Phil Wrigglesworth

[Food Fight, Phil Wrigglesworth, Limited Edition Giclee Print on Sumerset Paper, 594 mm x 420 mm] 

[Water Fight, Phil Wrigglesworth, Limited Edition Giclee Print on Sumerset Paper, 841 mm x 594 mm]

 

These two images by Phil Wrigglesworth are a selection from a series of complex busy fight Giclee prints. A Giclee print involves squirting or spraying ink with great accuracy onto canvas or high quality papers, this process allows an extremely close match to the original artwork. Each of these images use a different reduced pallet of contrasting colours, used in bright blocks. Black line and detail creates a tonal range that suggests shadows. There is one tone of each colour used and no more each colour is carefully used to make sure there is distinguish between each form.

The style of the characters uses smooth lines and curved shapes, which have a similar appearance to a china doll. The arms and legs are curved and one smooth shape with some detail of clothing, this line gives more emphasis to the motion and action of the figures. In both prints the characters are all interacting mainly in physical ways, this involves lots of movement and shows strength in some figures. The overall appearance of these images is a strong bold impact with lots of detail, making an interesting image with lots of points of interests.

Jim Flora

[Jived, Primer for Prophets Series, 2008 Screen Print Series of 1954 Alphabet Booklet, 33x19cm] 

Jim Flora’s screen prints in this series show a reduced colour pallet of white, black and Coral Pink. With this technique using few colours produces a strong impact and dynamic shapes. Although there are only a few suggestions of the scene, an impression of atmosphere and space is present. The style of the print uses shape with no outline to form a base figure, with black and white shape and finally line to develop detail. This use of flat shape can be a result of influence by the cubist movement. Representing the movement of these characters though multiple limbs gives both an energetic and interesting image. The interaction of these two figures is very successful; a light fun mood is portrayed through the expressions and body language. This image is so lively and emotive you can almost hear the music.

 

[Mambo for Cats, 1955 RCA Victor, Album Cover, 2013 Limited Edition, Large Format Print, 29x29cm]

 

This design of playful cats has a busy composition with a reduced bight colour pallet. In this image Jim Flora uses a cubist approach with few curved lines and two-dimensional looking characters, this makes the use of shape and colour more crucial to portray these characters successfully. The detail of stops and stripes sometime used in reverse colour is a great example of using simplistic shapes to produce a more detailed and fun aesthetic. The background uses the same simple colour pallet but with washed out tones to avoid distracting the eye from the focal characters.

Saul Steinberg

[Techniques at a Party, 1953, Ink, coloured pencil, and watercolour on paper, 36.8 x 58.4 cm]

‘Techniques at a Party’ by Steinberg is appropriately named, as it is a collaboration of figures drawn with numerous mark making styles and mixed media, including ink coloured pencil and watercolour. This image has depth from the layers of figures in the room even with the disproportional scale of them. The bold colour and detail on the characters gives a contrast to the simplicity of background and draws the attention to the figures.
This Image Shows several drawing techniques with many different marks and tones. Some figures have strong black outline with a confident stylised appearance. There is also a contrast created by figure consisting of only lines and forms shaped by tone. Although there is basic facial features the characters are active an interacting with each other.
The body language used gives some understanding of the figures moods weather they are relaxed into a chair or gazing of uninterested. Overall this image portrays creativity and shows that all characters do not need to be conformed to detailed anatomy.