Month: November 2020

During week 8 I was supposed to have my crit but due to technological difficulties on Blackboard Collaborate, I wasn’t able to attend the meeting for very long. This was a shame and so I made sure to talk to my tutor Tom so I knew if I was heading in the right direction. During my conversation with Tom, he said that he felt I was heading in the right direction and gave me some artists that he felt would be relevant to my work which I appreciated. He said that he liked my small board paintings and wanted to see me work outside of the typical A paper sizes as he felt this could be limiting for me.

I am going to take his points on board and make sure that I get it all updated in the correct manner.

My Statement draft:

For my project I am focusing on architecture in rural areas and exploring the ways that different uses of colour, detail and textures can affect imagery. I have taken different approaches to this project by working on a range of surfaces including paper, mdf board, card, and cardboard. I have also worked at a range of scales to see how this changes the outcome. I have enjoyed looking at a range of artists, both contemporary and traditional whose approaches to the way they work with materials has led me to make many informed decisions. Frank Auerbach’s work was helpful in allowing me to expand my uses of abstract colour and work that is based on uses of line. Amy Shackleton is a contemporary artist who focuses on the combinations of nature and architecture which has a lot of detail in areas yet is simple in other areas which I feel I have incorporated into my work in interesting ways. I particularly enjoyed the collage workshop as this allowed me to be abstract in a simplistic way which seemed more advanced than it was. I decided to make more collages going forward to generate ideas and approach collage using different techniques. I felt that my board paintings were becoming too limiting as I was being very precise working at such a small scale and so making larger paintings allowed me to make use of my studio space and have more freedom. I especially like the uses of mark makings and textures on the larger pieces and this is something I would like to continue in this project. I have worked in both an A4 sketchbook and an A3 sketchbook during this project to explore scale and how much detail is necessary in my work. A key aspect of my project is using colours other than blue for the sky which I feel is important as most people just associate blue with the sky even though there is a lot more to that if you take the time to look. I would like to combine some collages with painting to take it further and show how I have experimented to reach a conclusion. I feel like I need to get the right balance between detailed areas and simplicity and would like to continue my uses of subtleties such as washes of colour in areas that add contrast. 

In week 7, I decided to work onto cardboard to expand the materials I was working with and to see if I could incorporate more textures into my work as there are lots of textures in different environments and I feel that this is what my work is lacking. I also did more collages using the left over paper from the workshop in week 2 as I really liked the outcome of that collage and it could help me to try out more collage techniques such as ripping instead of cutting and different scales.

Cardboard puzzle painting:

I took cardboard of different sizes that weren’t completely straight and applied a base coat of white onto them. I then started to paint a whole painting onto them so each section fitted together nicely. I took inspiration from the wood paintings that I did in the second workshop as they looked like they fitted together in areas even though they weren’t of the same perspective as each other. I liked the uses of different colours of each wooden board so I did the same for these cardboard paintings but made sure each one flowed into the next by having a small amount of the other colours from surrounding panels onto them. I added lots of detail to certain areas but then made other areas simple as this is an element I really enjoyed in my other work and I wanted to show a connection to help me create a body of work which I have clearly made informed decisions about. I feel the overall pieces are effective individually and work really well as a collection.

This is a photo of the piece as I was over half way done. I didn’t take a photo at the beginning unfortunately, but I feel that this demonstrates my thought process and how I was making sure to do pieces of card board that fitted together in a precise order to ensure they flowed together nicely. I made the top piece purely sky as I felt this would create a nice contrast and bring the piece together. I combined the different colours of the sky on this piece to again show the flow.

I decided to make the end piece mostly black and white to provide a contrast and add an area of simplicity to contrast with the brickwork that was added. Though the bricks aren’t uniform and perfect, I feel that this portrays how materials in environments, particularly man made ones can become worn over time.

This is a zoomed in image of the card board puzzle piece to show the details and the textures of the pieces. Though these took me a quite long time, I did paint them standing up using Ruth’s feedback from my tutorial which allowed some of my brushstrokes to be quite loose and add a sketchy element that I really liked.

I like the blue piece a lot as it is quite eye catching but I also like the bottom piece which is a lot more realistic. The brickwork on this piece took a long time but I feel it paid off and it isn’t too overpowering, more subtle which I like.

I felt this side of the piece were more abstract than the others and I didn’t add a lot of detail which I feel paid off, though maybe adding a bit more detail would help with the flow of things. I feel that I relied too much on black lines which I am going to try and avoid in the future as this could be seen as too overpowering.

The red section is definitely the most sketchy but I feel that this adds another texture which works well overall. I like that the texture of the cardboard shows through the paint as this adds another element that is very effective. I like that I added a bright yellow section and a pastel colour section as the different tones/colour palettes combine nicely so the work is abstract yet still quite realistic. Deciding not to add blue for the sky was an important decision as I am trying to capture the idea that the sky isn’t always blue.

