On 8th Feb blog I listed some ideas on how I thought I could explore the direction of my work further. One of these was to “wrap” a canvas and tear away part of the wrapping to reveal the canvas underneath. I made a small video of myself (you can only see my hands, but its me!) trying this and here it is……
I liked the way the strips of paper I tore away formed a random pattern laying on my desk so I took a photo of that as well. It is an unplanned outcome of making work that was pleasing to me.
Residue of the process of tearing away parts of the paper wrapping layer. Photographer Kathryn Raffell
And here is the finished work on the studio wall…..
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Ripped and Revealed, Acrylic on Canvas, paper and string, 40cmx50cm.
Moving on from covering the original canvas in a dark colour I wanted to explore if the effect and narrative of the image changed by using a white to partially obscure the original portrait. When I started to paint over the first one it felt to me as if I was veiling the image not blocking as I had with the darker colour before. It seemed to give a softer description to the first one.
After sanding the white away from the features, particularly the eyes, the impression was one of gentle observation of the eyes looking out.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Ghost, Acrylic on Canvas, 40cmx50cm.
However with the second canvas I started over-painting from the outside edges towards the edges of the face and the effect was totally different. The impression was of a face trying to peer through the part not over-painted. The white was acting like a barrier, or wall, that was being broken through from behind the white layer. The remains of the face was peering through. It gave an unsettling feeling, as if the image could move to observe the viewer from a different angle. I almost wanted to carry on and paint the whole surface.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Untitled, my original over-painted work acrylic on Canvas, 40cmx50cm.
Outcome of these pieces of work:-
- I need to hang these on the studio wall and contemplate how, and if, I will rework or add, subtract from the canvases.
- Question if I want to continue to explore in this manner
In response to these “month in the country” photographs, I made these pieces which are three previous abandoned canvases. The portraits were not quite as I wanted them to be at the time but are ideal to experiment on now, to see how the different layers of paint covers the surface and changes the feel and expressions of the faces as I sand and reveal them. It is a process that I am liking very much but I must be careful not to sand everything.
The photographs below show the “after” effect of sanding the canvas surface.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, all untitled pieces, acrylic on canvas, 40cmx50cm.
The photographs below are the original paintings before I transformed them with overpainting and revealing parts of the canvases.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, all untitled pieces, acrylic on canvas, 40cmx50cm.
Moving on to the next painting I sanded back to reveal the face underneath.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Acrylic on Canvas, 40cmx50cm
And then I sanded a bit more……….
……… and I took away too much of the expression in the eyes.
Unfortunately you can’t start again so I will put that one down to experience.
This piece of work was a commission where four photographic prints were hired and hung for a month in Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.
Extract and photographic images taken from Cornford & Cross, published by Black Dog, 2009 page 132-135.
After the month whitewash was applied over to glazing, obscuring the images, trapping the image within the photograph and they said this transformed the prints into abstract conceptual objects.
Extract and photographic images taken from Cornford & Cross, published by Black Dog, 2009 page 132-135.
If you have never been to a 1st Thursday I thoroughly recommend you give it a go. It’ s free and is held every first Thursday of each month. My tour started at Whitechapel Gallery, picked up a map of all the galleries around Brick Lane. I dropped into several galleries but the two mentioned below left the biggest impression on me. The first stop was Gallery SO where an exhibition of Simone Ten Hompel ‘s precious metal pieces. I felt drawn to his explanation of his work “traces have a notion of someone having been there. Traces convey memory…” which I thought could equally apply to painting as a painter leaves brush marks that capture how the marks were made and the movements made holding the brush.
I came across an artist on a recent trip to London called Karina Vettorel and a moving pieces of her work called The Closed Hearts which she describes as being made during an emotional moment of her life and represents her own closed and wounded heart.
Karina Vettorel, 2015, The Closed Hearts #1, Oil on Canvas, Size (H x W x D): 63 x 49.5 x 4 cm. Image taken from her website at:-
http://www.karinavettorel.com
I was drawn to these two pieces and thought that my work was similar in the covering and layering process.
Reflecting on her comments about why she made the work does make me think that perhaps I am exploring the covering and uncovering in my work as a way to test my abilities to express how I feel about myself through the art that I make. I certainly question why I feel compelled to explore and make the work that I do.
