by the way

oh but by the way I spent three days incommunicado due to 1 construction drawing of deck steps and balustrade....still not as detailed as I would have liked but at least I drew it somehow (don't ever ask me to do it again!!)

I have up loaded all the power points and digital landscape stuff from last year onto a pen drive for tomorrow, weirdly I have no clue how I made a film...with music and sound effects!! Perhaps I have brain like a goldfish....

yeahhhhh!!

Horahhh I finally found my groove...my concept has come together....the 1:1000 research that was in my head suddenly appeared obvious on paper...I am so relieved..it was all in there...I just had a difficult time expressing it....

It is the night before the final pin up...I have thanked those that have helped me complete this four years and will see those that have joined me on the journey tomorrow...good luck to you all, you delightful people...long may we remain friends... xx

negative..or not

Oh I hate leaving a negative post (previous one)...so I shall end on a positive one before I go to bed...eyes sore and need the sleep monster to make me feel alive again rather than zombiefied!!

I just read Adele Ford's blog from a couple of years ago...she reminded me of me...always trying her best...cheered me up..lovely lady

I have been doing the maintenance schedule and plant pricing since arriving home at 7pm after work with my eyes drooping! night night....computer is my best friend at the moment... sadly no conversation!! lol

oh dear... :(

Due to the fact that I am still working at the same time as doing this degree...(and everyone knows teachers do not just do the hours they are paid for but much much more)....I had an observation last Wednesday, which took up a huge amount of prep time, feedback today, again took up my time... but all I could think of was "my construction drawings are not being done...." :(
I think I have run out of time...nothing I can do...kids and a mortgage have finally come before a degree that was supposed to be part-time.....I am sad....I can't pull this out of the bag, I am so tired from going to bed at 1.30am trying to do my pond section and getting up for work...

I just don't think it is possible to do this course with a responsible part-time job, a family and burning ambition to be the best you can be.....grrrrr!  I want to be positive but I really think students need to be proficient in AutoCAD before they start the course to have a much less stressful time. It's too late for me to learn...we only have 5 days left!! lol (hysterically).

 

Here is the amazing fencing I want in my park, I can't draw it though...

 

 

I forgot, it's still all about the comedy

 

Exhaustion has set in....and I return to my default setting.....

 

 

Having invited all my friends and family that I have totally ignored for the last 9 months to Hadlow Open Day on the 24th May, I thought they could have a bit of fun spotting themselves in some of my pictures.....Made me laugh and lets face it...after the last few weeks of NO sense of humour, I needed to crack a smile. I had forgotten my catch phrase: "it's all about the comedy" and replaced it with "it's all about the piece of paper"....hopefully soon I will have that paper...whatever mark it may have, obviously I have tried my best to reach that illusive mark but I suppose that is subjective. After that, the real hard work starts...using the skills we have acquired, finding work and returning to normal life with a vengeance!

I have to say, it's been an experience! I look forward to the next chapter with all my, what will be life long, 'designer friends' (I picked them up in a boutique in Greenwich don't you know'), what shall we all do next?

Pitt Bull and Final crit

Apparently I am a Pitt Bull, so said my 'What dog are you' test...IQ test took too long! I was disappointed to say the least until the description said "Misunderstood by the simple minded but once people get to know you they realise how loveable and fascinating you really are. It may take a second for you to warm up but you are leagues ahead when you do. You are sincere and extremely versatile."

So I am officially a Pitt Bull as that description accurately describes me and therefore is going on my CV!! lol

Back to business:
Final crit...no emotions were running wild for me thank goodness.  I had to go first...wonder if there was rhyme or reason to that? It did mean I couldn't learn from others mistakes (or triumphs) which was a bit annoying as I really wanted to show my models and fluffed that! Oh well, wasn't the final final final...as most of my folders are called!!

This was my wall:

 

It wasn't bad...need to jig it around, make some colour corrections and complete some sequence sketches just to really clarify my ideas...constructions drawings to do any there we have it...

 

Pleased with my models...changed 1:200 to show the Autumn colours so it is really bright which is the seasonal attraction to the park..

Nearly done...then I might lose this crick in my neck, eye strain and hunch back!! It's not attractive!!

Beat the mess...lol

So here is my 'work space' it's a complete mess....after the conversations we had yesterday at penultimate crit...I am not the only one who is living an a work space tip!!!

I have posted mine first...lets see the rest..

 

Yesterdays crit....

