Assignment 5 REVISITED

This assignment is designed to replace my previous endeavour - Version 1. Initially, when I began to think about what kind of approach to take the second time round, I didn't particularly want to depart from the rock theme in Version 1. It wasn't long before another slightly different theme revealed itself as a more inviting proposition. 

Sample of brushwork practice -
showing the most extreme contrasts

As further ideas began to reveal themselves - from various sources, the original (rock theme) went on a process of gradual transmutation through a series of sketches and experiments with paint and other materials.
I also paid a lot of attention to trying to improve on the previous palette, as my choice had latterly been a bit of an issue with my tutor and (later) myself after I had viewed them an adequate number of times to absorb the palette defects. Moreover, I wanted to concentrate on loosening up the brushwork and paint marks - the message coming through from my tutor as an underlying concern from time to time – my compulsion to over blend and tidy up; trying to make a picture instead of using a more experimental painterly approach - yes even now I am still doing this, but I think a bit less now.
So, I practised with the brushwork in various colour combinations before embarking on the series. 

more
brushwork practice

In an effort to take on board my tutor's suggestion of taking some inspiration from Luc Tuyman 
http://www.wikiart.org/en/luc-tuymans/gas-chamber-1986 
and Mike Newton’s visible brushwork, I practised with this in various colour combinations using contrasting values and saturations of colour before embarking on the series.

Other influences in this regard were Cecily Brennan, William Crozier, 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/william-crozier-9205/paintings/slideshow#/15
 Richard Diebenkorn, 
 http://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/richard-diebenkorn/untitled-m.jpg these are high resolution images showing the brushwork very clearly
and William Theophilis Brown and the California School painters in general:  
https://www.pinterest.com/rhballard/california-school-painters/

Previous exercises 5 and 6 - abstractions from natural and man made forms - had worked well in helping me to seek out the essence of a subject and to simplify, distort and change in several different ways.

In spite of this, the experimental stage of this version (as with the Version 1)  again became quite protracted with a lot of trial and error before I felt confident to proceed to the final painting series.

Initially I intended to use sketches I had done, based on one of twisted tangled  dead branches of ivy (below and right) that I did in exploratory stages of Exercise 5, Part 5. My intention was to divide one of them into 4 and make a painting of each of the 4 parts while varying the palette eg. Add more yellow for one, more blue for another and so on.. After increasing the number of sketches of branches from different angles and focusing in on a particular area as an alternative, the one view divided in 4 seemed to work better - shown below.

Influenced by Henry Moore's
Standing Figures

I was attracted to the idea of each one flowing into another when placed together in a square and at the same time working independently.

The sketches - (below right and left) contributed towards No. 1 and No. painting below.

These 'doodles' appeared
during a phone call

For the studies I toyed around exploring various media, palettes and paint techniques plus various media including cement dust, tissue and magazine papers, card, dripped and splattered paint etc. Going through this process however, I couldn't summon up enough enthusiasm to proceed with this plan – I felt that it was basically not going anywhere – I kept getting ‘stuck’ and I couldn't see a way forward with the palettes I’d picked. So, yet another change of plan.. Around this time my attention was repeatedly drawn to a charcoal drawing  I made previously, 
loosely based on the sketches of the branches some while back, but mostly from imagination - shown right. This had a strong bearing on No.s 1 and 3. I placed my adjustable viewfinder on different parts of it, discovering a couple of areas I felt were worth translating into paint and the same with certain areas of two of the branches sketches that I felt were worth taking further. I was confident of their potential to complement one another, having similar components.

Other contributing factors in helping to reignite my enthusiasm were the palettes and techniques of:

Giacometti’s painting ‘Head of a Man’ - while randomly flipping through an art book . There are numerous versions:
https://www.google.ie/search?tbm=isch&tbs=rimg%3ACYoh-o9Lb7hEIjhPo8zesw46eeiuL63tRwey7415RFxVwVGuNdzcnnQqRckYf9RxnQkzXDhVHP1_1JDWHKKMONN73QyoSCU-jzN6zDjp5EaGDhMWcUxg1KhIJ6K4vre1HB7IRV0hyCUF1FmIqEgnvjXlEXFXBURFn6yaaTYm7byoSCa413NyedCpFEYylhLjAc1e8KhIJyRh_11HGdCTMRUN2O-G0emXQqEglcOFUc_1X8kNRHRNFHYp-zjQSoSCYcoow403vdDEZ12OKoRuTKQ&q=giacometti%20head%20of%20a%20man%20painting&ei=M4_nVLOUBtGS7Aaq0oHQDw&ved=0CAkQ9C8wAA&qscrl=1 

