Easter Sunday Meanderings

''Every end is a new beginning''

Happy Easter everyone! :) Had a really fun drive south, spent the majority of it doodling in my journal as you can see below. I really like the sketchiness of the lines, I tried to draw things that caught my eye as we drove past them, I really like the results :) Carried on the Easter tradition with a family gathering :P I've been spoilt this year :3 It was so nice having roast dinners again after living off a student timetable and budget! :P  Also succeeded in getting my sister addicted to Skyrim and she introduced me to Fallout by the same producers! It's been really nice to get out and about in the countryside again, I've been able to experiment again with my Olympus as you can see below haha :D

“I have a theory. My theory is about moments, moments of impact. My theory is that these moments of impact, these flashes of high intensity that completely turn our lives upside down actually end up defining who we are."- The Vow

Being with someone who does photography professionally is really inspiring to look at life from a different perspective, like this, I really like the softness, almost silkiness of the reflection against the coarser texture of the mud.

Messing with Long exposure, I really like the half desaturated effect on this :D

Waving a white gloved hand across the lens... hello ghosts :P I really like this shot, it seems like a modelling shoot

Catch up

 

Hello! I've been neglecting this recently with so much going on! It's Easter holidays and spring already, although you wouldn't think it with all the snow we've had! Spent the first week with my boyfriend's family helping them redecorate :P On my way home tomorrow though :D

 

 

Drypoint Print!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Original Plate

My very first drypoint print! :D Being a student at the end of their loan for the term, I'd mentioned to my tutor I couldn't afford new metal to print from so I was given an offcut from an old metal sheet which I'm really glad I was~ the result was so much more interesting as you can see, the metal picked up ink in all the scratches and marks that were already there to create a really nice print (in my opinion) :3

It was a really interesting process, you have to scratch into the metal (aluminium) the image you want to be printed so the lines and marks you made became the print~ although I forgot the image would be flipped around which is why it might look a little reflective. I'm looking forward to creating some more after the Easter Holidays~

Day 15

Ben&Jerry's on sale... Need I say more? :p Another Friday night in with ice cream and the old Star wars trilogy :D

Inspiration Time!

I found some really nice artists recently who I wanted to share with you  : )

Source: ullam.typepad.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Source: ullam.typepad.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Susan Homer- I really like the simplicity and style of these paintings, I think the paint application is really interesting and I like the pastel colour scheme, it's very delicate.

Source: hearthomemag.co.uk via Alyssa on Pinteres

Source: suefenlonart.co.uk via Alyssa on Pinterest

I really like this piece by Sue Fenlon too, I love how she's created the layers of texture over the softness of the watercolour to create a really exquisite piece with lovely detailing :3

















Both of these pieces remind me of an artist's work I found on shanalogic (american site with very cute things but unfortunately postage to the UK is too much for a student budget</3 ) when I was younger called Kendra Binney. I really like the surreal quality to her work as well as the amount of detail within them with an unusual paint application and style.

Source: teacupoftears.tumblr.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Day 14

Seminar day today! :') They're usually quite fun, it's just the timing that's awkward as possible, 12-1 right in the middle of the day and lunchtime! D: Today's was interesting though, it flew by as quickly as ever, although I still managed to find a moment to snap this image~ I like how the curve of the paper contrasts with the busyness hinted at in the artwork.
Finished the day with a little bit of Skyrim after some hard work too 0:) finally managed to capture a screenshot of the Spriggan matron... The character design for them is absolutely incredible! Hopefully I'll find the time to draw from them sometime soon..

Day 13- Patchwork Feelings

Even after sitting on this couch and looking out this window for almost a year now, I've only just noticed today that it looks like a quilted patchwork square. I really liked the idea so it's Day thirteen's photo; I think by adjusting the contrast between the surroundings and window it emphasises this nicely and focuses your attention on something that really is quite interesting. I suppose to me it also feels like a representation of my fresher year and all the memories and feelings associated with it patched together, it's been good.

Especially after Skyrim got involved ;) I think it's one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, very reminiscent of Myst and Riven. I also love the fact there are dragons, you don't get much better than the fantasy genre! Thought I'd share this screen shot of my character framed inside the dragon skeleton, she's put on a lovely dress just for the occasion haha ;P

Day 12- "And then someday is yesterday and this is your life" -found on Tumblr

I really like the textures in these, the roughness of the walls and graininess of the windows in contrast to the smoothness of the projector surface. Initially the reflection on the OHP caught my eye, I really like reflections at the moment haha but I really liked how the surface swirled against the reflection and wanted to try and capture this.

The weather's been so strange recently! We've alternated between pure blue skies and sunshine to grey and snowy within seconds. Only in Preston haha.

I've discovered how to embed pins from my Pinterest so I can post about new artists or artwork I find more easily :D I love this site haha, it's perfect for creating a visual notice 'board' for inspiration. This is a piece of work by David Mack which I found recently. I really love how it creates an 'unfinished' sort of look with the colours going outside the 'lines' and paint splatters. Looking through my Pinterest Board there's a lot of similar work to this~ I think it suits my personal, more 'messy' art style too, especially working with watercolour, one of my favourite mediums to work with.

