This post will be a little lighter on text, as I decided to conduct my research in my sketchbook, so captured a lot of my thoughts there.
Lucy Austin
Honestly, I was a bit confused by the task focusing on her work, as from what I could tell she doesn't seem to work a lot in watercolours. I also found the work extremely challenging, it just doesn't seem to click with me intellectually or emotionally.
James Albon
I met James Albon when attending the House of Illustration summer fair earlier in the year, and purchased his new graphic novel "A Shining Beacon" [2] on a whim. It was definitely a whim which paid off, as I was struck to just how different his style is, and I was not expecting it in a graphic novel. So when the research task asked me to compare Lucy Austin's work with another artist's use of watercolour, James seemed an interesting choice.
For someone trying to get to grips with watercolours, I find his work refreshing. There is an almost impressionistic nature to his work. I am reminded a lot of the marks used by Van Gogh in his sketchbooks; there is a fluid quality. It's actually pretty inspirational to me, as I am often very critical of my work, especially beating myself up if my work is loose or messy. James seems to use this to his advantage and is able to convey a lot of information in just a few lines, shapes or scribbles. Following on from the limited line exercise, it just shows how what one could do if you observe effectively.
References
Austin, L. (2019). Duologue 2015. [online] Lucy Austin. Available at: https://lucyaustin.artweb.com/sketchbook-2015.
Albon, J. (2019). A shining beacon. 1st ed. IDW Publishing.
Albon, J. (2019). Sketchbook - James Albon. [online] Jamesalbon.com. Available at: http://www.jamesalbon.com/sketchbook.
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