Marian Leven

Since working with the guys on a collaborative music video, I've rekindled my appreciation for the fine art realm, and started exploring more traditional forms of art in the hope they'll inspire my way of working in animation.

I think growing up by the sea has had a huge influence on my go-to colour palette and texture preferences. Deep down, I'm not sure anything will ever be as beautiful to me as a palette of greys, pthalo blues and sea greens (the odd yellow or orange splash of sailboat occasionally granted), and the wonderfully organic edges of ink spreads and watercolours, textures that remind me of pebbles and lines that flow like overlapping ripples. There's something about these things that speak to my soul and remind me of a childhood  spent on the coast of the Irish Sea.

One of my current projects is a short 1 minute animation about climate change, and I'm taking this opportunity to go loose, watery and inky in my animation style. In looking at fine artists, I came across Marian Leven, and I've fallen in love with the tones and colours she uses, the minimal approach to mark-making and her combination of textures. Originally I was just contemplating inks and watercolour for this animation, but now I'm considering some graphite, pastel or charcoal work would really bring some energy to it all after looking at Leven's work. There's some abstract elements and quick changes in the storyboard that would really benefit from a bit of added texture and interest. It can all get a bit flat with just some pen lines and watercolour washes. I do like this white space around the darker inkiness in this deconstructed image though, and that's definitely something I've been playing with in the RSA climate change animation.