01/05/2024-
Started painting of Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. Worked through the night and finished painting early hours of 02/05/2024. It’s produced from a graphite tracing on canvas board, from a printed picture that I previously took there. I worked from the bottom of the canvas details, and upwards. After spending about 4 hours on the Water, I was reminded (on a phone call) to get general coverage down everywhere first! Eventually, I caved to this advice and found it surprisingly helpful. Accidently, I fell back into a focus on ‘perfectionism’.. After working to alleviate this pressure in the module Art418. This may be caused due to the close nature of the topic, direction.
02/05/2024 -
The piece was complete when I was satisfied with its character. I found that as time went on I became more focused on the feeling of the details rather than just making marks. Working dark colours to light, I created order and structure. Choosing which sections to later define further, time dependent.
To first view this final work I scanned it onto my phone, allowing me to auto select the outline, focusing on finding appropriate lighting rather than cropping.
Next, I compared the 2 paintings: The River Usk and this new addition, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog After deciding that the styles do in fact mesh well together, I put them onto a pin board, Swapping the order and direction. I found that looking at the paintings together on wall allowed me to think through all sorts of combinations. From trialling this, I confirmed the desire to display the paintings in chronological order. Meaning that I could build on this topic in the future, forward or back. I could use the process as a method to archive progress and movement. This painting process is one initial layer of deep mapping. A foundation to build on with unlimited opportunities and content to combine with.
The next step was to take these paintings to the studio to install. The first issue that I ran into was that the canvas board was too large for the frame. After some measuring and slice reductions, it fit without compromising the image. Being on a closer than desired time limit, due to unavoidable time off for orthopaedic surgery, I was unable to spare time to purchase/ produce a custom sized frame. There are 2 white borders visible, I do not like this and in the future would definitely prioritise framing higher. This outline reduces the effectiveness of the painting, its character and marks less dominant due to the bold white above and below.
I removed the glass from each frame. Removing its protection, it’s professional finish. These are my stories and research that I want to share, for people to be close to. So why should I add a screen boundary?
The frames darken the edges of the piece, drawing attention. This wooden finish is symbolic of the trees in each scene, a literal continuation, a bridge between painting and blank walk.
Rather than just adding nails freely to a wall, I did some measuring to ensure accuracy and visible aesthetic. Both are equally spaced from the wall's edges. Now, they’re on the wall in chronological order. At first the changing direction of the pieces irritated me, feeling frustrated that I hadn’t allowed for a symmetrical pairing. On further reflection, I was thinking about the landscape paintings at my nans house. How the frames became invisible with time as I can just remember the work, not the direction it was displayed. This gives me confidence and comfort that the border, direction and smallest millimetres off measurements will be irrelevant in years to come.
Stepping back from this wall, I feel relief and an unexpected longing for home. Away from deadlines and tall buildings, to walk by the river with my dog, talking to my mum. I also feel excitement, to continue to explore this direction within my work.
Kommentare