STUDIO PROGRESS

Studio Progress (11/12/12)

Further work on 'Mood' acryic wash paintings, sellectively intensifying colour..

Virginia Crit +
Discussed options for work:

• Painted as diptych, therefore many options for relationship / orientation of the two 

          

•   addition of grid / other  major intervention - there would be no turning back.   

Difficulty of introducung grids on unstretched canvas. Possibilty of weighting down but will inevitably distort canvas. 

New Work (reflecting on Traffic Lights Review)

• Increase in scale  - possibility of using unstretched canvas straight from the roll 

Rolls come in 9ft widths. Can be mounted on 'carpet core' but not sufficient space in studio without being very antisocial!

Problem of when to introduce grid:

1) On raw canvas- likely to inhibit mark making.
    Painted on at the outset or masked out so that canvas remains. This would allow  possibilty of taking some later washes over the whole piece. 

2) After initial washes which would allow placing of grid in considered relationship with painting at this point.

Feel that appropriate grid should extend beyond the picture frame (Mondrian), rather than internalised grid (as much of Agnes Martin's work).

Consider 'homage to Mondrian',or at least covert reference!  Lift one of his grids and use as an underpainting.......

Mondrian acheived his goal of producing pictures that were pure abstraction and his journey through ever increasing levels of abstraction is well documented. Reducing everything to 'the picture plane' and a palette of primary colours' or monochrome is too controlled for my current purposes.

The challenge may,perhaps, be summarised as:

• utilising a grid to imply activity beyond the confines of the canvas
• using free washes with a sensation of 'space' without tipping into the representation of an overtly 'landscape space'

                          

THINKING ALOUD

 

Thinking Aloud

Traffic Lights Review

Present:

Peter Wolland (PW)

Prof Eric Bainbridge(EB) 

Gave brief resume of journey through this module

“My current work explores degrees of abstraction as a means of analysing and commenting upon landscape character.  I am interested in how natural processes and manmade interventions have determined the landscape that we see. Of particular interest is the dynamic quality of landscape appreciation, how it changes from moment to moment through changing light patterns, diurnal and seasonal rhythms. This has lead to an interest in seriality and repetition.” 

( Please view previous Blogs as record of this journey)

There followed some useful discussion points:

At what point does a work become truly abstract, without reference to its source material?

Expressed concern about total loss of link with ‘landscape’ as a source/ inspiration

EB suggested that many major artists had achieved pure abstraction but underpinned by intellectual rigour throughout their artistic journey. He instanced Mondrian’s studies of trees.

PW put down the challenge as to what might lift my work into the magic 70+ territory!

Suggested that one option would be to greatly increase scale of work and ‘see what happens’ e.g. using section of 10ft canvas on a roll that could be transported.

Developments on this will be the subject of future blogs...........