Part Five – Written piece (500 words)

Please note that this is a re-worked blog entry, following feedback from my tutor.

Research:

Van Gogh:

https://34163483.weebly.com/critics-of-his-day.html#:~:text=In%20Vincent’s%20time%20critics%20said,a%20new%20way%20for%20art.

https://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starry-night.html

https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/stories/beacon-for-modern-art#19

ttps://medium.com/@bbuzzart/van-gogh-and-impesto-style-of-painting-171ed0f7ee76

https://www.theartpostblog.com/en/van-gogh-works/

Erin Hanson:

https://www.erinhanson.com/p/crystal_pathhttps://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/04/oil-landscapes-transformed-into-mosaics-of-color-by-erin-hanson/

https://www.erinhanson.com/blog?p=impasto-in-impressionism

https://www.saatchiart.com/ErinHansonLandscapesinOil

https://www.erinhanson.com/interviews

Research into the historical and contemporary use of oil as a medium and impasto as a technique (in around 500 words with illustrations)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

https://www.vangoghgallery.com/

http://blog.vangoghgallery.com/index.php/en/

Van Gogh‘s work is highly recognisable for a number of reasons, but most definitely through his use of impasto to reflect light and provide texture and invoke feeling in his paintings.

It is interesting to see how unappreciated he was in his own lifetime with contemporary critics like Julius Meier-Graefe viewing his work as unimaginative, repetitive and sloppy. Though I can see truth in the repetition of e.g. sunflowers, this was how he developed his unique style, which was the opposite of the preferred style of art at that time (detailed and realistic). However, critic Albert Aurier admired Van Gogh greatly, as expressive and original, which is more how I believe we see him now. His brushstrokes and colourful palette were not always embraced by others but his work influenced a range of artists including the ‘Fauvists’ and paved the way for a more abstract approach to art.

I consider “Starry Night”. as a typical example of his style – the subject, the palette and the swirling brush marks that make the sky come alive. The paint is applied so intentionally and effectively that it still creates a recognisable picture with lots of expressive energy.

To view my own environment through his eyes would be interesting as his world is filled with impasto – thick paint applied in planes and layers, carefully using a limited palette to create drama and texture. I am employing this approach in my own landscapes, to create more interest and perhaps develop further abstraction in my work.

Erin Hanson (b. 1981)

https://www.erinhanson.com/Biography

https://www.erinhanson.com/reviews

Erin Hanson describes her own work as “Open Impressionism”. It is colourful and expressive and as Anja Wulf writes, “Although her landscapes are instantly recognizable as such, she imbues them with an emotional, rather than representational, view.”

Hanson uses impasto (oils) to create some truly stunning landscapes and scenes from nature. I enjoy her depiction of trees and rocks. Also, the colour palette she uses. The brush marks are reminiscent of Van Gogh but seem very contemporary. Even in green landscapes like Lupin Hills (2017), she creates energy through her work.

Her landscape palette (as in Borrego in Green (2017) or Forest Light (2019)) can appear garish but I feel, is beautifully intended to add drama and interest.

Reflections

I started my painting journey by working in thick layers of acrylic and oil but my previous tutor guided me towards thinner layers in watercolour and gouache. I had forgotten how much I enjoy adding layers of paint. I think it positive that I have explored two very different forms of paint application, though am still not sure which I prefer. My work is still representational and focussed on detail but am learning to be more expressive, consider my use of colour and generally become more abstract. I have purposely dialled up the saturation of colour in my re-worked Part Five assignment and this is as a direct result of studying both Van Gogh and Hanson’s works.

(499 words)

My learning:

• Practice using thinner and thicker layers of oil paint or acrylic (washes and impasto) to create contrast and texture in my work.
• Vary use of different size brushes and palette knives. Use other objects or items to experiment in mark making.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with colour to bring energy to my work
• Do enough preparatory work to help develop the final painting (but not enough to get bored of the subject).
• Critiquing isn’t about finding things you don’t like about an artist’s work; it’s more about being able to weigh up the considered viewpoints of others, against the context of the work, so that you can provide a thoroughly researched and considered view.

Part Five Revisited Post-Lockdown

Depicting your environment

I had battled to get through Part Five and though I liked the end result, it was a safe (almost too comfy) submission to my tutor. The more I looked at my feedback and the work, the more I doubted that this was really reflective of what I was capable of achieving. As lockdown continued, I became demotivated and more disconnected from my studies and unable to focus on what else I could do with my time, to round off my work. I kept working full time at home, in a busy job and literally ran out of steam.

My mental health suffered more than I realised during lockdown as I worried about getting the virus. My immune system has taken a battering over the last 4 years between some pretty intensive treatment for Multiple Sclerosis followed by breast cancer treatment, ending last year. In February we decided to get married and move to the US – during lockdown my marriage was moved twice before we finally ‘tied the knot’ in July. All the while anxiety plagued me. What if we couldn’t sell our property here? What if I did get the virus and became really ill? What if we couldn’t find a house we like out in the US?

At the moment I don’t have answers to those questions and am generally still quite paranoid about going out to do anything other than walk in the fresh air. It was whilst on one of these walks that I had a revelation of sorts. I was walking on our local clifftop ‘pitch and putt’ field, which was just actually looking more like an overgrown field . I realised that things were more ‘normal’. People were out together, in socially distanced bubbles, but out doing everyday things. Getting on with their lives. It was a beautiful sunny yet breezy day. A day of movement and togetherness (even apart). I realised that I needed to ditch paranoia and anxiety and embrace something like a new (improved?) normal and that this field might be the perfect environment to reflect this.

Ideas and presentation

Instead of the constant, internal and claustrophobic environment of Lockdown with Bertie, there was a new external environment which was familiar yet changed from a past time. No longer a place where people played pitch and putt but a place where people went about their lives and used the space to socialise safely, or walk their dog, or even practice dancing with firesticks to heavy metal music. These were the things that people were doing while I worries abot things that may never happen. They were physically and mentally moving on. I was stuck.

