University Campus Suffolk

THIS IS THE LAST DAY…

…and the final touches are being made, canvases being hung, floors painted and bags moved out, all in aid of the final day.

– for me and my work i want to take some nice photographs of my art and reflect over what a three years its been, so much time and pain spent on making art and becoming an artist, which is how i feel now.

– the space we have had to learn writing skills and history knowledge and the freedom to make art and grow not only as a person but as a creative mind.

I am an artist.

there was definite doubt before and even if i graduate and get a job as a restaurant manager, teacher or nurse, a part of me will always be an artist, because of this degree and this journey in my life and for that i am grateful.

This last image shows me with my work, and i couldnt be happier!

The last day of preparation is tomorrow and there is just the finishing touches left to do. I am happy with the composition of my work on the wall in my space, and I have completed the labels and now my sketchbook also. The top image is that of my current work hanging on the wall, there is a gap in the wall and i am currently hanging new pieces in the middle!!!!! this will draw eyes to the middle and then out…

i had a few empty pages at the bag of my book so for the last time in my university degree I got out my paints tonight and filled the pages. In hindsight it was a beautiful moment leaving the studio today knowing tomorrow only had tidying up and painting the floor in store, only!!

Looking at at my body of work the reaction between my pieces is a strong one I believe and the theme of natural materials versus my manipulation of them is clear. For me at least…

…My journey through finding and exploring new materials and mediums and the surface I’m on has been more than exciting and one I hope shines through within my assessment.

weve just been asked to print off our project proposal from the beginning of this project and reading through it has helped me see my transition and how even from when I created it in December last year my ideas changed so much even over christmas. I had forgotten how much I focused on bright colours last year and how now I see them as a distraction from theme or texture.

These are some points i am reflecting on now the degree is almost over…

– I had planned on looking into the weather but i felt that if i had a main focus i wouldnt be as free to explore my feelings in relation to my art as i would be constantly refetrencing them to the weather, hence why i left this project to be purely process based and about my progression and the art itself, nothing else.

– in some ways i think my work does resemble rain and wind, and my relationship with the paint is similar to this hardship also, the struggle to fight something so fluid and wild, yet the end result so beautiful.

– im very happy that from Twombly to Innes my artist research aids my journey through colour and texture. i have moved from bold colours and little depth to my work, to deep layered mixed media pieces with tonnes of texture but still manage to be intriguing and pleasing to view, something i love within art, finding something unsually beautiful.

– my palette is a big part of my work hence why the photo on the right named Palette Gallery, shows the main ones i saved this year, always on a small scrap of paper or card because this way it is inevitable that all colours and added textures (sand, tea and coffee) get involved and mixed with the paints, i hate a clean neat working area! it has to be messy and rough.

– this is the first tme since ive been at uni that ive felt confident in my work being commersial yet interesting and classed as Fine Art.

I thought it might be helpful to write a post voicing all my ideas about how my work will be hung. It’s one thing to have a firm decision on what you want hung but another thing entirely to then hang it!

Should all four of my canvases be one below the next?

should they be in a horizonal line?

Is there actually a correct order or way to hang?

light before dark?

I think this debate also invites you to question your work and why it is viewed in a certain way. This led me to the realisation that my work has turned rather minimal. and that my first view to have a messy studio inspired space has changed to a clean cut white space, this making my work more isolated and professional looking.

i think this is a mature change in the way I was planning on doing things.

The last decision to be made is that of my middle space. As the photo shows there is a big gap in the middle and ideally I have left it there to have a small framed piece of one of my palettes. The palette itself is very textured and detailed and I really like it but the positioning of the frame is the tricky part as I don’t want to distract from my canvases. The reason behind me wanting the palette as part of my show is that it shows my ideas, my thoughts and the start of each major piece, (included will be a small threaded book of all my palettes I have managed to save through this term) and they are the beginnings, and the work is the end.

the other idea i spoke to one of my tutors about was that of having some smaller experimental pieces in the middle which is still an idea im working on, it would look like a journey on the wall which as ive mentioned before is a big part of my project, the visable path i have travelled along.

A nice linear theme.

After hanging my work I have been thrilled with the outcome and think that the idea of having a clean white space and clean floor has been a success as oposed to my idea of a paint filled floor. This now reflects my newer fresher work and the journey i have taken.

To do list is shrinking slowly but there is still work to do and the end result I’m hoping will be how I have been imagining it.