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Day 11-  'Definitely not gay' make it to the pub quiz on time :P

Second pub quiz of the month and we made it on time this week much to the quiz guy's amusement! :P After a pretty appalling start in round one (current affairs and geography) we proceeded to smash it in round two with film and TV .. It was a good round to double points on :P I still can't actually believe we won a round, although the bottle of rose we won's still sitting on the shelf to prove it :D I really like this pub, the décor's really neat, wouldn't mind an antler chandelier  It's also my favourite colour scheme haha~

Day 10- "Worrying often gives small things a big shadow"

Happy Mother's day to my mother, who sadly I will not be able to spend today with as I live the other side of the country! :') Needless to say I hope she has a loverly day today being spoilt enough for the both of us by my younger sister! :P  Today was another really sunny blue day! I'm not quite sure how the clouds went from light and fluffy to gloom and ominous.... I really like the marks and contrast in them though! Photo of the day with a different perspective~ I really like how a. the clouds look like the world and b. there's a gas mask casually chilling on my boyfriend's windowsill :')
It really was a blue day though~ I really like this photo~ it's very cute :3 

Day 9- Sam's Guitars

I guessed right, it was a quiet weekend! Sam's family came up today though which was nice (y)  We had lots of tea<3 Then I left them to spend the day shopping whilst I finally caught up with some more lecture notes, slowly but surely! Day 9's photo is the new addition to Sam's guitars as his parents bought the one on the right back up with them, needless to say I was ignored as soon as they left :P I really like the way the light's split into the colours so clearly! It looks crazy haha. 

Day 8 - Friday Night Laundry

  You can tell it can't have been a very interesting day if the caption implies we've stayed in on a Friday night to do laundry :P It's gonna be one of those quiet weekends I suspect! One of those nights where a film is put on and the world is ignored :P
So day 8, bane of our lives, the student laundry room, stealing at least a tenner a month :')

Day 7- Reflections in the windows

Love this double exposure effect created by the plates reflected in the windows! Especially with the film grain as it creates a very antique quality to it~<3
A very dull day again today! Not very much has happened, except lots of Skyrim of course! O:)

Befriending cats in Skyrim

Day 6- "Other mages may claim to be as good as magic as J'zargo, but they cannot be as charming as he. Thus, J'zargo always comes out on top."

Flat inspection today! The management of this place is so disorganized! We were told to be in our flats 1pm-5pm and not to have any dirty dishes at all, typically they came at 5! Still we've passed so it's all good :D rewarded ourselves with Skyrim<3 I now have a khajit companion or a 'pet cat' as I like to call him much to my boyfriend's 'amusement' 0:) he loves cats secretly, it's just taking some persuading him :P I think you can say I'm well and truly addicted to Skyrim :P love it so much! The graphics and game play are incredible! It was inevitable I would post a Skyrim screenshot at some point so here it is; Day 6~ Archmage and my future husband all in a days work ;)


























I also continued playing around with the manual settings of my camera tonight while everyone was cooking 'communal dinner'~ I was really excited to find I could adjust the exposure on one of the art settings! This film grain setting is one of my favourite to use as it highlights and emphasizes the textures beautifully, as well as creating a gorgeous 'old school' effect. Therefore it was really interesting to find out that I could slow the shutter speed down to capture a longer exposure. It was really fun to experiment with different combinations; I really like how well it's captured the 'traces' of movement. almost creating a 'ghostly' effect.

Day 5- "Think left and right and think low and high. Oh the thinks you can think of if only you try!" -Seuss 

Busy bees this week! :P Preston has been abnormally sunny this weekend so everyone's really cheerful about life :D I found a random bee in Skyrim last night~ and started building my first house! :D Our flat is completely addicted now that we've convinced Tal to start playing :P

We also finally made it to the Pub Quiz~ 10 minutes late but we still made it :D Next time we'll make it on time and hopefully the questions will be easier too :P It was a lot of fun though~!

I also finally managed to snap a photo of this blossom :) It needs work but usually I just walk past it wanting to take a photo but putting it off every time :') Hello Spring! : )

Photo of the day is my course studios, the view's so pretty, it's just a shame we aren't able to access them 24/7! I'd imagine I'd use them a lot more if the facilities were available~ On the plus side, tutor's happy with my project idea so it's full steam ahead (y) Just need to do last minute cleaning for tomorrow's flat inspection!

Camera Obscura!

Day 4- The sky painted such a pretty sunset today!

When I first got up today I thought it was going to be another day where I would struggle to find a photo to upload as I had no plans other than to work~ Turns out I ended up taking over 50 photos! :P 

Started off the day with an really interesting circle of light highlighting my clothes rack and ended it with my boyfriend and I's first attempt at turning our uni room into a camera obscura! It produced really interesting effects~ It took a while for it to resemble a coloured image but it looked really cool when it did! I like how strong the light is in contrast to the darkness, It's produced a really stark effect which was interesting.