experiements – Page 4

The perils of having a domestic goddess for a fella

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Green, Holidays

I won’t have to pluck up the courage to ask my fella to extend my Weight Watchers subscription for another 3 months, he’s got eyes! I’d like to blame stress, but my fella’s Victoria sponge making ability and the jelly bean dispensing machine I have learned to break into are the real culprits. As always, sugar is my downfall, and when it comes with cream, light-as-air cake, and a knob-turning contraption, I can’t get enough! But when I bent down the other day and the button on my shorts went flying, I knew it was time to dust off my WW app once again – that time being next week of course.

My outdoor Anam Cara School of Drawing got off to a good start, but then the gazebo blew over and it started to rain, so I had to move operations indoors, which, for some reason, bought it all to a grinding halt. Instead, I painted cats all week.

When cats pop up in my paintings, it is usually a sign I am stressed about something. True to form, I did have an external stressor this week. Not that I mind painting cats, I love those fluffy little menaces, and painting them is a real pleasure, hence why I do it when I’m stressed. Here’s my favourite from this week.

As relaxing as painting cats is, I have a paper to research and write, and an indoor drawing school to attend, so I better start carving out some real time for these two must-dos, or I will have whittled myself to a nub by the end of summer with only stack of cat paintings to show for it – not the worst outcome in the world, but doing my masters is a one time deal and I want to make the most of it.

Week 30 experiments

Process Deep Dive

Monday, 12th June

No.75 – Just trying out some more lace ideas with this one. I love the horse and the lace, just not together.

Tuesday, 13th June

No.76-77 – More lace experiments. I’m definitely not keen on the lace directly on the animals/figures. The palette is really coming together.

Wednesday, 15th June

No.78 – I love this frog, and prefer it to the one above. I definitely prefer creatures etc to be suggestive of something, rather than explicitly so.

Thursday, 15th June

No.79 – I love this painting too. I like the lace here, as it looks like a covering, rather than directly on the creature. I also like how weird the creature is.

Friday, 16th June

No.80 – I painted this on the last day of my first year of my masters. I feel like I have made real progress with the figurative paintings, and I’m loving every minute of it.

Sunday, 18th June

No.81 – I absolutely adore this painting, and have called it “Colin the long-legged guinea pig”. I’ve begun adding Indian Yellow to the palette, and love what it brings to these paintings.

Let the good times roll!

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Holidays, Week in Review, Workshops

This week I reached the significant milestone of completing the first year of my masters. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone, but I have definitely made the most of every minute. I now have 3 whole months for summer break. That I get to spend the summer at Anam Cara is a gift beyond measure. Though it won’t be all lolling about, as I have my research paper to write, paintings to paint, massages to do, and sandwiches to make for my fella.

When we were first considering renting Anam Cara (aka paradise by the sea), I regaled said fella with visions of romantic strolls on the beach, and sandwiches. We’ve managed a few strolls, but he’s yet to see a sandwich. It’s time.

Speaking of walking on the beach. I made a few trips to the Point of Ayre this week, to visit Kyle, Jason, and baby Harold, and guess what, Harold has a sibling, Izzy. I wasn’t able to get a photo of all four of them together, but I did get this lovely shot of Harold.

On one of my treks to the Ayres, one of my jandals broke, but some good old Kiwi ingenuity soon fixed that. As good as my repair job is, their days of getting me to the foghorn and back are sadly over, so they shall now spend their retirement as my studio boots.

I’ve been painting my little heart out this week, and have made further progress. My favourite thing I painted was of Colin the long-legged guinea pig.

My last workshop for the year consisted of listening to Spanish poetry and drawing. I’d actually done the course in the first term, but it was so good, I decided to repeat it. I’m glad I did, as it was the perfect end to what has been a wonderful first year.

I’ve loved all the workshops I’ve attended this year, especially the drawing ones. They have helped me both loosen up and grow in confidence. So I don’t loose the momentum of the course over the summer, I shall be attending the Anam Cara School of Drawing. My idea is to spend my afternoons drawing en plein air (fancy for outside).

To aid me in my endeavour, my sweet-hearted fella bought me a gazebo, so I can sit outside to my heart’s content, even in the rain. Naturally, the gazebo will double as a drinking den in the evenings.

Week 29 experiments

Experiments, Process Deep Dive

Monday, 5th June

No.65 – This painting felt like another breakthrough. I can really see the potential in this kind of work. Painting bigger definitely allows for more detail. This is a very exciting process. Sea underpainting.

