This week I have been trying to get out of my comfort zone – Realising what paint can do and enjoying the experimentation and interaction of my process.
I have had an image on my phone, I have been wanting to use for a long time – a photograph of my stretched open mouth with a sore in the corner. I think this image held such a fascination with me because of the artists I have looked at- Jenny Saville has commented on her interest in where the body breaks open – where outside meets inside. Bacon too had commented on the mouth and the teeth in his work.
I drew from the image – experimented in pen and ink – practicing the form before creating a larger image. Really getting to know flesh and my subject is a large part of my project.
My first large response to this image was unplanned and spontaneous. I had a larger piece of paper stapled on my wall with an study of my body from a mirror. Areas of my body were repeated in this image and from the positioning of two arms a Rembrandt/Soutine/Bacon- esque carcass was revealed.
This image sparked an urge in me to over lay a large gaping mouth – I combined oil paint and water based ink. I wasn’t concerned with longevity just with replicating the breaks in the skin with breaks in the paint.
I worked on the paper to remove the preciousness that comes with canvas. Paper also draws the moisture out of oil paint changing the paints fluidity and in turn language. I found the traces of my movement were transcribed in the paint differently.
I’m planning to create a few more experiments surrounding this image as there was something in this painting that excites me and compels me to see what else will develop. At this point in my project I feel it is more to do with natural progression and letting go of habits than trying to force a finished painting.
