To introduce myself briefly, my name is Kitty Roberts – Reaney,I am 18 years old and I live in a small village in Staffordshire. From a very young age I have always been creative in terms of independent play, creative development in the forms of arts and crafts and group play. Growing up, I was faced with a very inconsistent childhood in terms of security despite this, art was the only thing that stayed consistent within my life which brought me peace and comfort as I used art to release my emotions and thoughts. As I grew older, I pursued my love for art within my GCSE’s, A levels and a foundation art course in my gap year. In my decent into adulthood, I use art to represent specific feelings or topics that I am passionate about or that I think would be impactful. I have developed a personal style for myself within illustration however, it still excites me develop my skills in order to understand my strengths and weaknesses within art and illustration specifically. I find the majority of my inspiration for my artwork from occurrences within everyday life such as social interactions, nature and mundane life. My environment is highly influential upon my mindset and inspirations also, for example, my bedroom is decorated in a way that brings me peace and calmness. I have decorated my room using vintage antiques from charity shops or vintage shops which allows me create my room in a unique way which expresses my personality. My bedroom is like one big canvas that features all my creative ideas and productions. I also love that it is malleable and forever changeable so that my room can growwith me. Aswell as art, I am also very interested in fashion, interior design and personal aesthetics that individuals create to express themselves.

I drew this image during a project that involved illustrating the subconscious human presence that occurs in everyday life. This drawing captures the action of an individual consuming a slice of cake. Their presence is resembled within the scattered crumbs, half eaten cake slice and the used plate. I wanted to create an abstract feel to this piece to exaggerate the mess that had been left resembling the presence of an individual. I used fine liner pen as the media for this piece as it allows me to develop dimension through different patterns onto the piece. I find the plate at the bottom of the page effectively as the stripes overlap the slice of cake which enhances the abstract technique.

These two illustrations were drawn from pictures which I had taken from life. I illustrated these images for a project which involved creating a podcast. My role within the team was to illustrate the front cover, text, logo and merchandise. These images represent the experimental process when producing the front cover. As I was creating the podcast with my friend, I illustrated multiple images of us both using thick fine liner pen. This style was influenced by Lucinda Rodgers who is a still life illustrator. These images allowed me to develop my illustrations as the images were a part of the experimental process.

This image is an illustration that reflects the theme of human connection. I illustrated this image in a similar style to the previous images however, in the development process of this image, I decided to add colour to add depth to the piece. This image demonstrates the style of still life as objects such as food and drink have been illustrated within the piece. This image is also a portrait of myself, I believe that the angle upon my face from where the photo was taken and the expression upon my face adds a variation of emotions to the piece.

This piece was also a part of the human connection project. This piecewas created due to a brief that involved me creating my own media tool. I decided to use card, a toothbrush and comb to apply the acrylic paint. I was aware that the tools would create a sharp and rough texture to the piece because of this, I decided to use black acrylic paint which would keep the piece neutral allowing the technique of the tools to impact the piece as much as possible.

To match the brief ‘stitch it’ I decided to combine pop art with still life. I drew a can of soup in a basic form. I then stitched the can by using the colours which made the can easily recognisable. This was my first-time using thread as a form of media to create an art piece therefore, I decided to use a thin piece of card as this would make it easier for  the needle and thread to pass through. Despite the card adding creases to this piece, I still think that the stitching technique was effective in terms of creating a still life piece in a pop art style. I also enjoy that the piece had developed texture and dimension.

This piece involves the technique of lino printing which involves rolling ink and pressing it onto the image. This captures my experimentation and development with ink. I like that the ink added an abstract feel to the piece as the figures are bold and the lines from the lino scratching printed onto the background of the piece creating texture. The following image captures this piece with a more faded ink which enhances the texture of the piece even further.

A lot of the image making that I have created has been made within my spare time. I often create images/illustrations as a gift to my loved ones. This piece in particular, wascreated for my best friend. I wanted this piece to capture the theme of girlhood and friendship. I began by doing a water colour wash over the whole page. I then proceeded to illustrate the images onto the piece. Once painted, I added the text. To add a further depth to the piece, I decided to add felt hearts to the piece which creates a 4D dimension to the piece. The images are very representative of girls/women and the text in my opinion, highlights the love dynamic that occurs within female friendships. This piece is now framed and hung up on my best friend’s bedroom wall.

