Cardboard forest:

I have been looking at layering in terms of mostly painting, and so I wanted to develop and explore this further by using a more physical material like cardboard. I had been looking at children's books and artwork like 'The Gruffalo' and I found that I enjoyed this type of art style. I liked the cartoon elements to it and the way that it wasn't trying to be hyper realistic. 

Using this as inspiration I painted the base with black acrylic, used scissors to cut out winding tree forms which I then painted white and added smaller triangle and eye shape pieces of cardboard on top to represent the peeling bark which I also painted black. I used regular pritt stick glue to stick each element on top of each other. One things I found difficult during this process was that because I used scissors it was difficult to the the smooth curve that I wanted and the result was far more jagged and uneven than I would have liked. Next time I will use a craft knife or scalpel and see if this makes any difference. The scale of this piece isn't huge, but is is larger than most of the other work that I have done for this project being just under A3. 

I think that the most effective element of this work is the black abyss of the background, I think that the dark colour seems to tempt you in towards it making you wonder if something is looking back at you. The white sections of the trees create a very stark contrast to the background and to the black notches on top and I think that this contrast also helps to emphasise each layer, making them more prominent. Another thing that I think was quite successful within this work is the use of making some trees thinner so that they appear further away, I believe that this again helps to establish layers within the work but also to create depth and perspective. Even thought this is a fairly flat piece there is the illusion of looking at something off in the distance. I believe that this also creates even more texture within the image, it's not just a flat piece of work. Each element sticks out and makes you want to ouch it. Also I hadn't intended for the form of the trees to be so jagged I do think that these line are effective in a different way. I believe that they help to invoke an unsettling atmosphere to the work, the outer lines of the trees are bent out shape in a way that seems slightly unnatural and I think that this creates an unnerving feeling within the work. When I look at this work, I am at first reminded of night time walks in the forest and looking for bats with family and friends, but the more I look the more I am reminded of pop up books. I had been researching books like 'The Gruffly' but the work within is flat and 2D, but I think that the slight 3D nature caused by the layering made me think about pop up scenes and 3D landscapes. 

I think that the strengths of this piece are the depiction of depth, texture and contrast that can be seen. All of these elements compliment each other and help to emphasise the other. I think that something I could improve on next time would be to use something like a craft knife instead of scissors to see if I can get a smoother line and edge for the trees and perhaps to add in a few more trees to fill in the larger gaps and improve the overall composition of the work so that there aren't as many bare spots. 

Moving on from this I would like to delve deeper into depth and layering. I spoke with my tutor and we discussed some options and came to the conclusion of looking into Dioramas and light boxes, so that's where I will begin my research for the next development of my work.