I am starting to realise the truth of what I have read for so long:my creative expression alters considerably when using different media. Why is this? Perhaps for me some of the answers currently come from technical ability. I can achieve more controlled mark making in acrylics and therefore have more confidence in the range of bold and mor original strokes that I use.
Consequently when using acrylics I relax more into the work and find it easier to experiment and move forward in my process journey eg discovering that I could make interesting textures and introduce more life by combining paint and pouring medium in a new way see sketch book practice of standing stones in primary colours.
I have found it more challenging to achieve this kind of flow and bolder ,free strokes when working in oil. Actually this is a similar pattern to my handwriting. When stressed it is small and contained but when I am relaxed it is large and more ‘eccentric’! Maybe this tells me something about my grip on the paintbrush. I probably need to loosen my grip and allow the flow to take place without thinking too much.
In fact frustration lead me to the point of giving up- until luckily I decided to play with some pallet knife layers on top. For the first time I could see some movement come into the landscape. I ended up getting carried away and have overworked the effect but it was heartening and gave me some encouragement.
Overworked sunset but shows that I can begin to control blending more favourably
The following are some of my oils learning points from today:
1. using an acrylic base layer saves time but be careful as thickly laid down dark colours like blue tend to bond less firmly with the supporting paper and I ended up with a green on applying yellow oil.
2. be even more careful to lay down long single strokes for sky/ sea as strokes remain in the thicker slower drying oil.
3. be aware of drying time of different colours and thicker layers as well as the amount of thinner used as this will affect fluidity of applying layers on top and the overall stability of the paint.
4. for now I love using pallet knives to bring spontaneity that I cannot achieve with brushes. I can do so much more than just add texture with knives, they allow easier manipulation and act for me a bit like a round brush in acrylics!
During Drawing 1 I realised that for me, inspiration does not land on my page like a bolt from the blue. Yes, I discovered that I actually had to work hard and spend regular time reflecting. The problem was how to do this effectively in a busy world. I found my answer in the quiet and beauty of dog walks. This has become my natural contemplation space to take on board new information, rehearse technique ( in my head ) and absorb the influence of nature into my creative process.
I would like to explain what I mean by ‘rehearsing in my head’ .Today see me thinking about how I can observe the principles of Part 1 Painting in the world around me. Cloud formations in the sky remind me of mixing white into a tonal blue wash to make an opaque colour mix. Sunsets are overlay washes. Reflections in the water and paths fading into a wood are tonal studies on coloured grounds. I pass a tree silhouetted in the dusk and think of my brush strokes as I paint in negative spaces. Literally it all comes to life and I can practice in my mind how to achieve these effects. This is affirming and exciting. Throughout my work in this course I feel inspired to continue using the outdoors to illustrate techniques in my Coursework and form the basis of ideas in Research and reflection.
Often I feel that my drawing is much better than my painting. I have never really bothered to work out why. Until now that is! It has not taken much reading around blogs and information sites to see that my processes are rather removed from the norm. I tend rush and to be rather haphazard in the selection, use and care of brushes . No wonder therefore my results frustrate me.
In fact my first attempt at this mark making exercise left me very disappointed. What was wrong? Are all my brushes past it? Is the paint past it’s best? Why does everything look messy and quite similar?
Time to do some reading!
Learning points:
Flat, Filbert and round brushes all behave differently and should be loaded with paint and deployed in specific ways to achieve the best technical performance. E.g. To produce petals: round brushes need to be rolled round quarter wise in paint and pushed onto the support before being pulled towards the user.
longer brushes held at the end are especially good in oil media to allow artists to stand further back. In the same way as pencil grip alters the flow of a drawing- different marks are achieved by altering the position of hold.
Two colours can be loaded, one on each side of a flat brush to produce an effective blend.
Maintenance of brushes- including the use of brush soap keep the shape and produce better results. I disposed of at least half of my brush collection and stored according to type. This will focus my mind on correct selection and use until it becomes second nature.
This time I enjoyed the experience, took my time and learned for the first time the basics of brushmanship.
I have become very used to sitting down looking up close at sketching work. Helpfully the prompt to use long brushes not only focused me on mark making but also reminded me to observe my work from further back while creating.
The seascape was rather frustrating as my old and misshapen brushes hampered progress. The red lighthouse scene and apple were painted with new brushes and I felt happier and more relaxed using them. I found better results when I loaded the paint brush- there was less dragging , although I did use this deliberately to give some texture to the sea in the monochrome. It sounds obvious but I had forgotten to use round brushes for curved work and I spent time observing how round and filbert handled.
At the beginning of a painting my natural default, I know, is straight lines using the long edge of a flat brush. During the exercises I became more aware of this and changed things by switching brush types. Looking at the completed works I notice that this theme continues and although I love curves and natural leaf shapes I rarely use them. Is this a lack of confidence? Do I avoid them because traditionally I tend to grab a flat brush making it more difficult to achieve these shapes?
