Buckinghamshire New University

Glazed with Crimson Lake

I’m still in dissertation recovery (see the comment below the previous post) and glad to be back in the studio As part timers we now have the luxury of three semesters in which to complete our final level.

I have been working on some mixed media drawings during the last few months and armed with these and a few canvases, left over from other projects, I have eased my way back into studio work. My thoughts are buzzing from what I have learned and I am enjoying the play with paint; letting slips, spontaneity and serendipity lead me for now.

Dissertation handed in today!

(What is the Ideology of MINUS SPACE and Contemporary Reductive Painting?)

Tomorrow my only activity will be working on the dissertation. We have under a month until our first draft hand in date. It is in our interest to give in as full a draft as possible. I have my initial meeting with my dissertation tutor on Thursday and I am finding it hard to get writing. I feel I want to start in a similar way to painting, preparing several surfaces (chapters) at once and working across them in layers simultaneously building up the content. I’m definitely in the priming and small sketch phase. As with studio practice, I love researching. The more I read the more ideas I have. Got to stay focused.

First day back today and in the new studios. It is looking good with a better seminar room, drawing space, and project space. We have lost the common room and our technician is no longer based in the Fine Art dept. The technicians are in a workshop, shared by all art and design courses, it will be interesting to see how that works out. However it is good to be on the main campus, especially as it is dissertation season. It will be much easier for us to keep active in the studio as it is closer to the library and academic facilities, both physically and psychologically.

My tutor has asked me to make a presentation to level 5 students in a couple of weeks, about my professional practice. I shall look forward to reflecting on the exhibition and the blogging experience and how it is impacting what I do now.

Tomorrow I will finish painting my space and attend a dissertation seminar on

Introductions and Conclusions