"We're all mad here" (add final result)

I originally started off with a very detailed carefully drawn depiction of the Queen Of Hearts with various shades of graphite pencil on white cartridge paper. I then duplicated this image using tracing paper with the same pencils and shading it in the exact same way so that they were identical in every possible aspect. Here they are side by side. (left is original, Right is the duplicate)

I then continued to paint the duplicated image with colours associated with the Queen Of Hearts and I chose a deep red for the hair. Because it's my own variation of the Queen I needed the audience to be able to tell who it was straight away. I used acrylic paint and then continued to go over the lines with black ink for definition.

Primary research images

During my project I'm really trying to focus on the natural and animal imagery seen both visually and verbally throughout the book so for some primary research I've taken photographs of some of a college friend's collection of taxidermy animals, feather collections and some of my own flowers. These have been really helpful as references to draw from especially the roses. Below you'll see my favourite selections of the images I have taken.

The images of roses are essential to a piece I have planned in my head for the Queen of Hearts who famously loves red roses. I plan to make roses out of lots of different materials and make a sort of head dress out of them, including cardboard, maybe book paper, wallpaper etc.

I absolutely love the colours and patterns in these feathers, I'm pretty sure these are pheasant feathers. They're long and flamboyant with a beautiful range of colours that are really inspirational especially when all the patterns come together.
I'd really like to create some handmade feathers and paint them maybe for Alice's hair and these are perfect references because I won't find any feathers similar to these in shops or lying around blackburn.

I'm definitely planning on using bird imagery in a piece of work- I don't quite know what though yet, all's I know is that I love the quote "why is a raven like a writing desk?" and I can incorporate birds (specifically ravens/crows) in that, but for reference I've collected some images of birds wings and feathers because it's something I'm not quite familiar with.

This is a racoons head fur, perfect shape for a head dress like I have been planning. But maybe change it to another animal using this as a main reference point would look better like a fox or a wolf of some kind.






I think using a rabit skull in my work is a brilliant idea, it's so dark and eerie and also extremely relevant to the story and the dark references to drugs and death. "Follow the white rabbit"...

I'm obviously going to be using rabbit imagery in my work (and a lot of it) so I've really focused on this rabbit. It's an entire rabbit fur and the ears have hardened in a spectacular display all crooked but pointed upwards. I want to dedicate a single piece to the white rabbit. I know this rabbit isn't very white but that can easily be changed.

Follow the white rabbit

All the way through my project I wanted to dedicate one piece just to the white rabbit on his own. This was the finished result. Inkeeping with the theme I have fashioned the rabbits head and facial features similar to that of flower petals with the colour, shapes and even the physical curling into 3d petals, I've never done this before but it looks brilliant and really compliments the other pieces in my project. Although the rabbit isn't very white I've incorporated various patterned wallpapers that are white, cream or silver to compliment the paint colours and surrounding objects such as the flowers and the book paper which shows my skills when it comes to colour and pattern selection and how well I can work with complimentary colours. It may not look like I've put any thought into it but every piece was carefully selected out of my collection of materials and placed presicely underneath or over each layer. The twigs framing the rabbits head were fiddly to do, they are made out of wallpaper that mimicks the texture of bark on trees but originally they were thin and long so I had to create small templates in the shape of the twigs above and carefully cut them out of wallpaper and stick them on piece by piece to create what you see in this image. I also felt using book paper was a really important part of the process because not only does it create a collective amongst the other pieces but also, the audience is visually reminded of the context of each piece with the inspiration being derived from a book which I think is a great way of visually connecting with the audience.
Overall I think this piece worked out well, it's feminine, visually creative, has a lot of technical skill and aesthetically pleasing.

exhibition

This is an image of my exhibition for my final major project displaying a small selection of work from the project. As a collective they compliment eachother really well mainly because of the similar styles, colours and materials including book paper which is a main essential piece of visual context to remind the audience of the inspirational origins which is a book: Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. You may not think they represent his story well but that's because they are merely inspired by his work including quotes from the book and my own variations of the characters and developing the quotes into visual creations.
The exhibition went amazingly, hundreds of people turned up to look at the work. I heard so many nice things about my work and people pointing out their favourite aspects or pieces, I also heard some constructive criticism which is always helpful to hear and gives me things to think upon, improve and develop.

