FMP Project Proposal uploaded!

FMP Project Proposal uploaded!

Project Proposal

Daniel Bevan

Having gone in to the Pre-degree course from the beginning I knew I wanted to develop a painted piece based on an inherent inclination to vivid realistic fantasy works often tending towards a darker aspect. Throughout the year I have been taught much about the fundamentals and techniques in art including the foundations of perspective drawings in life drawing especially of urban terrain that I intend to incorporate into my work. Of strengths and weaknesses my tutors have identified strongly with my composition and painting style such as with my recent apocalypse scape rendition of London Saatchi however some feature a bit naive or insubstantial such as my figure paintings and also the a tendency to over-valuate unrealistic goals has been identified in my last years’ project.

I am intent on producing a short series of works (something along the lines of three to five pieces produced on canvas) basing the subject matter on specific locations. The image is to be altered in ways so as to emphasise a darker rendition of itself and thereby appear “apocalyptic” such as after a war or environmental disaster of some kind. These works will have a form of consistency towards each piece as if they could be followed from one another to the next and be a part of the same universe including depicting dark alleyways, train stops or graveyards and other possible public places.

Because of the nature of the project contextual research is heavily dependent on visualisation of urban and rural terrain and so drawing on photographs and initial sketches depicting real-life areas would be essential in the development of this project. Of importance to the project is forming an atmosphere and mood to the piece along with an aforementioned sense of consistency that will make it that much easier to be drawn into it. Artists that excel in depicting urban settings including Jock McFadyen, Peter Doig and April A Taylor’s photographic depictions of “Dark Europe” serve as primary inspiration in style and other artists that are known to have focused on darker aspects of human existence including Goya, Daniel Richter and even Beksinski are major influences. 

Various other media serve to inform my work as well including films such as 28 Days Later, The Road and Apocalypse Now that emphasize, chaos, urban decomposition and human civilization giving way to nature while the recent TV series Utopia helped to influence the visual setting such as colour saturation while the concept of language degradation is inspired by literary work Lord of the Flies.

The resulting final piece will at its core be dependent on paint (the main medium being acrylic) and initial drawings or sketches will be produced by pencil. Another major process is the preliminary redesigning of photographs taken from locations via software packages such as photoshop that will help in recreating the image ready for painting. This will be a major aspect in the developing process as I am interested in how altering the shade, colour, lighting, contrast and other visual elements for a desired effect. 

In conceptualising these environments the point is to draw on subtle alterations in order to draw viewers to the right conclusion and perceive already pre-existing locations in a different light while maintaining a degree of association with each other. Such notable characteristics could include the persistence of human civilisation (such symbols I have been reviewing include traffic cones or street signs) while other elements would include darkness or the presence of poisonous fog – as in my recent attempts by overlaying another colour over painting giving it a misty look.