I had an idea to raise funds for our L6 Degree show – Soup n Roll. I thought that Andy Warhol wouldn’t mind me borrowing his Campbell’s Soup Can image. I found an old 5 gallon oil drum and painted it and stood it outside my house.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Soup, Oil Drum, Acrylic paint and paper. 50cmx30cm dia.
Oh and everyone that came along and supported the lunch were amused by the can and we raised £185.
I have a great respect and admiration for the great Old Masters and Contemporary artists who have painted large canvases with large areas of intricate of pattern. In particular I am thinking of …. Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, Gustav Klimt and The Kiss 1907, Ingres painting Madam Moitessier 1856 and more recent artists, Sonia Delaunay and Chris Ofili.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 180cmx120cm.
I will have to take a step back from this work now and contemplate. It needs more work. As you view the painting your eye travels around it taking in the different patterns and shapes but as the sofa and turban are plain not patterned your eye does tend to rest there. I think this could be where more pattern could be added onto the sofa and cushion but not necessarily colour and the same with the turban. More thought and I will return to this later. I have more ideas for work that are compelling me to begin.
Next part to work on is the head and turban. As the original photograph I based my work on has blond hair dressed into a bun, I looked for examples on the internet and found a very beautiful Nigerian female with a turban style head dress and worked from this.
Several days and re-thinks later I am reasonably happy with her. I will revue this when I have painted in the robe, it may need to be patterned as well!
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, part of larger work – 180cmx120cm.
Now onto the main pattern area of the robe. I have never worked over such a large area of repeating pattern. Taking advice from my tutors I have started. Sketching in the bold areas to work on first and I’ll see how they look. If ok, I will lay down the first colours and work on balancing everything so that it works together.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, part of larger work – 180cmx120cm.
The final stages will be to add highlights and shading to add balance. I am finding it challenging to mix the colours exactly the same in the repeating pattern of the robe as I work from the top down towards the bottom of the kimono.
