WASH UPON WASH

Difficulty in predicting outcome of washes- balance between too much control and 'serendipity' sought

Also problem in locating contemporay artists working with loose washses against solid areas of tone/ colour.


Trials to start understanding relationships/potential

                                                           
                                                         

                                       
  
 Floating one wash over another provides subtle shifts in both colour and tone

 

   Thin washes on PVA primed canvas

 

Observation

Short experiments / technical exercises valuable in developing practice and avoiding too many major errors on larger canvasses which are quite time consuminng to produce

SATURDAY WORKSHOP

See below works by Johnny Fokker, member of Bearpark Artist's Co-operative - he quite often uses grids as a starting point for his paintings. (Paintings 350mmsquare)

Decided  to work on small scale (505x405mm)

·         Base coat grey/purple scored through when wet to provide underlying grid

·         Exploration of colour within this matrix

                                                                                            

        Technically quite difficult to score grid throuh before acrylic dries                                

Fine brush control required working up grid withiout any masking off


Result - need to exploit properties of small brushmarks as is virtually impossible to produce uniform colour uptake.

GRIDS AND WASHES

Abstraction and Meaning

(See Research - Grid Possibilities)

Some would deem this an oxymoron, however the quest remains to produce a competent abstract painting using the 'language of Grids and Washes.

Viewing some of Sarah Morris's work she seems to make a valid comment on the urban environmnet through her particular language of abstraction

Untitled image of Sarah Morris's work

                                                    

 1.8m square stretched canvvas- PVA primed to retain 'raw canvas' and 'mid tone' value. Masking of canvas primed with PVA- 4 widths of tape used

 

Philosophical basis for work

Following the experimentation using grids and washes as already documented within this blog I view the grid as a metaphor for man's impact upon the landscape, a Cartesian statement of man's primacy. The washes (pigment held in an aquaeous suspension) therefore represent the processes of the natural landscape. It is the inherent tension between these two fundamentally differing aspects of applying paint that forms the  basis of my current work.

Technical Issues

• difficulty of producing precise lines through bleeding- attempt to seal edges of tape with further application of PVA (JH tip). Not entirely successful due to use of very wet washes. However am reasonably happy with result as it neatly represents the somewhat confused overlap between man driven processes and the natural landscape. If I had been aiming for a hard edged 'urban' character as Morris successfully acheives (see above) this would be quite unacceptable.

• difficulty of anticipating result as initial washes applied over the tapes- not able to properly appreciate the resultant grid until tape removed. Further modifications would involve retaping various sections.

• anticipating visual effect of overlaying different coloured wahes and mixing wet into wet which can produce very interesting and subtle results- some trials necessary