Paint - Canvas and how I may continue my project.

As a part of the term 1 paint project you are required to make a canvas and paint onto it. For my canvas I wanted to apply the processes I have explored throughout this project looking at the use of photography combined with paint. 

(Leicester Square, acrylic paint and photo collage)

To create this painting I wanted to show what I've been exploring throughout this project; texture, city structures, people and use of colour. Firstly I used elements of my photography taken of Leicester square and then using layers of paint on top to complete the arrangement. To apply the paint I used pallet knives ranging in size to allow to create big strokes of paint as well as smaller detailed marks. For my colour pallet I wanted to keep the colours fairly complementary to one another to reflect the stone colours of the buildings with hints of brighter tones to highlight certain parts to attract the viewers eye to the center of the composition. I think that the use of texture and colours creates an atmosphere, a sense of business as people go about their day to day life in the city. Also I find that the subtle detail to the people in the middle of the painting forces the spectator to look the piece with great detail and then in turn focusing on the textures and marks within the structures. 

Relating my project work to my artist influences I think that is is clear as to how they inspired my ideas and also use of colour and mark making. For example Sabine Moritz work is very textural expressing atmosphere and movement.

If I were to further continue this project I would consider looking at urban structures in more detail and also crowds of people and how I represent an urban atmosphere and a city way of living. 

Paint - Development relating to crit and artist research.

In relation to my paint crit and also my artist research I wanted to research ideas looking at the city in the dark and contrasting the dark cool tones of the night sky against the more industrial bright lights of the city transport, shops and adverts. To do these ideas I firstly looked at photographs that I took during my research which focused on the elements of light and movement combined. In contrast to my previous ideas I painted onto acetate using a brush to enable me to create smooth more controlled textures in comparison to the more rough course textures of the paint when applied with a pallet knife. 

(Untitled, photo and paint collage using acetate, acrylic, A5)

(Untitled, paint on acetate, acrylic, A4)

Looking at my paintings on acetate I think that due to using a paint brush on a smooth surface like the acetate, the textures are a lot softer and appear to be more controlled compared to the marks created by using the pallet knives. I think that this helps to show the movement of the traffic going through the city. I also like the extreme contrasts between the dark and light tones in particular with the London Eye painting. I think that using high contrasts creates an element of depth that draws the viewer into the picture. This idea of using bright and dark tones was influenced by my artist research on both John Piper and Vincent Van Gogh's painting 'Cafe Terrace at Night'.

Vicent Van Gogh.

Van Gogh was recommended to me in my paint crit and the painting I decided to look at in detail was his painting 'Cafe Terrace at Night' painted in 1888. 

(Cafe Terrace at Night, oil on canvas, 80.7 x 65.3 cm, 1888)

What I love about this painting is the extreme contrasts between the cool colours of the night sky and the warm yellow tones glowing from the cafe situated in the center of the composition. I find that by contrasting warm and cool tones helps to create a strong atmosphere that reflects that particular scene as it really was when Van Gogh painted it, the temperature, noise and the over all hustle and bustle of people as they sit in the cafe and also walk through the streets. This has inspired me to look at the use of light within my ideas and how it can create a strong atmosphere reflecting city life, in particular during the night.

John Piper.

It was suggested to me in my paint crit that I take a look at the work by John Piper. Piper was a British born artist whose work mostly consisted of paintings and print work but he was also a designer and writer. His most well known paintings are his ones of architectural views; consisting of churches and stately homes. Before the height of his career he was very much an abstract artist but over the years he gradually began to change and develop into naturalism. In the 1940's he was appointed as a war artist painting bomb damaged buildings across the most affected areas. After the war he gained more recognition for designing the new stain glass windows for Coventry Cathedral. Looking at his work I love his use of layers in his paintings, most influential to me is his application of textures which in turn add a sense of movement to what is a statutory subject matter. I also admire his subtle contrasts between the dark and light tones within his paintings, I feel that this helps Piper to create depth and intensity within the paintings atmosphere. 

(Castle Howard: Temple and Mausoleum, oil on canvas & Laid on deal panel, 1944, 63.4 x 76.2 cm)

Paint - Crit Term 1.

Some points made during my crit about my current project work for paint..

- The use of purple is good, creates a strong atmosphere, feels quite cold, represents city life

- The paintings over the black and white emulsion print works well, they contrast well together

- Colour the backgrounds first so that there is no white from the paper left

- Paint over the photographs is working very well - good textures help reflect the structures. 

