Maggi Hambling
I started looking at Maggi Hamblings work not to long ago in relation to what I am doing at the minute and with her visit soon I thought Id look at her work a little bit more.
While looking at some of her paintings it made me think about whether I am trying to paint an actual seascape or whether I want to paint much more abstract parts from within a seascape. Much like Maggi Hambling’s Wave Crashing, 2007 or Rolling Sea, 2010.
I have attached the link to a video on youtube, in which Maggi Hambling talks about her wave paintings and how she started by going to the beach near where she lived and making sketches of the sea and the waves. I think for me to improve this is something that I need to do. Instead of working directly from memory I could take my own photos and create my own sketches to work from alongside working from memory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDxvcx03c38
http://www.marlboroughfineart.com/artist-Maggi-Ham…
http://www.maggihambling.com
I spent the morning in my studio space today, I started off by testing some acrylic colours in my sketch book and oil paints onto a small canvas board.
Like I said before, for me to progress I need to get out of my sketch book and paint on a larger canvas, which is what I ended up doing this morning. I wasnt sure how I wanted it to look when it was finished as I wasnt working directly from an image. I was still pretty much experimenting but on a larger scale, although I knew I wanted a painting that looked slightly abstract that kept in with the seascape theme. I wanted to create an atmosphere within the painting by building up texture and layers of paint.
I think by creating more work on a larger scale like this (instead of working in a small sketch book) I will improve on my techique and learn what works well and does not work as well. However I am really pleased with how this painting turned out!
Lately I have been spending more time in my studio space experimenting with different ways of applying paint and experimenting with acrylic and oil paints. I have been using my sketch book for these experiments and to try out different colours together before applying them onto canvas.
I find working into a sketch book is good for testing colours, however my brustrokes are ristricted by the size of the sketch book and I think this makes them look less effective. For me to progress to the next stage within my work I need to get out of painting scenes into a sketch book and start working on canvas and increase the size I work on. Mainly because an idea I have had for my degree show work will be to have paintings on a large canvas and I want to start trying this out soon.
I am currently still experimenting with colour and texture. I have been using acrylic paint to see how I can build layers of texture and the different ways of applying the paint, so that when it comes to painting on a larger scale I will have some idea of how I will paint.
The images on the right are from experiments in my sketch book, where I have been using paintbrushes and palette knives as a way of applying the acrylic paint.
Paul Bennett
This is an artist that I have been looking at recently. Paul Bennett specialises in semi-abstract paintings and unique portraiture, Bennett relys on drawing from memory to create his abstract works and this is something I can relate to as a lot of the work I create is made from memory rather than copying directly from an image. His abstract landscape paintings are what I am most interested in as I find his use of colour and texture most interesting.
Bennett’s seascape artist statement:
‘Oil paint is the medium that plays a big part in capturing the essence of a faded memory and lends itself nicely to the way I paint. It works well when applied thickly and can create great depth when worked into the surface sparingly, which leaves previous layers partially exposed. The paint is applied in this way to give the artwork itself a narrative and history, where the process of its creation can be glimpsed at in places – not dissimilar to the way in which the memory deals with the hazy recollection of a place once visited.’
So far I have only been working with acrylic paint, however I want to start experimenting with oil paint to try get more texture within my paintings.
http://www.paul-bennett.co.uk/
