The main objective for the research project is to expand my understanding of the use of colour and light in visual art to aid in producing more accurate compositions that communicate more effectively with the viewer. Light and colour lend atmosphere to a piece and can convey mood and emotion and the implementation of this principle and how studying colour and light can improve my work are key motivations for undertaking research into this area.
My research will be mainly in the form of practical experimentation and investigation, though my key references and influences for this line of investigation are James Gurney's books Imaginative Realism, and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter. My practical investigation will take the form of experimenting with making models and maquettes of characters and settings in my Final Major Project to allow me to experiment with physically lighting my subject matter. I will produce photographs and studies of my experiments with directional and coloured lighting to use as reference materials for the artwork I am producing for my final major project. To supplement these experiments I will experiment with producing plein air studies of both natural and artificial lighting effects in the surrounding environment. Finally, I will research and implement light and colour theory, with particular attention being paid to Gamut mapping and mixing colour strings.
The resulting body of work will be used as reference material for the artwork in my final major project and I envision creating a folio of work that will serve to compliment my final publication for my final major project.
A blog documenting the progress of my project in my final year of BA Illustration.
