Natural World - 'Mutation' (Continued)

To further develop the theme, I was advised to experiment with placing my subjects within some form of environment or context, rather than solely isolated in negative space as I generally tend to do. I decided to revert back to the surrealist theme as with my first painting for the project. Like with the initial work, I simultaneously produced both traditional and digital pieces in order to explore different ideas. The following are examples of the former:

I painted these using watercolours for backgrounds, and gouache paints for the rest. The process of painting in this manner was relatively unfamiliar, but I tried to experiment with different colour palettes, taking advantage of the freedom of surrealism. Each piece was relatively spontaneous and randomly arranged, with elements added as I thought of them. I drew inspiration from various sources, such as aesthetically from surrealist works including those of Dali:

The Face of War, Salvador Dali

And also compositionally and thematically from 16th and 17th Century 'Vanitas' paintings:

Still-Life with a Skull, Philippe de Champaigne

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The following are a couple of examples of digital compositions I experimentally arranged from various separate drawn and painted elements:

The resulting aesthetic wasn't as subtle as it could be with practise, but I believe they were at least successful in terms of arrangement.

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Finally, for the end of the project, a mock-exhibition of work was staged. We were free to plan and assemble the display in whatever configuration we chose within individually designated spaces. This was my arrangement:

I felt the six paintings in this arrangement complimented each other well in addition to being eye-catching and vivid. Though the images aren't in a sequence, I feel this format of display works well for them.