Aimee Weaver

The Art of Andrew Orkney

Andrew Orkney has used the hidden life of animals during the night time to produce several paintings in surreal and mysterious colours.

My favourite picture is of a young stag, looking from behind. By using blue along with the usual beige, brown and white’s commonly associated with deer, Orkney has produced, for the viewer, a realistic painting that both captures the eye as well as producing an image not commonly seen by man. The green background of this painting produces a contrast to the otherwise neutral colours of the main aspect, thus causing these colours to stand out further than if they were on a normal white background. I admire the gradient effect of the background as it shows shadow and makes the image more mysterious then that of a real life photo. Andrew Orkney has also used orange, pink and blue spots, which have been blurred.  This seems to be to show stars in a night sky or can also be seen as fire fly’s. I admire this effect as it creates more of a mystical feel to the image then a photograph would. Orkney has also added two clumps of branches, one on each side of the stag, to create a more lifelike habitat for his painting. By using orange and white, as well as a little bit of pink, Orkney is using colours which wouldn’t commonly be seen in a forest without a light, and so it produces a more mysterious and mystical look at the unknown and unseen. This is one of my favourite pictures of this group as it’s calmness in colour and the use of tone reflects that of the nature of the stag in question.

Another of my favourite pictures from Andrew Orkney’s collection is of a Bush Baby on a tree, again at night. Orkney has used the seemingly natural colours (to what the human eye sees of this mainly nocturnal creature) to show the mystery behind the animal, due to the fact that hardly any man has seen one in the wild Madagascan land that they thrive in. By using the animals natural colours of browns and beiges for its fur, Orkney is showing what we would see if we were lucky enough to lay our eyes on such a peaceful and exotic creature. He has again used shades of blue to depict the night time which is, as previously said, the Bush Baby’s natural waking time. By painting a tree trunk for the Bush Baby to hang on to, Orkney is showing the animal’s natural habitat. He has used similar colours for the tree as he has done for the Bush Baby probably to show how well a Bush Baby can hide and blend into its surroundings. The green leaves which have been used as a background have provided a striking contrast to that of the main feature of the painting. I like this painting as it again shows something that is so rare to see and is also so beautiful if you are lucky to see.

Other pictures in this collection include a lemur, a fox, a couple of fighting antelope (or at least what appear to be...) and a wolf (not shown).

Fashion by Olivia Barclay

Olivia Barclay has used three main colours and sparkling fabrics to create this galactic like line of clothing. This line was my favourite in the Exhibition because it was different and unique but at the same time it was in the current trend.

One of my favourite outfits from this collection is a bright pink top paired with a black skirt. This may sound quite average and normal, but the look of each garment, whether they were being looked at together or on their own, was amazing. The bright pink top is cropped to sit just above the waistline and is loose fitting with quite loose half length sleeves. I like this top as it is in fashion at the moment as well as the fact that it is in a bright colour. The fact that it is plain doesn’t take away from the perfect finish of this garment as the colour is a statement on it’s own, therefore it has no need for embellishment. The skirt that it is paired with is made out of strips of alternating sparkly black fabric and triangles of a translucent black fabric. This effect gives the outfit a galactic feel as the sparkly black fabric reminds the viewer/wearer of the sky in space. This skirt also provides a contrast to the top in not only its colour but also its fit. The skirt is a tighter fit than the top, but not so tight as to be a pencil skirt (that look is a mistake...). Other outfits in this line included a silver dress, a black dress as well as a clutch to accessorise one or all of the outfits.

Another part of Barclay’s Exhibition project that caught my eye was the extent of work and research she did in her sketchbooks. Her trials and amount of research amazed me as they were extensive and detailed. I am hopping that my work will become like that in my currant year 2 A2 project.