Well, its all over now!!
The degree show proved to be a success and many visitors spent time enjoying a glass or two of wine and viewing the exhibitions. I received a number of favourable comments concerning my work, with the promise of a commission from one couple who liked the White Horse Hotel. All but six of the postcards were taken, as well as a large number of my business cards.
I feel very encouraged by the positive response to my work and my efforts will now focus upon the completion of my website and promotion of my work to local galleries and online sales outlets.
Floor painted and final change made to the selection of images for show, following discussion with Robin Warnes, who preferred to see the complete Aldeburgh Fog Triptych, as I had originally planned. Other images were therefore adjusted in the space to accommodate the change and the result looked far better. I now have 8 Giclee images on show, but the loss of narrative means that my show will now be called Suffolk Fog and the works will be titled individually.
Attended the studio yesterday to hang my work for the show and after advice from David Baldry, reduced my selected images to 7, thereby giving a less cluttered layout. I decided on the final selection and placement to offer a cohesive presentation and returned to the studio today for final adjustments to alignment and more considered spacing. I am reasonably pleased with the result although it has now lost the weight of its intended narrative and I will therefore choose a different title. Other work not hung will still be available for assessment.
The Aldeburgh Fog series will consist of 12-13 works in a range of media and sizes. All images are created uniquely from my own photographs and edited/manipulated in Photoshop and Photo Editor software, where I have progressed my learning through many hours of practice and experimentation on my home pc. The multitude of processes available provide limitless opportunity to create subtle abstractions from otherwise mundane photographs and my practice will now include a strong representation in digital media as well as painting.
I have continued to use the edited images as a base for my painting, but trials with inkjet printing onto canvas have enabled me to produce work in a wide range of colour and size, to present in their own right and as Limited Edition prints.
My practice will therefore continue to develop in that direction, with pleasing, colourful images which tell stories of human experience. I have recently become interested in the work of Grayson Perry, who states – “I’ve never done anything that was consciously just purely decorative. There always has to be a snag in it somewhere. It’s almost the defining characteristic of my work.”
This philosophy mirrors my own and will continue to be my mantra.
The painting of Fog3 has become a failed experiment in using household gloss paint on aluminium (ala Gary Hume) and has offered continued challenges. Painting a white/grey monochrome image onto black board is more complex than it first appears. In using the black ground as part of the image, decisions must be taken early on where other colours start and finish. So a great deal of planning and forsight is required before painting begins. The composite board is supplied with one glossy surface and one matt surface and my first thought was to use the glossy side, leaving the black gloss showing through. Drawing in white marker proved to be ok, but the application of white paint was unsatisfactory as it still required a number of coats to attain an even finish. The use of household gloss is not therefore providing the additional control that I hoped for and I have altered course to paint again on the matt surface as a final trial.
Preparation of my degree show space began today, with 2 coats of white emulsion to the wall. I have drawn a plan of the intended layout of my work and will begin hanging later this week. The floor will then be painted next week, in time for the assessment and show..
I have found a suitable alternative supplier to Photobox, for the printing of my digital images onto canvas and they have produced excellent Giclee results on their 12 colour commercial inkjet printer, colour matching precisely to my creations. All copies are now ready for hanging the degree show and I shall be displaying 14 images of varying size.
Had a great weekend in Edinburgh and I was able to visit the National Galleries of Scotland. My first visit was to the National Portrait Gallery, on Queen Street where I was able to see Christian Hook’s contemporary portrait of Alan Cummings and I was not disappointed, seeing at first hand how the paint was applied.
Other exhibits varied from monochrome photographs of war and life in the slums of Britain, to other digital imagery and oil paintings.
I was also impressed with work shown by the Scottish Royal Academy at the National Gallery on Princes Street and it’s combination of Art and Architecture. Works featured sculpture, surrealist and abstract painting and architectural drawings and paintings and were beautifully exhibited in an impressive location.
The Saatchi Gallery has planned closures during May which co-incide with my intended visit, so will be unable to visit again this year. However, I am flying to Edinburgh on Saturday 9th May and look forward to my first sight of Scottish art and in particular Christian Hook’s portrait of Alan Cummings, which hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Wall space for the degree show has been agreed and this will enable me to show most of my work, as planned. I am also in early discussions with a local author, in connection with illustrating a new adventure novel for children and look forward to this new venture.
