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.
I had a very productive week in the studio, and am finding my feet with the figurative paintings. I am still very much at the experimental phase, but am slowly discovering the kind of paintings I want to make.
Here are two of the paintings I did this week. I like them both, however, the one on the right has an underpainting that I made with the sea, and I think it adds a greater sense of dynamism. I definitely think a dynamic underpainting is the way forward. I don’t like figurative paintings that look too finished or realistic, except for the eyes.
The main focus of the course at the moment is the research paper we each have to write. I haven’t got much further than a vague notion of a topic, death. So far I have been looking into memento mori (a medieval artistic convention designed to remind people they will die), memorial art (which is right up my alley artistically), or ars moriendi (a medieval instruction book on how to die). Not very cheery, true, but death is a topic I am very interested in, both as a painter and a mortal. I will to have to pick a lane soon, as we have 1,000 word overview due next week.
I actually had a dream last night about doing my research paper on the Ars Moriendi. The book is from the mid-15th century, and instructed a person in how to have a “good death”, which basically consisted of letting a group of angels and demons battle it out for your soul on your deathbed, in the hope that your soul (which was depicted as a mini-you that popped out your mouth when you died) got to go with the good guys. The likelihood of that happening depended on answering a series of questions. Didn’t get the questions answered in time? Sorry, that’s eternal damnation for you! The book was wildly popular throughout Europe, and peasant and king alike were subject to its teaching.
One of the woodcuts from the Ars Moriendi.
My sister was on the Island for a few days, which was lovely. We had a family bbq at Anam Cara on the Sunday, and I showed them the Ann painting. It made my tender-hearted sister cry, which was either a sign that the painting is beautiful, or the Eurovision hoolie at my brother’s the night before was too much for her. My fella did me proud and didn’t burn the sausages, and made the most glorious Victoria sponge, which almost made me cry. Below is the only photo we have of the whole event, but to be honest, I reckon its the thing we’ll all remember the most. It was a damn good cake!
Thankfully, we did manage to get some photos of us all when the gang popped out later in the week. We had a lovely time just sitting there chatting, and marvelled at the fact that we were still sitting there chatting after all these years.
My fella is in Rotterdam for work this week and I miss him terribly, not just for his cake baking abilities. Though, it would be reason enough, as I had a go at a Victoria sponge and I don’t know what kind of WI witchery he used in his, but mine came out flat as a pancake. Still, the jam and icing has made it edible.
It was a beautiful day on Friday, so I decided to spend the afternoon painting with the sea. Similar to the rain paintings from term 1, I put blobs of paint on various pieces of paper and canvas, and then then let the sea swish it about. I then painted and drew into the marks left by the sea. The results so far have been really promising, and I am keen to experiment some more with this method.
The reason I was able to paint with the sea, is I am now the proud owner of the most marvellous art-supply trolley (courtesy of my fella), that I can fill with everything I need and wheel outside nearer the sea, which saves me wandering inside to the studio every 5 minutes.
I attended an excellent workshop (notes below) this week, called “Joy Division into Research into Practice” with Clem Crosby. It explored a creative and organic way to approach research, sort of following a line of thought and being free to see where it takes you. I’m so glad I did the workshop, as I have been struggling to find a topic for my research paper, and it gave me an alternative way to approach my dilemma. I shall apply what I learned and hopefully come up with a good topic.
Also this week, instead of drawing horses, I have been drawing chairs. They are very enjoyable to draw, though some are obviously easier to draw than others. I love the aesthetic of chairs, and think they are very satisfying things to look at. I could go on and on about them, but I think it best I eke out my chair babble over the coming weeks, so as not to bore anyone rigid.
As well as drawing chairs, I have also been painting them (as below).
All in all, it was a very productive week painting-wise. It is amazing how much more time I have now that I have finished the Ann painting. Hopefully, with this extra time, I’ll be able to really develop the paintings for the Confluence project. Oh yes, and it was my birthday this week. It looked set to be one of those middle of the week, non-descript ones, but with a few visits from friends and family, some beautiful, thoughtful gifts, and my friend’s first chick of the year being born on the same day (to be named Rebecca, but it was a boy, so they named it Geoff) it turned out to be one of the loveliest I’ve ever had.
bexODESSA 