WORKING AT HOME
Taking stock of what I might put in to my assessment. At last I’m starting to understand ‘abstraction’. Left it a bit late but still just time I think.
As the computer suite will be locked for the Bank Holiday, decided to bring some paint home and start a self-portrait and rework a couple of paintings. At last it’s warm enough to work in my studio in the garden.
Have been rereading Water and Art by David Clarke. 2010 Reaktion Books Ltd. London It means so much more to me now than on the first reading last year. Researching my dissertation changed my understanding of ‘artspeak’ . .Particularly liked ….
‘one begins to feel that the wateriness of medium and the wateriness of subject are starting to contaminate one another – one becomes aware of a double wateriness to the image but at the same time finds that it has become hard to think of these two senses of water separately’ ( Clarke : 46 )
LATER
Well I’ve now adjusted 2 paintings and also made a new one – an underwater self-portrait. This one is planned to be hung at the entrance to the installation which in itself is a kind of self-portrait of how I feel about water and life.
LONDON LIGHT
Saw the ‘Light Show’ at Hayward Gallery today. Can quite see why it’s received such rave reviews !! Found it very useful for ideas for my own little installation show. Less is more…as my tutors have been saying. So it’s back to the editing suite tomorrow. It’s hard as I’ve taken so much footage but have got to be brutal and pare it all down to what really matters. That way it’ll have far more impact.
lots of ideas after today at The Hayward Gallery. Must be really careful to keep it simple when dealing with the space
‘Becoming Picasso’ again at the Courtauld. Spent more time there this time and interestingly noticed his brightly painted outlines inspired by his reference to Van Gogh. It reminded me of my latest attempts. I’ve been outlining bits of my paintings with deep turquoise or red lines. I must have subconsciously picked up on that aspect before.
Matt showed me how to take out a ‘still’ from my videos. Think I may use this to create an abstract image of Kate swimming. That section is really good but doesn’t ‘fit’ with the video installation. It might make a good subject for a painting though. Something my tutors have suggested in the past.
PS the Hayward Gallery website to see the ‘Light Show’ is well worth a visit.
GETTING SOMEWHERE
The Waterfront has been lurking at the edge of my mind for some time and at last I’m engaging with this. Already made 2 paintings and now working on a 3rd. I’d like to attempt a really large canvas but may continue for a while on several smaller ones until I’m sure about how to represent it.
Work on the installation is continueing. The clip I posted yesterday was just to reassure myself that I still remembered how to do it but today I’m posting an example of the underwater clips which I’ve edited into a sequence for the Degree Show.
Most of the clips are a bit more interesting than this but I’ll save them for the show. Just wanted to post a taster on the basis of ‘use it or lose it’. Have to keep practising my newfound technological skills !!! sorry if it’s boring.
An example of clips to be used for Degree Show
THOUGHTS AFTER 3 YEARS
Have added a video, just because I can ! Developing computer skills has been one of the big pluses of the past 3 years.
Am looking forward to doing the video installation for the Degree Show. With Matt’s help I’m going to play a video loop on the ceiling and 3 or maybe 4 walls of the black space. Have spent ages joining, adding effects, slowing down; generally editing the clips. I’m not going to put them on here as they’ll look better when they’re full size on the walls. Now researching how to treat the floor to give the illusion of walking into a watery world. I’m hoping this will complement my paintings of watery themes.
My painting, I think, has evolved quite a bit. Still nowhere near where I want to be. But isn’t that the fate of any artist? The idea in your head is always just out of reach.
I’m still aiming to create more abstract images but not entirely at the expense of meaning. It’s a difficult balance. Have developed a strategy of starting from a figurative image and then breaking it down;abstracting from this until the image becomes a ‘painting’ in it’s own right.
