Hereford College of Arts

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers. I hope next year goes well for you all.

I have spent some time looking up the words fine art, design and decoration to try and resolve my dilemna but it becomes more apparent it is up to how the person themselves uses and define the words that seem to matter.

I have been busy enlarging some test banner of my design and will replace traditional power consuming decoration with my own banners to see what they look like on my house before they go public.

I'm still thinking about my question 'When does an image or drawing become a design?' And thank fellow blogers for their feedback. Here are a few more of my ideas around the issue: Does the image/drawing become a design when it has been commissioned for a specific brief and place etc.. Or is it to do with the artist's own intention – what he/she views it to be? Intends it to be? Or is it connected with the fact that a design might be applied to an object – perhaps as decoration? How much room is there for design in Fine Art? Is my use of the word design because my banners are going to be professionally printed (produced) by someone else? Or is it because they could now infact be multi-reproduced say as 50 editions, – where as my paintings would probably be one offs? I personally think that it comes back to what the artist wants their work to be.

Following a recent Crit, the question was raised as to what exactly is 'Fine Art'? How far can you take say, performance art within fine art before it becomes pure 'Performance Art'? Can you do anything within Fine Art'? After all it is all about ideas!

With my own current work I refer to my 'banner designs' instead of my banner drawing or images. When I am embarking on a painting I do not refer to design. I think of the images as a drawing for the painting. When does an image or drawing become a design?

I would welcome your feedback on this issue since it is currently a concept I am wrestling with!!!!

Work is going quite well at the moment. I am working on my images which will be placed on large scale banners. I am exploring organic and non organic forms and trying to place them in a vertical perspective – quite challenging really!!!!!