COURSEWORK: Essay Introduction

For my personal investigation, I am hoping to study Calligraphy and Mark-Making. Calligraphy is decorative handwriting which has been used as an art form for many years. I intend to examine Calligraphy in detail because I think it is a relaxing art form to look at as well as create. I also want to examine Mark-Making which is using different brush strokes etc. to make unusual and interesting art on a piece of material by using different media. I want to explore using watercolour as well as using different and peculiar media, such as tea and coffee.
My theme for my personal investigation is based around my on-going parent's divorce. Calligraphy and mark making is the style of art work I did when my parents were arguing. I would go up to my bedroom and make marks on paper and transform them into art work based on how I was feeling. I would then rip them up afterwards because the argument had stopped and I thought that the marks didn't really matter. This helped with my anger and it also helped control my emotions which is why I want to base my investigation on it. Tea, coffee and alcohol all relate to my parents and their relationship too as my mum would drink a lot of tea, whilst my dad would alternatively drink coffee. When one, or both, of my parents were under the influence of alcohol, they would argue more frequently than normal.
My first artist is Carne Griffiths and the main aspect of his work that hope to study is his body of work, "Fragments". In this he uses tea and alcohol such as brandy and vodka with watercolour and graphite to make marks which eventually form portraits of young women, and the occasional young man. I want to study Griffiths' work because it is certainly beautiful to look at and it looks like an interesting creative process.
My second artist will be Cy Twombly. The main aspect of his work that I will be focusing on is his calligraphic style and the use of paint drips in his pieces. Twombly's work is very busy and different so I would like to experiment with his techniques and see if I am able to get the balance between the chaos and a beautiful piece of work.
My third artist will be Linda S Watson. She is a small time American artist who produced a piece of work called Le Divorce and this ties into my theme massively. She puts a lot of emotion in her work and this can be seen in the final product.