I thought about how I might present works based on the antics of the field. I enjoyed the monochrome sketches around town that I did as we slid into lockdown. I considered using ink and watercolour, exploring this further in my initial sketches of the field. Though I had taken some reference photographs, mainly to capture people, I didn’t just want to reproduce an exact copy in paint.

After the preparatory work, I first painted the scene in monochrome (using ink and acrylic) and only included some colour in the people themselves. I thought this might show where the energies were, focussing on the energy of the people in the paintings but this didn’t really satify my needs. The energy and colour needed to come through in the paintings as a whole. This has to be the antithesis of my dark ink sketches of lockdown.

What do I want to depict?

After months of monotony, indoor shielding and depression, I wanted to depict joy, family, sunshine, shade, closeness, learning, distance, movement, journey, passing of time, energy, nature and humanity. Everthing positive that had been stifled. Everything I wanted to get back into my life. This would be a study not only of the land and trees this time, but also people (I know I struggle to paint people but I cannot omit them from this work). People are essential this time. However, I still want to depict the scene as a viewer, away from the ‘action’ looking on. This is about my headspace and paranoia at the moment. Social distancing at its finest. I want to be the onlooker and enjoy the vibrancy of the scene before me, without having to physically engage with it. I want a wistfulness and a sense of hope.

Materials, medium and format

Instead of the uniform A5 paintings of Lockdown with Bertie, I wanted to showcase the scale of the social distance involved on the field. I liked the tryptic idea so wanted to use this again, to have paintings which had a strong sense of a narrative on their own but could also be grouped/arranged to add an overall narrative.

I debated about how to use this idea again but for a very different study. I could simply  extend the main painting into a longer one, matching the distances of people in the scene etc. However I much prefer the idea of closing in on the group and the girl  with the firestick making them a more intimate observation, albeit still a lonely observational place to be.  

I decided to use a larger landscape canvas to show the scale of the view and paint two more intimate ‘tableux’ onto smaller boards, one landscape and one portrait to suit the composition of the paintings. I felt that I needed more vibrancy of colour, almost a mediterranean feel. I wanted to be able to add layers and different textures. Though acrylic paints could offer the vibrancy of colour and opportunity for layering and texture, it felt too static and stifling for these paintings. I wanted flow and subtlety as well as strong vibrancy. I wanted to be able to depict movement and life.

I enjoyed painting the banana in a previous exercise in a number of media, but oils worked best. I enjoyed the softness and hardness or solidity that can be achieved through oils, by using underpainting and layering. I remembered when I did POP1 and learned to underpaint in acrylic. This to me is freeing as it allows me to loosly depict the shapes and tones of the painting, which I can then follow as a template for colour, brightness and shadow. I decided that this would give me everything I needed so that I could achieve the end result I wanted.

Research and inspiration

I was reminded of some of the artists and paintings already studied over the period of my three courses.

George Shaw (1966 – )

https://amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/feb/07/george-shaw-a-corner-of-a-foreign-field-review-england-brexit-holburne-bath

I can’t consider the word “environment” without thinking of Shaw and his mastery of painting the world around him, warts and all. Often his paintings are beautiful whatever the subjects. He is a contempory of mine and I find parallels with his life and miy own, particularly around the environment he grew up in. My childhood in the Rhondda and the scenes around me, were not dissimilar. The level of depth and detail in his paintings is something that interests me. I enjoy his conservative and traditional looking style, depicting a modern world (but with a feel of the past). I can’t profess to have the skill and patience to provide huge amounts of detail in such an effective way, but I am learning how to make marks that suggest detail. His landscapes/townscapes are often people-free and a bit bleak too (like mine).

“Sunrise over the care home” – George Shaw (2018) resonated with my seeing beauty and colour, despite it being a very bizarre (maybe a bit depressing) time. This view across a field to a horizon reminded me of my view of the field.

Carvaggio (1571 – 1610)

https://m.theartstory.org/artist/caravaggio/

https://www.caravaggio.org/the-calling-of-saint-mathew.jsp

As these scenes involved people, I considered artists that had mastered oil on canvas, depicting groups of people using chiaroscuro to create three-dimensional, solid and believable figures. “The Calling of Saint Matthew” – Carvaggio (1599 – 1900) does just that. This would prove inspirational for the group scene beneath the sunshade, half in shade and half in light.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Caf%C3%A9

I thought about how to create movement and energy in my painting, especially when depicting firestick girl. I remembered how Van Gogh had used the simultaneaous contrast technique, using two complementary colours placed next to each other. Though I automatically think of his oranges and blues, “The Night Cafe” – Vincent Van Gogh (1888) below is an example of how this works well, even though this isn’t one of my favourites of his. I chose to use a deep orange for one side of her hoodie against the light blue sky of background, to suggest some drama, a contrast and hopefully instil a sense of vitality and movement in the figure. The darker reddish/orange also chimes against the green of the land and trees, even though it is not placed directly next to it.

Preparatory work and reference information

After Lockdown

1.”Social Distancing”

This painting is the main one of the triptych and shows two ladies walking a dog across the field. This was just after we were allowed to meet with someone outside of the household so would like to think that this was the first time they had walked the dog (and shared a cigarette moment together). The field is empty and stretches back to a hill over which is a view across the water that we can’t see. I tried to keep an element of atmospheric perspective by keeping the distance (houses) soft and more vague whilst keeping the trees and bushes more vibrant and solid. The field was overgrown and it was a breezy day so tried to create that in the softness of the grass tones.

2. “We are family”

This painting depicts a group of people under a tree on the field. They were surrounded by picnic stuff, food and beer. They appeared to be family and again, I wondered if this was the first time they had been able to get together somewhere in months. It was a beautiful sunny and breezy day, so the umbrella is cocked to one side, covering some of the group and leaving others in the sun. The lady on the right (the grandma I would like to think) has chosen to set herself back in the sunshine. I painted this group in black and white so was able to follow this in colour to create some contrast in light and shade. I didn’t paint much detail in, in terms of faces as feel that this would have been a step too far. The generic blobs of faces perhaps make this group representative of a generic family as lockdown loosened up.

