The John King Young Artist Award

For another individual responsive brief to take on I have decided to enter the John King Young Artist Award, which is run by The Pony Club in association with the Society of Equestrian Artists. The Brief is quite loose.

Here is my refined self set brief:

BA (Hons) Illustration - Level 05

OUIL503 Responsive - Studio Brief 1

BRIEF TITLE

The John King Young Artist Award

Brief

To paint your favourite Pony Club Memory.

One entry is allowed per person.

Entrants must be a current Member of a Pony Club Branch or Centre in the United Kingdom.

The drawing or painting should have a title suggested by this year's theme of "Friendship". It should be a personal memory or idea, and if needed, references should be taken from your own or your family's collection of photos, and not from a magazine or published professional material (i.e. when the copyright for the image belongs to someone else.) The judges will be looking for a well thought out, well painted or drawn picture that successfully conveys the idea being pictured. They will be looking for originality, a flair for colour or drawing, and good use of materials.

The subject of the work must be equestrian-related.

The piece must be entirely the artist's own work.

By entering the competition, entrants give their express permission to allow their work to be used for publicity if required.

There are three separate age categories: 11 years and Under, 12-16 Years, and 17 Years and Over.

Deadline for entries is Monday 1st June 2015.

Product

Painting or artwork that communicates a very personal example of 'friendship' from memories within the pony club. I will produce mine to no larger than an A3 format. 

Tone of Voice

I want to evoke a sensitivity through use of water-colour and water based paints.

Expressive, delicate, refined moments of detail.

Friendly, amiable, warm. 

Audience

Members of the Society of Equestrian Artists.

Pony club members (ages up to 25)

Parents of members.

Volunteers that help to run the club,

and other such stake holders in the organisation, i.e. sponsors, trainers, judges.

Context

For an annual competition, which the top 15 entries will be displayed at pony club national championships, Cheshire, for the whole of the UK.

Additional information/Considerations:

This artwork is proceed for the Pony Club, and if your work is selected they hold the right to use it as a part of their promotional material. This suggests that an images that is quite friendly and a positive advert of this organisation will be more successful.If artwork is selected then I will be required to provide a frame for it myself, so it is advisable to keep it in more commercial formats.

Mandatory Requirements:

Entrants must be a member of The Pony Club.

Works can be no larger than A2.

For submission the image must be no more than 3mb.

Images and references must be your own, so that no copyright is infringed.

Deliverables:

A singular painting, or piece of artwork based on the theme of friendship within pony club memories.A jpeg/photograph of this artwork no larger than 3mb for the online submission. 

I asked my tutor and peer group at the end of a review for another module if they could critique this image for me. Here are some of the helpful points and pointers that they gave me:

• The blue = less warm, and although you can see that the blue paint stroke is perhaps emotionally connecting them.
• Perhaps instead use a bit of an unexpected colour wash when painting the actual figures, i.e. something warm that compositionally links them quite subtly, but securely.
• Perhaps include the human figures other arm to further intertwine the pair.
• The human face is undefined, improve detail of the face and the hand to bring the piece together more. 
• Try t make it as expressive as possible. 

I was unsure about how best to compose this image, wether I should crop the unfinished edges of the characters out, but feed back said that they liked the unfinished edges and that in this instance it added to the over all feeling of the piece and its aesthetic.

Other ideas for creating an image which communicates friendship would be to illustrate the pair doing everyday tasks together like homework. 

Here is my developed final Image:

Cons:

• Girls face is still quite clumsy and unclear
• perhaps lost some of its wonderful original expressiveness.
• Totally lacks frame or composition. (gopping.)
• Not enough 'happy' expression shown in the horse's eye.

Pros:

• Morse colour and warmth.
• Image has a slightly more together and finished look.
• Contrast of negative space and the pair makes brushstrokes and image stand out much more, uniting the two figures with the like colours, and giving off a sense of them being secluded in their own little space where the only focus is their bond. (I didn't articulate that very well.)
• Unfinished brushstrokes adds to the sense of the two only being apparent of each other and not noticing reality around them.
• Hand is much clearer.