I feel more at ease with the sharper, neat lines created by synthetic brushes. Hog hair large round brushes proved less easy to control. Maybe I can use this knowledge to my advantage in later work? I will also be more aware in the difference in movement and behaviour in a brush as the paint dries out there is less bounce and more linearity to marks.
Exercise: working without brushes
Upper- oil Lower – acrylic
I had forgotten the freedom and luscious feeling of working in oil…
I am confident that my new adventure has begun. While experimentation in acrylic has been fine, it is a also safe and my purpose in this unit is to move forward. As I began to experiment in oil a wave of delight hit me. I felt the drive to explore marks and media enhancers with rag, sponge, sticks and various knives. Each is detailed on post-it notes in my sketchbook.
Discoveries:
Blending allows semi- transparent layering; softening and surface change from shiny to matt
Adding liquid and impasto medium enhancers allows later soft blending as well as greater flexibility and flow in mark making and creating texture
colours are more likely not to darken and textured treatments look more natural
I enjoyed using cards and palette knives perhaps more than brushes
Fiver free rags allowed me to blend and soften the work at a variety of stages. Leaving time for the drying process to begin allowed a more gentle and natural blending. The drying rate of different coloured oils and the use of medium like liquid in must be considered in this process.
Different media may produce different expressions of me
My overriding conclusions were that this was fun and my strokes on the paper changed from lines to swirls and curves. Is this perhaps due to the greater sense of movement within the paint? It could be coincidence but the oil work provoked a different response in my audience. For the first time in ages my trusty critic and hubby ‘saw’ his own story in the oil piece. This was interesting as it was just marks to me but perhaps the freedom of the medium lent itself to my subconscious working independently to express something?
Reflection:
This is some of my previous painting. I have a ‘naive ‘ and rather heavy style. Studying brush selection and technique makes me look at my previous brush choice with new eyes. Understanding what brush and other tools to use will help me to influence the style that I work in more and to develop it in a more controlled way.
Project- Transparent and Opaque
I tried this first in acrylic ( see sketchbook) and later once I had gained mor confidence to return to oil it became a part of my assessment practice pieces as different coloured layers over my sky wash.
This is my oil sky work. I started with a yellow background and overplayed transparent layers of deeper yellow, orange, pink, purple and blue. All had the residual bright tone of the yellow base running through them just as light appears in a real sunset. I also added some white glazes to dull down a few layers that seemed too bright and found that this worked well. I have worked on sky scenes before but not thought properly about how to create them and practising this technique was very helpful in my learning process.
Transparent washes in acrylic alter the texture of the finished work. My feeling is that for white glazing I will have to be careful not to use too thick an overlay or it will detract from the vibrancy of the colour
Eg the bottom of this graduated red is glazed and also much duller.
Monochrome studies
I have always liked the drama of monochrome but not thought too much a lost what it’s use does to the image. in this quick example of looking up into a treetop I think that each produces a different effect. Black on white to me makes the treetop fade more into the distance elongating it while the white on black is more traumatic and perhaps gives a sinister look. This gives me more to play with when creating atmosphere in work. Eg Should the image be a night scene to give more of a haunted or misty look?
Project- working on different grounded colours
Although not an actual exercise I was intrigued to try the impressionist pixilated technique. I like the way that tones feed into the background to improve a sense of depth by tone. I am not sure that my attempt works particularly well as I need to improve differentiation and clarity of the image when viewed from further back. I feel that the darker work shows a more 3D effect perhaps because I have added toned longer strokes .
Exercise- tonal study on white ground
I really enjoyed this exercise. It took me back to basics and allowed me to concentrate more fully on putting depth into my vase using tonal shading and brush strokes.
The end result included a range of tones instead of just a light and dark but I feel the change was necessary to allow me to achieve the depth that I wanted. once again my slow and deliberate oil paint strokes were not blended and this takes away from the overall effect. I feel now after more practise that I could achieve this without the stripy effect!
Tonal study on dark ground
This is a rough work used as a practice for my assignment idea. The grading in tones is simple and only to show the further away stones receding into the darkness. I have also used stumbled marks and added acrylic medium to make a textured effect on the closest stone. I think that the dark background works effectively to show depth of tone and distance as well as being a technique which lends itself to the mysterious haunted look which I liked in the white on black tree monochrome exercise .
Chiaroscuro- my main findings on this technique are posted under research. However I kept this in mind when trying to compose my assignment piece. I like the way that darkness emphasises the lighted features and really for me it is an extension of what has already been talked about in the monochrome and work on dark ground exercises .
I was particularly struck by the image of Paul and Peter in dispute painted by Rembrant. ( see chiaroscuro article in research). Extending this idea to a group of similar light tones surrounded by darkness appealed to me. I have tried to work on this in my later practise pieces.
I feel that I cannot go completely dark as this would take away the stones which are important to the message I want my picture to give. However I have tried to heighten the dark tones in the near ground and sky. As the article says this technique means that less detail can be shown on objects in the darkness it accentuates the light areas.
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