Reflection

Overall, my journey has been interesting and fun. I have faced some challenges such as changing my mind between freehand graffiti and stencil graffiti and experimenting with materials. Next time, I would like to attempt to draw more of my own stencils in order to develop my drawing skills. By completing this project, I would like to develop my skills further and attempt free hand graffiti so I can take some photographs of my own work.

Stencil graffiti history

Stencil graffiti subculture has been around for the last thirty years. Artists such as Banksy, John Fekner and Jef Aresol are famous stencil graffiti artists. Stencilling is an easy method to produce a political message. Many artists appreciate the publicity that their artwork can receive. Some just want their work to be seen. Since the stencil stays uniform throughout its use, it is easier for an artist to quickly replicate what could be a complicated piece at a very quick rate, when compared to other conventional tagging methods.

Over the years this form of graffiti has become a worldwide subculture. The members are linked through the Internet and the images spray-painted on the urban canvas they place throughout the world. Many of its members connect through blogs and websites that are specifically built to display works, get feedback on posted works, and receive news of what is going on in the world of stencil graffiti.

Final pieces

Working on the final piece

Today I began working on my five final stencil graffiti pieces. Previously I tested the stencils to work out which ones I would like to use. First I taped the stencils onto the black canvas and then I sprayed them. When it came to stencilling the words, I decided to trace the letters first before spraying them. When I was experimenting with the lettering, it was all over the place. By tracing them beforehand helped me get the letters straight and proportioned. The process was successful and the pieces turned out the way I had expected.

Making a start

Today I decided to begin spraying the 5 canvas' in order for them to dry for tommorrow. Tommorrow I will be finishing my final art pieces.

Starting the final piece

I began a brainstorm on the stencils, text and colours I would like to use for my final art piece. I have decided that the 5 flat canvas' will all be sprayed black because the colourful graffiti will stand out on the background.

The final 5 pieces are:

1. Rose - Love (Red stencil on a black background)
My connection: It is my favourite flower

2. Turtle -Luck (Green stencil on a black background)
My connection: It is my favourite animal and it is my good luck charm

3. SLR Camera - Passion (Blue on a black background)
My conection: My passion and interest in photography

4. Marilyn Monroe - Inspire (Silver on a black background)
My connection: A person I admire

5. Apple - Wisom (Green on a black background)
My connection: Traditional representation of a teacher

Testing new stencils

Today I tested out the new stencils that I have created in order to determine which ones I will be using for my final piece. I experiemented using different colours in order to work out how I would like my final pieces to look. I am really happy with the way the stencils worked out, however, I need to work on the text because my trials were really messy and the letters were all over the place.

Experimenting with new stencils

This weekend I am going to experiement with the new stencils that I have created. I want to focus on colours and which stencil design and text would suit each colour. I will be focussing on colour associations and linking them to each design.

I have bought 5 flat canvas' that I will be using for my final art piece. My final art piece will be one piece made up of 5 30cmx40cm canvas' displaying an image and a word which displays a personal association to the image. The colour of the canvas, object and text will be determind by colour association and emotive colours.

Color Symbolism Chart
	Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
	Pink symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.
	Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolizes calm and simplicity.
	Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship.
	Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
	Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.
	Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning.
	Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and elegance.
	Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
	Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
	Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
	Inspiration,Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm.
	Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
	Power, Inspire, sophistication, respect, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, memory,evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures).

New stencils

Here are some new stencils that I have created. I attempted to draw some of these stencils although the Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mouse image was from the internet. I drew the turtle stencil. These three images will be apart of my final piece. I will test out these stencils sometime this week to work out what colours I will use and what words I will associate with them.

Experimenting with new stencils

I experiemented with the new stencils that I have created. They worked out better using acetate rather than hard cardboard. I noticed that the rose stencil was hard to use because the centre of the rose was really detailed so its hard to see the middle of it. I tried three different fonts for the text which all turned out good. The camera stencil turned out fantastic and I will definetly use this stencil as part of my final artpiece.

Exit through the gift shop !

I watched a documentary called "Exit through the gift shop" which is about Banksy, the stencil graffiti artist. It showed the inside story of street art through an eccentric shop keeper named Thierry Guetta turned documentary film maker as he attempts to capture the worlds most infamous graffiti artists. He comes accross Banksy and his work and is intrigued with his habits and artwork. Guetta becomes obsessed with Banksy and graffiti that he decides to create and document his own work adopting the name of "Mr Brainwash."

I found this documentary really interesting and an inspiration to my work. It showed the lives of the artists and how they create their stencil graffiti and choose the places in which the graffiti is placed.

New stencils

Here are some of my new stencils that I cut out of acitate. I drew the camera and the first set of letters. The other two are images I found on the internet. These are possible images and text templates for my final piece. I want to try and draw the other stencils free hand. I will experiement with using these stencils sometime soon.

Research

I have been conducting some research on the particular images that I would like to stencil for my final art piece. I have thought about linking a partiular word that inspires me to an image that I love and that represents me and my life. I could also associate a colour with the image and text.

Examples:
- Love and a Rose (Red/Pink)
- Wisdom and a book (Purple)
- Luck and a turtle (Green)
- Freedom and a butterfly (Blue)

This could be the final product for my assignment. I could have a series of canvas panels (5) displaying a word and an image on each. This will show my personal connection with the art pieces.

I will continue experimenting by drawing some of my own stencils of images and playing around with the different words to match the image. This time I will draw my stencils on acetate instead of cardboard.

Testing my stencils

The stencils worked out well. The images looked how I had imagined. The only thing I would change would be material I used for the stencil template. I decided to use hard card as a trial although the spraypaint seeped through and caused the stencil to rip. Next time I will experiement with acitate and stencil paper.

Stencils

I have created two stencils to graffiti. Both of them are images that relate to my interests. They are Marilyn Monroe which relates to my interest in female vintage actors and a cassette tape which relates to my interest in music. I found these two images on the internet and edited them by inverting the colours on Paint. I printed them onto cardboard and cut them out using a stanley knife. Later this afternoon I will test them out!

Banksy and Stencilling

I have been doing some research into Banksy and his stencil graffiti. I have watched some videos about him and his work and it really facinated me. I have decided to experiement with stencilling by finding some images that interest me. I have created some stencils in the past but I would like to develop my skills further by created more complex stencils.

My Brainstorms

Over the past few days, I have been brainstorming some images and words that I like and that inspire me. Also, some images and words that represent me and my life. First I will experiement with grafitting words and then Ill try images. Eventually, I will try to relate a word to an image in order to create an art piece. This is still a work in progess!

Banksy is also an inspiration to my work. I am hoping to create some stencils and create graffiti in that form. I have made some stencils in the past so I will experiment with them first.

My Graffiti Photographs

These are some of my graffiti photographs taken at Hosier Lane in the city of Melbourne.
The first two photographs have also been published in the Victoria University offset magazine during my third year of University in 2010.