Leo Sewell is an American "found object" artist.

His assemblages of recycled material are in over 40 museums and in private collections worldwide.

Born: September 7, 1945 (age 69), Annapolis, Maryland, United States

Leo Sewell went to the University of Delaware.

Leo Sewell has played with junk now for fifty years and has developed his own assemblage technique.

His works are collected by corporations, museums and individuals throughout the world.

His sculptures are composed of recognizable objects of plastic, metal and wood. These objects are chosen for their color, shape, texture, durability and patina; then they are assembled using nails, bolts, and screws. The outdoor sculptures are constructed of stainless steel, brass, or aluminum found objects which are welded together.

He can also use objects from the patron's past for a more personal assemblage.

This sculpture of a Hammer was made of recycled materials and is one of Leo Sewell's artworks.

It measures 10ft x 4ft x 2ft.

I like this idea of making artwork out of recycled materials, it is great for the environment and it can make a great sculpture for a new town.

Leo Sewell’s artwork and information can be found on the following websites:

http://www.leosewell.net/artwork.php?which=8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Sewell

Michelle Reader is an artists based in London, England.

She works in London and is based at Blackhorse Lane Studios in Walthamstow (Barbican Arts Group Trust).

She has been working with recycled materials since 1997, and also has a background in design for performance.

Michelle makes bespoke recycled and sustainable sculptures for organisations, often created from waste materials relevant to the business or event. 

Michelle also works with galleries, schools, and other organisations as a freelance artist educator, and creates unique awards and trophies from reclaimed materials.

The direction of Michelle's work has been influenced by environmental concerns such as pollution and overconsumption of resources.

This sculpture of a Jaguar is made of recycled materials by Michelle Reader, it is as big as an average human being.

Michelle Readers artwork is very fascinating and I also like the idea of making a life size Jaguar out of recycled materials, I believe this sculpture took a long time to create.

Michelle Readers artwork can be found on these websites:

http://www.michelle-reader.co.uk/Home.html

http://www.re-title.com/artists/michelle-reader.asp

Born in 1983 in St. Louis, USA, Erika Iris Simmons is an artist who specializes in using old cassette tapes to create incredibly artistic celebrity portraits.

Erika Iris makes portraits of people associated with the item she choose – without adding any paint or pigments.

This piece is a self-portrait of the famous Kurt Cobain from the band Nirvana.

Yuken Teruya, (born 1973 in Onikawa) is an artist based in New York City.
Louis Vuitton

14.5 x 40 x 33.5 cm

He works in a variety of media and often references consumer culture alongside traditional craft techniques.
An example of his art is the series of McDonald's and high-end designer store bags into which Teruya cuts intricate tree shapes that are then pushed through into the interior of the bag, creating an enclosed environment within.
Teruya creates a beautiful scene inside a bag, and that is very fascinating, the cut out of the top makes the tree reflect of the sides of the bag making it look like a small park in Japan.
Using different bags with different colours can create a lovely atmosphere, for example this one particularly looks like a scene in Autumn, orange, brown and yellow are Autumn colours.
Teruya has many other artworks that are similar and used with recycled materials.
Yuken Teruya's work can be found on these websites:
http://www.yukenteruyastudio.com/
http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/yuken_teruya.htm

Timothy "Tim" Noble (born 1966) and Susan "Sue" Webster (born 1967), are two British artists who work as a collaborative duo, and are associated with the post-YBA generation of artists.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster's work can be divided into the 'Light Works' and the 'Shadow Works'.

This piece is called Dirty White Trash (With Gulls) and was made in 1998.

6 months' worth of artists' trash, 2 taxidermy seagulls and a light projector.

'Dirty White Trash With Gulls' is a art piece Noble and Webster made by using and gathering all the trash they had, it is a very unusual thing to do and I have never seen anything like this.

It is so interesting how they put all the trash together and used a bright spotlight in front of the trash to be able to see what it really is they made, and the result was a shadow of Noble and Webster sitting on the floor back to back.

This is a great idea and piece, you can barely make out what figure is made of the trash because there is so much colour and shapes its almost impossible to tell, it just looks like messy trash on the ground.

I enjoy their work, its very fascinating and unusual, and its something different from other art.

Noble's and Webster's art and information can be found online on these following websites:

http://www.timnobleandsuewebster.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Noble_and_Sue_Webster

The False Eye
René Magritte was born on 21 November 1898 in Lessines, Belgium.

Rene Magritte was a surreal artist, with this painting.
It display more sentiment by the shape of wide eyes directly portraying a clear blue sky with white puffy clouds.

Reflecting from the sky and directly to thee pupils.
The way the outline and shadow are cast as if the individual has been watching the sky and has spotted something which whom don't see it.
This painting shows substantial feelings and displays more than 1 action taking place at their time.