This piece was created for my dad on his birthday. I wanted to create a piece that appreciated his love for eggs as he is very hard to buy for. Previously I have made him a ‘smiths’ poster. As a typical father, my dad typically makes dad jokes which is why I chose the title “crack a yolk” which is a play on words technique. For the illustrations, I began by pencil drawing them. I then proceeded to use water colour as the media as this created a more realistic look to the illustrations in an effective way. Below each egg, I wrote what form of egg it was which I believe adds humorous feel to the piece whilst still appearing sophisticated. This piece is now hung up in the kitchen of my family home.

This piece was completed within my first year of A levels during a project called ‘human connection’. I was inspired by an image I had previously seen online. I decided to use the technique of continual line as this a spiritual feel to the figure illustrated. To add further depth to the piece, I decided to contrast the colours of the piece. I did this by firstly illustrating the image onto the green card and then illustrating the second half onto the black card. The contrast between the black and white ink is highly effective in creating a contrast in my opinion. The continual line also adds movement to the figure which emphasises its sexuality and motion.

This piece was also created as a gift for my 6-year-old niece who asked for a sketchbook for Christmas as she has been inspired by my love of art. I wanted this design to hold a level of simplicity whilst offering inspiration to her mind. I decided to illustrate fairies as it is a mythical creature which connotes magic and opportunities in power. For the illustrations, I started by drawing out the images and the name box. Once completed, I decided to use fine liner pens as the media as this created a professional feel to the piece. The text obviously adds personalisation to the front cover of the sketchbook.

This project was called 'playtime'. Here, I chose the brief which involved making a 3D model playhouse. I bought  box and began assembling the room within it. To assemble the room, I collected objects such as wrapping paper (walls), lids (stool), wool, fabric (bedding), clay (toys) and sticks (ladder). I wanted to ensure that the room featured a range of items which entertain children such as books, board games, clothing, painting and swings. I am happy with the final product as I assembled the room with great precision and detail. I used the animals as a size reference to all of the objects I made to ensure the room was applicable.

Here is an intimate image of sections in the room. The first image is a rail of clothing.  I made this with a stick which I attached hangers which were made from paper clips on to. The second image photographs a board game that I made by intertwining coloured card. I made the counters with air drying clay which I proceeded to paint. The last image is a sofa/bed. This was the biggest challenge to make as I had to ensure it was sturdy enough to hold the figure. I assembled the bed using lollipop sticks and felt to add padding. Over the felt I applied fabric. I also sewed the pillows to add a more realistic and comforting feel to the build.

This is a collage I created in my sketchbook during my A levels. This collage represents human connection meeting the subjects of romance, friendships, the relationship between mother and baby and the emotions that occur within those relationships. I aimed to use a variation of images that involved figurative art, portraiture and text. All of these demonstrate a range of media such as photography, paint, continual line and even animation. I think that this double page spread perfectly captured my intentions with the project and the artwork I aimed to create.

These pages in my sketchbook represent a research page that was in response to a museum in Birmingham that I visited during college. The museum displayed historical pieces that represented the culture in America in the 90s. The Ikon museum displayed intricate drawings that had been created from life. To add excitement to the research page, I used a range of coloured card to add contrast the pieces as well as this, each colour of card was used for a different purpose. For example, the black card was used for my analysis on the art pieces and the white card was used for my explanation of each museum overall. I also added a flap to the spine of the sketchbook which captured more images from the museums with the names of each piece and the description of them on the back of the flap.

A personal piece of mine which I believe is a successful piece of visual communication is this one which was completed within a project labelled ‘the dark side of childhood’. This project focused on the impacts that a negative childhood can have upon a child which can follow them into adult life. I created a series of images with the text ‘don’t hit your kids’ however, I found this piece to be the most effective. This piece is the most effective as the repeated fist and text that are layered over each other imply a repetitive motion to the piece which correlates the  patterns which occur in child abuse. The black background also allows the fists to become highlighted which emphasises the shock a child feels when an abrupt action like this occurs.

‘Notting Hill’ is arguably one of my favourite films as it captures the innocence and complications of romantic love in a very effective way. The innocent communications that occur between Anna Scott and William Thacker reveal a playful element between the characters which I find comforting to watch after a long day. I also love the antique aesthetic that this film produces. For example, the book shop is quint and old-fashioned offering a vintage appeal to the film. The film represents organic love which is rare within this day and age.