Cecily Brennan’s painting ‘Geyser’ - in an old catalogue I possess of her exhibition at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin in 1991 - with its palette dominated by muted white/greys through to dark deep greens and lesser amounts of deep aqua like blues and pale yellows to deep ochres and  the expressive impasto paint application. Unfortunately I can't display it on this blog for copyright reasons; this was the only image (from the series) I could locate online:
http://virtualgallery.artscouncil.ie/pdf/aspecialplace.pdf - page 15.
There are a few more on this link. This triptych appears to be most similar to 'Geyser':    http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/Search_Repeat.aspx?searchtype=AUCTION_RECORDS&artist=11090898
Other sources of intrigue for me were:
a few photos of entrances, bridges and tunnels which I had collected and saved in a folder way back. Also a newspaper article I’d kept with an image of Henry Moore’s 'Standing Figures 1940': http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/moore-standing-figures-n05210  - of particular note were the palette of muted blues, reds and ochres and the dark holes within the figures, as were Barbara Hepworth’s hollow sculptures
http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives/barbara-hepworth-museum
 and Graham Sutherland’s painting ‘Entrance to a Lane’: 
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sutherland-entrance-to-a-lane-n06190
Pierre Soulages's thick swathes of black also came into the picture, particularly with No 1 and No 3
http://uploads4.wikiart.org/images/pierre-soulages/peinture-23-avril-1963-1963.jpg
and Giacometti again- this time his multitude of wire like tangled lines used in many of his drawings, paintings and sculptures, reminding me of the tangled lines in some of my sketches.
I could go on..

Painting process:

The full series was painted on gessoed mountboard, media: acrylic and charcoal. Additional materials were used in individual paintings. I also changed the palette very slightly between each one. The dominant colours throughout were: Phthalo Blue, Paynes Grey, Cadmium Yellow, Raw Sienna, Titanium White and a touch of Crimson. 

Note: The numbers below the images do not necessarily correlate with the order of progression.

Number 1 study

No.1 Not including the prior studies, this was turned out to be the quickest painting to complete from the series of 4, taking roughly 1.5 hours. Thinking it was unfinished I put it to one side while I completed the other three, intending to return to it afterwards; by the time I had completed the other three I had decided it didn't need any further work; it has a certain roughness which I find appealing. Anyhow I was certain that if I so much as started to do anything further it would inevitably end up overworked and ruined. As with all the paintings I started off with applications of charcoal lines, and veiling (partially covering the charcoal) with white and dark blue/black acrylic paint alternately, re-applying some charcoal and then the paint again; a technique I picked up from Steven Aimone's book, Expressive Drawing. This was after I had glued on a few pieces of watercolour paper here and there - mostly in the major lighter areas and one or two magazine papers.

Number 1

I continued, using a process of addition and removal of damp and just dry paint with brushes, plastic cards, palette knives, fingers and cloths both damp and dry and I scratched into it with the corners of plastic cards and a small screwdriver.

It looks to me as though some similar methods of paint application might have been used in Franz Kline's painting C and O. I spotted it after I had completed the series:
 http://uploads3.wikiart.org/images/franz-kline/c-and-o-1958.jpg
Also Torches Mauve http://uploads0.wikiart.org/images/franz-kline/torches-mauve-1960.jpg 
I wasn't keen on this way of painting before I researched Tachisme but it is really growing on me.

Number 2 study part done

No 2 - the third one to be completed. It was taken from a zoomed in area of one of my numerous sketches of tangled ivy branches; some are shown above but doesn't include this one. 

No 2 -study

I applied a partially rough textured base to this with polyfilla and paper pulp. This didn't progress as the study and I became conscious of rather more time passing by than on the first painting (No 1). I got to a point where I almost abandoned this. I ploughed on and began to notice things starting to take a more positive turn. 

No 2 - completed

There were areas I didn't want to depart much from the study, but eventually I realized they weren't going to work - the whole thing looked disjointed  so I made repeating elements - areas of similar tone, hue and texture, playing down some highlighting. I thought this had the least promise earlier on but once I had finished it went up the scale, in my estimation. Because I connected a diagonal section going behind the dominant shape  (moving top to bottom) which is textured and highlighted more on one end, this end appears to to be pulling outwards while the darker quieter end looks to be moving away. The shapes appear to be oscillating, bringing about a surface tension. The touches of light at top and top left help to balance the similar toned dominating areas of rough texture in the lower portion.