Problems with pond colour, looks too much like grass....colour of rendering for plants needs brightening, shadows added, bamboo needs to show, knock back the tree colour, or increase vibrancy on the rest, tables and chairs too prominent, bleed the edge of the plan, move key up, move bar scale an n point, change the benches colour and shape (look like graves!!) very apt...put the line of the curb back in, water in sections and sketches needs changing, new name for meadow...that is not a meadow, annotation needs more sophistication, make grasses bigger, boulder. do the plan rendering without trees to see how the plan balances with colour. Reduce plan to A3 and do a Winter plan...need a lighting scene, either in plan or as a sequential....phew...at least I don't have to completely re-do it!!!! 

 

 

 

 

Painting class

 

Exercises at my painting class below

 

....now full steam ahead, 1:50 plan today and maybe Axo, son's piano exam at 3pm, work tomorrow and Thursday, Sections Friday and sequences Saturday. Putting it all together on Sunday....well that's my timetable....so can't afford to sit here writing!! I will let you know how I did today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brown and white acrylic on a piece of cardboard

Charcoal and putty rubber

Charcoal

night lighting

And here is my first attempt at night lighting...its not too bad, could do with a background, but not enough time to faff anymore with it.

Advanced Rep

 

 

Advanced Rep has been a nice experience...although presenting is always a nervous thing...I think the nerves are good, makes you care about what you are doing....The continuous presenting this year has made me more confident at work in the classroom when I am teaching.

 

It is quite strange the perception you have of yourself compared with what others think...It was eye opening in Mondays AD Rep lesson where, randomly picked, was the video of my presentation the previous week. I was very pleased with my performance, even if I fiddled with my ring a couple of times!!

 

 

The logo is a combination of my initials, (ether BS or RS depending on what you call me) and a graphic sunflower that was used many moons ago as the logo for previous business of mine.

The grasses in the back ground look slightly 3d and the flowers are Sanguisorba officinalis

 Front of business card

 Back of business card

 (Shelly thought I should take my teaching qual off there but I want to keep it on)

Letter headed paper

 

Ready to improve?

I haven't found a real style for rendering yet so I am disappointed in my work...Although I managed to complete all the work for the crit on Monday 10.3.14 the quality was poor in my opinion. Quality or complete? that was the question....I chose to complete and had a melt down in the process!!!

Model:

This is the stuff I pinned up but I really wanted to stick notes all over  it saying: (in caps)

 I KNOW I HAVEN'T RENDERED MY SEQUENTIAL SKETCHES PROPERLY oh and I annotated incorrectly..silly mistake at 11pm the night before.....

 I KNOW THE COLOURS ARE CRAP and I KNOW THE TREES ARE NOT DONE PROPERLY ON PLAN Title blocks are too heavy and the key should be on RHS...(not the Royal Horticultural Society as I thought!)lol

....I KNOW THE RENDERING IS CRAP, ..People are too big in B-B
.....Stupidly I didn't put these notes on the work so had the hideous task of presenting without saying all that...if and when I am proud of the work.....presenting will be a doddle...

Precedent images

I am pleased with the images I found although Jamie said they would convey what I had in mind better if I cropped them, which I will do for tomorrow. I the mean time here are some of the short list:

Colour colour colour...

I was so fed up with the dullness of my sites...that my reasons for my brilliantly colourful canopy and pink walls is to brighten up my dull sites......I love colourful gardens and colour makes people happy, it is like the sun...the light reflections create a cheerful mood..and pink or...Jamie's suggestion of cerise shows the green of any plants off in a spectacular way....I am sticking to my bright pink but Dear potential client...you can have any colour you like!

 lol

crit 13th Jan 2014 pre final hand in.

 

 

 

 

 

Pin up yesterday, amendments needed........

Plans: Key too large on plan...I think needs re-colouring too, Colour some buildings for context, why pink walls? Julia asked...because the contrast with green is intense. Canopy looks like it is plonked....may change the shape...for the better I hope...Text font and size need to change.

 

 

 

 

Sections of Mint Street:Ground line needs to be thicker and section should be whole length of A1

Sections for Crossbones:Maybe turn this section 90 degrees, I am going to re colour these and drop the backgrounds

 

Sketch perspectives: Pleased with these, maybe add fruiting trees, need 4 more sequences to make up a full walk through of the parks

Precedents/Mood board: Leave spaces around some pics, find out where the pictures are of....change, add maybe...still only 7 though...

 

Quite pleased with my feedback overall, I know what I have to do to improve, I just don't have a lot of time to do it...working tomorrow and Thursday so I only really have 3 days to do it all....arrrrgghhhh

 shame as it could be so much better....