3. “Fire dancer”

Though there technically no fire, her hoodie is the colour of fire. At first I thought this young lady was a cheerleader practicing a routine but I then realised that she was doing this to a hard metal tune. I realised that this was a routine of dancing with firesticks which was way more exciting. She performed the routine on top of what would usually be a bunker hill.  I loved that she felt confident enough to perform on this hill in the midst of a field, in the middle of a pandemic. I found this uplifting, energy-building and very inspirational. I could have taken this scene back a step and included more of the field but wanted this to be an intimate view.

Further development and presentation of the work

Here are the three paintings together as a triptych.

I still prefer the linear arrangement as a painting but it would be good to extend this into some additional paintings, perhaps small squares showing detail of faces or body. Also maybe add in some additional ‘views’ showing a return to some sort of normality

I would place these as per the preferred arrangement on a white wall with a warm light to depict sunshine. Maybe with a park bench in front and a council bin (not that you can generally find a bin in that area!). Maybe some suitable music to set a mood – the firestick girl had a very lively metal tune to accompany the practice of her routine. Maybe I could get the girl to come and perform her routine (with fire) or show a video of her preparation and final production.

Reflections on Assignment Five

• I do love oil painting and a lot of the time realise that I dismiss it for practical reasons – it is unsociable, smelly and messy when you don’t have a studio and need to work in a small corner of your living room. It is impractical in a small space as layers need to dry and it can take a long time to get the required effects.
• However investing in low odour turpentine and a soap brush cleaner has really helped in terms of smell and speed of cleaning. Luckily I have also had excellent weather so have been able to open windows without inflicting unpleasant fumes on me, Greg or my three cats.
• There is something about the slow drying of oils and the ability to layer that really appeals to me. Also, underpainting. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this process. I painted all three together, at the same time, adding to them over a period of days from the grisaille underpainting through the additional of colour and textures using a variety of brushes, soft and hard, large and small. I tried to use a larger flat brush for most of the painting, to avoid too much detail until towards the end of the paintings’ development and feel that this helped to loosen my work up. I used the flat of the brush and the ends to create tree textures or sweeping lines of colour and brightness in the grass.
• I can sometimes struggle a little in terms of preparation as am easily bored but I did ensure that I took more time and paid more attention to the important details of painting the scene but most importantly the people. I am pleased at how I have painted the people, particularly the group with the umbrella as there is little detail in there – more marks and blobs. I painted this group in black and white and was able to think about using chiaroscuro to create more of a dramatic scene of light and shade playing on the faces and detail of the group. The ladies walking the dog do have some form, which has never been my strong point. The girl with the firestick is active, focussed and moving. I used clean turps to loosed the paint around her back and the stick, just to create a sensation of movemen through the air. I also tried to be more relaxed about detail and how to had marks to add detail relatively simply. Though the family under the umbrella is a painted in less detail that I would have done even a year ago, I can get a strong sense of the people in the marks made.
• I am more excited by these three paintings than I have been by anything I’ve produced for a while. They have energy and I think my enjoyment of the process shines through. I feel that oils were the best possible media for this and I really enjoyed using them even though I am crammed into a small corner of my living room so still fairly restricted. I hope one day, when I move to the US, to have a small studio of my own to work in. This would I think, make a huge difference to my work and what I can produce. It would free me up so that I don’t even have to factor in how messy or smelly my process might be!

Tutor feedback – Part Five

As ever, my tutor’s feedback was something that infiltrated my thoughts and made me question my choices. I reflected on this feedback again before I worked on an update to Part Five and it really did make me think about how to push myself to make less safe choices in depicting my environment.

“Take a breath and look at the successes of your work. The ink pieces certainly reflect our societal conditions at the moment- eerie, lonliness and bleak of the unknown. I hope you realise that the media choices reflect the story behind the scenes. Other times you are being too safe and twee so be honest in how you see the world around you. There is much research in this submission which has inspired you but be careful not to be too influenced by the otherwise you will not have that gut instinct. Looking back through your work, the impasto landscapes have been the most fruitful for you in terms of dynamism, creativity, abstraction and energy. However, you have challenged yourself with every part in this unit so well done and keep going.

Feedback on assignment
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity
5.1- the semi-abstraction in your work with the different media shows a personal interpretation. There is impasto which has some semi-abstraction and sensitivity with the diluted media. It is fine if the work is not representational because the more you sway from reality, the more the work has intrigue. Technically, do be careful of technical aspects such as tone so you can show more depth5.2- the ink pieces are successful. Although, I agree they are heavy handed, they reflect the social distancing. The paranoia of being outside and the gloomy existence we are enduring- was this intentional? They hold a sense of the unknown and an eeriness with the empty streets and these can be pushed. The close-ups in particular are intriguing.
I agree the next pieces are illustrative which means you are giving information how the scene actually looks rather than your interpretation so sometimes what we see is what we get. Where you have minimum details is where there is intrigue.
5.3- don’t worry about struggling with an exercise, some subjects will not suit you. These pieces are soft and diluted so there is some intrigue in the work. What is not working is the technical aspects to give the work some form and depth. Honing in or magnifying would be better for you.
5.4- these pieces work as a trio as they hold an energy but also ugly (in a good way) textural elements that evoke that have been ‘rubbish/litter’. The middle piece in particular has the most energy because of the contrasting colours and the harshness of the impasto. You have been confident with the tool and aggressive which shows tonal qualities and depth which you have not achieved with watercolour.

Assignment– your assignment pieces have been contemplated about and you have decided on a story of your experience in lockdown. What works is the display of the triptych by your window to give them context. However, I think you have been a little shy of what you are actually capable of. Your work with impasto and in particular the ink pieces gives more of an honest answer to your situation and feelings. The works are quite busy, but you have justified your decisions. More dark and eerie media would give the work an engaging attraction.

Sketchbooks
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity
You have many techniques, exploration and investigations in your sketchbook. Sometimes, they do not relate to the work outside of it but looking through your work, you have covered many techniques and approaches, so you may be spoilt for choice. The exercises done in your sketchbooks can be stand-alone pieces (for assessment if you decide to include them.)

