The timetable on my desk leaves no room for doubt. 10 weeks to go, it says. Anxiety is starting to build, but perhaps there is still plenty of time? At least one tutor seems to think so, citing a solo show for which he made most of the work in less time than we have.
I’ve been buying more new materials: Steel plate, spray paint, Japanese paper. These will be transformed into prints.
I’ve started work on two large doorway paintings. There’s much more physical effort involved. Climbing ladders, crouching down, mixing big quantities of paint. It’s sometimes tiring, sometimes exciting seeing a work take shape. I had to take a few days off after putting down the first layer on one painting: it seemed so much better after a break. I’m used to being able to make a painting in one go; this is an entirely different way of working.
Four tutorials in the last week, and four different opinions. Much of the advice is soundly practical. Some is encouraging, some less so. I listen, consider and carry on.
We’ve begun a series of professional practice seminars. How to make the most of the show? What might lie ahead for us? That’s a question I suspect is on everyone’s mind.
A highlight of last week was a visit to Alan Cristea Gallery to see works by Ian McKeever and Sean Scully, both influences on what I’m doing now.
Back to the studio tomorrow. 10 weeks to go.
A couple of weeks have gone by since the assessment. It went quite well and I’ve had some constructive feedback which helps set a direction for the degree show. Technical quality of my work is one aspect to focus on; another is a need to start thinking about curation. Preparing for assessment involved the curation of a mini show in our spaces, but we’ll have more space and flexibility when the show comes.
I now have two large canvases leaning against the walls of my space. At 2.7 metres high, they are the largest surfaces I’ve yet made. Stretched and primed, they are ready to work on, but I’m still doing preparatory work before plunging in to the larger project. It might take another couple of small sketches before I’m ready to make a start, as my ideas for them keep changing. The main idea is clear enough, but I’m still experimenting with different mediums and styles of brushwork to see what works best.
I’m also working in the school’s printroom from time to time. Working primarily with aquatint etching techniques, I’ve been trying to find ways of making prints that compliment the paintings I’m working on.
I’ve had in mind all along a particular kind of tonal effect, but until now have not managed to produce it to my satisfaction despite trying several techniques. Today I made a breakthrough thanks to Chris, one of the tutors. A combination of spray paint and steel plate seems to work extremely well and I’ll be exploring this further, along with chine collé techniques.
The show is now less than four months away, and each week seems to pass very quickly. Work seems to be going well at the moment and I’m just hoping I can get everything done in time.
The last couple of weeks have been focussed on preparing for a mid-year assessment, which takes place today. There’s quite a lot of paperwork to do: gathering together research, writing reflections on my work, assembling tutorial reports and – of course – writing a statement.
But the work’s the main thing, and I’ve also been remaking a piece on canvas (‘Flow’) that I made on paper earlier in the year and surprised myself by finding time to make a new small painting. Those pieces are now hanging with other paintings, drawings and prints in my studio space. It’s been quite an upheaval to change a working area into a small exhibition, but it’s worth it to see the work up on the walls relatively free from clutter.
I’m looking forward to getting feedback on all this work. In tutorials much of the response has been very positive, though I often find it hard to articulate exactly what it is I’m trying to do. Perhaps it’s harder when much of the work I’m making is quite abstract.
I’ll be back in the studio tomorrow, and will start work on stretching two large canvases. The frames were built a few weeks ago, but preparing for this assessment has come before moving on to these new paintings.
I am in the final year of a BA degree at City & Guilds of London Art School. Painting is my main activity, but I also enjoy printmaking and drawing.
Our degree show will be in June, and I will be attempting to use this blog to document the journey towards it. For most of the first term I was preoccupied with my dissertation. Those were handed in a few weeks ago, and we are now free to focus on work in the studio. My mind has certainly turned towards the final show, and whereas previously I was making work more as sketches, trying out ideas, now I am much more conscious of the need to make finished pieces.
The next stage is an interim assessment, taking place in less than two weeks. I have at least one piece I want to finish before then.
Also in progress are two large paintings. I have rough ideas for how they might turn out, and have just finished building the stretchers for them. They will be a development from a large drawing made before the Christmas break. It’s good to feel a sense of progress, building on work done before. I hope I can continue this momentum until the show.