The Queen She Likes 'Em Red

This was probably my most simple piece, it only took around 20 minutes to do the rose and 20 minutes for everything else including painting and the background. However, sometimes it's nice to see something that's simple yet creative and this looks really good amongst my other pieces which are very embellished and crowded pieces. The rose is the main focus in this and one of my favourite things to create with book paper especially on a book paper background because it looks as though it's sprouted from the background and growing towards you out of the image. The quote "The Queen she likes 'em red" is well known from the Disney adaption in 1951 in which the queens guards are painting white roses red with paint. This is what I've tried to re-create with red acrylics and it looks visually effective almost like it's still dripping down the page which I love. Although this piece didn't take long it's a technical piece and shows off my skills and how I can make something so simple look very creative and dynamic. It compliments the other pieces very well.

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

This is one of my favourite and probably one of the more technical pieces. I've used a wide range of materials on this piece. I firstly painted the head free hand onto the book paper background, then, drew out a template of the wings with a very light shade of graphite pencil. I coloured in the feathers I thought would look right made out of materials after that it all became improvisation. I painted some feathers with watered down acrylic paint so the book paper was still partly visible through the paint. Then I drew around each selected feather individually with tracing paper as a template for the wallpaper, I then selected appropriate colours and patterns for the feathers in a very particular order so that they complimented eachother really well. The small ones were the most fiddly bits to do but they all come together really well and the texture is visible even through a photograph. As an extra textural bonus I cut feather shaped pieces out of plastic and layered them over selected feathers. This looks brilliant in person but isnt really visible in a photograph, especially when the light hits it and creates a shiny aesthetic over the matt paint.
I curled the petals of the flower in the ravens beak to make it look more realistic and it looks really 3d and creative. I don't know if it's visible to anyone else but the stem of the feather had a quote written in it..... "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" This is a quote from Alice In Wonderland. I'm really happy with this piece.

"Curiouser and curiouser"

Final piece "The Queen Of Hearts"

I had envisioned this piece from the very start of my project, mainly because of the inspiration for this piece which was a piece of art I created in my "Vision" project last year. I was so impressed with that piece that I had to create a second piece and create a series which I still want to add to. However I think this piece was more creative than the last and has a different aesthetic in terms of the colour palette because of the use of reds, pinks and yellow. This is because this piece had to relate to the Queen Of Hearts in a very obvious way. If you look closely you'll see that the patterns on her forehead is the classical version of the queen of hearts from a playing card that I have re-drawn and cut bits out of whilst layering pieces of playing cards underneath for a busy visual effect that looks really detailed and well planned out, It also has small parts of drawing in black ink similar to the previous piece of art to mimick the style keeping it aesthetically similar.
The head piece was especially difficult in terms of placement because of all the different styles, sizes and thickness of each flower but they've all come together and not clashed despite the very similar colours in each one which I was worried about. I think the book paper rose breaks it up a bit more.
The collar took a long time to create because of each piece having it's own shape and actually curving out of the image itself, it's a very 3d piece in terms of things coming out of it. It's taken a lot of creative thinking to bring this piece together but the result is impressive considering how many times things kept falling off and coming loose.
Over all I think this piece represents my themes and ideas really well as a final piece and am looking forward to seeing it in the exhibiton.

