Talking Colour / Talking Pattern – Nell Williams
Talking Colour – Buildings in Watercolour
Talking Colour – Plant pot in Marker pen
Talking Colour – Mixed media collage of Details from David Bowie exhibition in the V&A Storehouse
Talking Colour – Mixed Media Collage, paint, pencil and pastel : plant in pot
Talking Colour – Watercolour, Pencil and Pastel of trees changing colour
Talking Colour – Mixed Media Collage of buildings
Talking Colour – Oil pastels and Watercolour pencils on black card of Flower
Talking Colour – Abstract mixed media piece based on bus/tube seats
Talking Colour – Abstract colours taken from bus and tube seats
Talking Colour – Mixed media piece based on buildings outside my window
Talking Colour – Oil pastels and Coloured Pencils on receipts based on fruit at Ridley Road Market
Talking Colour – Mixed media collage using magazines, oil pastels, pencils and markers of buildings on street in Hackney
Talking Colour Reflection –
We started this project visiting different areas of London, my groups area was Dalston and Hackney. We visited markets in Dalston which is where I got inspiration for some of my drawings. I was also inspired by the streets and buildings that were there. I experimented with quite abstract techniques for this project and used a lot of mark making too. I also took inspiration from the David Bowie exhibition in the V&A storehouse for one of the pieces and I enjoyed combining mediums in a more abstract approach for this piece’s background whilst also being able to illustrate a part of the exhibition in more detail. I enjoyed the challenge of choosing colours that work together and also enjoyed working in one block colour which I found interesting. Overall I am happy with these drawings however I think some of the drawings based on tube seats and some of the buildings are a bit too abstract and hard to tell what they are based on.
Talking Pattern – Mixed media piece based on Marks found on the floor
Talking Pattern – Mixed media Collage using scanned in fabric looking at leaves on the floor
Talking Pattern – Markers on Tracing paper
Talking Pattern – Abstract Collage using Watercolour pencils, markers and photos
Talking Pattern – Marker and collage
Talking Pattern – Layered collage piece, watercolour and watercolour pencil with cutout paper layered over. Based on Bug house sculpture near Uni
Talking Pattern – Abstract Sliced Oranges, Mixed media Collage
Talking pattern – Acrylic, Pencil and Marker flowers
Talking Pattern – Mixed media collage : ink, charcoal and card
Talking Pattern – Layering Tracing Paper with card
Talking Pattern Reflection –
For talking pattern I mostly used the same subjects as I did for talking colour. I used a lot of collage for these pieces and mixed media approaches. I enjoyed combining mediums and I mostly liked using paper and cutting out shapes to include in the collages. I also enjoyed experimenting with cutting out holes in paper to reveal another pattern below and I feel that this adds layers to the piece nicely. Although I like a few of the talking pattern results I think next time I could work on using some more mediums and focus more on creating some detailed patterns rather than them all being abstract and mark making focused.
9th November 2025 @ 9:32 pm
Peer Feedback- Ava Kennedy
I have really enjoyed looking at Nel’s response to this project. I think she has done good enquiry on a range of colour and mediums. There is a lot of energy in Nel’s work, using expressive and experimental mark making, she conveys a lightness and personal addition to her subject.
In the ‘Talking Colour’ responses, I especially like her abstract architectural drawings, they look very interesting to me. I think she has captured an emotive style, the focus on mood and intention makes the drawings very inspiring. The use of negative space in Drawing 1 (blue watercolour) is very effective and makes the form stand out.
I think her ‘Talking Pattern’ is a lot stronger than her ‘Talking Colour’, while both employ a good range of colour, I think the simplicity in most of the pattern exploration makes it very visually satisfying and a good starting point for textile designs. This ties in with her layering and material experimentation, the different cutouts and collages is really great.
To make this unit more well-rounded, I would perhaps experiment with some observation drawings, with focus on detail. This could elevate her work more into the 3D, and she has effectively started this with the abstract buildings.
I think Nel has responded really well to this unit and both titles, showing her knowledge and understanding of form, colour, pattern and materials. Nel has also grasped a great deal of experimentation, and clearly hasn’t held herself back in her creative process.
10th November 2025 @ 9:24 am
For talking pattern I think the use of form and composition has been really successful overall for the responses. I think there is a wide range and variety of patterns, media and techniques. My favourite patten is the circular yellow pattern. I think the use of different line quality add texture and visual interest. I also think this would translate into embroidery techniques well as you can see all the mark making that could be turned into stiches. I think different colour variations and experimenting with the scale of the circles would be interesting when progressing with this pattern. Another pattern I really enjoy is the black circle pattern. I love the use of textural media in the background and how its flow and organic shapes contrast the dark black circles in the foreground.
For talking colour I think the overall responses are done with a lot of nice mixed media and all shoe the focus on colour well. I think the responses with the fruit on the receipt background is especially interesting as the combination of simple black and white receipts with texture and saturation if the oil pastel fruits add contrast and interesting composition. I think this piece could be expanded on further and developed into good design work for embroidery. I also really like the response with the houses. The way you have created the background is experimental and I think the lines in combination with the blocked shapes works together well. I also this she shades and tones in the colours are really cohesive