Research
Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis
Your analysis of the Dali museum in Florida has been analysed well and it is in depth. Again, you continue to read behind artists work to have more opinions and criticality rather than looking at it at face value. It has been useful to say how it has influenced you (watercolour) so there is more correlation between yours and their contexts, especially with your making processes. However, you have certainly opened up your mind since part 1.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis
Written element- although impasto suits your work more with energy and focus on abstraction and texture, it has been useful to read your thoughts on water colour too. This way you have a good comparison for your work, especially with ‘science’ as well as the ‘creativity’ of how it use these processes.

Title- Research into the historical and contemporary use of oil as a medium and
impasto as a technique

Some of your comments are quite generic, especially for Gogh’s work. It is not about finding anything negative but being critical. So, you could read reviews of a particular work, a catalogue review or a critic explaining the work. Then this will build up your alternative thoughts. However, you have used the work to identify where your
processes lie, whether that is thin layered paint or impasto.

 

SW Regional Group Study Day with Diana Ali – Saturday 25 April 2020

I was pleased to be able to attend this meeting via Zoom. I’m not usually able to travel to participate in this excellent OCA local group so being able to access virtually was a great opportunity.

I had a Zoom session to learn about functionality in the week before, which was really helpful. I was really interested to hear from OCA Painting 3 student,  Naomi Incledon, about the developmenrt and presentation of her work: Time Works 2020. We were sent a short film Naomi had produced to watch as a virtual exhibit of work, which was originally meant to be viewed in it’s environment and not from a computer or indeed, a gallery. Naomi narrated the journey around her artworks and I found this approach really effective in making me feel like I was the viewer walking around the natural landscape (which felt good at this moment, when we are mostly staying in).

It was interesting to hear about Naomi’s thought processes in creating works using natural materials, within the landscape and how she planned to use this to display her works. I like that she decided not to do this in a gallery though had given thought about how she might try to recreate the environment in such. I enjoyed the video and thought it worked well though agreed that we could have had some time to pause to take in the art works as we moved around.

She lived more than two miles away from this area and had to take her materials with her when she walked there. She worked through the horrible storms and weather and showed real determination and resilience. As Covid-19 become more of a reality she spent time ensuring that her works were replenished  and then documenting them as part of the short film to ensure she was prepared for a digital assessment.

From this session, I took away a couple of useful reflections. I really admire Naomi’s tenacity to get things done and how much she cared about the works created. I like how she adapted her plans to fit with plants and landscape, not disrupting anything.  All of her artworks are ‘temporary’ and will gradually be washed away by the weather. This facinates me as I realise on reflection that when I create art, I am thinking about it outlasting me. Maybe a legacy of sorts (which sounds a bit pompous actually). What materials I need to use, to bring longevity to the colours and the quality, how archivable each piece is. The temporary is a really interesting concept but a difficult one for me to imagine in my own work. I do think that it is a very mature concept to embrace.

 

 

 

Sketchbook

I have tried to use my sketchbook to make studies/preparatory work but also to have some fun and experiment. Here are some of the contents of my sketchbook for Part Five.

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Part Five: Assignment

Depicting your environment

I struggled for a while to find inspiration for this exercise, especially in a period oflockdown from Covid-19. Spending time sitting and drawing the outside world didn’t seem appropriate in this time period. I don’t have a garden to collect external items from so was pretty much restricted to my environment inside. I didn’t want to create obvious ‘lockdown art’ of me being trapped inside my flat so started to think about ways I could consider and project my internal environment.

I was working at home for the whole period and busier than normal (as work on redeployment of people and resources to cope with emergencies). This in itself was a real challenge for me. I spoke to other students, furloughed or (unfortunately for them) not working at this time, spending their lockdown time studying and doing things very quickly and found this really frustrating. I admit that I envied people the time they had. When I haven’t been working I’ve felt like I’ve been chasing my tail and catching up (which is no mean feat when you have from chronic fatigue and MS). I considered the helpful inspirational suggestions in the workbook and thought about how I project my life through my environment.

Ideas

I could draw my bookshelves but that seemed tedious before I even started! I also considered drawers and cupboards – I think you can probably tell a lot about a person by what is in their cupboards – mine are pretty disorganised I must admit. Though some might say that this period might have been a good time to re-organise (perhaps I could have done some before and after paintings), I didn’t have the time to take this job on too. I didn’t find the drawers very inspiring really – they were much the same for each room – messy! I also looked at food cupboards and my fridge. I had looked at this for a previous exercise but again, this didn’t seem exciting to me. Perhaps it is just hard to be motivated in the midst of a pandemic. Suddenly my environment seemed a little messy and claustrophobic. I found it quite stressful to think about this.

Research

In the end it was research that inspired me. When looking at artists mentioned in the assignment brief, I was struck again by how much I like David Hockney’s work Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy. This work depicts his close friends, fashion designer Ossie Clark and textile designer Celia Birtwell, in their environment – their flat in Notting Hill. Clark has one of the couple’s cats, “Percy” on his knee (though apparently this cat was named Blanche, Hockney felt that Percy was a better name). I studied this painting in POP1 and enjoy looking at it – I can come back to it time and time again, like a good book.

It took him around two years to produce this from initial drawings to the final painting (I don’t have quite that long to do Assignment Five). I like this as I do feel I am in the painting with them and they are looking at me, whilst “Percy” as all cats do, turns the other way. I like that this painting reflects the period of the work well. I remember from studying it that he placed Birtwell as a more dominant partner reversing the status/role of the couple from paintings that inspired him, like Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait. Britwell stands and her husband sits. There is also a lot of symbolism around fidelity and foreshadowing of the breakdown of the Clark’s marriage. That is a lot in a painting. It is like re-reading a book.

Also on the list of artists mentioned was Dame Elizabeth Blackadder who I have heard of, but was not familiar with. She painted a lot of cat related works. Her cat paintings are beautiful with light grace and energy and just really cheerful and pleasant to look at (I can see why they were made postage stamps as would appeal to a lot of people). I particularly like the postage stamp of Fred as he reminds me of one of my own cats (Bertie).

