Trip to Waterstones in Leeds - February 2024

We had a splendid weekend in Leeds. I don't visit big bookshops often, so I was excited to find a large Waterstones in the city centre. I enjoyed looking at the many art books they had.

I spent a good amount of time there and found the Japanese section very interesting. As you can see from these sketches, it inspired me a lot. I'm really into Japanese culture right now.

I focused on a couple of artists, and their work has influenced some of my own art. I tried to add my own twist to it, so it's not too similar. I hope you like these sketches and please send me some feedback.

I've always leaned towards bright and cheerful art, usually sticking to simple, flat 2D styles. But lately, I've been exploring new territories, inspired by some amazing artists who tread paths I haven’t ventured down before. This journey rekindled my interest in the quirky and fascinating world of Dada art, and it’s been a fun adventure mixing this with the possibilities of generative AI.

I've always experimented with monotones but never so many dark tones and as much shade. It's been quite a jolt to explore murky tones and shadows for this project. 

I started with some basic sketches and then really mixed things up. I cut them, rearranged them into collages, and played around with some brand new digital and AI tools. This process led to a set of sketches that are quite different from my usual work, but there's still plenty of 'me' in there. They feature abstract touches, careful colour choices, and compositions that are quite different for me.