Assignment 2 - Project 4 - Experiments with Printing & Painting - Part Two

Image 2

This was my second selected image:

 For this image I took a different approach and used photoshop to manipulate the watercolour into some potential designs. Here are just a couple:

A simple 3 x 6 panel of horizontally mounted, flipped and inverted images.This image is okay but lacks any zing unless viewed from a distance. There doesn't seem to be enough connectivity between the individual motifs when viewed close up but when seen from a distance (or squinting!), there is an interesting line formed by the dark orange line. For this image to really come alive in a pattern design I would want to use the motif in a small format with many pattern repeats across the fabric. Alternatively, a larger piece that would intentionally be viewed from a distance (curtain fabric for example).

Although I could see some potential in the first pattern, I felt like it wasn't "immediate" (I had to work to see the pattern relationships) so I swapped around the motifs to make the orange sections in the corner meet. Other than that I left the orientation as it was. This is a much more pleasing design, especially when viewed from a slight distance. The Dark orange lines and golden-yellow halo form a softly undulating  line. This has a gentle energy and makes the repeat of the motifs look like a true repeating pattern.

For this image I took out the top line, shifted the second line to align the sections directly above one another and took out one vertical row of patterning to give a clear, narrow pattern repeat. This would make an excitingly dynamic border or perhaps a centre line. As an interesting aside the two motifs as joined on the top row remind me of a moth or butterfly....

I also tried manipulating this image to create a 3-d effect. Not sure how successful it is but it's something I might play with some more at some point....

(Incidentally, I found image manipulation absolutely absorbing - I played with so many filters, combinations and orientations. It's a brilliant way to get a good idea how an image can be "worked" without wasting hours and resources cutting and photocopying).