I also love cats. I have three and they are our companions, friends and indeed, furry family. I started to think about how they fit into my environment and mulled this over for a while. One day, whilst working in the spare room (listening to a meeting containing 100s of people from across the world), I was struck by the view before me. Bertie has a spot he loves to sleep on, on a basket in our spare room (which is my virtual meeting space). When I am working in the office, this is Bertie’s room. He was a little disturbed when I started to spend more time in it and he could hear other people talking too, but think it’s all a bit boring now!

I thought about how I might blend the approach of Hockney showing the environment and personality of the cat, with the sort of pleasant cat portraits Blackadder produces. Also how could I produce a series of paintings? I decided to bring together this idea with the idea of Exercise 5.3, with a study the passing of time in the room (as I considered doing in a previous exercise) so used my down time between meetings to sketch out a morning, afternoon and night time shot. The latter seemed a bit difficult until I went into the room later at night and the outside security light came on. I was able to grab my phone and take a photograph, which became the third study.

I took some reference photographs to help me work on the paintings back at my (better equipped) desk downstairs.

Materials and medium

I chose to do three A5 paintings as the three stages of time would provide enough contrast to tell the story. Though I like to work on a larger scale, I feel the restrictive nature of staying indoors and living this strange and surreal life, lent itself to smaller studies and watercolour paper was the best ground to help reflect light in the works.

I considered what sorts of medium and ground I would use, based on my experience on UPM. I had not enjoyed printmaking that much and had found monotyoe and monoprint a little restrictive. I also don’t like using coloured pencils as find them a bit too delicate and intricate to work with (I get wrapped up in detail and work loses energy). Though I have used rubbings in the past I couldn’t really imagine how they might work here.

Though I had enjoyed using oils and acrylic again in the last exercise, I wasn’t sure that either medium would suit the studies and what I wanted to achieve. I wanted toconvey the light in these works, I decided to try ‘masking’ again to keep some areas lighter or exposed and use watercolour layers to build the painting with its transparency letting light through (as I did for Assignment Four) but then adding gouache to being opacity and a stronger colour in some areas. I hoped that this would add a roundness to form that I haven’t always achieved when using watercolour alone (studies can be a bit flat).

“Lockdown with Bertie”

For this study there are two areas of focus for me – Bertie and the outside world. Though there are not dramatic changes in light and shade in the room itself the morning colours are more muted and vague, and there is a golden warmth and stronger definition to objects in the afternoon. There is a change to be viewed in the outside environment over time.

Bertie sleeps in the daytime through the passing of time, changing position occasionally, slumbering on his basket and only emerging for occasional cuddles, food, and water and litter tray time. He enjoys the warmth that the sun brings, even though it isn’t a strong sunlight. It is his place. The world he likes to observe outside (especially at night) is our small car park and the flat opposite us, with a metal gate underneath. Birds appear on the roof and scaffolding opposite, for his amusement. While we sleep, he is observing life in the darkness.

In the night, other cats (and creatures) appear and set off the security light (which I suspect happened before I snapped my photo). He watches them through the French doors, from the comfort of his room, lording it over them with his basket and comforts. It mirrors, perhaps my own situation, inside my flat most of the time apart from a government sanctioned walk. Doing ok as I have the comforts I need – a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in and a full belly. I am working and earning money (which makes me feel a little guilty for envying others of their study time). Having to adapt to working from my home all of the time isn’t easy but I am learning to share my space with the cat. Though Bertie doesn’t seem to like the outside world at all, I wonder if he ever feels envy when he sees the outdoor cats roaming through their night time territory.

The plants are symbolic to me as this is the ONLY spot in the flat where I can nurture and grow any plants at all and not kill them. It is bizarre. My living room has the most peculiar light – it isn’t dark but is very diffuse perhaps. Too dark however for most plants! I also only have small windowsills and upstairs there are French doors. They contrast with the urban, concrete landscape outside. I have put up a basket on the top of my balcony rail this year and the contents have started to emerge. I made some makeshift shelves from crates and now cultivate my plants here, in my own light indoor garden space. My Christmas Cactus has even grown a couple of flowers this year (for the first time and I have had it at least 10 years!). It is inspirational to see the plants thrive at last and show their energy through their growth and their green hues. It reminds me of the balance and fragility of life, of all lives lost at the moment and of the new life emerging as we enter spring time. It gives me hope.

I enjoy the narrative of this one and am pleased with the depiction of Bertie (I am not famed for my portraiture skills!). The addition of gouache in areas like the crates, thecat, the curtains etc. have added some contrasts and additional atmosphere. As a viewer I do feel like I am sitting in my chair, with my eyes drawn past Bertie (who doesn’t ever engage in eye contact in these works) to the gate below. Bertie is in homage to Hockney’s ‘Percy’ in the night time scene, with his back to us, in silhouette. The silhouette wasn’t easy to do as there were reflections in the door but I was glad to catch the effects of the bright external lights on the scene and also, get the orange and grey tones of the sky and highlights, adding warmth to the painting. The final painting was less detailed to do so is probably a bit messier (or maybe just looser, which is usually what I am attempting to do).

Presentation of the work

I tried mounting my work on the walls – I only have white or one golden coloured wall so used both to see how they might work well. I also tried mounting in a number of arrangements but found putting them in a serial, linear position, morning, afternoon and night.

I think this is the best effect as it is a clear passing of day. I don’t have a wall at the scene itself but have attached to the French doors and quite like the idea of the scenes being displayed in the real ‘lockdown’ environment. I think it would be amusing to place the paintings at the scene, where Bertie can be seen and the passing of time could be viewed at different points of the day. The paintings are small so you have to really make an effort to enter the space and look at the detail. Taking this further, it could be a virtual work as my spare room would be difficult to visit and as we are in lockdown, virtual has become the new norm! You could set up a camera to show the passing of time and antics of cats.

Further development of the work

If putting into a gallery, I wonder if this approach could be re-created. A swivel chair for the viewer in front of a French door with perhaps a blurred or misty photograph of the scene outside and crates, plants, basket and maybe a real cat or some sort of holographic/ videoed creature!. I think there could be a use of humour in presenting this sort of work in a gallery (though am not sure how they would feel about including unpredictable living things that can’t be trained easily – it would be like a cat café with a view!). There could be focus on specific areas over the period of time using lighting and digital effects perhaps.

