Alternate Reality

I decided not to include sound or other visuals alongside my paintings. I want them to speak for themselves. I hope that despite not being large scale they can still make an impact on the viewer. I think in hind sight I should have explored the addition of sound and sculpture. It may have changed the narrative or added something to the work. However I was reluctant to detract from the act of the painting itself.

I did not start this project with a specific idea in mind although I knew I would be working with portraits after my dissertation explored the relationship between subject and viewer. I was also somewhat influenced by Chuck Close and his reliance on process. I started the first few early paintings the same way using a grid however it was the emotion I took to be the focus. It was deeper than just a familiarity to the characters we know and see on screen. I was interested in the way in which we identify with the acts and feelings of these fictional beings.

Film was an inevitable source to work from, since I had already been working from photographs and media images. The issues I faced, were picking an image from the vast amount available to me from each film and what should be the focus. Once I found a pattern emerging  I then had to think about composition and colour.

Colour was an important aspect in my paintings, used to brighten the once dark source image.  In identifying with these characters I may have brought a uniformity to all of the paintings. The close cropping became about pausing a moment in time. It will be interesting to see what the impressions are for the viewer who does not know the character.

Titles can completely change the context of a work or add something to it, humour perhaps. My titles were often a phrase to enhance the already present emotion in the painting. Some of my titles may be a little ambiguous to those unfamiliar to the character or film but I hope this will only add to the mystery.

After a busy few hours filling in holes in the wall, sanding and two fresh coats of white paint, my Degree Show space was ready. I was chuffed at having been given the corridor outside of the studios which is flooded with lots of natural light through the skylights, high above.

I thought about various configurations of arranging my paintings: smaller pieces on the outside, larger paintings on the outside. I looked at pairing them by colour or subject. In the end I found my collection of smaller paintings looked most effective in one continuous line, not broken up by a large one in the centre. I had originally planned to put Rose Tyler: Defender of the Earth on a wall oposite the rest, however soon changed this to partner this with my larger piece.

 I took the decision not to include my final painting WE. I realised this was not as strong a piece of work as my others or at least it seemed out of context. It looked more like a study, being that it was a mixture of expressions with a lot more of the background visable. While my other works focus zoomed in on the one expression, this seemed to have too much on the one canvas. Once I had removed this painting from the selection it seemed to flow more easily.