Wednesday 13 April 2016
Terry Setch - Flowers Gallery, Cork Street
http://www.flowersgallery.com/exhibitions/view/terry-setch-reduced-to-rubble
Seeing this exhibition inspired me to take the materials I used in my work further. Setch's works are paintings of texture in which I found myself becoming absorbed by. Closely studying their surfaces and then admiring their entirety as a whole. The combination of earthiness and plastic and wax resemble a section of the ground. They are rather striking in size and each one is very dominating with their bold textures and high relief.
I really enjoyed this exhibition and wanted to use some of these methods and materials for my final piece.
http://www.flowersgallery.com/exhibitions/view/terry-setch-reduced-to-rubble
Seeing this exhibition inspired me to take the materials I used in my work further. Setch's works are paintings of texture in which I found myself becoming absorbed by. Closely studying their surfaces and then admiring their entirety as a whole. The combination of earthiness and plastic and wax resemble a section of the ground. They are rather striking in size and each one is very dominating with their bold textures and high relief.
I really enjoyed this exhibition and wanted to use some of these methods and materials for my final piece.
Wednesday 6 April 2016
Polystyrene Oil Prints
This is a painting I did inspired by Astrup's 'painterly' prints. I used polystyrene and scratched marks into it, then layered on oil paint and press it onto acrylic paint. It was an interesting experiment and it worked better than I thought. It relates back to my original idea of painting using different materials. I based it on a close-up photograph I'd taken of something with a lot of texture. The way I framed it in the painting is meant to make it look like a landscape, however I think it would have been more successful without the purple round the top right hand corner. Maybe I will crop it when I stretch the canvas….
I also like the outcome of the pieces of polystyrene show below; maybe I could use them in an artwork…?
I also like the outcome of the pieces of polystyrene show below; maybe I could use them in an artwork…?
Howard Hodgkin - Time and Place
I decided to look at Howard Hodgkin because I thought his prints were relevant to the work I was doing. The book on him, 'Time and Place', says that 'we intuit the time of making individual marks, the moments of decision, the speed of execution… what we discern of its (the artwork's) evolution prompts thought about the dynamics of memory in retrieving experience'. I understood this as, we, the viewer, are able to make out the artists feelings in the painting/of the scene, by the colours, direction of brushstrokes, overlays of paint, and brush marks. Using these clues we may decide how fast the artist created the painting, which perhaps gives us an insight into their emotion at the time (impulsive? relaxed?). As explained in the book; 'complexity of the surface is a necessary condition for the representation of complex emotions'. For example my chalk pastel drawings were more impulsive, and you can tell because the marks made are fluid and continuous, whereas in the lino prints I did, the marks are rigid and restrained. It is up to the viewer what they then think of the atmosphere and emotion that lies within the landscape and the painting.
I was first drawn to look at Hodgkin because I thought his work was visually similar to mine, however after reading about his work I realised it was contextually similar as well. He uses texture to provoke deeper meaning to a scene he has painted, which compares to the way I have used texture to suggest how I feel about the familiar landscapes in my paintings. This may not be apparent to the viewer, however, the paintings are ambiguous and what the viewer might see could be different to what I see, therefore making the landscape personal to me, and also personal to them.
'The site itself had been transformed by encounters that were particular to the artist'; when you have a sense of a place that means something to you, you want to depict it in your artwork. In order for a viewer to gage what is going on, the artist must give a sympathetic response. This is why I chose to paint/print/draw the natural landscapes from memory, because I wasn't just copying what I saw, but trying to draw out some feeling that might be aroused by imagining the countryside scene in my head, thus being more sympathetic.
In the two top pieces bellow, Hodgkin uses the wood as part of his paintings, I think this is an interesting idea in relation to my work because I have been working printed textures of wood, so maybe next I will work over actual wood.
I decided to look at Howard Hodgkin because I thought his prints were relevant to the work I was doing. The book on him, 'Time and Place', says that 'we intuit the time of making individual marks, the moments of decision, the speed of execution… what we discern of its (the artwork's) evolution prompts thought about the dynamics of memory in retrieving experience'. I understood this as, we, the viewer, are able to make out the artists feelings in the painting/of the scene, by the colours, direction of brushstrokes, overlays of paint, and brush marks. Using these clues we may decide how fast the artist created the painting, which perhaps gives us an insight into their emotion at the time (impulsive? relaxed?). As explained in the book; 'complexity of the surface is a necessary condition for the representation of complex emotions'. For example my chalk pastel drawings were more impulsive, and you can tell because the marks made are fluid and continuous, whereas in the lino prints I did, the marks are rigid and restrained. It is up to the viewer what they then think of the atmosphere and emotion that lies within the landscape and the painting.
