Description:

Kia Ora, I’m Aimee Oliver and this is my collection Landfall.

Landfall is a textile collection I have produced to illustrate the skills I’ve gained in the use of formal elements of art and design through copying influential New Zealand landscape artists.

The research question I used to guide me in my the creative process was: How can the learning technique of reproducing influential landscape paintings develop skills and deepen understanding of formal elements in textile design?

I had a clear aim which was to strengthen my textile practice by utilising the historical technique of copying master artists paintings to develop skills in formal art and design elements.

This didn’t involve me copying and transforming the artist’s own works into textiles. Rather, I followed a process of investigation, to see what I could learn from copying and studying a master artist, their practice and their process, and use this to inform and produce my own original works and textile development.

The practice of copying Old Masters paintings was once prominent in academic and formal art training during the 18th & 19th Centuries. It was a technique used by trainee artists to develop an understanding of the formal elements of painting used by Masters before developing their own original artwork.

While the reproduction of master works is not widely used today my objective has been to bring this forward into the 21st Century by researching, exploring the techniques used by New Zealand landscape artists and apply them to my textile processes.

During the course of my investigations the outcome of my collection was developed directly from my projects core theme of art and painting. I chose to apply my final designs to a variety of wall coverings, much like a painting would be hung or displayed. I engaged in a process of copying NZ landscape artists before venturing into developing my own paintings using the techniques I’d learn’t to depict the landscape around me. These designs could be seen in the home, office space or a traditional art gallery.

The aim of my outcome is to showcase how the paintings I’ve developed, and the use of formal elements of art and design, can be applied to produce textiles that could be used in a variety of settings. It is possible to use this technique for any artwork and could be applied to any type of surface.

The technique of copying master artists has allowed me to gain valuable skills in art and design which I will continue to develop. I painted almost daily, en plein air and inside throughout the entire project and over the last year and I will continue to paint leading on from here.