- Begin to scale up - work bigger to see how the techniques I am applying work 

- Continue to use people within my work - creates good movement

- Look at different colours

- Maybe do a reverse photo copy and work on that?

- Must paint on my canvas!!

- Artists to consider looking at ... John Piper, Edward Hopper and Van Gogh's Street Cafe Scene

After noting down the comments and listening to peer feedback I now feel confident with how my project is developing and I have been given some good points to help me further my ideas. I will take a look at the artists mentioned and then maybe look to use them to help influence my work.  

Paint - Development no.2.

Further developing my paint project, and also in relation to my artist research on Sabine Moritz, I have began to look at using people in my ideas to create movement and life and also texture and colour to help create a stronger atmosphere. As well as this I also started to use different tools and medias as well as combinations to show more experimentation within my work. To begin with I looked at using elements of my photography and emulsion prints within my work to create collage pieces consisting of layers to help produce a sense of depth within my ideas. I began by painting onto acetate using well thought out ideas that had an interesting composition reflecting the urban environment. I then looked at layering the acetate paintings on top of original photographs and emulsion prints to create a slightly distorted image consisting of photography and paint. 

(Untitled, acrylic paint on acetate over photograph, November 2013, measurements)

(Untitled, acrylic paint on acetate over photo emulsion print on board, November 2013, A4)

What I like about these pieces are the colours used and also the way they are layered over a photo which creates a distorted almost abstract feel that in turn reflects the atmosphere of the scene being depicted. I chose to use a purple colour pallet to help show the mood of that particular scene. I feel like the use of cool purple tones creates an atmosphere that strongly relates to the subject matter, people going about their unknown day to day lives in the city. 

As well as layering the paint over a photograph I also looked at applying the paint directly onto the picture its self using contrasting colours to enhance the mood and atmosphere of the image. 

(Untitled, acrylic paint over photo collage, November 2013, A3)

What I find interesting about the idea presented above is the fact the colours spread away from the main composition create heightened perspective to draw in the viewer. When producing this I used a pallet knife so I could experiment with using different textures and marks within my work to put and emphasis on the structures and over all city life going on with the image. I find the textures created on this idea are a lot more interesting and visually stimulating compared to the softer brush strokes of my previous ideas.

(Untitled, acrylic paint on photograph, December 2013, A4)

Above is another mixed media piece I created again applied using a pallet knife. I created this by placing the photo in the center of the board and I then painted the gaps using the colour pallet found in the photo. Looking at both ideas where the paint has been applied directly onto the photographs, I feel like the bottom image is more successful. The image above feels unfinished in a way due to the white gaps. however what I do like about it is the strong element of movement created due to the texture and marks applied. 

Paint - Development.

As development for my paint project I wanted to start by looking at how to depict the idea of movement and the hustle and bustle of life within a city without using people for the moment to see what atmosphere is created. To do this I have looked at transport within a city and also the way in which I paint the ideas. After coming across the artist Sabine Moritz, I felt inspired to paint using slightly thicker and more textural brush strokes within the paintings to help enhance the atmosphere and character within my ideas. 

(Untitled, acrylic on board, A4)

(Untitled, acrylic on Board, A4)

(Untitled, acrylic on board, A4)

The paintings shown above were all done on wooden board using acrylic paint. The first and third paintings were created by applying the colour in thick brush strokes dabbing them quickly onto the surface whilst the paint below was still wet so I could blend together on the board itself. I found this a very interesting way of painting as it creates a slightly distorted image due to the use of large brush marks as opposed to neat and contained brush strokes. Comparing the top and bottom compositions together in my opinion I think that the top painting works a lot better than the bottom because the perspective is stronger and more pronounced where as I found the perspective of the third painting quite challenging as you do not have an obvious vanishing point. The middle painting was produced using finer paint in smoother brush strokes. I did this to help create an idea of speed as the underground train passes through the platform. I began by blocking in the colour of the train and afterwards I used a large brush and while the paint was not quite dry I ran it across the painting in turn creating streaks of colour. This then adds a sense of movement to the train which contrasts well with the rest of the composition which remains still. 

I think to continue on this, I will now look at painting people to allow me to contrast the two ideas of showing movement. However I will continue to look at different compositions like the view of the River Thames, as previously painted because I found that the water in that produced a strong sense of movement and life. But I think that like Moritz I will apply elements of texture within my work to help show atmosphere.

Sabine Moritz.