It also seems as if the image is a dream and the individual is seemingly gazing through the sky as referred to lucid dreaming or day dreaming.

This painting includes shades of blues and browns. nudes around the eye with slight yellow light.
The shading in this painting starts from the right side travelling to the left side, becoming lighter.

The False Eye is a fascinating painting and I enjoy the very well put together colours and shading.

Octopus & Elephant combined street art.

This piece with an elephant head growing out tentacles is quite inconceivable.

This art piece is located in London, England.

Is very far from the ordinary however instead of the elephant having one main trunk, it has multiple tentacles which represents an octopus converging along with an elephant head not only that its main trunk has been replaced by also an octopus tentacle, whereas everything else following the ears, eyes, head & the root towards the trunk remains the same except the tentacles.

The piece is done on a layer of brick which simply matches the scales or rough skin which thee elephant has.

A fascinating piece of street art, also being done by paint spray. Showing efforts of shading not only on the elephant head itself but the emotions of the tentacles of it lashing like 'liquid' shows as if the elephant actually has control of the tentacles, as if both creatures was one.

The fact that the artists done this in a local area, it will appeal as a sense of graffiti too.

1. Frida Kahlo was a surreal artists mostly known for her self-portraits.

   Born: July 6, 1907, Coyoacán, Mexico.

   Died: July 13, 1954, Coyoacán, Mexico.

   This is a self-portrait painting of herself Frida Kahlo, it was painted in 1940.

   Measuring 16 x 24 cm.

   She has painted herself into an imaginary jungle surrounded by wild animals such as a monkey a cat and two mosquitoes with a green and yellow background of leafs.

   Kahlo painted a thorn like necklace around her neck to represent her suffocating or being trapped in reality.

   Kahlo is expressing her feelings through art and painting from her own head, Kahlo has painted this self-portrait in a very surreal like way, in a jungle like place.

   Kahlo might be giving a message that she is lost or trapped in reality and doesn't know how to get out, it might even represent herself and her nightmares.

   I find this piece very fascinating and powerful.

   
   

   This painting has also a great range of bright colours and really stands out.

Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí.

Dalí completed this painting in 1937.

The painting shows Narcissus sitting in a pool, gazing down. Not far away there is a decaying stone figure which corresponds closely to him but is perceived quite differently; as a hand holding up a bulb or egg from which a Narcissus is growing. The egg has been used as a symbol for sexuality in other paintings by Dalí.

Relenting, the gods immortalised him as the narcissus (daffodil) flower. For this picture Dalí used a meticulous technique which he described as 'hand-painted colour photography' to depict with hallucinatory effect the transformation of Narcissus, kneeling in the pool, into the hand holding the egg and flower. Narcissus as he was before his transformation is seen posing in the background. 

I don't really enjoy looking at this painting because its confusing to my eye, there is so much happening at once and it isn't making any sense to me.
This piece reminds me of a board game.

Maurits Cornelis Escher, usually referred to as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist.

Born: June 17, 1898, Leeuwarden, Netherlands.

Died: March 27, 1972, Laren, North Holland, Netherlands.

This woodcut artwork was made by Escher in June 1938.

It is called ‘Sky and Water I’ and it measures 43.5 cm x 43.9 cm.

The basis of this print is a regular division of the plane consisting of birds and fish.

As the fish progress upward and the birds downward they gradually lose their shapes to become a uniform background of sky and water, respectively.

According to Escher: "In the horizontal center strip there are birds and fish equivalent to each other. We associate flying with sky, and so for each of the black birds the sky in which it is flying is formed by the four white fish which encircle it. Similarly swimming makes us think of water, and therefore the four black birds that surround a fish become the water in which it swims."

I really enjoy Escher’s work especially this particular piece, it has so much meaning and its very powerful, he is comparing two animals a fish and a bird, which is impossible for a fish to be like a bird because it swims under the water whereas a bird fly's in the sky.

The colours on this print are black and white.

Euan Ernest Richard Uglow was a British painter.
Uglow was born the 10th March 1932 and died the 31st August 2000.
He is famous for his nude and still life paintings such as German Girl and Skull.
Uglow was from London, England and lived in Tulse Hill in south London.
Uglow went to Strand School in Tulse Hill but afterwards he studied at Camberwell School of Art from 1948 to 1950 and from 1951 to 1954 at the Slade School of Fine Art, where he came under the influence of William Coldstream.
Uglow’s three-dimensional canvas paintings are sharp very well shaded and realistic.

Uglows technique is sigh size painting and drawing, Uglows art is very neat, simple and detailed.
He uses primary and secondary colours, the light areas are painted with light colours and the darker areas are painted with the same shade but with a darker colour.

Materials Uglow uses are a paintbrush, canvas and watercolour.

Uglow mostly draws nude paintings and still life for example pears, apples and lemons.