I was first drawn to look at Hodgkin because I thought his work was visually similar to mine, however after reading about his work I realised it was contextually similar as well. He uses texture to provoke deeper meaning to a scene he has painted, which compares to the way I have used texture to suggest how I feel about the familiar landscapes in my paintings. This may not be apparent to the viewer, however, the paintings are ambiguous and what the viewer might see could be different to what I see, therefore making the landscape personal to me, and also personal to them.
'The site itself had been transformed by encounters that were particular to the artist'; when you have a sense of a place that means something to you, you want to depict it in your artwork. In order for a viewer to gage what is going on, the artist must give a sympathetic response. This is why I chose to paint/print/draw the natural landscapes from memory, because I wasn't just copying what I saw, but trying to draw out some feeling that might be aroused by imagining the countryside scene in my head, thus being more sympathetic.
In the two top pieces bellow, Hodgkin uses the wood as part of his paintings, I think this is an interesting idea in relation to my work because I have been working printed textures of wood, so maybe next I will work over actual wood.
Bibliography
Hodgkin, H., Smiles, S. and Stanley, M. (2010). Howard Hodgkin. Oxford: Modern Art Oxford.
(Howard Hodgkin prints 1977 - 1983. (1985). London: Tate Gallery Publications.)
Lino Prints and Oil Paint
The lino prints became more successful once I had worked into them with paint. There isn't necessarily more texture, but the scenes are more dynamic than they were before. Also, you could argue the backgrounds are based on the texture of wood, so the idea of texture is still there. I worked from my original photographs of the Suffolk landscape (without referring back to them that closely again), and allowing the lines from the prints to abstract the shapes I painted.
Lino prints
From looking at Astrup's painterly woodcut prints I wanted to do something similar. Using lino I cut out textures from close-up photographs of wood. I tried to make them as 'painterly' as possible by adding a lot of colour. The thick ink gave a really nice effect to the two whiter ones bellow. The other two prints I laid on the ink less thickly, and they weren't as successful, especially because I was trying to create texture.
In the bottom right print I placed the two different prints on above one another to see how it would create a landscape. I wanted to bring this idea of looking at textures close up, back to my original theme of landscapes. It did indeed create an interesting, abstract landscape, however I think I should work in to some of the prints with paint to develop the textures where there aren't many.
In relation to Astrup's woodcut prints, I think the marks I made are similar to the marks he made for bark/wood. I'm glad I went to his exhibition because it moved my project forward and I decided to look at texture textures closer up. This is when I thought of using the textures to create strange landscapes because the pieces I made are quite ambiguous, so I thought it would work well.
From looking at Astrup's painterly woodcut prints I wanted to do something similar. Using lino I cut out textures from close-up photographs of wood. I tried to make them as 'painterly' as possible by adding a lot of colour. The thick ink gave a really nice effect to the two whiter ones bellow. The other two prints I laid on the ink less thickly, and they weren't as successful, especially because I was trying to create texture.
In the bottom right print I placed the two different prints on above one another to see how it would create a landscape. I wanted to bring this idea of looking at textures close up, back to my original theme of landscapes. It did indeed create an interesting, abstract landscape, however I think I should work in to some of the prints with paint to develop the textures where there aren't many.
In relation to Astrup's woodcut prints, I think the marks I made are similar to the marks he made for bark/wood. I'm glad I went to his exhibition because it moved my project forward and I decided to look at texture textures closer up. This is when I thought of using the textures to create strange landscapes because the pieces I made are quite ambiguous, so I thought it would work well.
These are some of the materials I used to smear, blot and drag paint across the canvas (metal and wood) in order to create textures. Looking back, there isn't much variety in my choice of materials, but it came down to what I could find lying around. I could have taken this further, but for the three paintings I used them for it worked out ok. By limiting myself to using pieces of wood/metal, it meant I could be more experimentational with depicting the landscape, and therefore further abstracting them. Dragging the paint using wood worked quite well because it gave a simple, raw effect, picking up the grain of the canvas.
I think my favourite painting is painting 3 (refer to first post) because it has the right balance of simplicity and texture, whereas painting 1 is potentially too busy, and painting 2 is perhaps too simple. Also, the angles/perspective along with the rough bits on the right in painting 3 give depth to the flatness of the image, which contrast nicely with each other.
I think my favourite painting is painting 3 (refer to first post) because it has the right balance of simplicity and texture, whereas painting 1 is potentially too busy, and painting 2 is perhaps too simple. Also, the angles/perspective along with the rough bits on the right in painting 3 give depth to the flatness of the image, which contrast nicely with each other.
