Exhibition Sean Keating: Contemporary Contexts, Crawford Gallery, Cork

This exhibition was shown in a current climate of economic hardship and emigration, drawing close similarities with social circumstances at the time. Sean Keating made his own later work, post  War of Independence, which was often critical of the governing classes.
The purpose of the exhibition was to re-examine Sean Keating's  longstanding reputation as a political reactionary with strong nationalist beliefs, and attempts to challenge this. It tries to convey that he was infact an astute history painter, during a turbulent time in national politics.   Almost always present was his concern for narrative, which was often subversive and controversial. Much of his work was intended to document the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War which followed. His work, portraying heroic illustrations of hard working people of the Arran Islands or of defiant men and women during troubled times, full of symbolism,   yet also depicting disillusionment. 
Some would say his paintings gave an idealized view of Ireland. Typical examples of these are 'Men of the South' 1921-22. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Keating,_Men_of_the_South.jpg
This shows a subversive theme depicting men of bravado and defiance, in contrast with another painted in 1924 'On the Run, War of Independence'  show three isolated looking fighters, The atmosphere is one of boredom, apart from the centre figure who looks brooding and pensive  -  unsurprisingly, he could have had a lot on his mind, not to mention  that he is probably on the lookout, while the other two take a break. Unfortunately I have been unable to locate an image of this painting online, so cannot include a link to it.

'An Allegory'  It is intended to be a metaphor related to the madness of the Irish Civil War. The adult figures seem to be in isolation from one another. In the background is an abandoned looking 18th century house, this could be a metaphor for the state of the country.  The men digging the grave are disconnected, one, with his cap pushed back on the head, is wearing a uniform of the Free State National Army. The other in more casual dress of the opposing side, the Irregular Army. A mother and child are symbolic of the damage and suffering of innocents. Though some of the figures are static, the scene seems to be full of energy. Obviously the moving figures make a big contribution but even if I put my hand over that part of the scene, it doesn't lose it completely. I think it's because the other figures and the texture on the tree trunk have an energy of their own, as they are so sensitively depicted, they appear to be almost moving themselves. 
http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/Sean_Keating_Resource_Pack.html
For several decades, Keating continued to make work reflecting his disillusionment and frustration at the socio-political and economic conditions of the times. 

'Strikers' 1958 and a contemporary Michael Kane's 'Political Speech, Chief Excecutive' 1959, critiques such as 'Ulysses in Connemara' 1947 and 'Economic Pressure and a Bold Peasant being Destroyed' 1948 are particularly  sad indictments of the socio-economic conditions which had only worsened since the foundation of the State. In contrast to the more hopeful themes of his earlier depictions of life in the Arran Islands, his annoyance is evident here at the situation which brought about so much emigration from the West of Ireland.
This theme has great significance today against a background once again of economic hardship and emigration throughout Ireland.
All of Keatings works were displayed in  a contemporary setting and many of the largest paintings situated in a huge lofty rectangular room with old brick walls. The traditionalist nature of the paintings and the ornate frames around them didn't seem to me to sit comfortably with the surroundings. Yet, the large shape and size of the space set them of to good advantage. I couldn't fault the lighting. 
What I noticed about the way Keating paints was how he has portrayed the  figures with great accuracy, while at the same time the brush marks are often quite noticeable, and are very free and fluid. In this way he manages to convey a great depth of feeling, brought about by the characters and their environment. They are full of life and movement.

This collection  was shown in the context of the work of some of his contemporaries, many of whose work  is abstract and highlights the very different approach to respond to the same issues at one time or another.

The Second World War provoked different ways of expression. Two of several works on display are described here: Ralph Cusack's response to the socio economic conditions of the time are depicted in 'The Way of the World' 1945 - a ruined structure, dead trees and an empty boat floating on the water under a dark glowing red/blue angry sky.giving off an all pervading sense of post apocalyptic surreal world, ghostly and empty looking. 
http://imma.gallery-access.com/intl/en/tour.php?a_id=274

Norah McGuiness 'Rivers to the Sea'. 
Very colourful  semi-abstract composition consisting of  contrasting blues and oranges. There is a lone worker in the field and a small cottage behind. Mountains fields and water are split into geometric shapes, with the zig zag of a blue river running through the centre. It would have been a familiar Irish rural scene, with a new twist and is reminiscent of stained glass. Unfortunately I haven't been able to obtain an image of this painting.

