My love of flat line feeds my love of colour. It's like creat-ing my own colouring book reflective of the world around me. When working in public attractions, I would sketch the bored, grumpy visitors and caricature them. To me the monotony of modern day life is a product of our own so-

cial rules and the only way to escape it is to laugh at it! My work creates satirical commentaries on the world around us using blunt linework and vivid pastels. I am also pas-sionate about typography and integrate this within my work often. Despite the lighthearted simplicity of my work every element is considered from the composition to the colour as these are vital aspects of communicating an idea.

I always begin a project with locational visits. Immersing myself within a topic and location is important as I want the same ironic commentary that occurs to me on my visits to be apparent to the viewer through my work. Though my work seems very controlled and final-ised, I often experiment with the look, size and composition of a piece by hand and digitally before it reaches this stage. Working in a sign pen works for me. It's definite, confident and blunt, much like the observations I convey! I like to ex-plore using flat, vivid pastels on photo-shop before developing my images as screenprints.

Having only explored screenprinting within my final year my handling of the art form has come on in leaps and bounds. My illustrative practice has developed to suit bold-er image making whilst my understanding of limited colour palettes and space within a composition has grown sig-nificantly. Evolving a simple line drawing into a resolved, professional piece of work is so exciting to me. It has also

made me consider the different formats for my eye-catching, statement images such as t-shirts, bags and other com-mercial items. This production line of processes has pushed my work further than ever.

Modern society is my leading inspiration. My latest projects have been centered around a specific location giving me the freedom to explore every-day characters more. I love studying the public on their day off. I use tongue in cheek parodies as a form of therapy against the human condition; humour is my defense. I want

my artwork to be relatable, as though I'm laughing with the viewer at ourselves. Caricature to me doesn't have to be a personal lampooning but a celebration of our habits and culture which, when put into perspective is pretty funny. With this in mind one of my main inspirations has been photographer, Martin Parr. He captures the public for who they really are, not diluting or glamourising reality. Though

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his work does mock the pub-lic it does not do so in a mali-cious way. Parr captures the commercial and social odd-ities we have normalised in society and we as the viewer can laugh along with him.

The pre-major project was a turning point in the development of my visual language and I be-gan to explore the potential of this within my fi-nal zine. Pushing forward, the Major Project has seen me refine and polish my practice. I have given more consideration into factors such as packaging and merchandise, experimenting with different formats for my work such as badges, stickers and posters.

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I have been following the work of Jody Barton who demon-strates perfectly how bold, statement images compliment a number of different commercial items. After University I would like to expand the platforms of my own work creat-ing, for example, bags, t-shirts, keyrings etc. Having said this, I would not like to define any specific boundary for the context of my work. I am a great fan of Morag Myer-scough's work within large scale typography installations which shows the versatility of a bolder, louder visual lan-guage. I will not shy away from any opportunity I feel I am capable of, over these last few years I have volunteered my services as a 'live illustrator' at Beales fashion show, been commissioned for portraiture, t-shirt and tattoo de-signs. I have also volunteered amongst Children in organ-

ised art schemes and helped co-design and create an extensive Christmas grotto, all of which inspired me in the responsibility I was given.

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Overall it is my interest in all peo-ple that has inspired me to ulti-mately pursue a career in art ther-apy. My sensitivity to those around me and fascination with human behaviour is the leading catalyst for my work and I am more eager than ever to delve further into the subject whilst continuing with my own practice. Particularly within the build up toward my post-grad-uate degree in Art Psychotherapy and after I will continue to push my practice, building on what I have learned throughout my time at University. As I am frequently in London and hope to eventually live there I wish to build contacts through DIY and zine fairs and selling my work online. Using the useful guides set out by The AOI's Simon

Stern in 'The Illustrator’s Guide to Law & Business Practice' (2008) And Darrel Rees in 'How to be an Illustrator' (2008) I will have a greater under-

standing of factors such as pricing if offered an exciting commission through my website or otherwise. Both my ambitions to become an arts therapist and a practicing illustrator

are equally important to me and I do not want one WWto overshadow the other.

Looking at illustrators that have inspired me and the pop-ularity of their work online I really see great commercial potential within my own work. Online shops such as Etsy, Society6 and Big Cartel to name just a few have made it possible for anyone to sell their work online. Though this is an extremely positive movement, competitiveness amongst artists to showcase their work has also grown. Therefore it is vital for me to have a professional and busy online pres-ence to stand out from artists of a similar field.

Having only recently bought my domain, I have been work-ing to create a space that showcases my best work to its full potential. I am treating my website as a sort of online portfolio with links to my other social media accounts and contact details for any enquiries regarding commission work or collaboration. More formal than my blog, my online portfolio will have a more refined selection of my best im-ages which summarise my work. I will be regularly updat-ing this using the basic coding skills I have learned to give it a personal touch.

I am a big advocate of Instagram. It is where I received my first artist's commission for a t-shirt company and where I have gained the majority of my followers. This year I started a new, more polished account which promotes my work and myself as an artist. Here, I post photos of works in progress, finished pieces and myself working. This is a more personal approach in comparison to my website as I want to summarise my practice and way of working. I post regularly to update followers and maintain interest whilst showing an enthusiasm to continuously create! I have also included links to my email and website where followers can see a more refined presentation of my work.

