Focus on an idea in order to structure your looking. A theme liberates you from a continual problem of choice. What is the essence of the feeling behind the image you wish to describe? Infuse the spirit of the subject into your work. with unique qualities

1. DEVELOPMENT
OF AN IDEA

2. IDEAIDEA
Through your ideas and research, you develop “process and form”Through your ideas and research, you develop “process and form”
PROCESS
This is the physical activity related to how you work; your decisions, choice of
techniques, the materials you select and how they are used. Process can
affect an idea.
“It is the essence and spirit of the subject that should be
the motivating force and not the paint, paper or media”
FORM
The “form” that your idea develops into is a result of your process and
choices, such as: surface, media, materials, composition & design.
How do you get from an idea and concept to final work?

3. SELECTION
Focus on an idea in order to structure your looking
A theme liberates you from a continual problem of choice
What is the essence of the feeling behind the image
you wish to describe?
Infuse the spirit of the subject into your work
with unique qualities

4. The following 12 slides illustrateThe following 12 slides illustrate
the development stagesthe development stages
ofof
two large workstwo large works
LandForms I and Landforms IILandForms I and Landforms II

5. Collaborative drawing by: Jennifer Starkweather & Amanda Hughen

6. IDEA SUBJECT THEME
o Connection to land
o Geological formations
of Lethbridge, Alberta
o Man-made structures
o Topographical changes
oColour idea:
Deep earth tones contrasted with areas
of high-intensity colour, which
corresponds to man-made colour
legends from geological time-scales.
Natural vs. man-made.
o Geology
o Geography
o Geomorphology
Study of landforms and the processes that
create them.
o Cartography
o Erosion
o Crystalline patterns
o Sedimentary deposits
o Cellular structure of coal
o Rivers
o Roadways and bridges
oPhysical nature of
land.
oThe manifestation of
time revealed in strata
and landforms, layered
with topographical
changes.

8. Lethbridge Viaduct, 1909 - 5,331 feet long and 314 feet high – the world’s longest and highest trestle bridge

10. My initial drawing with all the elements –My initial drawing with all the elements –
Lethbridge viaduct, landforms, river, cellular structure of coal & roadwaysLethbridge viaduct, landforms, river, cellular structure of coal & roadways..

11. COLOUR IDEACOLOUR IDEA
Deep earth tones contrasted with areas of
high-intensity colour that corresponds to
man-made colour legends from
geological time-scales.
Earthy colour vs. contemporary colour.

12. SUPPORT MATERIALS PROCESS
o Variety of drawing papers
o Mylar and Yupo paper
o Plastic
o Cardboard packaging
o Map pages
o Books/Geomorphology
o Envelopes
o 1928 Magazine pages
o Tracing paper
o Parchment
o Kraft paper
o Paper lace doily
o Found/layered paint chip
o Plaster, paint and paper
mixture
oWatercolour
oAcrylic paint
oGolden flow acrylics
oAcrylic line markers
oInks
oWalnut ink
oPencil
oPencil crayons
oPastels
oGesso washes
oAcrylic grounds
Clear gesso
Watercolour ground
Pastel ground
Fibre paste
Coarse molding paste
Distress and alter
substrates to visually and
metaphorically suggest
those natural processes
that shape the earth.
Ink and paint runs and
flow.
Erasure through veils of
white paint.
Distress through rubbing,
laminate, fold, carve,
incise, layer…
Experiment with different materials & techniques – which one satisfies your intentions?

13. "LandForms I " 56" " X 79" © Jill Ehlert - 2014"LandForms I " 56" " X 79" © Jill Ehlert - 2014

15. "LandForms II" 64.5" X 74.5" © Jill Ehlert 2014"LandForms II" 64.5" X 74.5" © Jill Ehlert 2014

18. PRIMARY SOURCES OF INSPIRATIONPRIMARY SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

22. How do you pursue themes and ideas once you have decided on a subject?How do you pursue themes and ideas once you have decided on a subject?
What do you do with your idea? What attitude and approach do you take?What do you do with your idea? What attitude and approach do you take?
IDEA BOOK/SKETCHBOOKIDEA BOOK/SKETCHBOOK
I.Observations, thoughts, emotional responses, poems, quotes, colour
notes, descriptions and essential info on your subject. Photos of art work
by other artists who inspire your ideas – what are the elements in their
work that you could use in your own work. Mind Maps.
II.Drawing, sketching and painting; interpreting surfaces and patterns;
experiment with techniques and compositional ideas; collage, mark –
making, texture, cross hatching, value, brush and ink…
““Reproduce your feeling of the subject”Reproduce your feeling of the subject”
NEW IDEAS WILL FLOW ONCE YOU ARE ABSORBED IN YOUR SUBJECT.NEW IDEAS WILL FLOW ONCE YOU ARE ABSORBED IN YOUR SUBJECT.

23. MIND MAPMIND MAP

24. BLOCKS - THESE ARE USUALLY THINGS THAT:
oWe don’t like to do.
oWe don’t know how to do something, or just a particular step.
oWe don’t know how to start.
Perfectionism sometimes makes us create too big of a taskPerfectionism sometimes makes us create too big of a task
that is impossible to do. Break this into doable chunks.that is impossible to do. Break this into doable chunks.
ACTION – TRY THESE STEPS TO GET STARTED:
oLearn how to do it.
oLearn when to start a particular step. Ask for advice.
oDo things one small step at a time.
oSometimes we need help! Someone could be doing certain things for us.
oHire someone to teach you or to help you.

26. SKETCHBOOKSSKETCHBOOKS
OBSERVING, RECORDING AND COLLECTING MARKSOBSERVING, RECORDING AND COLLECTING MARKS

34. IDEAS SUBJECT THEME
oLandForms III
oDrawings on paper and found
surfaces
oPersonal connection to intertidal
zones of Vancouver Island.
oNatural phenomena in the
intertidal area.
oProcesses of weather’s rhythms
and repetitions; the visible and
invisible forces of nature and the
transformations they sustain on
the landscape and the objects in it
through:
oAir, wind, water, light and sound.
oMovement, notation of time and its
rhythm
oColours of the natural world
contrasted to colour from found
plastic debris.
oIntertidal Zone
oTide Pools
oKnotted Seaweed
Clusters
oGeological features
oCellular structure of
seaweed, plankton,
barnacles and other
marine life.
oPlastic jetsam
oProcesses of change
that occur in a coastal
environment
oPhysical nature of a
coastal landscape
oPersonal experience
oSense of place
oFor consideration as
work builds:
“Beauty & the
Grotesque”