Tuesday 5 April 2016
Nikolai Astrup exhibition, Dulwich Picture Gallery
Nikolai Astrup is a Norwegian artist who also painted landscapes that he knew well. What I was most interested in at his exhibition was the way he painted textures and detail. I took some (bad quality) close-ups of some of his paintings. The colours and marks he uses to suggest stone or bark are really beautiful and are what inspired me for the next part of my project.
I was also interested in his woodcut prints that he did using oil, creating a rather painterly feel to them. Rather than painting the textures he uses marks here to suggest texture.
Nikolai Astrup is a Norwegian artist who also painted landscapes that he knew well. What I was most interested in at his exhibition was the way he painted textures and detail. I took some (bad quality) close-ups of some of his paintings. The colours and marks he uses to suggest stone or bark are really beautiful and are what inspired me for the next part of my project.
I was also interested in his woodcut prints that he did using oil, creating a rather painterly feel to them. Rather than painting the textures he uses marks here to suggest texture.
Chalk Pastel Drawings, Suffolk Landscape
I did these drawings before I had done any of the paintings. They are based mainly on Ivon Hitchens' work. Using chalk pastel meant I was able to create a variety of textures/marks (to some extent) rather than if I'd used coloured pencil (or something similar). I would say they reflect Hitchens' work in that they leave blank spaces of canvas/paper in between the exaggerated, bright colours, also that the landscapes are constructed using ambiguous shapes and marks. Some of them are easier to work out than others, and some are much simpler than others, but overall I think it's good because not one is the same.
Doing these fast drawings helped me to 'loosen up' my style, and get used to using different colours before moving onto the paintings.
Rezi Van Lankveld - At The First Clear Sight
I decided to look at Rezi Van Lankveld's work because I was drawn to the ambiguous paintings she created, and her textured marks she made that suggest shapes, figures and landscapes.
Having read this book I was interested in what it mentioned at the beginning; 'for ages we tended to see a work of art as a reflection or representation of the world around us'. Artists' work now is less of a representation, and more an interpretation; it is a response to the world around them that reflects a mood, or their feelings. Sometimes their work is not visually comparable at all, which leads the viewer to look more intensely at the artwork in order to understand it, looking at the gestures, brushstrokes and colour.
The book also talks about the projection of the painters 'inner world'; the creating of an imaginary world, and how the viewer must interpret it. They might make out what they want to see from the abstract painting and thus creating their own world.
The book talks about the concept of decision making, and how there are infinite paths the painting could follow. The writer claims it is the act of painting that results in the decisions made rather than the outside world influencing these decisions, which links back to art no longer being a representation of the world around us.
I used these ideas for the basis of composition for the pieces in my project. The material I worked from originally were photos of a landscape well know to me. Like Hitchens painted the area he lived in, Sussex, I painted Suffolk, a place I have visited throughout my childhood. I decided to only look at the photographs beforehand and then create the piece after, and because the landscapes are familiar to me, the images were already in my head. This worked well because it meant the decisions I made were a consequence of painting/doing rather than creating a representational image of the landscape. It meant the pieces of art were much more personal to me in two ways; the decisions I made were based on how I felt about the landscape, and how I felt about the artwork. It also meant I was able to focus more on the textures and colours I was creating because I wasn't concentrating so hard on depicting the actual landscape.
By doing this I created an 'imaginary world' like Van Lankveld; my works are ambiguous and the viewer may see something different to what I see. Never the less, whatever they see is still a landscape of colour and texture (my project title).
Bibliography
Lankveld, R. (n.d.). Rezi Van Lankveld.
I decided to look at Rezi Van Lankveld's work because I was drawn to the ambiguous paintings she created, and her textured marks she made that suggest shapes, figures and landscapes.
Having read this book I was interested in what it mentioned at the beginning; 'for ages we tended to see a work of art as a reflection or representation of the world around us'. Artists' work now is less of a representation, and more an interpretation; it is a response to the world around them that reflects a mood, or their feelings. Sometimes their work is not visually comparable at all, which leads the viewer to look more intensely at the artwork in order to understand it, looking at the gestures, brushstrokes and colour.
The book also talks about the projection of the painters 'inner world'; the creating of an imaginary world, and how the viewer must interpret it. They might make out what they want to see from the abstract painting and thus creating their own world.
The book talks about the concept of decision making, and how there are infinite paths the painting could follow. The writer claims it is the act of painting that results in the decisions made rather than the outside world influencing these decisions, which links back to art no longer being a representation of the world around us.
