Kathryn Raffell,2015,Acrylic on acetate sheet, 30cmx40cm
Working on the larger acetate sheet I sketched faces and then I have used a scapel on the first layer on the lighter areas of the face scratching them off, just leaving the opaque acetate showing.
I repeated this on to the darker painting and scratched away the areas on this one that would be highlighted if painted. It gives a very Picasso, angular shape to the face.
Kathryn Raffell,2015,Acrylic on acetate sheet, 30cmx40cm
I painted two more faces but this time I tried to lay down marks and shapes. Concentrating on brush strokes to suggest the faces structure and not complicate with detail. This is very difficult for me to do as I want to keep adding and adding in features and detail until the spontaneity of expression is totally gone.
Kathryn Raffell,2015,Both acrylic on acetate sheet, 30cmx40cm
From these expressive faces I have moved to trying this on something larger. I want to show my sketch book as part of my assessment work and need to think of how to display it. As the tables in the studio are not in the best of condition (having had paint etc spilt on the top by students) that I thought I would cut a large square of the acetate sheet and freehand something figurative that connects to the large canvases and here it is…..
Kathryn Raffell, 2015, Acrylic on acetate sheet, approx. 75cm sq.
As I want the top of the table smooth and not to scratch the painted surface, I turned over the sheet so that the painted side was underneath. Not sure I like the finish this way though. It is also difficult to add layers of paint if you view from this side as you have to paint the foreground down first and gradually add in and finish with the background and as I taped the sheet to the table top I couldn’t keep turning over to see the layers going on.
To move this work on I am making another similar size work and see how the last piece informs how I paint this one. To be cont’d.