My point of view on his art is that it’s very enjoyable to look at, his paintings are simple, warm and calm, mainly because of the colours he uses, when I look at his paintings it reminds me of a vintage home.

Uglows drawings don’t really relate to mine, only the fact that I have drawn some fruits too but I have my own technique.
I have enjoyed drawing fruits, but it was very tricky to shade in the lemons and pears as they are round and I had to make them appear three-dimensional. 

Eugene Delacroix was a French romantic artist.
Delacroix was born the 26^th of April 1798 and died the 13^th of August 1863.
He was from Charenton-Saint-Maurice in Ile-de-France, near Paris.
Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists.
Delacroix’s drawings are filled with so much detail and great range of colours.
This is a study drawing of flowers, the tone and colour in this paintings is very simple but still a great drawing, very realistic and the line in this paintings is soft and smooth almost invisible to see in some areas.
The shading varies from light to dark in some areas such as under the leaves, it is a darker shade as the top.
Materials used for this drawing was a pencil, watercolour a brush and paper.
I like this study of flowers it is simple but detailed, very smooth not too harsh or it isn’t just one dark line everywhere, it varies from tone, light to dark where you use the pencil right.
This work reminds me of Vincent Van Gogh’s flower drawing.
The colour used in this drawing is very similar to the colours Van Gogh has used in his flower drawing.
I have drawn a group of flowers (lilys) that is kind of similar to Delacroix’s study, like the line and shades, light and dark, but I believe I should have added more shading to my flower drawing. 

Mono print

For the mono print, it was a simple technique. The materials used follows as; Sheets of paper, Roller & Ink.

Started by choosing my design by cutting out shapes from the pieces of paper I had, next spreading ink across the sheets of A3 to create a layer on top which then I used the shapes which were cut out to create a pattern on the exterior of the ink by laying it on top. Afterwards I got a blank sheet laid it on top of the ink & used the roller to press the sheet down to leave a pattern I’ve created, which the outcome was many different shapes & that was the final piece.

Harry Bertoia & Orna Feinstein have used mono print in their work, I had no doubts about myself finalising my piece, as it was most of all fun and involved lots of creativity.

                                                          

Stencil

With the stencil piece I did I got a copy of a stencil, with the same technique used in mono printing, except with sheets of paper, ink & the stencil alone, I placed the stencil on of the ink to create a template which all I needed to do next is roll a blank paper on top for the stencil to duplicate the image which is on the stencil. I found this piece particularly fun as I was able to duplicate an original art from a stencil provided.

Banksy uses this type of technique in his art.

Styrofoam

This technique was exciting, to start off I had a piece of Styrofoam which I used a pencil to mainly mould a design/pattern onto it but just before cutting forward I did plann for the design, which the design was sketched out on a blank paper before carving it into the Styrofoam. Similar technique to linoprint, I spread the ink across the Styrofoam piece & to imprint the design onto a blank page. The design is similar to a stamp.

A Malaysian artist called Cheeming Boey uses this method.

Lino Print

To start off this piece required a lot of attention, from chiselling out the linen to create a pattern or design. Required a lot of force as compared to the other prints such as mono print & stencil, this technique requires focus but however it uses the same materials used in mono printing & stencils which is ink. Same method with ink, except I spread the ink across the lino print ive created & lay it on a blank sheet to duplicate the design onwards.

I found this type of art/technique competitive as patience was needed & it devours time.

Pablo Picasso uses this technique.

Alexander Brodsky was born in 1955 in Moscow, where he lives and works.

Ilya Utkin was born in 1955 in Moscow, where he lives and works.

The imaginary architectures of Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin rethink the city as a dream landscape, blending memories of the past with visions for the future.

From the early 1980s, Brodsky and Utkin collaborated primarily on etchings, working on each copper plate for years. Their dense style of engraving emulates the antique appearance of prints from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.

The etchings in this display are all taken from their Projects portfolio (1980-90) and draw upon a variety of architectural, literary and visual sources, from classical mythology to science fiction. They depict absurd proposals and fictional cityscapes as eclectic mixes of ancient mausoleums, early industrial structures, neoclassical utopias and constructivist towers. 

Brodsky and Utkin's work uses light and dark tone, called chiaroscuro.

These etching pieces remind me of another artists work called Piranesi, their work connects in light and tone.

Andy Warhol is an artist was born in August 6, 1928, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, died February 22, 1987, New York City, New York, United States.

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image, Warhol's pieces are also silk screened.

The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate.

A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink through the mesh openings to wet the substrate during the squeegee stroke.

Andy Warhol makes pop art and also has silk screened images of Marilyn Monroe.

Warhol’s work is very bright and funky, he tends to repeat the same image down and across.

Pablo Picasso is an artist that is famous for his paintings, sculpture and prints.