Assignment 2

Instructions: to demonstrate an understanding of colour, tone, composition and the development of technique in the chosen medium. Two choices available:1. to set up a still life in the corner of a room or table - somewhere giving a surrounding context - this being my own choice. My medium of choice: acrylics.
I often find the organic forms of fruit and vegetables fascinating, but any I've drawn or painted up to now  haven't quite materialised the way I would have liked, so I decided this was an ideal opportunity to have another go.
I thought back to the brief for the still life with natural objects and where the suggestion was made of peppers being an excellent subject. Partly because of this, I put them to the top of the list and because having drawn peppers before, i find they have so many interesting facets. A bunch of scallions, leeks and a lemon found their way in as well and seemed to complement one another well in so many ways, in the following arrangements:

painting part finished

I tried a few variations in the arrangement before embarking on the first (rough) sketch which focuses in on a relatively small area, where most of the detail is contained. I decided against this view, as part of the brief asks to place them within a surrounding context and I don't think it was fitting with that. To some extent  I seem to have got into the same habit with several previous still life compositions, looking back at them now  - it was time for a change. Opening up the view, making use of a larger view of the surroundings was taking me out of my comfort zone as I hadn't been accustomed to doing this. I transferred the arrangement to an island worktop in the kitchen, rather than in front of a cupboard door as with the previous arrangement. Now it was placed in the right context (a kitchen) with a view beyond to the work surfaces and objects in the background. In the second sketch I depicted this as basic shapes and angles and simplified the view with generalised variations in tone. When I stood back to check the sketch I liked the combination of relatively geometric planes and angles of the hard surfaces with the organic shapes of the vegetables.
It was helpful browsing through some of Cezanne's still lifes, as I noticed some had a visible background but they weren't depicted an a literal way, bringing most of the spotlight  on the main subject.In my own I think  the perspective of the background angles also gives a look of spatial recession.
The initial layers of paint were practically scrubbed on thin and dry. They seemed to be sinking into the canvas as I was painting. This I concluded was most likely due my not having applied sufficient gesso. The scrubbing technique emanated partly because I was wary of using too much opaque paint, especially in the early stages, as I didn't want to obliterate the tinted ground completely.

The lemon and pepper were relatively easy to do, particularly with the medium toned background beneath. The shadows and highlights were also quite plain sailing, as I had positioned dark and light paint beneath them before going over with semi opaque paint, so there was a luminous glow under the highlights and beneath the shadows.  This was not the case with the onion heads which too much longer to build up. Looking at them now I would say too much attention is focused on the central area - not really desirable in my estimation.
I think I went a bit overboard with additional shadows (violet transparent paint) on the lemon.
On all the objects I included the complementary of the main colour in the shadows and a touch of its main colour reflected onto the body of adjacent objects and their cast shadows, such as green and red in the cast shadows of the leek to the left. These appeared to work out quite well.
During the next session I had further trouble with the onion heads and spent a lot of time trying to get them to look convincing without chalkiness. I tried fairly dry paint on the brush in mauves (or violets) and greens but the result was lacking in substance. I also didn't  like the grain of the canvas showing through, this seemed to undermine the finish of them and the rest of the composition. I then tried thick paint in two tones, but the result was flat and chalky. Next I mixed some acrylic gloss gel medium with raw sienna and lemon yellow and used this as a glaze. With this I succeeded in removing the chalkiness and it also gave some variation and a slight finishing touch to parts of the lemon and leek. I added further touches to sections of the background. The appearance of depth towards this space behind the arrangement looked too separated,  so the addition of  yellow and raw sienna helped to connect it with the rest of the composition.
I did consider using cards to paint at least in part, but lost my courage. Perhaps I will try them for another similar subject. I know the effect will be completely different from a painting done with brushes.
Unfortunately I overlooked my tutor's suggestion on this occasion of trying to mix a palette from a painting that I aspire to, but it  sounds well worth doing, so I will try to do that at the next opportunity.

A cut off portion of some colour tests
and studies. I later discovered
there was a problem with the computer/scanner, hence
the other two images didn't materialise

Later adjustments

Following suggestions from my tutor I:
sharpened the angle of the chopping board making it more acute (bottom right),
altered the lemons' surface, the surface of chopping board and
darkened the background.

Finished for now? - this photo isn't as clear as the one above,
it looks more faded out.

I prefer the angle of the chopping board now, it seems to have the effect of causing the nearest corner to project outwards from the picture plane; dark shadows added underneath help to accentuate the angle further, balancing up the dark space in the background. I added more contrasts to the surface of the board which brings more focus to the area. These elements in combination have effect of throwing the arrangement into dramatic focus adding dimension and depth, whereas the whole area underneath the arrangement previously looked rather wishy washy. 
I added touches of tube consistency System 3 acrylic to the body of the lemon (cadmium yellow/white) without much blending to help give more texture. I would have liked to bring this out more but was afraid it may look out of place against other parts of the arrangement; in the sense that the paint would have a different finish.