I used these ideas for the basis of composition for the pieces in my project. The material I worked from originally were photos of a landscape well know to me. Like Hitchens painted the area he lived in, Sussex, I painted Suffolk, a place I have visited throughout my childhood. I decided to only look at the photographs beforehand and then create the piece after, and because the landscapes are familiar to me, the images were already in my head. This worked well because it meant the decisions I made were a consequence of painting/doing rather than creating a representational image of the landscape. It meant the pieces of art were much more personal to me in two ways; the decisions I made were based on how I felt about the landscape, and how I felt about the artwork. It also meant I was able to focus more on the textures and colours I was creating because I wasn't concentrating so hard on depicting the actual landscape.
By doing this I created an 'imaginary world' like Van Lankveld; my works are ambiguous and the viewer may see something different to what I see. Never the less, whatever they see is still a landscape of colour and texture (my project title).
Bibliography
Lankveld, R. (n.d.). Rezi Van Lankveld.
Monday 4 April 2016
Ivon Hitchens
Looking at Ivon Hitchens' work is what inspired me for my project. The colours he chooses to depict the landscape is what I found most exciting, and I wanted to reflect that in my work. In order to achieve a similar variety and choice of colours I had to go and buy some more paints because the colours I used in painting 1 didn't give the same effect that Hitchens' do.
Patrick Heron describes one of Hitchens' landscapes; "The tree is paint and paint is the tree". This comment made me realise that although his work is depicting a natural landscape, he is also depicting a landscape of colour and paint, which is just as important. This became the main criteria behind my work. I practiced painting with different objects (pieces of wood/metal/polystyrene) in order to create these different textures. Painting 1 had the most texture, but was almost to 'busy' with that, and the many colours. For the other paintings shown I used fewer, but more vibrant colours and less areas of texture which was more effective.
The 'confusion which is perception, in the making of a new actuality which takes the works beyond their subjects'. I feel this statement implies that his abstracted landscapes can sometimes be hard to work out, but it is the colours and gestures that guide you to how the painting makes you feel, and so your perception of it is taken further than just what you see depicted. I wanted the landscapes I painted to be subjective, and so the viewer creates their own landscape.
'It is not just the subject, but the problem that the subject sets which is so fascinating'. This links to my main idea of figuring out what you think you see in the paintings below (paintings 1, 2, 3). What the viewer sees may be different to the scene I have painted, however their perception of it, is what's interesting; it makes it more personal, and suggests that the work is less about the subject, and more about the colour and texture.
'He asks for our active engagement in the exploration of the surface and the depths of each painting'. Like Hitchens, I abstracted my landscapes in order for the viewer to focus on the texture and colour more closely.
Overall I think I managed to develop a strong concept behind my project from looking at Hitchens' work without creating work too similar to his.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Bibliography
Ivon Hitchens Forty-Five Paintings. (1989). London: Serpentine Gallery.
Hitchens, I. (1993). Ivon Hitchens. London (12 & 34 Cork St., W1): Waddington Galleries.
Looking at Ivon Hitchens' work is what inspired me for my project. The colours he chooses to depict the landscape is what I found most exciting, and I wanted to reflect that in my work. In order to achieve a similar variety and choice of colours I had to go and buy some more paints because the colours I used in painting 1 didn't give the same effect that Hitchens' do.
Patrick Heron describes one of Hitchens' landscapes; "The tree is paint and paint is the tree". This comment made me realise that although his work is depicting a natural landscape, he is also depicting a landscape of colour and paint, which is just as important. This became the main criteria behind my work. I practiced painting with different objects (pieces of wood/metal/polystyrene) in order to create these different textures. Painting 1 had the most texture, but was almost to 'busy' with that, and the many colours. For the other paintings shown I used fewer, but more vibrant colours and less areas of texture which was more effective.
The 'confusion which is perception, in the making of a new actuality which takes the works beyond their subjects'. I feel this statement implies that his abstracted landscapes can sometimes be hard to work out, but it is the colours and gestures that guide you to how the painting makes you feel, and so your perception of it is taken further than just what you see depicted. I wanted the landscapes I painted to be subjective, and so the viewer creates their own landscape.
'It is not just the subject, but the problem that the subject sets which is so fascinating'. This links to my main idea of figuring out what you think you see in the paintings below (paintings 1, 2, 3). What the viewer sees may be different to the scene I have painted, however their perception of it, is what's interesting; it makes it more personal, and suggests that the work is less about the subject, and more about the colour and texture.
'He asks for our active engagement in the exploration of the surface and the depths of each painting'. Like Hitchens, I abstracted my landscapes in order for the viewer to focus on the texture and colour more closely.
Overall I think I managed to develop a strong concept behind my project from looking at Hitchens' work without creating work too similar to his.Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Bibliography
Ivon Hitchens Forty-Five Paintings. (1989). London: Serpentine Gallery.
Hitchens, I. (1993). Ivon Hitchens. London (12 & 34 Cork St., W1): Waddington Galleries.
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