Tuesday, 6th June

No.66 – This is a sea-painting on canvas (30cm x 30cm) – just trying different things. This type of painting takes well to canvas, which is good.

No.67 – Another sea-painting (on paper). Rather than paint an entire big painting just yet, thought I’d do close-ups of certain aspects. Again, I like the amount of detail that can be used in bigger work.

Wednesday, 7th June

No.68-70 – These were some unfinished small paintings I had lying around, so I finished them off. I like aspects of them, but it’s definitely more enjoyable painting bigger.

Thursday, 8th June

No. 71 – This is another painting I had lying around. It was initially of something different. The only part I liked was what is now the octopus’ head – so I kept that and painted out the rest and added the tentacles. It was pleasant to paint.

Friday, 9th June

No.72 – I spent the morning at a pre-op appointment with my Mum, for her hip replacement, so I painted this in the afternoon. Rather than a sea underpainting, this underpainting was done by spraying seawater. I love this painting. I’ve often thought that the white in these dark paintings look like bone. The lace overlay is another breakthrough – I’m thrilled it looks great with these paintings. I will definitely explore these two elements (bones and lace) in the coming days.

Sunday, 11 June

No.73-74 – In these paintings I was exploring the lace overlay further (minus the bones), I absolutely love the results. I especially love how the underpainting shows through, giving the effect that the lace is see-through. There’s a deep connection between lace and the sea for me. I also think it adds a mystical aspect to the paintings, plus it is a pleasure to paint – so it’s a win all round!

Everybody needs good neighbours

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Green, project 1, Project 2, research paper, Week in Review

I have new neighbours, Kylie and Jason and their little baby, Harold. They live in the Point of Ayre foghorn. I realised Kylie and Jason had a chick a couple of evenings back when I heard him squawking inside a hollow in the foghorn. Then last night, my fella and I saw Harold for the first time, it was beyond exciting. I wasn’t able to get a photo of Harold, as we didn’t want to get too close, but here is some footage I managed to get of Kylie and Jason last week.

The painting breakthroughs kept coming this week. A distinct style for the green paintings is emerging, and I love it. I feel like I have been given a small glimpse of what the paintings can be, and although I take nothing for granted, and realise there is still a possibility I can’t pull them off, I have reason to be hopeful.

The main focus again has been painting bigger. With the drawing practice I have been doing, it has proved much easier than I thought it would be. It’s also far more interesting painting bigger, as it allows for more detail.

To help with the bigger drawings, I bought a ginormous sketchbook, and so far I have found drawing big just as easy as drawing small.

I have also started a daily reading discipline, without which I would never get through all the books/papers I have to read for my research paper this summer. Don’t feel too sorry for me though, as this is where my reading discipline takes place.

Week 28 Experiments

Experiments, Process Deep Dive

Monday, 29th May

No.53&55 – With these paintings, I was seeing what it is like to paint out some of the marks with black. These didn’t have the sea underpaintings, hence they are a little wooden. Still, I like aspects of both, like the knickers on 55, and the detailing on 53.

Tuesday, 30th May

No.54 (something went awry with the numbering) Just another experiment, trying different things.

Wednesday, 31st May

No.56-57 – I decided to take a break from the the green/figurative paintings. As I mentioned before, I’d like to develop these into landscapes. I am very inspired by the walks I have been taking in the Ayres this week, of which this type of painting is a product of. The idea etc., still has a way to go.

Thursday, 1st June

No.58-60 – these are experiments for another idea I have had, which includes interiors with patterned wallpaper. This idea is still at an early stage. As with the landscape paintings, these are a nice break from the figurative ones.

Friday, 2nd June

No.61 – here I tried the landscape type painting on canvas. I definitely think this kind of work could develop into something beautiful.

Sunday, 4th June

No.62-63 – back to the green/figurative paintings, which is a pleasure after having a wee break from them. Just trying different things. I’ve added phthalo green (blue shade) to these, and really like the results. The y also have sea-underpaintings, which makes them more dynamic. I came to the realisation this week, that if I want to paint bigger I have to draw bigger. So, for the paintings, I’m going to try painting particular aspects on a larger scale (such as the eye above). I am delighted with the amount of detail you can add when you paint bigger.

