As I am coming to the end of my degree course and writing the blog about my work I thought it would be a relevant time to reflect on how both have enabled me to grow as an artist.
It has been a challenging course and the modules have really pushed me and my work forward in new exciting directions, moving away from the traditional painting that I was comfortable with towards an exciting mix of contemporary ideas and different ways to express myself through painting.
Printing, etching, sculpting, making and painting large canvases, I have tried them all and found, that if you push yourself, and “go for it” you can really achieve surprising results. This has given me more confidence to ask for help or advice and if you are keen to learn new skills there will always be someone to help and encourage you through the process and it is a safe environment to try different things with no judgements for “fruitful failures” as Michael Landy described it!
Adopting this ethos I am now experimenting with different processes and mediums and by using the blog to make reflective observations, I am able to work through each stage in a more logical manner.
I already have ideas for making and expanding my figurative work.
- Painting different viewpoints of figurative forms, not just straight on but maybe upwards or downwards on the subject.
- Mounting the painted canvas in a 3D way with a raised, folded and creased surface.
- Making a conscious decision to paint a narrative into my work and not only representing a visual likeness of the subject.
All of these ideas I have discovered are possible for me because of the things I have learnt whilst studying for my Fine Art Degree.
I painted the floor yesterday, left it overnight to dry and popped back in today to set out the black metal box that I want to stand on the floor. After several moves I have settled on this and took a few photographs to add into my sketchbook and blog.
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Degree Show Space,
I have used the last couple of days to catch up on my sketch book work and do final checks on my website and print out this blog, so I can now concentrate the last day or so organising the final layout of my degree show space to maximise the visual impact of each piece whilst at the same time uniting the work on display. All the paintings are strong pieces individually but have to sit well together.
I can see now that curatorial skills are about experience and having an eye for how everything will work together and having the patience to keep moving things around until it looks right.
Assessments start on Monday!
The overall quality of the finish using the board and tape wasn’t that good. Also on Tuesday and back at uni after bank holiday weekend only to find the mountboard had unstuck itself from the window (due to the heat and sun) and someone had walked on it.
Looking at the footprints was a bit ironic as my work is about identity and exploring how adding and removing layers of paint changes the way a portrait could be read so perhaps I should put the mountboard back and see how the footprint changes how I think about the work? Or perhaps not.
Anyway, decided to go with the option of masking and painting the windows black rather than cutting and taping board back onto the window as I think it would just come away again.
I have measured and set the bottom of the acetate pieces to sit on the window at the same height as the bottom of the paintings in the space to give a sort of panoramic view, a way to incorporate them into the group.
First coat of paint and it already makes a brilliant frame for the trees outside the window.
The paint brush made interesting marks and lines with the paint in the corners.
After waiting for the second coat to dry I layered the two layers of painted acetate sheet together with tape and then stuck them to the window. The black paint gives a lovely finish to the surround, much better than card. I am glad I went for it and painted.
And here they both are in place on the window. All I need now is some sunshine to backlight the sheets!
These look and sit well within the whole composition of paintings I have hung. They also draw the window and corridor into my space making it larger!
