17

This week I've been concentrating of visual research and getting my essay done.

I still hadn't decided on what I wanted my essay to be about- to write an epically good essay on one piece of art/advertising is very difficult unless you are passionate and genuinely interested in the featured piece.

For Inspiration I spent Tuesday visiting four exhibitions currently showing around London.

The First one was JP Thurlow's 100 Covers..

fortunately showing just round the corner from me in Hoxton Square.

This was the exhibition I wanted to see the most, having seen it advertised everywhere and with every magazine I love promoting it endlessly on my home page on Facebook.

It's the sort of art that I love; something that shows a tremendous amount of skill. The few covers I had seen online looked incredible, and even better and more detailed in person.

I devoured each picture, recognising quite a lot of the front covers made me realise I have an obscene magazine collection at home. Thurlow had managed to reproduce each cover in such a way that I left awed if not incredibly envious of their talent.

The exhibition is free, and still open at the KK Outlet. I would definitely recommend it, especially to anyone doing Illustration as the incredible amount of motivation and inspiration I left with actually made me go home that night and draw my ass off.

Second was a trip to the Barbican to see another exhibition that had been highly publicised. "30 years of Japanese Fashion" offered me an insight into a field of fashion design I knew little about. The most I could have offered you before hand were the words "harajuku" and designer " Issey Miyake". 

There was a fascinating array of Japanese fashion, letting me truely indulge in Japanese style.

As a fashion illustration student I do think it's is ridiculously  important to have a full and varied knowledge of all areas of fashion, to have a vast mass of information on hundreds of designers and trends and styles.

As an illustrator in this field ignorance will only let you down, at the end of the day it's subject  of  your illustrations, it's what separates this course from your average Illustration course.

The exhibition at the Barbican added to my knowledge and inspired me to add researching the fruits of this particular continent to my to-do list. I loved the geometry in the designs- shape and form being something I particularly try to apply to my own illustrations.

Definitely worth the £8.00.

Then we went to the Design Museum to see Drawing Fashion.

the exhibition was an almost chronological archive of Fashion Illustration dating from as early as 1910 and including the work of illustrators I had previously researched for the project such as Erte and Francis Berthoud. The latter someone whom I had not been too keen on previously but after seeing his work in person I am much more appreciative of the skill and technique (above is a mural painted outside of the museum of one of his illustrations).

It was fascinating to see how fashion illustration had evolved, walking through the exhibition really was walking through time. I adored the vintage Vogues and nearly hyperventilated when I noticed some of Lepape's original illustrations.

I wish I could create something so beautiful.

Lastly, Somerset house for the Dior Illustrated  exhibition. By this point my feet were about ready to drop off, and if I hadn't desperately wanted to see this I probably would have thrown the towel in and gone home.

The exhibition was AMAZING. I left having fallen in love with Gruau, you really have to see these pieces right in front of you to fully appreciative how amazing they are.

To think that they were all hand painted using the most difficult medium on earth (well for me) gouache paints created a whole new level of respect.

Gruau really did capture the essence of Dior, or perhaps his illustrations and advertisements for the fashion house helped create their elegant and modern reputation?

Either way Gruau is iconic. And if you love Dior or all things couture, being able to gaze upon actual  haute couture (including pieces by Galliano) albeit behind two screens and a few metres away will basically complete your life.

I think this is the most I have ever written and I'm losing all enthusiasm for this entry!

In conclusion this week has been eye opening!

I learnt more in that day then I did all term, I realised all of a sudden that I am actually doing a degree. Information isn't going to be handed to me on a plate any more, I'm not at school. I should be more productive and do things like this more often, instead of moaning.

anyway, I'll probably edit this later as it's probably terrible.

N.

P.S we finished the book!