There’s a reason my nickname was dumb-Beck

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Painting, Week in Review

My favourite uncle coined the name, not to be mean, but simply to describe what he saw in front of him – a little girl who regularly failed to comprehend the bleedin’ obvious. It was an affectionate nickname that also happened to be true, and now and then, continues to be so. Case in point, this week it finally dawned on me that if I want to paint bigger, I’ve got to draw bigger. Instead of doing this, I’ve been scratching out wee drawings in my wee sketchbook, hoping that when it comes time to paint on a big canvas I’ll magically be able to paint bigger.

Armed with this realisation, I gessoed (applied base paint that makes it easier to draw on) some A4 sheets of paper this morning, and rather than squishing multiple things onto a small page in my sketch book, I drew one thing on one sheet of paper. Currently, I am drawing hares, and I’m pleased to say, that drawing them 4 sizes bigger was no trouble at all.

I also decided to apply the same reasoning to the painting experiments. However, instead of painting a whole picture on big pieces of paper, I thought I would concentrate on painting particular elements on medium-ish pieces of paper (such as the eye below). The hope is to get better at the individual elements and eventually start piecing them together on ever bigger canvases. The great thing about drawing and painting larger things is, you can add more detail.

The weather on the Isle of Man this past week has been absolutely glorious, which has made being at Anam Cara nothing short of heavenly. My fella and I have been taking long evening walks to the Point of Ayre lighthouse, naming all the landmarks on the way, such as:

Speckled-ridge Highway (the pebbly beach leading to the lighthouse).
Smugglers Cove (a suspiciously abandoned jerrycan and buoy near the cliff edge).
Last Chance Rise (the last place you can leave the beach and ascend the cliff to the lighthouse).
Lovers Lookout (a discarded set on concrete steps that lead nowhere but provide a glorious vista looking back to the hills surrounding Ramsey).
Little Rock Cafe (a patch of ground between the heather that is scattered with little pebbles)
The Corryvreckan (a spiral like feature in the landscape that you have to circumnavigate, named after the Corryvreckan whirlpool off the west coast of Scotland, which, incidentally, George Orwell nearly drowned in 3 months before he finished 1984).
The Devil’s Garage (an abandoned concrete structure that looks like a car mechanic’s pit).
The Badlands (a wide, barren area with no vegetation but plenty of donut marks, of the car-wheel variety).

There’s other features too, but those are the main ones (or at least the ones I can remember). Naming them has made the walk a lot of fun, and it also makes me feel safer when I do the walk on my own, because if I come-a-croppa, I’ll be able to call my fella and he’ll know exactly where to find me. Though I don’t suppose telling emergency services that I’ve taken a tumble at the Devil’s Garage, between the Corryvreckan and the Badlands is going to be very helpful.

Walking in the Ayres is very inspiring, and I always have lots of painting ideas (most of which outstrip my current abilities, but I’m working on it). Having the walk right on my doorstep is, apart from meeting my fella, the most fortunate thing ever to happen to me.

Week 27 experiments

Experiments, Process Deep Dive

Monday, 22nd May

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.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.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.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 – 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.

The bear went over the mountain

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Green, Research Project, Week in Review

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.

Week 26 Experiments

Experiments, Process Deep Dive

Monday, 15th May

No.26 – I really like this image, and think it would be a good way to paint Mrs Quick for the Thames flood painting. I like the idea of her having a young face behind a mask with a crone-like nose. I think I will also paint her with an old, gnarled hand, perhaps hanging over the bed.

No.27 – this is a sea painting. I like the dynamism the sea marks give the painting, and I love the eye.

Tuesday, 16th May

No.28 – I love this painting. It too has a dynamism from the sea that is typically absent from my paintings.

No.29 – I really like this one too. Again, it just emerged from the marks left by the sea. It is definitely a helpful starting point for the type of figurative paintings I want to do.

Wednesday, 17th May

No.30-32 – These weren’t sea paintings, but I did use quite a bit of water. Just little experiments.

Thursday, 18th May

No. 33 – I love this one. The sap-green paint doesn’t do well in the sea though.

Friday, 19th May

No.34 – I really like this one, especially the contraption. Again the sap-green went funny in the sea. I want to have phalluses in my figurative paintings, though not as explicit as this (more as a fertility symbol).

Sunday, 21 May

No.35-36 – Interestingly, these two are not sea paintings and, as such, have lost the dynamism of the others. I really like some elements of them, but they are a bit over-thought and rigid.

No.37 – I also painted this during the week. It is handy painting things like this when I loose the thread of the figurative paintings – which happens quite often. I’d like to keep developing this kind of work.