Sunday 5 October 2014

Assignment 5 planning (part 3)

Analysing John Piper

Feedback from my tutor is positive, so all systems are go...

That said, my tutor has concerns re maintaining a tight control on the scope of the project "tprevent the assignment being too wide-ranging you may need to find a way of restricting the focus further. Using John Piper as a visual influence is one starting point, but you may also need to find another point to help define the project to produce the final 15 images". 

Starting with currently my only starting point, John Piper, what do I understand about his art and his approach so far?

  • His control over colour is radical, the colour key for the final image often bears no resemblance to the original scene. 
  • His preference is to work in water colours when painting outside, thus invariably his picture starts with a line drawing, normally in pencil and the colour follows. 
  • JP is known for his architectural drawings and his paintings tend to focus on very specific architectural elements of the buildings.
  • Key elements are depicted in great detail, often in pencil or coloured ink. 
  • Often less than a third of his picture will be developed to this level of detail.
  • Often the most important element is left without colour
  • The pictures tend to be very light at the centre, gradually getting darker and darker towards the edge of the frame
  • JP uses blocks of colour to support and communicate mood

Piper regularly uses mixed media to communicate his ideas and is particularly fond of incorporating newspaper and photographs into his pictures. Not only are multiple layers used to develop and build up the image, but Piper also duplicates sections of the image and applies different colour codes. 

Eye and camera - Multi figure (1972)
© The Piper Estate

St Anne's, Limehouse, London (1964)
© The Piper Estate



So how do I 'do' Piper?

  1. Start looking at my area with Piper vision
  2. Identify the area of focus and take my photograph and use it to create a colourless line drawing
  3. Select the important detail that needs to be 'added' back in
  4. Select a colour palette that creates the feel and mood I wish to create
Four simple steps - if only it were that easy.......

I also need to think about the 'other point' (or points) to help define the project.....

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