It would be tough to recreate the weather and light of the outside of course but recall seeing Bedwyr Williams’ Tyrrau Mawr in Artes Mundi 7 at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. He didn’t win the Derek Williams Trust Purchase Award, but the work was so well regarded that the museum bought it for their contemporary art collection. Stills of it also adorn the walls of the café in our Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. His work is interesting as involves installations and direct humour (often delivered through stand-up comedy). For this work, Williams narrates a story (sometimes tragic and sometimes absurd) about the fictional, futuristic City before you, which he has nestled into the scenery of Cadair Idris (where famous landscape artists like JMW Turner have created beautiful, classical landscape paintings).

Williams’ landscape makes full use of modern technology with cgi and composited images in the form of a matte painting. It is a 20 minute, 4K video loop and a projection size of 11m! It shows the passing of time over the City and the stories within it (it is a bit like a surreal, futuristic “Under Milk Wood”!). The City never sleeps.

To view you could stand or lie on a bean bag. I felt the passing of time as I lay and observed the changing scene before me. I found it very engaging. It drew me in and inspired me, not just because I can identify with the story and the “Welshness”, but through the scene and production of the fictional City with live breathed into it.

Reflections on Assignment Five

I did enjoy this assignment (once I had worked out what I wanted to achieve). I have been tired and worn during the creation of it and think that this mirrors the experience of many at the moment, whatever they are doing and whatever they are battling with. I think this probably comes through in the paintings themselves but hope that there is some cheer and light heartedness to them. I didn’t want them to be dark or depressing. There is hope out there for all of us and staying indoors isn’t so bad… especially when you have cats!

I enjoyed using both watercolour and gouache as they offer different effects. Watercolour can be so light and delicate, fostering the reflection of light and gouache can add focus to an area, drama and depth of form. I would definitely choose to use both together again in the future and feel this is an action to take away from this course.

Watercolour (though can be washed out) is a tricky medium and mistakes can’t really be hidden particularly well. The finality of the paintings and the care needed, struck me as a really useful exercise in observation. I think I was reminded to use observational skills in composition, perspective, scale and also stepping back to see that bigger picture. It was important to get the details right in each painting as they would sit next to each other and differences would be very obvious.

If creating something like this on a larger scale I would be tempted to use acrylics with a gloss gel or retardant to make the paint stay wet a bit longer. Oils are great to use but I find the whole process with fumes, drying time and cleaning really tiring (this sounds pathetic I know, but in reality my health conditions do restrict me sometimes in doing quite simple things without getting fatigued). I am learning more about my limitations and how I can capitalise on using media that help me manage this. With oils I know that I can also over-indulge myself and over-work things. I don’t tend to do this with acrylics as I am more restricted by the drying time.

Part Five: Review of my work

I can honestly say that UPM has been more challenging for me than either previous
courses undertaken at this level. It has shaken up my practice and my thoughts
around what I like to do and what I want to develop further. It has helped me broaden
my artistic mind and learn appreciation for artistic approaches and works which
wouldn’t have appealed to me previously e.g. more contemporary, abstract landscapes and portraits.

Demonstration of visual skills: Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills

Over the course, I have experimented with a range of media through the exercises
and assignments. For my first assignment, pulling together a range of small paintings
based on photographs, the results were mixed but gave some clues about what
might work well in the future. I found it inspiring and fun to work with ink, acrylic and watercolour in washes and blots, shaping a background to create on. The second
assignment involved painting with acrylic on board and pvc. I experimented with oils
on metal and foil board and found a looseness in approach which surprised me. As
my tutor commented, I was able to ‘semi-abstract’ some of my work and she felt this
worked well for me. I have drawn more of what I see rather than what I think I see. My focus isn’t always good but I feel I have got better at noticing the right details to introduce in my work (instead of trying to paint every detail).

Jewellery, oil and enamel on foil board

Leftovers with their twins, acrylic on card and clear plastic sheet

Sock collection, ink applied with a stick, mixed-media paper

Quality of outcome: Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas

I aimed to create paintings from photographs that did not simply recreate another
‘photograph’ and put a sense of ‘me’ into them. I aim for realistic but don’t want to be ‘photo-realistic’. I enjoyed the more lonely landscapes or narrative scenes and along with my tutor, felt that this was where my strengths lay. These were the paintings I enjoyed the most and also, the ones I felt gave atmosphere, drama and a sense of memory, which is what I wanted to achieve. Not all paintings added this, so it was useful to look at them again and work out what hadn’t worked well or added anything (and remove them). Assignment two was about collecting, which is a foreign concept to me. However I did manage to adapt to this and produce something that conveyed my theme of ‘leftovers’, the lost sisters of the jewellery twins. I found the tondos assignment a challenge as it didn’t particularly inspire me with use of coloured pencils which I don’t really enjoy. I am definitely clear about what I don’t enjoy doing now – I don’t believe I convey my ideas as successfully in this situation. I have found myself thinking more about how I would present my ideas and work publicly. I find this really interesting to consider, though accept that I am not at that level of presentation as yet. For me it is currently about how I mount or physically present my work and where best to show it.

Rocks, ink and acrylic on mixed-media paper

Cornish coast, ink and acrylic on mixed-media paper

Demonstration of creativity: Imagination, experimentation, invention, development of personal voice

Exercise 1 was an attempt to try and understand what was happening in terms of my
style and personal voice. This continues to be an elusive thing for me but I can see
some things about my work emerging over time and practice. I know that I like to
paint scenes which convey a sense of loneliness or absence – often landscapes but I can also convey this through still life, which still interests me. Though I am for a realistic painting, I find painting details very tedious sometimes so am developing my scope of mark making to try and minimise this. I find it exhausting (it is a neurological
symptom of my MS so really do need to minimise this).

