University Campus Suffolk

John Constable

Whilst recently visiting the beautiful countryside of Dedham/ Flatford, I thought it was essential to look at the work of traditional English painter John Constable. Constables traditional style although not similar to mine, is of huge interest to me. The landscape in which he is known for is the land which I have currently been working from and the works which I intend to have in my degree show. The beautiful land definitely did not lack character or enthusiasm and this is certainly documented in the work of Constable.

Born in East Bergholt, a village on the river Stour in Suffolk, Constable is a perfect contextualisation for my degree project. Being able to visit and work from the scenes that he did, made me able to strongly relate and feel the vibrancy and power of his works.

In his youth constable would regularly embark on sketching trips around the Suffolk countryside, soon which was to become the subject of a large proportion of his work. The Suffolk landscape in his own terms;

“made me a painter, and I am grateful”, “the sound of water escaping from mill dams etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things.”

This quote above is something that I can relate too. The sounds that you hear around you whilst being present in the landscape are inspiring.

From studying the works of constable it is clear that his works hold substantial detail, however, I found some images in the book I was reading that I can see huge similarities to my own works. They are more zoomed in scale works and concentrate on more of the land rather than the mills and machinery around the area. The amounts of detail included is still of a spectacular standard however heading towards more of an abstracted appearance.

The images on the left are what I have really been looking at closely. I think this can be seen when starting to look at and working on my final pieces. He has been influential in many ways even though his time period is not contemporary. I think that it is important to have a range of time periods of landscape painting as it can be used in a timeline sense beginning to look at the changes as we advance in technology. More depth and research on Constable can be found in my notebooks.

I have really enjoyed studying the works of John Constable. I think this is predominantly down to the land I have formed a connection too, as he did. I have seen myself showing similarities to constable in many ways over the past weeks whilst experimenting and although this has been accidental I think that Suffolk countryside has been the reasoning behind this.

Interviewing myself- analysing my own work

Is your work coming together?

Yes I feel like my work has really developed over the past few months, contextually as well as physically. This is because I have begun to unravel my thoughts and the emotional relationship that I have with the landscape. This has been through walking and connection to the landscape as an artist.

Do you think that controlling your work on a smaller scale had helped this progression?

Initially I did not set out to create small pieces of work. I simply wanted to experiment with different techniques in my sketch book. I found myself really becoming attached to adding layering, texture and detail into the works. It now has become an obsession where I am looking at the different ways I can build up the presence of the landscape, starting with a mixed media approach.

You have gone on to create larger scale works with the same techniques and styles. Do you think this is working as well as the smaller ones?

A lot of the larger ones are unfinished and although they currently lack expression which the small ones ooze, I see potential within them. I am currently still trying to find ways to create similar effect onto the different types of material such as wood and canvas. The more I work on the small ones; more ideas come forth to be used on the larger scale.

Is there a prominence of the pathway in your work?

Without realising it to begin with, many of my pictures depicted the pathway that is seen in many of my works and images. I think it is expressing the interesting demand of the landscape that I am inspired by on my walk. It is the dominance within the landscape I walked through. It led me from begging in to end, aiding my photographs subject. The pathway was a journey itself.

Do you think you will repeat the walk more?

Yes I think it will be really interesting to either repeat the walk at the same time every day and see how the weather affects it, or take the same lap of the park every hour of the day and watch the light and shaddocks change. This is something that I plan to do.

Are you going to do any drawings or work in the landscape?

Yes I also would like to go to the park with my sketch book and paints and just paint from the flesh, from the feeling of the moment. This will almost definitely create a different effect from working from a photograph.

What do you think your work is currently portraying?

My work predominantly is gathered from the walk I take and the feelings that I perceive whilst walking. I take a picture when I feel that a connection is formed and when I feel something interesting in front of me. The walk is something that I want to increase as well as look at other routes and repeating them and I think this will lead me to look more at light and shadow within the landscape. I do feel as if my work is formed with the presence of the environment.

How do you see your degree show progressing? What’s your vision?

My plans of the walking side are stated above. I do think increasing the amount I walk and what I take in will have a profound effect on my work. I see my degree show consisting of 2 large scale mixed media works, supported by a wall of small scale intricate detailed works, expressing the landscape in my own way. This may change, however at the moment this is the direction my work is heading.

At the Moment : Progress

Over the Last few days in the Studio I have been looking at backgrounds and different effects on paper and started to recognise them together to begin making collage works.

•Mark Making techniques include:

•Merging the paint colours together

•Working with a sponge to create effect

•Scraping paint with cardboard

•Using the paintbrush to blend colours together

Some of these techniques have also been used collectively