Birmingham Museum and Gallery Vist

During the summer holiday I visited Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to gather inspiration and ideas for my own personal investigation. Not only was the artwork useful, but the actual building, architecture and interior was also inspiring.

The old architecture mixed with the new buildings gave a contrast of old and new, much like the modern, contemporary art contrasted with the 17th century paintings inside the museum. I enjoyed the shapes of the brick work and the dark, dirty colours on the walls showing the long history of the building itself, as well as the paintings and artifacts inside. As we were entering the gallery, i noticed the steps themselves were worn from the countless steps taken on them throughout the centuries. 

The ceilings also shown interesting shapes and forms including circles in a dome shape and elaborate coving. The strong geometrical shapes of the circular ceilings contrast well with the smooth, elegant curves on the coving as well as the vibrant painting depicting a Birmingham street (unfortunately i did not get any extra information on this piece).

The first area I came to was a gallery with a range of portraits and landscapes done by a range of different artists. I was particularly interested in the way artists painted fabrics and the sea (water) as they were realistic and shown shadows and detention making them look like photographs. In the center of the room was a stature of Archangel Lucifer, which i think was a powerful center piece for the room. 

Psychology Behind Drug Use and Addiction

Developing my Ideas

Whilst researching into drug abuse and addiction, I began to research why particular people become addicted to drugs. Chronic stress and trauma (no matter when it may happen in an individuals life) can lead to a higher risk of drug addiction and self medicating. This is due to individuals who have experienced trauma in their life being unable to find a way to cope with the feelings and memories of this stress. They may then begin to use substances to allow them to forget or simply detach them from their reality, causing them to frequently rely on drugs and intern, becoming addicted to the substance.

I then began to look more into emotional abuse and detachment as I felt this would be useful to use within my art work. People who have suffered with forms of abuse tend to detach themselves as a coping mechanism.  

Carol Nelson

Carol Nelson is an artist who creates landscapes, portraits, 3D sculptures and abstract pieces using a range of materials from rice paper, metals and foils to acrylic paints and other textured mediums to create contemporary mixed media acrylic paintings. I personally find her abstracts and mixed media works to be the most appealing and inspiring for my own personal work.
I find that the multiple textures creating depth and shadow in the pieces are not only pleasing to the eye but also can express emotions and experiences depending on the roughness or softness of the texture. Colour is also relevant in Nelsons work as the pallet ranges from vibrant reds and blues to dull grays and rusty oranges, again depicting different emotions.
Nelson also uses a range of lines from straight sharp lines to smooth curls and curves. I think this compliments the different textures in her works along with the particular colour pallet she chooses.