"Alice falling down the rabbit hole"

Timeline of Alice evolution in film

Basically, this is a timeline I made of the evolution of the alice adaptions between 1865 and 2012 covering the main variations of the series either produced as a film, TV series or documentary etc. It's a good reference for research and gave me a lot of information, inspiration and an idea of when and where they originated in history such as the disney version which is timeless. It's good to be able to imagine them all in a certain place in time in my head. Alot of research went into this timeline and whilst all the information isn't in this piece I've stored it all in my head watching clips and gaining knowledge. This is a really good idea for anyone to reference their work to.

Artist research into theme

During this project I want to do a lot of research ensuring that I have a lot of inspiration from other artists and have explored all themes and adaptations of the book and films. This way I not only have inspiration but I can make sure my work is as original as possible as I really don't want my work to appear like someone elses in any way. I want to recreate the characters and imagery in a darker and more flamboyant appeal.
John Tenniel

One of John Tenniels most famous collections of illustrations are that of Alice in wonderland. Especially this one in particular- it's the one that stuck out to me most as a child as well, alice cradling the flamingo during her famous game of croquet with the queen. I love the simplicity of these drawings and how sketchy and certain they are. They portray the writing perfectly.

Although I admire John Tenniel his work is very dated as you can see from this depiction of the cheshire cat. Basically, it's just a cat. It lacks the imagination of the later adaptions which I love but have to respect that this was done many many years ago and was the style of the time. It's always good to reference his work though as it's very popular and more people know and can relate to it as the original drawings in Lewis Carrolls Alice in wonderland and are part of many peoples childhoods including mine.

I really like this drawing of the white rabbit, it's very representative of his character as his posture is very rigid and straight and there is a slight look of worry in his eye. I like his ceremonial attire, it's very representitive of it's time of creation. I can imagine if it was in colour it would be very bold and bright. It's a cute drawing but not very inspirational as a piece of art or anything to aspire to.












Annie Leibovitz

Simple editorial photographs of a beautiful young blonde as Alice depicting various parts of the story with luxurious surroundings and imagery here are two examples

Salvador Dali
I'm not a big fan of Salvador Dali, his work is too messy and quirky for my taste but I like the style of these pieces in particular because of their abstract nature and the way they connect to the story of being in a dream world. There is always speculation that Carroll was under the influence of drugs when writing this story and these paintings give off a hallucinogenic appeal which is why I think they reflect the story perfectly.

Cheshire cat variations

This is my favourite depiction of the cheshire cat, it is Tim Burton's variation from his 2010 film Alice in wonderland, known as "Chessur" he has mystical abilities that allow him to float and turn invisible which has many possibilities when it comes to creating art, I can leave parts undone or fading away which would look brilliant. He is also a philosopher known for his philosophical debates and annoyance of Alice as well as others and is the owner of many famous quotes such as "I'm not crazy my reality is just different than yours" and "We're all mad here" and I could include these in my work.

Disney 1951
I'm not really sure about this example, he's one of my favourites mainly because of his particular smile and the coloured stripes on his fur- this is a new take on the cheshire cat and I like the eccentric colours and character of him in this film. Although I don't like him as much as Tim Burton's he's a really good example and would be really good to reference in my work.

1999, Alice in wonderland
This time is completely different variation instead of complete computer graphics or cartoon animation they've mixed in a real life face (Whoopi Goldberg) against a model of a cat with the aid of computer and the result looks really good. This is something I could and have been thinking of doing with photographs and painting over it.

The Queen Of Hearts
Throughout the years there have been many variations of the queen of hearts as she's such an adaptable and strong character, there's so many possibilities but these are a few of my favourites.

There were two Alice in wonderland films released in 1951, this example of the queen is from the none Disney production which combined stop-motion puppets and live action.
This is the Queen of hearts colour character design (Lou Bunin studio's, 1949) and was done with pencil, pen and ink and gouache on paper by production designer Bernyce Polifika. People didn't react well to the production as a whole especially compared to the popular disney version, people didn't like the animation as a whole claiming the colour was faded and aged and that the production was tacky and looked "rushed". Personally, I love the colour used in this design, it's creative, a brilliant use of the colours, very complimentary, representive of her character and of the time in which it was made. I wouldn't personally create something like this for a main recreation of a character as I'm looking for something more realistic but it's perfect for a background character or a childrens book or decorational purposed but it's one of my favourite designs- it really captures her mood and bossy nature.

