visual research

 I felt a bit stuck with how I should progress with my ideas, the pecha kucha presentation left me a bit confused with what I actually wanted to communicate through this project.

I went to the Saachi gallery and saw a piece by Vincent Michea

Its a very striking piece, with the building isolated and surrounded by such a bold blue.
Also by having the building painted with a lot of detail, to then have the thick black line cutting the page makes the image quite intimidating. The composition of this piece gives it a lot of impact, which is what I want my illustrations to have.





I remembered an artist I had looked at before who depicts buildings in a similar way who relates to my work; Justin Hibbs

I like how he isolates buildings, it automatically makes them appear more ominous; intriguing. 
Also like his geometric shapes painted onto structures, making them quite abstract pieces, but also making a mundane staircase reach out of the canvas, more graphic and in your face. 

I did these quick thumbs using photos of the architecture I've been looking at, and I really like how they turned out. The bright red background contrasting against the detailed buildings - which have elements of bold black lines, creates a lot of impact.

That is what I want to achieve with my illustrations, because the architecture created was during such an important period for Russia, they are buildings that are build to generate a reaction.
They are making a point about how Russia is moving in a new direction now, towards new political regimes and way of life.
So it is statement architecture, which is what I want to communicate through my illustrations, and I feel these compositions do portray this.

The black lines darting off the building, make it appear bigger.

The use of lines reminded me of some architectural sketches by Rachel Whiteread

the lines shooting off at each angle do enlarge the structure, as if it plans to move outwards.