I enjoyed the challenge of working with buildings and cars, which I previously struggled to depict. I have also learned about what I don’t like to do or am not particularly great at – printing and the tondos did very little for me. The printing was frustrating at first but got easier. I might give it another go over time but not with portraits. I am not naturally great at portrait or figurative painting (though practice is helping0 so this was also frustrating. However I did find some of the work enjoyable, especially when about conveying emotion. I am not a prolific sketchbooker by nature but have tried really hard to be more disciplined in using my books and have grown to enjoy experimenting and exploring ideas in them. I have tried to connect my sketchbook to my work. I feel that I have a style emerging and that my works hang together more often (as if one person might have painted them). I know that I enjoy the delicacy of watercolour, the depth of gouache and adaptabilty of acrylics. I like painting landcapes and enjoy seascapes too – though need to practice these more. Though I enjoy painting from nature I need to practice this more and think about how I can perhaps abstract this sort of work to make it more coherent and enjoyable. I also enjoyed painting my cat in my last Assignment so might well do more studies of these elusive creatures in the future.

Mediterranean door, ink, watercolour and acrylic on mixed-media paper

Context: Reflection, research, critical thinking (learning logs and essay)

I feel more confident now at looking more critically at my work and assessing what is
good about it or what is not working for me. I know I should do more of what works and less of some of the things I quite enjoy. I know I am learning a lot and some of it is not easy, as it can knock your confidence. I think you need to be resilient to be an artist and I am. I have enjoyed researching other artists far more than I ever thought I would though sometimes struggle with my time around this. This has given me ideas of how I can approach my own artworks, as in my last Assignment. I try to be more focussed in my reflections and act on feedback to temper personal instinct (though working instinctively is still really important to me. Though I often wish I could attend more of the big exhibitions in the UK, it is great to see so many galleries opening up their works on a virtual basis. Just being close to original works and being able to see the way paint is laid, has been really great learning for me. I have enjoyed setting up my learning log and using it digitally (this works better for me since I have started to include sketchbook work online as below).

Landscape – North Wales, acrylic on card

Vale Seascape, acrylic on card

The future

I reach this point of my work with OCA with some sadness as after assessment in November, I am likely to be moving abroad to the US and feel I will have to withdraw. I hope to pick up my art studies again with a US university when settled. The course has shaken up my practice and made me think hard about what I want to achieve . It has also given me new skills, improved on existing skills and given me confidence and discipline to help me progress further in my development in the future.

Part Five: Exercise 5.4 – Impasto research

In addition to the written piece for Part Five, my tutor suggested looking at two other artists in addition to Van Gogh (who I did explore – though not “Working Boots”).

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 – 1938)

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435866

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ernst-ludwig-kirchner-1414

The Expressionist movement can be traced back to artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch and Henri Matisse (with influences coming from Post-Impressionism, Fauvism and Symbolism. The focus was on capturing emotions and feelings rather than producing a realistic image. Bold brushtrokes and colours were used to evoke and heighten these emotions. Kirchner was the leader of  the German Expressionist group of artists known as ‘The Bridge’ (formed in 1905). My tutor asked me to look at Kirchner’s use of impasto which was interesting as this wasn’t always apparent (especially in his later work apparently). However Girl on a Divan, 1906 (below) shows an interesting mix of heavy paint in bold, directional brushtrokes as well as a colour palette familiar from artists like Van Gogh and Henri Matisse. The figure is clear in dark lines, hand to head and knees to chest, indicating perhaps a deep sadness. I like the boldness of the lines and the way the complementary colours are used to make the picture buzz with energy. This inspired my impasto work in Exercise 5.4, when looking at the ball of paper and the banana skin.

Girl on a Divan, 1906

 

Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906)

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Cezanne

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435866

My tutor suggested looking at Cézanne’s still life’s and how he applied his paint. Cézanne used thick paint in his earlier works and earthy tones. The application in Apples, 1878-9 (below), is sculptural giving texture and form to the fruit. He produces a very realistic result through use of thick paint and bold brushstrokes. He doeesn’t need to put every detail in but suggests them in a very credible way. This is really interesting to me as I have a battle in my practice between too much detail and no detail, tighter vs looser application of paint. This continues to be something which I am working on! It is comforting to see that even these great artists adapted their palette, style and techniques as well as application of paint over the period of their careers.

Van Gogh’s ‘working boots’

https://www.vincentvangogh.org/a-pair-of-shoes.jsp

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435866

Though I did some research on Van Gogh for my essay I thought I would take a quick look at ‘Working Boots’. I noticed that he had painted a number of still lifes of these old, worn boots. He bought old work shoes at a local flea market. This is such a clever study of objects which a lot of people might not consider an interesting study at first sight. However, I think this is a beautiful piece of art. The palette is a range of greys, browns and creams. The brushstrokes are wavy, curvy, shaping the old shoes and laces perfectly. Blobs of paint and thickly applied strokes shape the shoes through the tones used and again suggest a realistic subject. I like the use of negative space between the shoes and enjoy the use of highlights to create the laces and soles of the boots.

I reflected on this in Exercise 5.4, when painting my ball of paper and reworking the layers as I went. The layers became more abstract and simple as I worked. Painting every detail just didn’t work for that subject.

Part Five: Exercise 5.4

Though tempting to rifle through bins like Philippe Starck, as this was completed during our Covid-19 “Lockdown” I felt it might be safer to rifle through my own rubbish and see what I could find.

I did some sketches of various bits of packaging and had already tackled pill packets in a previous exercise, inspired by Alex Hanna, so decided on a something sort of organic (a screwed up ball of paper), something very organic (a ‘manky’ banana skin – I can’t think of a better word) and something non-organic in the shape of bubble wrap.

Bubble wrap, screwed up paper and a ‘manky’ banana skin

I placed all three objects under a lamp and did some tonal studies in acrylic in my sketchbook and took some photographs for reference. I decided to paint these on different backgrounds and play with complementary colours. For the oils, I wanted to focus on the object itself rather than add any suggested detail of background. I also decided to make these studies a bit bigger than I’ve been used to working on of late to stretch my skills in working at different scales.