This is Tim Burton's Queen of hearts portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter (Tim Burtons wife) in his 2010 version of Alice in wonderland. A completely unusual and original creation, I love the special effects used creating her head extremely large adding to her ferocity and self centred personality.

This is a simple example of what I would do myself, photography. I could photograph someone dressed up with the right makeup and hair etc possibly add to it on photoshop. I like the fact that this particular depiction is beautiful and luxurious rather than clown-like and scary looking.

This painting on wood with acrylic is by Glenn Arthur who I reference a lot in my work. It is a painting of the queen of hearts and mimicks a playing card. I really like this idea I think it's really creative and had this in mind before I even saw this piece. I don't really like this piece as a whole though I think the rest of his work on fairytale characters is a lot better and more detailed but as a collection of characters they are very good. This piece os part of a four part series and look brilliant all together, the example is below. But alone they are weak looking and look much better as a collective piece all in one.

Variations of Alice
There has been many variationsof Alice over the years but because in the story she is a young child the depictions of her have always been innocent with her angelic pale face, golden locks and bright blue eyes. I want to change this. I want to create an older more adult themed Alice that isn't restricted by the childrens story aspect and more created around the darker themes hidden by her innocence.

This piece of work is by Jasmine Ann Becket-Griffith and is a lovely painting in acrylic of Alice and the Cheshire cat. I love the image of the cheshire cat in this one, he's mischievous with a menacing grin that gives of the impression he has evil intentions. Alice on the other hand seems oblivious with an innocent vacant expression.

Wendy Ortiz
Ortiz is one of my favourite artists that I've come across and frequently reference her in my work. This piece is done on sketch paper with charcoal and ink. I love that it's done on an everage piece of scrap paper like a doodle of some sorts giving off a real rustic style of illustration that I admire and is a technique I've used.

(Unknown)
Another idea I had was to take photographs of people dressed up as the characters by my design and self made props/accessories such as hand made clay pocket watches, face makeup and a collar made out of playing cards....

Glenn Arthur

I've used Glenn as a reference in my work before but he's perfect for what I have planned. He did a series of paintings of depictions of fairytale princesses and characters but recreated them in a modern dark way which is something I have planned but slightly more adult than just afew tattooes and weird imagery, I do however like the dark backgrounds such as the forests he soemtimes does. In this particular image Alice is cradling the white rabbit who seems less human like than he is depicted in the book and other films, she has bold tattooes and heavy makeup which I really like as it gives her maturity. On the other hand even though he has modernised her as a person he has failed to modernise the clothes and they are slightly dated and don't quite fit in right. Maybe he left them as a contradiction as he does this quite a lot. But if I had one improvement that would be it.
Also, as you can see below there is two examples of other fairytale characters he has transformed: snow white and little red riding hood. Personally I think these are much better and particularly the snow white one. I love the deep red background with the sillouhette of the queen behind her. I think it looks brilliant against the detail of the main image and the wood effect behind adds extra character. He is creative imaginitive and there are lots of element of his work that I love and aspire to.

 

I'd really like to reference this piece of work in my current project, it's one of y favourite pieces that I've done and I have some really good ideas for it.

I was thinking of maybe using the same image and very similar markings on the face and creating lots of red roses for the hair in different materials, some 3d and some thick cardboard dry point prints and creating a collar out of playing cards, some of them maybe burnt and red paint dripping from various places with a sort of title underneath with the quote "The queen... she likes 'em red" with some sort of scroll underneath all tea stained and dirty and burnt in the style of like an old edwardian roll script but unravelled along the bottom.