Swans and Signets

On the meadows near my house there has recently been 8 Signets born on the lake. After a few days rain, we have had a few clear days, so this was the perfect opportunity to go in search of the Swans, armed with my camera. Luckily, the Swans were very visible from the path so I was able to get very close to take some photos. Sadly there are only 6 Signets left!

Rurban Short Film

Short video based on the concept 'Rurban', made to exhibit in my final Art Foundation show. Audio recording by Mark Goodwin, reading his poem 'Ways Through An Outskirts Estate'. Shot in Thurmaston, Leicestershire. 

Rurban//Landscape Work

Watercolour and acrylic paints and biro

Watercolour paints with biro

Watercolour paints with biro

Oil paints

Oil paints

Oil paints

Oil paints

Oil paints

Oil paints

These are all paintings I have completed in a 20 page A3 landscape sketchbook.

Rurban//Landscape Research

As I did for the architecture part of my project, I went out to take photographs as research for the landscape part of the project. I collected photographs around Sileby Marina (the village I live in) and around Thornton Reservoir.

Rurban//Ways Through An Outskirts Estate

 "Tarmac paths
fissured &
patched"













"green-glow
august sun"

 "wrecked
pushchair kneeling in
nettles"

"windows doomed wooden
with boards"

 "a dog-growl close
behind a creosote-drenched
fence"

 "bent
& rusty bmx"

"up a scorched cherry tree
black"

 "bent-over nails in an oak's
trunk"

 "blue polypropylene rope tied"

"to a brick tangled
in an ancient hawthorne above"

 "the hot soft
smell of drying
grass-cuttings"

"& petrol"















My paintings are an abstract interpretation of the poem 'Ways Through An Outskirts Estate' in the book of poems written by Mark Goodwin (family friend and Leicestershire poet).
All done in oil paints and presented in a handmade book, alongside the quotes from the poem, which I have rearranged slightly to fit with my interpretations.

The start of 'Rurban'

1.

Rurban

(adj.) a place that has a rural setting that is in the outskirts of an urban environment. (Urban Dictionary)

The last few months of the Art Foundation consist of a self set Final Major Project. Having done research on the concept of 'Rurban', I decided this is what I would use to explore during my FMP.

My interpretation of the word is simply the links and contrasts between 'rural' and 'urban', the words that make up the new idea Rurban. Although in the definition Rurban is described as rural and urban being side by side, in many cases, rural landscape around the country has been completely urbanised by today's society, meaning that rural and urban are often found completely intertwined.

I was inspired to explore this idea by a family friend, Mark Goodwin, who is also a published poet from Leicestershire, who is also very interested in the idea of Rurban and has written poetry that can be linked to it. After talking to him about his ideas and work, I thought of many ways I wanted to convey my ideas through art work in my final project.

I decided to look purely at Leicestershire, as that is where I live and where Mark Goodwin's inspiration came from. Basing the project on my area also allows the project to be more personal, as well as giving me perfect first hand resources.

I decided to explore each component of the word 'Rurban' separately by doing work on architecture around the centre of Leicester city and landscapes around Leicestershire, then linking the two by making a short film at the end to link all the ideas together.