After looking at Sniks work in more detail, researching how he makes his work from layered stencils, I decided to attempt my own stencils onto canvas. In the past I had created a paper stencil and stencils for silkscreens with just one colour. These were easy enough to create but they had no depth in the image, I wanted to create a layered stencil, pushing what I had previously created before by using three layers instead of one.
Before I had started the stencil I had created a background for the image, this was ripped up pages of the bible collaged together creating a text background with words which are seen to be holy. This worked as its own piece, without the need of a stencil print ontop, however I had already been set on making a print ontop of it so I decided to carry on with it nether the less. The figure in this print is a hooded figure with a long jacket on which covers the person leaving no skin on show, with the exception of the hand. I decided to use a hooded figure as it could have a resemblance to death and the grim reaper, also commonly associated as a dark hooded figure. I thought this would tie in with the apocalyptic theme which will be going on within my work. Death would play a big part in work that i create as everyone affected will either be delt alot of pain to or will die.
The size of this piece is about 3 or 4 ft high and is one of the larger canvas’s I have worked on over the last few years. I had created paper stencils, and learned from this that using freezer paper is meant to be better as you can reuse the stencil again and not break it when you peel it off after. I had cut the stencils out and with the first stencil added a little water to stick the stencil down to the canvas. This was not a good idea as it had merged with the collaged background, something which I will remember in the future. However after spraying all three layers, the end result was something which I have mixed feelings about. At a distance I like the work, as it can be made out as the image I wanted to get acrosss, however where the stencils had overlapped a new brighter shade of blue has appeard, with lines at different places across the image.
I am still undecided on whether or not to make the colours more bold and fill them in more in a more graffiti block colour style rather than having it opaque with the text being able to be seen throug the image itself. I think in the future I will change this canvas and make the colours darker, for example the black will not be slightly seethrough and just a flat black colour, as at the moment you can see different patches of black throughout which to me it offputting in the work.
Although I have seen many different problems with this piece, making it and observing it after, I like the style of it with the use of layered stencils and spraypaints. I have grown to like this canvas more than in the beginning. it reminds me of what I was once told, if you dont like the picture to start with, you can only see the good points in it, and if you love it to start with, you will only be able to find bad points in the future. I see the relevance of that saying now. I would like to continue to push myself with the use of layered stencils, whether it be screenprinting or spraypaint.