Born: October 25, 1881, Málaga, Spain

Died: April 8, 1973, Mougins, France

Picasso's linocuts were made by gouging out a sheet of linoleum which had been fused onto a harder block of wood.

Using gouges, he would cut out the areas of his intended image that were to be absent of color (and therefore appear the color of the paper when printed).

The relief areas that remain would be inked, usually with a brayer. 

Paper would be put on the inked linoleum block and pressure applied, after which the inked image is transferred to the paper.

If there were to be multiple colors, Picasso would create a separate linoleum block, each corresponding to a different color, each printed in succession.

This is how he worked since his first linocuts were created in 1958.

Picasso’s work is interesting and very detailed, the disfigured faces and his great choice of colors makes it stand out of the crowd and look very sharp and edgy.

Paul Catherall is a London-based printmaker and illustrator, renowned for his clean, sharp linocuts of architectural landmarks as well as his illustrations for high profile clients.

Drawing influence from classic mid-20th century poster designers, such as Tom Eckersley and Edward Wadsworth, and inspired by the semi-abstract landscapes from Cezanne, Catherall combines an expert eye for composition and colour with consummate draughtmanship to create striking and iconic images.
The subjects of his prints include controversial London buildings (Elephant and Castle shopping centre) and celebrated landmarks (such as Battersea Power Station, Tate Modern and New York's Flatiron).

Each limited edition is created using high quality oil-based inks and acid-free paper, and produced entirely by hand, from the intial design and sketches through to carving, inking and editioning.

Artist: Banksy (British, b. ca. 1974)

Title: Love is in the Air (Flower Thrower), 2002

Medium: Paintings, Stencil, spraypaint on raw canvas

Size: 36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 cm.)

Movement: Contemporary

Banksy is a pseudonymous English graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. Although his identity has not been proven, reliable sources report that he is believed to be Robin Gunningham, a former public schoolboy at Bristol Cathedral Choir School.

His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique. His works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

Banksy's work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris. Banksy says that he was inspired by "3D", a graffiti artist who later became a founding member of Massive Attack.

Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces.

I really enjoy Banksys artwork because it sends a very strong message about society and the government.

Banksys work is so interesting, the fact that he combines things together that do not belong together and creates something different, for us to question and see how artists see things in their perspective.

The colours in this piece 'Love is in the air' are quite simple, but very sharp.

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints that have an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable of producing multiples of a same piece, which is called a print. Each print produced is not considered a "copy" but rather is considered an "original". This is because typically each print varies to an extent due to variables intrinsic to the printmaking process, and also because the imagery of a print is typically not simply a reproduction of another work but rather is often a unique image designed from the start to be expressed in a particular printmaking technique.

Woodcut

Woodcut, a type of relief print, is the earliest printmaking technique, and the only one traditionally used in the Far East. It was probably first developed as a means of printing patterns on cloth, and by the 5th century was used in China for printing text and images on paper. Woodcuts of images on paper developed around 1400 in Europe, and slightly later in Japan. These are the two areas where woodcut has been most extensively used purely as a process for making images without text.

Engraving

The process was developed in Germany in the 1430s from the engraving used by goldsmiths to decorate metalwork. Engravers use a hardened steel tool called a burin to cut the design into the surface of a metal plate, traditionally made of copper. Engraving using a burin is generally a difficult skill to learn.

To make a print, the engraved plate is inked all over, then the ink is wiped off the surface, leaving only ink in the engraved lines. The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it). The paper picks up the ink from the engraved lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times; typically several hundred impressions (copies) could be printed before the printing plate shows much sign of wear, except when drypoint, which gives much shallower lines, is used.

Etching

The process is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer (circa 1470-1536) of Augsburg, Germany, who decorated armor in this way, and applied the method to printmaking. Its great advantage was that, unlike engraving which requires special skill in metalworking, etching is relatively easy to learn for an artist trained in drawing.

Etching prints are generally linear and often contain fine detail and contours. Lines can vary from smooth to sketchy. An etching is opposite of a woodcut in that the raised portions of an etching remain blank while the crevices hold ink. In pure etching, a metal (usually copper, zinc or steel) plate is covered with a waxy or acrylic ground. The artist then draws through the ground with a pointed etching needle. The exposed metal lines are then etched by dipping the plate in a bath of etchant (e.g. nitric acid or ferric chloride). The etchant "bites" into the exposed metal, leaving behind lines in the plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate, and the printing process is then just the same as for engraving.

Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e.g. creating lights from a field of opaque colour. The inks used may be oil based or water based. With oil based inks, the paper may be dry, in which case the image has more contrast, or the paper may be damp, in which case the image has a 10 percent greater range of tones.

Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. A second print from the original plate is called a "ghost print" or "cognate". Stencils, watercolor, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. Monotypes are often spontaneously executed and with no preliminary sketch.