Collaboration Work - The Beginning

Starting first collab piece

Sophie drawing

Final Hippocampus piece

Collab Bird piece

Sophie Gibbons and I first considered working together when people started comparing Sophie’s drawings to my tattoo designs in our Shaun Project Space crit. We thought her focus on detail could help bring another element to my large expressive paintings, and my use of paint could add come colour to her work. For our first attempt, I drew a design of a Hippocampus, which Sophie incorporated her patterns into, then I used my paints to create a sea-like background. Now looking back at it, we both agree that more pattern should be added and I should attempt to blend the colour more. For our next piece, I used my paint to recreate one of Sophie’s bird drawings. Despite starting to use my hands with my own work, Sophie’s drawing was a bit more detailed than mine, which is why I decided to use a paintbrush for the outline and colour. Once that had dried, Sophie used some coloured chalk pens to add her pattern in certain areas of the bird.

As this is the first time either of us have worked with another person, the outcome was the best it could have been.

Working collaboratively I believe, will improve both of us as artists because it will be easier to achieve difficult tasks we set ourselves and we will benefit from almost constant peer reviews of our separate work as well as our joint work.