I’m looking at the gap between random and meaningful.
Where is the point where meaningful becomes random?
Text is one side of the point -> what is on the other side?
Recently I’ve been drawing blind – is this on the other side, or is there still meaning enmeshed within it?
My next step to try and break down an image til it becomes meaningless.
What might this ‘gap’ look like?
This last thinking phase has nearly swallowed me whole.
I was doing things the wrong way around, trying to work through my pile of things that need organising before painting and therefore getting very little painting done. (Talking about the last 5 days, but surprising how a few days of working in an unproductive manner can get to you)
The gap between random and meaningful marks. Concentrating on texture and surface as a considered part of my practice. The possibility of building up layers of pigment, with the pigment forming a textured surface is really exciting. Working intuitively again and less pre-determined than recently.
I’m considering work by Kwang Young Chun (http://chunkwangyoung.com) – I’ve recently visited the exhibition at Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Cork St, London
12 March – 17 April 2014
I stumbled upon it and the parcels (triangular) are wrapped in Mulberry paper (hanji) with Japanese script on. Discovering this was well-timed with the texture and script.
For today’s painting I decided to try again with the wax resist writing and then do a complete wash of colour over it.
An interesting result of using a small house painting brush for doing the wash was that it created horizontal lines going across + drips. Then, as I worked down the paper I wiped away some of the (drip) mark with the brush.
I worked over this with charcoal writing (eyes closed), and would have carried on to the bottom, except Kate mentioned that I should take a look (at the point the writing stops). I had been talking earlier about not wanting the result to be as balanced (and neutral in my view) as it often turns out. Too balanced = not exciting.
The other thing I find about stopping 3/4 of the way down, rather than going right to the bottom is that attention is paid to the underside of the writing, which I think is quite elegant and beautiful.
At the end (after dripping yellow, red and brown) I decided to add white drips finally, to link the first white wax marks to the ending.
The last 2 photos of development of ‘tuesday’ painting.
In this painting the first stage of writing with white wax (want to write without seeing the results while writing) doesn’t show up by just dripping watery acrylic over it (wax resists in places but doesn’t add up to much).
My aim is for the drips to provide a frission/ contrast to the writing.
Marks found on a wall on the way to the railway station in Abergavenny.
Catherine Wynne-Paton is a practicing visual artist whose work is informed by an interest in text resonant with particular places and people and is creator of The Lost Library which has appeared at The National Eisteddfod of Wales, Fringe Arts Bath, Deptford X Fringe, The Wrexham Open and MainSpring Arts. Wynne-Paton studied Fine Art at Hereford College of Arts, received the Meadow Arts graduate prize, was the first Print Shed artist in residence and received PEAK micro commission for new work. She is a founding director of Framework Herefordshire, set up in 2014 to support emerging artists through exhibitions, talks and opportunities for skills development. She has curated graduate exhibitions PaperFields in London and Hay-on-Wye. She sat on the Jury for the Hidden Gems grant scheme, delivered by Herefordshire’s a Great Place that brings together the arts, heritage, rural communities and the creative use of digital technology. She has an enduring interest in curating the work of, supporting and creating networks for artists working in rural and remote areas, which led into creating an archive of conversations she has with artists in written and videos formats.