The last two weeks have been all about making and choosing work for assessment and the degree show, and boy has it been hard. I feel even in the last month my work has changed and progressed to more exciting pieces. My goal of having four canvases on the wall is becoming more of a reality than I had first thought and this is comforting.

I have continued to use a varying list of mediums in these newer works, always welcoming new textures to help show diversity in interests. The degree show, I hope, will show my relationship with the paint and the water and all the different aspects of my art and the joint journey we have taken. I’m still unsure as to a few things within this project…

…is there a strong enough consistency of work?

…and can the journey be seen in my work?

These are all questions I ask myself when working, and Grit, the top image here is a prime example of when I first started feeling confident with this show of work. I have worried that although I can feel that the changes in my work are present through my sketchbook and this blog, I hope others see it too. The mix of textures shows my exploration; the colours used show my personal choices, but the remains of bleeding paint and the shallow areas of faded colour, show the urgency of my work, of the paint, of the running coffee through the surface, and this is what I want to portray; the intimate relationship between me and the outcome.

Grit, was made to analyse the impact of layering materials and combining contrasting elements such as tea and coffee (both fine almost bitty substances) and running paint and water, and captured the narrative between them as they react with each other. The colours are very natural and almost plain, as to not distract from the earthy elements of the materials used. In fact this has been one of my favourite things about this piece, the sand coloured background has perfectly highlighted the delicate textures of the tea and coffee and chalk. Yippee.

In all honesty it was from this point onwards that I spurred into action and started making larger canvases for the degree show. Whereas I once believed that my work benefited from working on paper as the fluidity was more visible, the canvas had surprised me by holding the paint better than I thought!! It is because of this that I have decided to hang my canvas works but frame my paper works as to highlight the most important pieces in my anthology. I also think this shows my journey and progression well as I started off on small paper, moved to larger experiments and have ended up on large 3 foot canvases.

Technique and process make up the whole essence of my project and this is seen throughout my studio space every day. My work is erratic and fast moving, which is why I don’t spend a massive amount of time in one go making work, it doesn’t work for me. My attention span is smaller than that of a child which I’ve found to sometimes be a small hindrance in my work but mainly it has forced me to leave my studio at times when maybe I was overworking a piece just to feel like I was doing something.

This can be seen in White Space, where I unlike normally, had an idea of what I wanted to achieve; a large white space (hence the name) with minimal dripping and intense smaller areas of focus.

niki de saint phalle shooting paintings were a big influence for me here with there minimal subject yet sharp process and striking drips. Untitled from Edition MAT 64 as seen on the right is one of my favourites as it highlights the strength of single forms in an abstract pieces and the clever use of bright colour as a main focus.

With this being less time consuming than usual it was created pretty quickly which left me feeling unworthy of satisfaction; it was as though it was too quick to be good. Something I’m sure was an overreaction. I’m very happy with White Space, but I think it did unlock a few feelings I have towards my work and the way I work and maybe how others view it…

…quite a thought provoking day for me.

My work has evolved over the last year from landscape based printing to abstract textural works using natural materials and multi media influences. I have found great inspiration from the outside world and the things I can use from out there, for example bricks, sand, tea and coffee to name just a few. Technique has also been a major part of my art, with dripping, scratching and spraying water all stages in creating my most recent and exciting work.

Subject – abstraction, colour and the relationship between me as the artist and the medium I am using.

I have always focused on the act of painting and how there is a strong relationship from when I apply the paint to the canvas or paper to the moment in which the paint dries and the moment is captured forever. I have felt that there is an emotional link between me and the paint. I came to a realisation a while a go that my art is about the medium escaping, and the drippings I so often use show the urgency to get away and/or run from me (so to speak). This I like to link to my techniques and this makes my art strongly about process, technique and capturing the purest moments of paints journey.

Technique – the main focus alongside process for me in the varying techniques I have explored this year.

Dripping, I like to see as my signature trait, is a constant that runs through all my art (no pun intended). The remains are the trails of paint, sand mixture and water in most cases that show traces of a journey. I have always enjoyed making and viewing minimal simplistic art that focuses on colour and texture but this term I have brought everything I can do together, to create stronger and deeper art.

This combination of paint, sand, tea, brick and other natural materials alongside my new rustic and more mature palette, has made me a better artist, and from combining the relationship I have with the paint and the emotional links I have to my art and I have never been more confident or happy with this work.