Completed version after adjustments

I scrubbed on and glazed paint in the background, - ultramarine, sap green,  phthalo green, alizarin crimson and raw umber mixes - plus white - added to a strong black band down the centre acting as a distraction. I left hints of the existing warmer greens visible in part of the background as they seem to pick up the similar greens in other parts of the composition. 

Exercise: Simple perspective in interior studies

Composition sketched in with 3B pencil and light shading with a 5B.

A disadvantage for me here was that I couldn't stay in the same place to do the painting as I would have nowhere to put my materials , so I had to move to another part of the room and rely to a great extent on the sketches, so I improvised by painting the scene from the sketch/es while looking at the scene from another angle.
The medium was acrylic and the colours used were mixes of raw sienna, raw umber, ultramarine, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, titanium white and mixing white.
As the instructions were to paint in the initial outlines and then use light colour washes, I was slightly nervous . What little watercolour painting techniques I've done  before were many years ago.  To try and compensate for this I made three larger sketches of chosen view on watercolour paper just in case I made a complete mess of things.

With the first painting I decided not to continue beyond the wall tiles and the slats on the window blinds whose angle of perspective looked too extreme and I felt I couldn't rectify it. I liked the pencil marks on the underlying sketch but I don't think these have worked out as well in paint - they're a bit clumsy looking, especially the container at the top, the pan and kettle.


I'm happier with the second painting in general, but I think I've lost the interesting mark making on the appliances in comparison to no.1.
The area around the wall, cupboard and window look more three dimensional and sloping away. The perspective seems convincing and I like the way I've left the outline of the worktop behing the appliances visible, which help to give them a look of transparency. I'm not sure about the table mats though - it's hard to make out what they are at all. The shadows are too heavy and clumsy looking - all in all, my first effort with these was more convincing.

The dark wall to the right of the wall cupboard appears to give a look of recession in relation to the light toned cupboard doors, though the wall does look streaky in the upper and lower areas. I added a touch of cadmium yellow and raw sienna mix to the doors and apppliance to help them advance in space. Because the warm tones were limited to one half of the composition, the result of this was to create an unbalanced look, although I think I managed to cure this discrepancy by also adding a little of the mix to other areas .
By attempting to add a suggestion of foliage outside the window I think I managed to make the the lower part of the  area look rather confusing, or nondescript.
The easiest (and most spontaneous) part was the container on top of the cupboards and the door knob on the bottom right of the doors, each completed with one wash.
I wanted to work in a loose style but overall I think the way I've applied the paint is rather clumsy looking.

Linear Perspective

Linear perspective is a way of creating an illusion of three dimensions on a flat surface (or plane).
To construct a composition in linear perspective three basic elements are needed:

1. Horizon line
The horizon line is always located at eye level wherever we are looking. For instance if we are looking down or up, the eye level is always the same level as the eyes when looking straight ahead, not where we are looking down or up. Other examples are: if we are at the top of a mountain the horizon line is very high, or if lying on the beach and the level of the ocean where it meets the horizon drops with us.

2. Vanishing point

Converging points of parallel line/s that move away from us and appear on the horizon line. Depending on the type of perspective, there may be one of several vanishing ponts.

3. Convergence lines

These are receding parallel lines that converge at the vanishing point. In the case of rail tracks these lines meet on the horizon line.

Image: Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Fantasy on a Magnificent Triumphal Artch, 1765, etching
http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/piranesi.php

Exercise: quick sketches around the house

I didn't find the first set of sketches while standing up, very pleasant - I felt tense and uncomfortable for some unknown reason. Measuring proportions was tedious. The second ones (sitting down) were easier and more relaxing. This was partly because this time I wasn't using a viewfinder to as great an extent as with the first set   and I was relying partly on the previous sketches. Though the surroundings were familiar it didn't seem to make them any easier to draw than if it was the first time I'd seen them. The layout of my kitchen is such that there is an island unit jutting out across the centre of a room which is L-shaped. For this exercise it was necessary to rotate 45 degrees for each sketch while staying in the same spot, so some areas were very close to me, hence there is a lot less depth in some than in others. The perspective leaves a lot to be desired in certain places. I picked sketches 1 and 5 as having the most potential for a painting on this occasion - the views had a look of depth and were less cluttered than no.s 2 and 3. I also liked 4 and 6 but there was almost a total emphasis on verticals so they may be better for me to try as abstracts sometime. The perspective looks the most accurate on 2,3,4 and 6. It isn't difficult to locate them even without labelling - below.

 

Chosen sketch - this one was a bit more
prolonged than the others