No.42 – I started using a new technique – applying random marks on the paper, then spraying water on them, and letting the images emerge organically out of the marks, then painting into them. I love the results.
No.43 – I love this little painting.
Tuesday, 23rd May
No.44No.45No.46
No.44-46 – Some experiments using the same same technique on a lighter ground. I’ll keep experimenting with various ground colours, but so far I prefer the dark ground.
Wednesday, 24th May
No.47No.48
No.47-48 – more experiments, with less and more drawing respectively. I feel there is quite a bit of scope for these paintings.
Thursday, 25th May
No.49No.50
No.49-50 – these are heading more in the direction I want to go, its getting the balance between form and abstraction right. I love the palette of these.
Friday, 26th May
No.51
No.51 – This was my breakthrough piece this week. I love everything about it. I want to continue exploring this kind of painting, with the grand aim of scaling up.
Saturday, 27th May
No.52 – I thought I take a break from the figurative paintings this weekend, and instead explore this lace-bubble technique further, which is for a different project. The more opaque centre-right bubble was done with an a gel-pen drawing underneath, the rest were painted directly. I much prefer the latter. The aim of the experiment is to see what the lace-bubbles look like covering the entire surface of a painting. Unfortunately, the underpainting of this one isn’t very good, as I rushed it, and the paper doesn’t suit this kind of painting (which is much better suited to fine-grain canvas/linen), still, it will give me an idea of what the coverage looks like.
I had a painting breakthrough this week, which is always a double-edged sword. On the one hand there was a huge sense of excitement and relief, like I am finally getting somewhere and all my previous hard work on this particular project appears not to be in vain. On the other hand, it’s like the bear in the children’s song who reaches the top of the mountain, and what does it see? Another mountain! That’s exactly how it felt, I was momentarily thrilled at the progress I made and the paintings I produced, but I was soon brought back to earth when I realised how far I still have to go to achieve the paintings I want to.
The paintings I did this week are just little snippets of what I hope to be much larger paintings. Scaling up is no easy task, and when it comes to figurative painting, I am yet to manage it, but I will surely to keep trying. One thing is certain after the week I’ve had, the drawing discipline I started at the beginning of the year is definitely paying off.
I’ve also been busy this past week writing the overview of my research paper, so our tutor can see what we intend to write about and give us feedback and guidance. I decided to do mine on the Ars Moriendi, the medieval dying how-to-manual that I mentioned in my last post. It hurt the old brain cells to do, but it was definitely worthwhile, as I now have a clear direction for the paper, which will make it much easier to write over the summer. I actually think I’ll enjoy writing it, as it is a fascinating subject, and has already sparked some interesting conversations with friends and family.
You can read my overview here if you have the time and/or inclination.
In other news, my fella and I have decided to make a documentary about Ann’s story. To begin the process, we had a pre-interview meeting with Hampton Creer, the author of “Never to Return”. It was such a privilege to meet him and his lovely wife Joy.
I absolutely love his book, it is beautifully written, and is a page turner from start to finish. It was also very special, because it was from his book that I first learned about Ann and was inspired to do a painting about her. We had a wonderful time talking all about penal transportation and other aspects of Manx history, such as witches. Once the TT races are over in a couple of weeks, my fella and I will return and interview him on camera.
bexODESSA 