

Stitch is added to that heavy black outline in the centre to give it a bit more interest & soften the impact.

At this stage, I'm very conscious that this project is proving to be more about exploring a product than about responding to the stained glass of the Alhambra.  

Was I happy to leave it at this point?  I could argue that the textural elements related to the intense textural qualities of the plaster work, but I recognise that that is wrangling words to justify what I've been doing, rather than respecting my initial intent.

What to do then, to hint at that luminous, bright coloured glass?

I added more water to the blues, added some red & added a bit more colour to the centre. To me these changes definitely recall stained glass, whilst still retaining a textural quality.

The subject of 'finishing' artwork has been on my mind lately.  A comment in a novel about unfinished artwork being more intriguing than fully resolved work raises an important question - when is an artwork finished? When have we done enough?  We could also ask ourselves what we mean by 'finished' & is it the same as 'complete'? 

You'll notice that I didn't 'colour in' the linear sections in the design above in yellow.  I alluded to it with quick yellow lines as my attempt to try not finishing 'properly'!  It wasn't easy to leave those lines, but I actually think the piece is more interesting because of that in-completion. The focus is on the coloured spaces rather than the lines.

It will be interesting to see how these musings impact my future art making. Until next time...happy creating!