In the future I will continue to work on large canvases, but maybe not quite as large as 2m x 2m as this size is very inconvenient to transport. I will continue to work from the unconcious and attempt to tap into the primitive part of my brain. I will experiment with different colours to express different moods and with using varnish which i have been meaning to experiment with but haven’t yet tried. I would also like to try using graphite powder in my paintings. I will attempt to paint in the dark, following on from Cy Twombly’s experimentation and see what the outcome is for me. It is very difficult to predict the progression of my work when it is an intuitive practice but I can only hope that it will continue to improve, especially in terms of immediacy.
I intend to see more exhibitions in London which are relevant to my art practice. Unfortunately the artists I’m interested in are mostly exhibited in New york and other parts of America. The search for British artists with similar techniques and concerns continues. I would also love to visit some of the caves in France where prehistoric paintings are present. It would be amazing to get a first hand experience of what it’s like inside the belly of the earth viewing ancient works of art from our first homosapien ancestors. It blows your mind when you think of the 40,000 years between us and them. I’m told it is an experience one never forgets. I would be interested to see how my work developed after such an experience.
In image 5, I have Added some more grey emulsion paint to the papiermarched areas and flicked some paint in the central section.
In Image 6, I used oil stick in blue, light blue and white to draw lines curling around the painting. The oil stick accentuates the texture of the underlying paint layers.
In the last image I filcked magenta onto the painting. I think this adds a finishing touch.
When I first looked at the painting I could see a waterfall, now I see a ghost rising up with his hands stretched out looking at the chaos and thinking, “I guess thats just life”.
This is the other piece of work I have been working on using old canvases. In the first image i have put a layer of grey emulsion over the previous paintings and I have then wiped some of the paint off with my finger.
In the second image I have flicked poured and painted onto the canvases with some blue and white emulsion paint.
In image number 3, I decided to use a wash of an orange/red oil paint watered down with turpentine. I also added some papiermarche to the square canvas in order to create some continuity with the other canvas which already had some papiermarche on it. I sprinkled some sand on to some areas and then I added some more grey paint over the top.
In Image number 4, I have added a magenta and blue oil paint wash and some blue emulsion lines. I have used turpentine to rub of some of the previous washes and uncover some of the previous paint.
process continued in next post……
looking back over my blog I can reflect on my creative process. My art essentialy comes from somewhere inside of me and is an attempt at expressing raw emotion. I have written about some of the prominant artists who have attempted to create paintings which express their feelings in a way that links us into the primitive part of our brains.
This is maybe a reaction against the alienation we experience in life when we are detatched from nature. It is an attempt to access something real. It is a state of mind that I attempt to achieve whilst working whereby anything which is hidden can be brought to light in the artwork. the pencil marks can highlight different mind states some meandering and thoughtful others sharp and agressive. The paint has a different effect whether it is applied with paintbrush or fingers or agressively thrown onto the canvas.
My work is more about the process that the finished effect although that is also important and I have to make judgement on where a painting is or isnt working. I have done alot of research into the psychology of art and aesthetics and this has been interesting in terms of why we feel the need to paint and what happens when we are the observer of a piece of artwork.
Many people view their art as a kind of retreat or sanctuary. I’m not sure about mine. I think that my artwork is a nessessary struggle. It sometimes feels like a sanctuary but other times it is a real mental challenge. It is just something I have to do.
My paintings have got larger and the painting style has become more free, I have started to spend less time on my paintings, leaving them in their primitive state. However the piece which was made out of old canvases is different. This is because the structure of the canvases and the texture of the paint from the previous paintings meant that I had to approach it in a different way, and it has become more busy like my previous work. I have another of these to finish.
Writing my Dissertation and my blog has helped with my art work, The theory I have learned has shaped my art practice and the blog has forced me to reflect on my work, this is an ongoing process which is by no means finished.
