Art Nouveau I was inspired by the Art Nouveau movement which emphasizes that art should come from the soul and flow freely. The rebel artist of this movement broke away from the classical
artists who would spend years studying art. Instead of imitating real subjects, they preferred organic twisting lines and curves inspired by nature. A prominent feature of art nouveau is the whip-lash curves and muted colors (periwinkle blue, olive green
and carnation pink). Japanese woodblocks with its simplicity of color and two-dimensional imagery played a big role in art nouveau. Art nouveau also gave way to graphic art which can be seen in Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters with its decorative text. Another prominent art nouveau artist is Alphonse Mukha who frequently illustrated fantasy women surrounded by organic decorations.
Cover While researching art nouveau posters, most examples contained human figures-most prominently elegant female figures. I decided to gear away from fashion and entertainment
magazines and settled for a cook/baking magazine. The cover I picked is the 2011 July cover for Taste Of Home. The organic shapes of the fruit and the curvature of the cake dish struck out to me. The
theme of summer and dessert designs inspired me
Stage 1 ❖ Materials: Bristle Board 9”x 12”, pencil, ruler ❖ Divided the paper into thirds and gave 2/3 for the main image
❖ Sketched the main objects from the cover (cake, three cans, fork & flowers) ❖ Added French details onto the objects to make them look more intricate
❖ Added sunflowers and vines to the bottom of the page to incorporate the iconic whip-lash curves and enhance the theme of summer ❖ Outlined the font style for the title and sub title of the
magazine ❖ Used the design of doilies as the border for the top of the page
Stage 2 ❖ Materials: black pen, colored markers, colored pencils ❖ Outline the sketch with black pen to mimic the black lines used in woodprints to separate the colors. ❖ Used colored markers to fill in the small details (blue triangles, green vines, purple flower) ❖ Kept the original colors used on the cover for the tile but toned down the intensity of red. ❖ Had to use colored pencils for the large backgrounds due
to the markers bleeding and ripping the paper
❖ Inspiration for the typestyle
Stage 3 ❖ Materials: black pen, colored markers, colored pencils ❖ Colored the three cans, trying to stick
with muted colors ❖ Added cross-hatching to the center of the sunflower ❖ Drew in the fruit on top of the cake ❖ Had a hard time picking the colors for the background, settling for a toned down orange and pink.
Stage 4 ❖ Materials: black pen, colored markers, colored pencils ❖ Finished coloring in the fruit, using different shades of pink, red, purple and blue
❖ Colored the inside of the cake, blending the colors
Comparison