We had to find a 'starting point' which could be completely random, or sentimental to us. I wanted to choose something that meant something to me, so that I would be motivated and genuinely interested to research into the piece.
I chose an image that I have always liked, and has been passed down through the family. Although I've had it for many years, I've never actually researched into the piece, so I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
'Morning Carol' - Margaret W Tarrant
This was the image that I chose as my starting point, and the obvious first step for me was to draw it:
This was created using watercolour and coloured pencil.
Next we had to make the 'logical next step', this is when I chose to do some research:
Next we had to re-imagine it, so I decided to take one of the elements from the main picture - a rabbit:
I chose to draw my rabbit Basil, so that it was personal to me.
Now we had to add something, so I found an image of a decorative orange sticker in a book, and decided to add a decorative frame to my image:
The orange sticker which inspired me
I decided to add other elements from the original image, so that it made a more direct connection (the blossom).
The last step was to add text. I thought that my image was beginning to highlight the 'importance' of the animal in the frame, so I decided to look for text about the fragility of nature and the importance of conservation, which I found in old National Geographic and nature books:
I really like how Tarrant tried to make the children in her drawings look religious and saint like, however in my final outcome, I chose to add this connotation to the animals instead. I also really like how my outcome highlights a world issue (global warming and the importance of conservation), so what started as just an image, has ended up as something with symbolism and persuasive meaning.