No 3 study

No 3 This was the last to be completed. I started with an accent on purples, which seemed to feature less towards the end when I added further mid-blues, greys and very dark blue/blacks, continuing to go with the flow of the previous two. I did experience quite a struggle with the central area - it was chaotic and confusing for a lengthy stretch; I had not fully resolved the lower portion in the study and  such a lot was happening in this areas. Through a process of adding and removing paint it eventually began to pull together. I do still think there is room for improvement in the centre. This is more three dimensional than the other three, particularly No. 1.

No 3 -completed

No 4 - completed second in order. The palette has an accent on greens. This was the most problematic and time consuming. The paint was applied in a similar way to No 2. The areas of lightest tones took applications of multiple layers of paint before approaching anywhere near a satisfactory balance - not to appear over quiet or noisy in relation to the rest. Alterations in one place would upset the balance in another area,  but because I had high hopes I continued until eventually bringing it to an acceptable conclusion rather than give up. I felt that there needed to be more contrast in the  lower third of the study in the  final painting and I think this was were I started going off along the wrong track...comparing the two of them now I prefer the study for the most part, as it look quite raw and spontaneous - as No 1. I think I have lost a lot of this in the painting; it is also consequently less interesting than that in the study due to my dulling down of the palette. This one appeals to me least of all.

No 4 study

No 4 completed

In Summary - the joy of spontaneity I'd experienced with the first painting didn't happen with the other three; I spent much more time and effort on them before I could say they were 'finished', despite all the tryouts and studies I made beforehand. I thought that each painting I did would help me more with the next, whereas they seemed to present even more challenging obstacles to be crossed, although I'm sure I learned much from each one as I progressed. I felt there was much scope for experimentation; I was happy with the basic compositions, it was the colour combinations and paint application that needed more work. As with No 1, I used similar paint techniques on all the series, albeit for widely varying a durations. In addition I made use of paint applied transparently, dry brushed; changing shapes and edges, plus thick opaques, especially the lightest tones. I kept going until at last I could see a gradual look of cohesiveness developing. This was true particularly with Nos. 2, 3 and 4. All the while I kept trying to consider important basic elements, such as balance, harmony, contrast, repetition, unity, rhythm, gradation, dominance. Hopefully many of these facets were also included more or less intuitively. Despite a multitude of influences on this series, the influences have major similarities, which I think have come through in the four paintings. I think that by adding certain textural materials in each painting and making a very  conscious effort to use the paint quite expressively, it has I hope, had a more positive effect this time around.  

Part 5 Assignment 5 - first attempt

sketch used for No.1

Prior to starting this assignment, several options were on the cards, My increasing inclination was to move towards abstraction for the assignment series, during my progress through Part 5. The idea to use something relatively humble as a single piece of rock for my motif only began to develop when I was in the process of doing the exercise - Abstraction from natural forms. While trying to pin down a  theme from my list, a chance passing glance at this rock prompted me to study its contours and distinct patterning more closely, setting the process in motion. From the start I intended to use the rock only as a source to explore ways of putting a composition together with various paint techniques and materials. I wanted to incorporate many techniques and materials from earlier exercises in Part 5, plus a few others I had picked up elsewhere along the way through the course.
By attempting sketches from various angles and distances i.e. close-up detail, side views and face on views, including parts of the outer contours, and from playing about with cropping, a long narrow format began to suggest itself. The same motif occurred repeatedly in separate guises, yet I could see plenty of scope for variation, though finding a pleasing composition proved more problematic than first anticipated. It took several sketches before I began to feel comfortable with the subject, which was surprising since I found it so inspiring when I first noticed it in amongst a collection of rocks around the house and made the decision to use it. This could have been due to choosing a detail of something already relatively abstract as opposed to a more identifiable subject. Although, on reflection I don't think there is any difference in reality, it depends on how it's perceived. Subsequently several alternative views materialised, most of them later turning out to be useful, which was not apparent to me at that stage.



