I’m in the penultimate semester of my degree, and I’m relegated to the sofa, wrapped up in blankets coughing and sneezing everywhere with some kind of icky virus. These few days out of the studio (I’ve been in the studio 8am til 5.30 most days the last 4 weeks) have given me a chance to get some more research done and reflect on how the last four weeks have gone so far and where I might be going with these projects.
As part of my magical realism research I have been reading novels by authors such as Ben Okri, Angela Carter and Isabella Iande. I have also been reading texts about magical realism, I think I am trying to create my own version of magical realism painting. In one of the texts I have read about magical realism they described the authors as trying to draw out a way of resolving the contrasting threads of identity in the time and place which they live, the continued conflict of myths of their traditional culture and the legacy of colonialism.
The practical work I have been doing so far has been based around the landscape, since I wrote my proposal for independent study I have found myself more and more fascinated by the landscape of the UK and my memories of the landscape. I have always had an interest in local myths, legends, archaeology, ancient places such as Stonehenge and Avebury amongst others and festivals such as Sunrise, the Green Gathering and others which have workshops and talks on the ideas of the druids and the pagans. I think these experiences and ideas are influencing my work and this is something I need to consider further. Perhaps the influence of magical realism is to think how am I creating my own version of magical realism, as it seems the in a nutshell explanation of magical realism ’magical elements presented in a realistic setting’ barely scratches the surface of what magical realism actually is. (hm i think i just sorted my crit essay proposal)
At the moment I have an ambition to create a painting which at the audiences first glance it seems like quite a traditional landscape, yet as they get closer or look further at the painting all kinds of faces and creatures arrive in their sight, and once they find one they keep on looking until they have found so many they look at the painting and no longer see ‘just a landscape painting’ but a vibrant mixture of characters and creatures which pull on the attention of the eyes around the painting.
I think this idea is influenced by my fascination of the ‘accidental’ images of creatures and faces that can be found in patterns on walls, floors, silhouettes of trees and the way the bed sheets are in the morning, and I have been taking lots of photographs of these as I find them, and doing some drawings and frottage rubbings of these.
I began an experiment into creating a painting which would fulfil this ambition on large 180x150cm canvas a few weeks before I started back at uni, and I have been working on it ever since, it possibly has a day or twos work in the studio left on it before its finished. I began by using photographs I had taken in the summer to create a composition through collage which I then printed out and drew onto the canvas using my memory of the place and the collage as reference. I then have spent time painting using all the painting techniques I have learned over the years. I have chosen not to ‘put’ these creatures and faces in there, instead I have been finding them in the way I have painted the rocks and the trees which mirrors the way I find these creatures and faces in day to day life.
Along side this larger painting I have been making other smaller paintings exploring other ideas relating to the landscape, these paintings are in the very early stages of their development.
I’m looking forward to getting back into the studio to get on with painting once I have beaten this bug. I love making paintings so much and having such a large bright studio to work in is such a pleasure, its a little scary knowing i’ve only got 7 months at uni left!