For the bubble wrap I didn’t do a study in advance but chose to experiment with a more abstract background using acrylic paint and Pebeo paints, which chemically react with paint to produce more abstract results. I used a pearlescent paint which added shine to the base for my acrylic paint. I painted out the bubble wrap, suggesting bubbles in white and grey, keeping translucency in the object. I used some acrylic pens to add some lines and colour to parts of the object. If I move this in the light, I like the shapes you can see formed by the matt acrylic paint over the shiny background… this was fun, instinctive and organic.

For the ball of screwed up paper, I did study the complicated landscape of the object created by my own strength.

Study in watercolour and watercolour pen

Study in water based oils on canvas paper. I enjoy the vagueness of this – its almost ethereal (as much as a screwed up ball of paper can be!)

I chose to paint in oils and apply paint thickly to practice my impasto and knife skills. I used a yellow ochre ground as the paper was of a beige hue. I painted the background in thick blue paint, adding darker shadows and highlights. Painting this was really challenging to me and it took a few re-workings of it in terms of adding and removing paint, before I decided I should stop (I think I could have worked on it forever just trying to get it right!).

Close up

Final piece in oils

For the banana skin, I decided again to use oils with a mix of brush and knife work.

Firstly, I undertook studies in acrylic paint and one in water based oils.

Acrylic study on canvas paper – I like this study the most as the dry brushwork is quite delicate yet there is still a contrast in light and shade

Acrylic study on canvas paper with complementary colour background

Study in water based oils on canvas paper – I like the contrasts here and some of the textures created

For the main work, I painted a yellow ground to provide a brightness and warmth to the paper. The banana was quickly turning brown when I sketched it out. I used browns, yellows, green and black, adding a purple background to contrast with the yellow. I left some of the ground to show through to highlight the yellow in the banana.

Close up

Close up

Final work in oils

Learning reflections

I am glad I chose three very different pieces of rubbish for this exercise. They were all a challenge to depict in paint. I needed to give the plastic bubble wrap some sort of character and did so via adding an abstract background to sit behind it. The Pebeo paints were a little unpredictable even though I had an idea of what I could achieve with them from You Tube tutorials. I liked the effects even though they were a little different to what I imagined. I need to remember to experiment more with different paints and combination of paint and other media, as I do really enjoy this.

I do still enjoy painting with oils as they are slow drying and I can work on paintings forever (literally as I realised to my dismay as this took much longer than planned). I have learned to vary the volume of paint in my layers and add more to bring texture or add weight or drama to the study

I spent far too long on both my oil paintings in comparison to the bubble wrap in acrylic which of course dries quickly. This is a warning for me not to revel too much in the oil work – this definitely ate into my assignment time as I tried to finish them off.

I was pleased that I undertook two thorough studies as know that I tend to dive straight in to my work. I was pleased that the studies didn’t reduce the quality of the final work (which is sometimes a concern of mine). It was a bit of an experiment to see if the studies work well for me – I think they do but it’s also fun to dive straight in sometimes but maybe develop further and not think of it as a final piece but preparatory paintings.

Painting with the knife was both frustrating and fun and I felt that I got better at it, the more I did it. I definitely remembered tones for this exercise, often screwing up my eyes to see them and often stepping back so that I could look at the works from further away. I don’t always do that as much as I should. I worked on my freestanding easel, which was better in that respect but I need to remember to rest regularly, as I get very pained when I do this for any length of time.

Out of the three, I enjoy looking at the bubble wrap the most, followed by the paper and then the banana skin. I like the background and palette for the bubble wrap. It’s really simple but interesting to look at. I think that my bubble wrap looks like bubble wrap too even though I haven’t pained over the detail.

The paper is recognisable I think, but may be a bit more abstract with its lines and shapes. I had tried to put too much detail in this initially so took some out using the knife and added some lighter tones, which made it better.

The banana skin isn’t the best one I’ve ever painted but it’s a true reflection of how yucky it was! I actually really like the first, more delicate study I did in acrylic (see above).

As in Exercise 5.3, I like the three studies pulled together as one, presented together. The warmer, golden tones stand out in each and the backgrounds are bright and I think buzz with energy. The complementary colours help. I believe that they consistently look like the same person (me) painted them. That doesn’t always happen, so am pleased that I have achieved this, even with use of different media and application.

Part Five: Exercise 5.3

I really struggled to complete the brief on this exercise as I don’t have an obvious corner or part of any room with strong light or significant change. In order to study the change in light I had to create my own conditions. As we are social distancing, I couldn’t even venture out to a friend’s house to borrow one of their corners! On reflection though and with more time, I could have found someone who would be willing for me to observe or photograph their room virtually or photograph for me. If lockdown continues much longer, we could observing other environments in that way more regularly!

Initially I did a pencil sketch of the corner to get familiar with the composition and shapes.

The first painting shows a corner in daylight with no artificial light source.

In the second (later afternoon), I introduced the lamp as a light source.

The last study is the corner in the night with a stronger contrast of light and shade.

I don’t know if the brief is flexible enough to cope with my artificial creation, but I hope it’s achieved some of the same aims. I didn’t enjoy this as much as other exercises as I had to create the difference myself instead of this happening naturally over the period of the day.

However I admit that I do like the result. I folded the first page so that I could look at all three paintings together and note the differences.

Learning reflections

Even though the brief wasn’t easy for me i was able to adapt my environment to achieve a result which may not be my most refined work, but was a useful study.

I enjoy watercolour but it can almost be a little too delicate for me. I did however enjoy using gouache for Exercise 1 so am going to experiment how these two mediums can work together.

I was amazed at the detail in Lee Maelzer’s work, in particular. I was not familiar with her work before this research. She manages to create a fascinating picture of an interior. I like her palette and the shadows and tones of the items and surroundings within the paintings.

I kept my study and palette very simple as didn’t have as much time to spend on this exercise. The contrasts in tone increase as the outside world darkens and the tones become warmer when the lamp is lit.

I did find it interesting to look at the differences over the three studies when presented together and would definitely take this approach again with a naturally changing environment. I have been struggling for inspiration for my last assignment, but thanks to this exercise, now have an idea of something I would like to explore further in this way.