Starting this to record notes on two paintings begun in 2017 early summer. Canvases measure 1.2m x 60cm approx and have been primed with oil primer.
Will use these entries to try to formalise the thought processes with the view that the direction of the making of the works is documented and contributes understanding for the outcomes of the artworks.
Image is older work, titled Weiterbauen, oil on canvas, 2015.
For the past nine months (in fact since I had a show of figurative paintings from photographs at N’s Yard) I’ve spent the time returning to older smaller unfinished paintings. Different animals to the work in the show. One day it occurred to me to revisit one that wasn’t impressing or forgotten about and then more started to shout out for more work and attention too. Ive found I had more than ten paintings I have re-worked and I am now coming the end of this ‘re-work run’. It has been interesting for me because the stakes were pretty low in my expectations to make them into something.
It gave me lots of leverage to work through a playful building up of imagery and finding time to allow for forms to emerge.
The paintings were totally cold at resumption of play and I felt like a trouble shooter (or asset stripper) as you sort through what needs to be done, usually making a confident restart and covering the rubbish bits straight away.
Towards the end of working on them last few months (for many of them) I became locked in, to the subtle colour changes, throughout the motions. Without hooks or stories, I became interested in the forms and relationships and I am still unpicking them with eye/mind etc.
Best intentions yet work and technology have kept me away from here. Nevertheless, will resume some kind of commentary along with images that hope to appear to here
This is current among a few paintings and is oil on board think 50 x 60cm approx. dims. Status result of many sessions. Been trying to push the layering thing, lots of application and scraping. Colours choose themselves, there is often negating what is on there when I start a new session, hence the busy information on the surface. Some techniques I’ve used before to kickstart it, using ways to create new lines and shapes without intentionally choosing those lines and shapes. Still cant get rid the thought to purposely make a De Kooning painting, as if there was someone waiting for someone to write a manual ( there is a YouTube clip on how to make a DK painting). I have been enjoying the viscerality of this process and that is what I remember of his work, from first time seeing his paintings at the Norman Rosenthal curated RA show from 94. Don’t think his painting ‘February’ was in that show, but is a big favourite and would like to see hopefully one day.
In the painting process I have going there is always a sense of trying to leap onto something, and I don’t read much painting theory etc but it always floats back to the idea of exploration, which sounds naff and aimless but is something more. It is about the composition, the values in or of the composition. I always thought time based media (meaning Film at College) should have been the name for painting actually.
Another thing is the oils thing, which is such a different kettle of fish to acrylics etc, I’m completely set into that come in the next day to find out how rubbish yesterdays effort was, despite convincing yourself it was great and finito.
Why do people paint using spray paint in their oil paintings? There is so much to contemplate with oil yet sprayp. is the street, so has a place in the paint but kills it I think.
I suppose I do paint until the thing is lifeless, or paint the life out of it. Or, is it the chestnut question how do you know it is finished? Then do you really mean to return with poetic answer.
Abstract, abstraction, given up thinking about what this means at the moment I think it is just a hashtag for something I can’t grasp.Titling works just seems a sign for me to stand under the doorway with the bucket of custard waiting propped up on top. Untitled is just tiring.
There is no real intention for this work or rather the objective is most of the time unclear in these kind of paintings but still I am compelled to make marks or perform something with oil on them. An older painting I made that was in the Creekside Open a few years back was called Talk Partner, and is still a good title and reference for the activity.
This is the first work in progress oil on canvas, current status.
Begun end of June 2017
(Canvas was primed with PVA mixed medium then I used oil primer for the first time)
Before the priming a number of drawings were made to try to work through what I wanted to do. (Will eventually upload these)
I’m beginning to question the importance of the start of a work. Looking back on older works that have been completed the gap measured by start and end points is mind bogglingly vast in whatever terms you measure it. Whatever the intention is, I think the element of fear and trying to be brave by entering the space of the work by applying marks on the stark surface is there. It quickly fades though, like the sensation of temperature on the body entering the swimming pool.
Making drawings for the purpose of having specific visual information for the paintings is not something I have really done before.* By this I mean, getting close to what used to be called technical drawing at school, measuring, working out of scale, background areas, figure relationships and so on.
*(Common previous studio habits; collection of temporary material, cut-outs from the daily, 10 second things of the mind, a mesh of marks on paper, a colour combination, a snippet from electric media etc that sits next to wip, but also aiming for the work to give itself what you will do- another issue)
After priming, some intense drawing with pencil on the canvas started, getting the overall structure down. This was pleasing to do because you can judge if the measurements you made were right, but it was on my mind how the measuring stood up to the fluidness of oil paint. In other words how controlled was I going to be in obeying to the demarcation of the different areas with oil paint, once colour and consistency of this was agreed upon. Thinning out allows you to see the plan underneath.
Ive run a blogspot before;
the dusty looking ‘word of hand’ www.nickspowell.blogspot.co.uk
and was useful for some while to chart progress and territory for art activity; mostly painting, but drawing and mixed media. Posting on it tailed off because I had less time to write about what was happening at the studio. Instagram and other social media are go to places to post work now without need to write notes etc, which is what the blog became, just posting work in progress.
I think it is accepted as an artist writing about your own work is tricky (various shades of cringe factors, think that’s why statements are written by others or written in third person) but diary approach is probably right in this context. The standpoint assumption is that you are operating in doubt always, or should be.
Another reason to write this is I left Art school with BA FA in 98 and always harboured aim to do an MA but not happened or may never happen. I am more que sera sera about this now for all those reasons out there. But i think the bit about trying to locate the context for your work is a blind spot for me now as it would be part of that MA practice.
Another one is obviously some people would read this and its the relating to the common ground.
Lastly trying to be a better artist by being reflective is probably a goal here too, (aesthetics aside) Lost count of those paintings lost to the layers, but feel that is for next post.
Photos of work in different places at the moment so will get organised