Having created my illustration fan page on Facebook be-fore University I have now acquired a number of followers. Since beginning to think more about my online presence this page has undergone a lot of renovation! However this has been an extremely useful means of exhibiting my work to friends and friends of friends over the years and they have followed the transformation and development of my practice. Though I now find Instagram a wider platform in terms of audience, Facebook was my first experience of gaining feedback on a wider scale and I continue to regu-larly update it in a chatty, informal manner, much like my Instagram account.

Tumblr, alongside Pinterest, has been a useful tool for me throughout education to organise my thoughts in a clear and concise manner. Allowing me to post images for re-search and provide commentary like an online sketchbook. I have chosen to focus on Instagram as my primary blog which I feel my work translates to better, however I will continue to use Tumblr for any future professional or per-sonal projects.

Upon leaving University I would like to sell my work com-mercially through bags, t-shirts, badges, zines etc. Specif-ic online shops have been set up for exactly this purpose, eg. Etsy, and those which create the products themselves however they all receive a percentage of the profit. I would like to begin by using Etsy to gain experience selling my own work online however I will be promoting my website on social media as I hope to sell my work directly from here in the future.

I have designed a set of business cards to promote myself with contact, website and social media details. These will be particularly useful in zine fairs, meeting like minded art-ists and public. I wanted a clear and simple design making it easy to read with a memorable image on the back.

Three years at Arts University have sped by. During this time my practice has significantly grown and I feel clos-er than ever to my image-making. It was an opportunity to develop my work into an expression of myself hence I now fully comprehend the term 'visual language'. Now, equipped with the skills, understanding and direction of my work I am ready to move into the next chapter of my artis-tic career.

Upon leaving University I will be moving back home to Southampton where I intend to save money in preparation for my next big step. Ultimately, I am looking to continue my studies in an MA in Art Psychotherapy at the University of Goldsmiths based in London. I am passionate about art as a form of therapy and am eager to pursue this avenue. The tuition fee for the course stands at £6,540 full time or £545 per ten credits part time so it is likely I will be working alongside the part-time post graduate course to fund me through. Goldsmiths is located in South East London which 'offers some of the lowest costs in London for accommo-dation and travel.' (Goldsmiths, n.d.) A shared flat in South London costs between '£280 - £500' (WORKgateways,

n.d.) per month, significantly lower than living inde-pendently so I will be living with a friend. I shall need to save a sizeable sum beforehand to afford living prices. I will furthermore be applying for scholarships using ‘The Educational Grants Directory’ and ‘The Directory of Grant Making Trusts’ as my guides.

After speaking with a practicing art therapist I was advised to gain some voluntary experience within support work prior to the degree, gaining valuable work and life experience in the process. Hence I am currently applying to volunteer as a Drop-In/Youth Adviser at 'It's Your Choice' in Totton, which I will be doing alongside a full time job in Southampton.

Within this period of saving I will be focusing on developing my artis-tic presence online and within DIY and zine fairs. By attending these events I will meet like-minded art-ists and build contacts. In online stores such as Etsy I have found more bespoke zines are sold be-tween £3-5 and less polished ones between £1-3.I will also be continuing my prac-tice within screen-printing. Local printmaking studios offer open ac-cess at £20 however as I would like to make a profit from my print-ing I plan on constructing my own screen-printing press and exposure light in my studio at home. The

screens, paints and emulsions are relatively cheap but the exposure units are not. Through research I have found that a ‘500 watt halogen work-light’ (Macintyre, S, 2012) can achieve the same effect. I would like to push my practice fur-ther, printing on t-shirts and bags from home. Initially selling on Etsy, I would hope to eventually primarily sell my work directly from my web-site.

Overall I plan on maintaining momentum for my own per-sonal work whilst pushing forward in my ambitions to become a qualified, practicing art therapist. I will whole-heartedly sustain my own practice all the while, selling my work and accepting any exciting commissions that interest me.

ReferencesEinstein, A. cited in Glass, B. (1981). Expect to win. Waco, Tex.: Word Books.

Goldsmiths, University of London. (n.d.). Living costs. [online] Available at: http://www.gold.ac.uk/local/costs/ [Accessed 22 Apr. 2016].

Jones, D. Cited in Moon, B. (2012). The Dynamics of Art as Therapy with Adolescents. 2nd ed. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.

Macintyre, S. (2012). Low Budget Screen Printing: A Newbies’ Guide - Go Mediaâ„¢ · Creativity at work!. [online] Go Mediaâ„¢ · Creativity at work!. Available at: http://gomedia.com/zine/insights/low-budget-screen-printing-a-newbies-guide/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2016].

Workgateways.com. (2016). New arrivals - Cost of Living in the UK, Cost of living London, Cost of living England. [online] Available at: http://www.workgateways.com/working-in-the-uk/cost-of-living [Accessed 25 Apr. 2016].

LIST OF IMAGES

1. A Nice Pop Up Show Parr, M. (2015) [Online Image] Available from: http://www.martinparr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/PAM2015031G00083-e1437060148919.jpg [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016] 2. The Last Resort Parr, M. (1985) [Online Image] Available from: http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/picture-galleries/2011/may/24/he-does-like-to-be-beside-the-seaside/?idx=8 [Accessed 24th Apr. 2016] 3. I’m Not a JPEG Barton, J. (n.d.) [Online Image] Available from: http://www.jodybarton.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/JB_JPEG_Patch.jpg [Accessed 24th Apr. 2016] 4. Agape Mysercough, M. (2014) [Online Image] Available from: http://www.jodybarton.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/JB_JPEG_Patch.jpg [Accessed 25th Apr. 2016]