Collages:

I decided to do more collages like the one I made in the first workshop as I feel that this piece was really interesting and allowed me to create layers and uses of line that were effective. I wanted to explore making smaller collages to see the way that scale could affect the process or the final outcome. I also wanted to use different techniques in these collages than I did for the first collage, such as ripping the papers instead of cutting them and using 3d effects possibly to experiment fully.

This is the first collage I did which is approximately A3 sized. I used the same technique as my first collage by cutting the coloured paper but I made it a lot more simple. I like the way the colours and shapes work together to create really interesting pieces.

During enhancement week I took the opportunity to continue to build up work in my sketchbook with different compositions and proportions. I tried to capture different effects by using a range of colour combinations and uses of line/detail. I tried to make some more simple than others to see the ways that it could impact on my work, which also related to the artists I researched at the beginning of this project. I also decided to start working onto an A3 sketchbook rather than the A4 I had been working on to push my work and not limit myself.

This is one of the first paintings I did in my sketchbook during week 2 which I decided to build up on more using a pink colour palette. I especially like the atmosphere of this piece and the way that it is still a captivating image with a pink sky rather than a blue sky. I again like how areas of the painting are really detailed while the other areas are fairly simple as it creates a nice balance.

This is another painting I did but I decided to go for a more realistic colour scheme to see the ways that it impacted on the overall effect. I feel that I could work onto the sand area more to make it more realistic but I like the simplicity of this painting.

I decided to work on another previous painting to build up areas and add important details to make the painting look more effective overall. I like the way the yellow lines on the road contrast with the greys. This painting is simple yet intricate which I really like.

This is one of my favourite paintings as it has a lot of detail and is very realistic. I like the fact that the blue sky isn’t fully blue, it has a wash of another colour over the top which adds more to the painting. The individual brick marks took a long time but I feel they really work with the overall composition. I would like to make more paintings like this but on a larger scale so that I don’t limit myself. Doing it on a larger scale will also require less precision so I can be free with my application.

This is a painting I did of boats in the sea with a view of buildings in the background. I really like the way the sea has a lot of movement and texture compared to the other areas. I decided to make this painting quite realistic as I didn’t want to push myself too soon. Again this painting is quite simple in most areas yet looks more complex overall when all the elements combine.

This is a painting I did of a view of a town in St Ives which has a lot of detail and weird angles of buildings. I like that I did this painting quite detailed in comparison to the other paintings as this was important to do to generate a range of work. I like that the blue sky isn’t a typical blue and the fact that it has other tones in it to build up layers which I really enjoy in my project.

I also got told that I will be having a crit on the 27th November which I need to display my work in my studio and take a maximum of 8 pictures and make them into a blog post to do an online crit with three students from the class. I also have to write a 400 word statement about my work to give people an insight into my practise.

From the feedback I got from Ruth last week, I decided to make some large scale pieces where I was free to use my whole body and didn’t limit myself by sketching things out in pen first but instead used the paint itself to plot in what I wanted to do and get my proportions right. I feel like it will be a good idea to explore both black and white pieces as well as colour to inform my work and make sure it is as interesting as possible. This will also help me create a body of work and show how I have developed my ideas by making informed decisions.

This is a large scale bubble wrap painting I did to explore incorporating more textures into my work. I began with an A1 piece of paper which I decided to add sections of various sized bubble wrap to. I then used a palette knife and applied paint over the top. I like that I was quite free with the way I applied the paint and how it picked up on the textures of the bubble wrap. I wish I would have added more detail to certain areas but I feel the limited colour palette worked quite well.

This is another painting I did using a purple and pink colour palette as an experiment with palette knives and a drippy background. I liked using bright colours for this piece as I feel that it relates nicely to the artists I researched during the first couple of weeks of this project. Using palette knives in different ways allowed me to create interesting layers and textures which was effective.

This is another painting I did where I randomly applied autumnal colours of paint onto a sheet of A1 paper and then used white oil pastel over the top. I like how simple this one is and how the white lines are only clear in some areas as it means people take more time to look at it. I feel that I could continue to work into this with layers to create more contrast and areas of interest.

I also looked at my board paintings collectively and took photos of them in different arrangements where each painting linked to others in some way. I felt that the paintings looked really good together and gave me ideas of how to develop my work.

This is one of the arrangements I came up with. I especially like the ways that some of the paintings seem to link up in terms of imagery slotting together at the right points as it makes it seem like it is a complex puzzle of the same area. I also like how certain paintings relate in terms of colour and technique. This also makes me consider how the different paintings are of different perspectives/angles of the same place and how they work together.