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| Electrician's toolbox, tools, belt and boots |
Research
Electrician's Toolbox
images gathered from internet and photographed:
internet links:
Two hardware stores were visited to take pictures of tool boxes. The hard, square plastic boxes found at these stores prompted the selection of this type of container rather than any others found online, as handling the physical objects encouraged a confidence to be able to recreate them in a painting. The matte outer surface and shinier inner surfaces of these boxes was also an interesting challenge to contrast with representing the metal and cloth of other objects in the composition.
Electrician's Belt
internet links:
Without access to the real thing, finding an online forum with many pictures of interestingly worn-looking tool belts proved very helpful. Most interesting were the images of toolboxes propped somehow, which as incorporated into the final piece by way of including a step. In the end the decision was made that the tool belt would not be propped against the step as in the initial sketch, but lying on top of it so as to create another surface for visual interest.
Electrician's Tools
sketches from internet pictures:
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| own photograph |
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| still life sketches from life |
As well as the standard tools for electricians, a lightbulb was chosen to represent the profession with visual immediacy. The glass provides another texture with very different qualities from the hardy plastics and metals of the tools, boots and toolbox.
Electrician's Boots
images gathered from internet and photographed:
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| pencil study |
The photographed boots on the bottom left of the moodboard were eventually selected for their worn appearance and the impression that they were quickly removed after a day of work.
Analysis of 3 artists approaching a similar subject
Artist: Linda Bacon
Title: 50 Merc
Date of creation: 1991
Watercolor on paper
9.0" x 12.0"
In Linda Bacon's piece '50 Merc.', the canvas is filled with the grille and bonnet of a red Mercury car, which is positioned off centre so we see more of the left hand side of the car. Although the car's make is recognisable, we do not see the first letter of it on the metal emblem. The car appears to be clean and highly polished, which we can tell from the many reflections on the metalwork. These reflections include the green grass and blue sky of an outside scene, and the gleam in the top right corner indicates that the sun is shining brightly. Meticulous care has been taken to include every detail accurately, which makes this a good example of the realism style.
Analysis
Although this piece has been created with watercolours, this has not resulted in a lack of intensity in the colours, which must have been applied in very high concentrations. Because of the extreme amount of detail and the correct appearance of the reflections, it can be inferred that the '50 Merc.' was painted based on material collected at a specific time, such as photographs and sketches.
Interpretation
The effect of this painting is dazzling. Bacon has embraced the complexity of representing the metal texture of the car and the realism style has been used affectively to replicate how eye-catching surfaces of metal can be under strong light. Although depicting an inanimate object, an emotional response is forced because of the intense red of the car, connected with passionate feelings such as love and rage, and the shine which implies that we are looking at a greatly valued object. The reflections hint at a summer's day, which creates another positive association. Because of the zoomed-in perspective, the viewer is forced to appreciate this portion of the car as if drawn in across the field by its gleaming surfaces until we are almost kneeling down, transfixed by it.
Artist: Cindy Wright
Title: Alhambra
Date of creation: 2012
Medium: Oil on Linen
Dimensions: 100 x 150 cm
The subject of 'Alahambra' is a pile of used packaging. Distinguishable from the collection of plastic bags are several drinks bottles and cans and an empty cigarette carton. They appear to be the topmost items in a full black bin set outside, though from the subdued highlights and shadows and desaturated values, it is an overcast day. There is green foliage on the left side of the picture, and the blurriness of this and outermost items of plastic simulates a focus effect created by a camera lens, with the clearest focus reserved for the centre of the image, where a wasp crawls on the plastic. Altogether the image is highly typical of a modern urban scene and seems at first glance to be very mundane.
Analysis
The viewer can tell that the objects are empty and, therefore, useless, by the placement of several of the items, which balance lightly and precariously on the rim of the bin. We are trapped in the circles of the painting: the rim of the bin, the ring of clear plastic bags and the ring of brightly coloured bottles, and the encircling blackness and dark foliage of the background; all of which forces us to engage with the subject matter, and also creates a contrast between the orderly containment of the items and the confusion of the items themselves.
Interpretation
After an initial glance in which the viewer recognises what is an all-too familiar sight in a modern, urban setting, the eye is drawn to the wasp which sits in a contrast of black-on-white just off the centre of the painting. Its shape is also instantly recognisable though its details have not been exaggerated. The idea of waste on a vast scale which is prompted by this painting is enhanced by the scavenging wasp, bringing to mind the associated negative behaviours: the danger of a sting and the gathering of nectar with no return of honey, unlike a bee. This can be compared with the human behaviours of consumption which result in this scene of waste.
Artist: Jeff Hargreaves
Title: Solvent and Die
Date of creation: n/a
Medium: Oil on Linen
Dimensions: 20" x 36"
Several workman's tools are laid out on a wooden table in 'Solvent and Die'. A source of distant but natural light shines on the tools from the left, as if through a window. The items are not all immediately recognisable to an uninformed observer but care has been taken to reproduce their unusual forms in a realistic way so the viewer accepts that this could be a scene from life.
Analysis
The red canister and the metal anvil are rusted around the bottom, and elements of red are repeated throughout, creating a characterful contrast with the monochromatic background. There is an ambiguous red disk on the bottom right of the painting, which could perhaps be a sticker on the table, though there is the tendency to think it is connected with the red circle of paint visible through a hole in the anvil, which lends the painting an interesting flavour of surrealism although it is clearly painted with attention to accuracy, in the style of realism.
Interpretation
There is not much of a story to be gathered from 'Solvent and Die' as the blankness of the background and the neatly arranged placement of the objects is more reminiscent of a classical still life than a scene in a workshop. As a collection of shapes and textures interacting with a single light source, this painting becomes much more appreciable. The lighter objects are set against a darker background, and the dark circles of the object on the right are set against a lighter shade, while several horizontal lines contribute to a serenity in the painting, as if reading a line of writing across a page.
Process & Final Image
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| mockups created to decide on composition |
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| process step 7 |
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| final image |
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| Bonus image: blur tool used on the further objects to create a lens-focus simulation |
Analysis
With a bright, daylight light source from the left side of the picture, coupled with the dark of the boots and the box, 'Electrician's Tools' catches the viewer's attention quite effectively. The objects of the composition are arranged in a casual circle, which encourages the eye to remain within the borders of the image while not seeming too contrived. There are many textures evident in the piece - glass, leather, cloth, plastic and metal, and each surface interacts with the light in a different way.
Interpretation
The boots, the toolbox and the tool belt are textured to appear worn and used, which raises questions as to the story behind the objects and conjures a sense of the owner's character. The dust sheet and concrete step on which the objects are placed contribute a believable environment to the picture, reminding the viewer of a building site. Overall the composition and mood of the picture with the indoor, daylight lighting, is sound, but there is some confusion created by the position of the hammer in relation to the toolbox, as the foreshortening in effect on it makes it not immediately recognisable.
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