Work continues with Fog3 and my Catalogue. Problems with printing the catalogue at Photobox have continued. despite 3 attempts to get the colours right, they seem incapable of producing a satisfactory tone. Some of the photographs are too red and colours do not match the images on the computer screen. Photobox customer services is excellent, but their production department, is in a different country and cannot comprehend the changes made. I have given them one final chance to rectify the issues and trust that it will be correct next time? It is now too late to start again elsewhere, as I am unable to download my creation from their website.
I have arranged visits to visit the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, where Christian Hook’s portrait of Alan Cummings is displayed.
Writing this Blog has helped me focus on my emerging identity as an artist and I have attempted to tell a story to illustrate my growth over the last 3 years at UCS. It has also helped in the construction of my catalogue IDENTITY, which tells the same story. Although I have identified a thread and style for my future work, my journey is not yet finished and I will continue to develop, beyond my studies at UCS.
The selection of 8-10 images for the degree show is complete and I am in the process of painting Fog 3 in my home studio. This will be in gloss on 80 x 60 cm aluminium composite board. The use of household gloss paint should be slower drying and is intended as an experiment to compare its workability with the quick drying enamel paint used for Fog 1 and 2.
I am also planning the layout of the collection and making final decisions on size and sourcing of the printed media. Fog 1 & 2 will be the largest pieces at 100 cm each and the remaining work will be a little smaller at 60 to 80 cm. A large wall space of 5-7 meters will be required to accommodate the collection as shown below:
NOTE: CAPTIONS SHOW WHEN IMAGES CLICKED/OPENED INDIVIDUALLY.
My planning and preparation for the degree show began during the 2014 summer break and continued during semesters one and two of year 6. My first ideas were built loosely around three main subjects – The Mayor’s Portrait – Broomhill Lido – and Aldeburgh Fog.
I was very keen to show the Mayor’s Portrait as this was my first portrait and most important work to date. The painting has not been formally assessed and I was surprised and disappointed to be told that it was not possible to show it, although no reason was given.
The Broomhill Lido is a collaboration and as such, is formed from an agreement to paint my concepts from stills of Ian Moss’s movie. It would not be a collaboration if I ignored that agreement and used new photographs of my own. In fact that would be a betrayal of the agreement.
After analysis of the video and selection of the stills, work began in the university studios, by making a number of conceptual sketches on canvas board, with the intention of choosing two creations to reproduce on a larger scale. However, whilst working on the sketches on torn canvas, I realised that they portrayed the desired narrative of decay and desolation. I therefore decided that there is nothing to be gained from producing more polished images on larger canvases and the sketches will now become the finished work.
The Lido images below are of acrylic paint on 76cm x 51cm canvas board and one blurred digital image on a 60cm x 40cm canvas. This is taken from one of the painted sketches and summarises the delicate future of the Lido, in the eternal struggle to open it again, for public use.
In parallel to my university studio work in Semester 1, I continue work on the Aldeburgh Fog series at my home studio, repeating the style of my final work from year 5. I made further field trips to record more of the subject and plan to make full use of the multitude of photographs taken. This is an important step in my search for an identity and digital media will play an important role.
The images shown below are a mix of enamel painting and digital imagery edited from my photographs and will be the foundation of my future work. I continue with an abstract (Warhol/Opie) style and also refer to Gary Hume’s work on aluminium in household gloss as shown in the first 2 images below. As an alternative to using gloss paint, I used matt enamel paint on Fog1 and semi gloss enamel for Fog2, both on 1m sq aluminium composite board. Accurate drawing is essential to this style as enamel paint dries very quickly and is painted in a horizontal plane, to avoid runs and sagging paint.
Fog2 (the dog walkers) was finally completed in year 6 and although the addition of flow medium offered a little more control, I am not 100% satisfied with the results and will continue trials using household gloss, which should flow better and be slower drying. Smaller size prints on aluminium board have also been produced from my originals, as examples of limited editions, and digital work continues as preparation for my paintings as well as creating finished digital images.
The title Aldeburgh Fog comments on the social conflicts and divides within the town, which range from Maggie Hambling’s Scallop to the adverse affects of tourism on the indigenous population. My work therefore illustrates my conception of the folk and fabric of the town.
Above: Work by Gary Hume, which I have referred to for colour and ground.
Below: My paintings and digital images 2014-15.
NOTE: CAPTIONS SHOW WHEN IMAGES CLICKED/OPENED INDIVIDUALLY.
