Whet Paint

At this point I would like to return to my other great interest – photography. It offers a welcome alternative to painting, which at this stage of the semester is taking over somewhat, in view of the degree show’s rapid approach. Nevertheless, I would really like to show some of my latest photographs in the show alongside the Dwelling Fusion project.

I find the work of Martin Parr very interesting in the way his work documents life so powerfully through the lens. His photobook format works to great effect. This is something I particularly enjoyed when putting together my catalogue in level 5.

I like to go out and about with my camera, particularly in unfamiliar locations. This is especially exciting when overseas. My recent travels offered welcome opportunity to indulge my eye for snapping my own angle on the world around. The relaxed pace when exploring new places seems to offer a fresh inspiration to take intriguing shots that one misses in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

For images resulting from my journeys I think this offers the viewer something of a contemplative experience, a chance to step back from the world, and see things from a new perspective. It allows time to contemplate and reflect in a therapeutic moment.

Time is passing quickly this semester. With the fundraising Art Auction done and dusted, final year Fine Art students at University Campus Suffolk, have already begun the countdown to the Degree Show.

Consequently, I have begun to think about ways in which to exhibit my work. I have been looking at different techniques to convey to the viewer the theme of my project; the nature of my life split between opposite ends of the country. I am hoping to articulate this through emphasis on travel with some props, perhaps using old suitcases to frame paintings, luggage labels, train tickets and so on.

To portray life in two domestic settings I could use local newspapers and maps, and frame my work in curtains to represent views from windows in dual domestic settings. I hope these additional exhibits will allow the viewer to have a snap shot, capsule experience of some of the features which mark out life as a newcomer to one area and to one familiar with their surroundings.

By experiencing art, one does not necessarily get the full story behind how the work came to be created. I hope that by adding some context to the exhibition, viewers not familiar with this blog may gain some understanding of the background information that influenced my thought processes. I feel the inclusion of items that capture aspects of everyday life (for example local newspapers) will inform and enrich the experience of the viewer, rather than simply looking at paintings on canvases.

I have illustrated my interpretation of some of the essential differences between the north east and East Anglia. The most striking aspect is one’s initial reaction to the differences between the urban and the rural. My work is an attempt to contextualise how I see my project and how it relates to my current circumstances.

I have made further versions of my recent works on Bridge and Dual Vision fusions to take account of some tutorial feedback of late, and include some of the images in this blog. Robin suggested I simplify the bridge scene in order to take account of the essential theme of the work. I made the bridge much stronger and tried to make the background softer with suggestions of what lie there rather than going into greater detail. I feel this serves the scene well in focusing attention where it belongs on the real subject matter.

I have also been talking to Jane Watt about the spectacle frame pieces on which I have been working. The idea of applying the sharpest focus through the frame itself and softening, maybe almost blurring, the image around the edges came through again following my previous chat with Robin along these lines. These points serving to illustrate life through the lens.

During a recent tutorial with Robin Warnes, my attention was drawn to the work of the French artist Bernard Piffaretti (b.1955), who consistently features a divided canvas similar to my current project Dwelling Fusion.

Interestingly, here the commonality ends. Whereas Piffaretti creates abstract images beginning on either the right or left hand side of the canvas, he then reproduces the painting experience on the other side. In contrast, my work melds two equivalent figurative images essentially treating them as one individual subject.

In this sense our two approaches could not be more different. This I find quite fascinating and think it would be interesting to build on the ideas and experiment further with these techniques. Combining the different styles has the potential to lead to a plethora of possibilities.

I have included some more images of my current work in today’s blog entry. These works are concerned with generalised images of my impression of the differing landscapes surrounding me, which are both urban and rural. I have divided the canvas as usual but have decided to try out a new technique using spectacle frames as an aperture to help channel the viewer’s attention to the centre of the canvas allowing more abstract artistic licence to infiltrate the peripheral vision. As a spectacle wearer this to me is quite a true representation of the way in which I see the world framed by frames.

The main components of my work for the past year or so has been comparing and contrasting images and aspects of everyday life and my experience of assimilating to the reality of essentially living in two places at once. Although both my places of residence are in the East of the country there is a significant difference between life in Suffolk and life in Newcastle.  Even what has been, for many, many, years, a standard household appliance such as a gas cooker in Newcastle is still not available in my home in Suffolk. Welcome to the 21st Century! Similarly, I have found it fascinating to capture and represent images of objects that in essence are the same entity but which are manifest in slightly different forms in each location. Perhaps a standard, albeit traditional, comparison of the conurbations of Ipswich and Newcastle is conveyed in images like the Tyne Bridge and the Orwell Bridge; the verisimilitude of the importance of the fortunes of the local football team to everyday life; and even the common link provided by the late Sir Bobby Robson.

In my work I have encompassed elements of these commonalities and differences rather than simply reproducing them per se. I see my role as an artist as being one who interprets and presents a framework for narrative instead of simply producing “picture postcards”. My work portrays my day-to-day encounters with my surroundings from the perspective of one who is living the reality rather than an outsider who is simply observing. I endeavour to meld my perception of living in two places into a single vision that captures the essence of both, but presented as a unified image where one can’t see the join.

Initially, when I draft my ideas as a sketch I find that my thought processes and the ways in which these find their way onto the canvas happens in an almost seamless fashion. I feel as if the canvas is a direct extension of my thoughts. So what I see in my mind’s eyes is captured on the canvas. However, when I then try to develop this using paint, something just doesn’t feel right. There is an apparent disjoint of which I am conscious.

My course leader, David Baldry, recently saw a sketch I was drawing of the Tyne Bridge fused with the Orwell Bridge and remarked on the pleasing lines I achieved in pencil sketch and that this fluency has a tendency to become lost between the transition from cartoon to painting. I agreed with his observation and consequently have borne this idea in mind when working on subsequent paintings.

In order to practice incorporating freer, more flowing, lines into my painting I have felt compelled to make multiple versions of my work. For example, with the bridge scene, I have produced 3 versions so far in order to help achieve this desired interpretation of ideas which also takes into account the nature of the painting’s theme with motion, speed and journeys at its heart.

This particular image has parallels with J.M.W. Turner’s 1844 painting “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway”.

In a sense I’m adopting an iterative approach that closes in on the final objective. I start by identifying and focusing on key elements of the image, and almost ignoring ancillary aspects, until I feel I’m near to the final rendition. I believe that I need to spend more time developing this approach but am finding it very useful in terms of the process of transitioning from the initial concept, via the sketch, through to the final painting.

I have spent time today finishing off my latest painting The Hob. Because of the very sharp definition between the colours I have been concentrating on sharpening the lines to make them as clean as possible. This process proved to be akin to sign writing. As an artist who has previously incorporated text into art work I am only too aware of how difficult this can be. It takes a very steady hand and first class materials for the best results. I think over working problematic areas can often be a mistake and experience and practice are the best teachers in this instance. I have tried to strike a balance here and although the painting is not an example of perfection, as such it remains a painting.

Whilst putting the Dwelling Fusion project together I was reminded of the poet W. B. Yeats, (1865-1939), in particular his poem The Stolen Child, (1886). In the final verse he writes about ‘the kettle on the hob’ articles which echo through my project so strongly. The narrative relates the tale of a child taken from his home by fairies to their world. Here I also find myself drawing parallels with my own situation, as one moving from my home of over fifty years to live three hundred miles away. By coincidence, I heard the cover of Stolen Child by The Waterboys on one of my frequent journeys between homes, and reflected on how much all this struck a chord with me and its relevance to my current work.