I came across this particular artist whilst visiting Frieze in London. Sabine Moritz was born in 1969 in Quedlinburg which at the time was within the soviet controlled area of Germany. Her family did not move to west Germany until 1985 and the years before this heavily effected her as a young girl and this went on to reflect in her art work. Today she lives and works in Cologne in Germany. During her studies of art she took up a class with Gerhard Richter and she was in fact the last pupil to do so before Richter stopped teaching in 1994. Moritz began to appear in Richter's work and they went on to marry each other shortly after this period. Moritz did a great deal of drawing throughout her studies but afterwards she began to use other materials including; pencil, charcoal, water colour and oil as well as also beginning to producing paintings using oil and acrylic on canvas. Themes that run throughout her work are ones of architecture, urban planning, public and private spaces and also childhood. 

The painting I saw in Frieze was one of her most recent paintings 'Stalingrad' done in 2013 in oil on canvas. What I find most interesting about Moritz' work is her use of texture and application of paint to the canvas. Mark making appears to be a key ingredient to her work and I think that her use of marks create a strong atmosphere that helps to reflect the scene being depicted. Her paintings are slightly distorted due to this creating a blurred effect adding a sense of movement and life and in some cases an idea that it is raining. I feel inspired by this to try and produce movement in my paint work by applying the paint in a certain way to distort the image somehow or to add textures to my ideas. 

(Stalingrad, 2013, oil on canvas, 58 x 72 cm)

Painting Task.

As well as collecting our own research in our self directed time, during one of the lessons we were set the task of producing a large scale painting using Fabiano paper and only black and white emulsion paint. For this I developed one of my sketches from London, depicting a view looking off a bridge at the Thames and London Eye. My idea was to show the idea of movement without using people as I had done previously in my beginning research. So instead the water was a key part to achieving this in my painting as the ripples in the water would add life to the landscape, rather than showing a horizon or stationary buildings. 

( Untitled, emulsion paint on fabiano paper)

To paint this I began by painting the majority of the page in white and then working on top of that with black. Emulsion paint doesn't dry too fast so it made it easier to add different tones to my work without pre mixing shades of grey. To paint this I used a set of decorating brushes which ranged in size so I could apply fine detail as well as large brush strokes allowing me to show different textures within the piece. I thoroughly enjoyed this task and I positive about my outcome which surprised me as working to a large scale felt a bit daunting. I loved being able to use big brush strokes to create more gestural marks as opposed to working on a smaller more confined scale. If I could improve on this I could reconsider the angle of the London Eye as I have not quite got the right ellipse to help show the correct position of the structure. As development I would like to produce some more larger scale paintings at some point, but next time introducing colour.

Paint - Initial Research.

My chosen theme for term 1 of paint is 'The Urban Environment' and to begin my work for this I started with collecting together research from around Leicester looking at contrasting areas and different subject matter like city structures and crowds of people. I recorded my research in a sketchbook using different media; charcoal, pencil, photographs, ink and paint. As well as using different subject matter/ media I also paid attention to composition when producing my research ideas. To begin with I explored one of the the derelict areas of Leicester known as Frog Island looking at the ruined buildings and textures found within the damaged brick work. 

(Untitled, Pencil on paper, A5)

(Untitled, Ink on paper, A5)

(Untitled, Acrylic using pallet knife on paper, A5)

As well as looking at structures within the urban environment I have also looked at people. To record these ideas I used pencil in order to quickly draw the shapes and movement of the people as they walked through the town center.

(Untitled, Pencil on paper, A5)

(Untitled, Pencil on paper, A5)

I really enjoyed drawing the crowds of people, I like the movement created in my sketches due to my quick drawing technique used in order to capture the life of the people as they walk through the city. Within my sketches of people I have noticed that I seem to avoid facial features. However looking at the drawings I think this adds an interesting atmosphere to them as it makes the people appear anonymous, they are all strangers to one another but are all the equal as they go about their business in the city. 

(Untitled, Painting study on mdf, approx 10cm x 10cm)

 (Untitled, Collage using photograph and pencil, A5)

(Untitled, Quick continuous line drawing in pencil, A5)

After collecting together initial research I will continue on this, looking a contrasting elements within an urban environment. I will look to use different techniques and introduce more detailed paint techniques within my work relating to found artists that have particularly inspired me maybe due to their colour pallet, technique or even choice in subject matter. Plus I think I will consider developing on the concept of movement and life within my ideas because looking through my beginning research I think that the ideas that express some form of movement create a stronger atmosphere that is more appealing and engaging for the viewer compared to the ideas consisting of  a still structure.