The choice to go with a palette of unrealistic colours was made after a spontaneous quick experiment, using up some old paint left over from the previous exercise - from man made form. This amounted to a mixture of tube consistency crimson and vermillion acrylic with additions of cadmium orange,  on the white surface of a sketchbook page, and a tangle of fairly dilute pthallo blue lines applied over from several angles with a long flat bristle brush. I was impressed by the intensity of this combination, played down by the dull blue lines over.  I thought about alternatives but came back to using a combination of the above colours, including some sap green to make dark inky blue/green mixtures with pthallo blue and paynes grey.
After this I also did a number of quick colour and paint application experiments, with
variations of similar colour combinations using paint in different ways. The following, which I mostly incorporated into the series all worked well:
Wash-off technique - placing still damp painted surface under running water spray of a shower head to partially remove the paint in repeated layers.
Oil pastel and glue resist under watery paint.
Resist: leaving selected dry and wet areas on surface before applying dilute paint.
Scratching back into wet paint with paint pusher.

for No.2

Immersing watercolour paper into water then dipping into dilute paint and allowing it to run over the surface.  For this I considered Helen Frankenthaler's and Morris Louis colour stain paintings. I had done several experiments using a similar process, on small A6 sized paper earlier in Part 5 and was very impressed with what materialized.
Mixing matte gel medium with paint and water produced more visible brushstrokes depending on the consistency, especially over a surface of still damp medium.
Masking fluid was a nuisance to work with, it gave variable results and I found it could easily damage the paper on removal.
In addition to wanting to take the above experiments further I was keen to use a mixture of found materials in a least one painting, which transpired into the first (No.1). Thereafter things became a work in progress, one sketch or experiment leading to another, partly influenced by the above experiments.

No.1: acrylic and mixed media on gessoed canvas glued to thin wooden board.
I combined a few pieces of old discarded paintings, brown paper and gesso and glued them down on the surface. The canvas texture was left on view here and there. I combined transparent and opaque layers of paint plus very dilute to dry brushed paint consistencies. I removed some damp paint here and there with a rag at various stages. At this point I had already started to build up the surface layers for No.4, but hadn't begun the other two.


No.2: acrylic and mixed media on gessoed mountboard.
This only emanated from a spur of the moment decision inspired by a tonal sketch. The sketch contained textured areas that brought to mind sand or other rough textured material. This was in sharp contrast to smooth textured areas, giving it a dramatic appearance.

No1

To build areas of relief and texture I glued on bits of otherwise discarded materials: plasterboard tape, offcuts of handmade paper, crepe paper, smooth thick paper, open weave cotton and sawdust, which was mixed with pva. The sawdust is a bit smoother than sand and wonderfully malleable . As I was doing this I was aiming for the right balance. Even so I relish this part of the process, often more so than painting.

No2

 No.3: acrylic and pva on 300gsm watercolour paper
Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler's soak-stain paintings and artists using similar techniques had an influence on this one. Also in part from earlier exercises (see above list of experiments) - several of these kind of experiments on small A6 sized paper earlier in Part 5 and was very impressed by what materialized.
First of all I squeezed pva through a nozzle (after a bit of practice) to make basic design outlines.
Then I briefly dipped the paper support in a bath of water. Then I dipped it in dilute paint: dark blues, orange and red, one after another and tilted the paper various directions, encouraging the paint to run over the surface.

No3

Following this I waited to allow the paint to absorb a little. The surface was still well soaked in paint which gave time to manipulate it. I continued adding and removing paint - dripping on paint in fairly dry areas and tilted again to allow it to run over surface and removed in places with a damp rag. Added further dark paint towards the corners with a wide foam brush. Because of the amount of liquid applied the paper buckled. Although it straightened out a little when dry. I think it would have been more successful possibly using pre-stretched paper or even a thicker board like paper, as I have found that even pre-stretched paper often buckles. The glue initially resisted the paint a little more than I wanted, leaving too many white bits scattered around, place so I re-applied paint onto most of it to try and give it a more subtle appearance and it seemed to work reasonably well. Also, the runny paint would have moved around the surface easier if I had mixed flow improver with it - something to bear in mind for the future..

No.4 Acrylic and oil pastel on gessoed 300gsm watercolour paper
Inspired by a technique by Gemma Guasch, from the book: Acrylics - Creative Techniques. It is referred to as the 'wash-off' and basically consists of appliying acrylic paint in various consistencies,  using a range of applicators, then partially removing the paint with water spray, sponges or damp rags.
For this one I kept to roughly the same palette as the other with more white, pale and mid orange and reds, I reduced the amount of blue, restricting it to a rough emulation of the meandering lines running across the rock surface. Just prior to this I added  lines of dark red and white oil pastel, loosely following the painted lines, to add a little more interest and I gently rubbed off any areas painted over from following applications.   I discovered that paint applied with a sponge  roller produced mottled patterns covered in tiny paint spots. When I placed it under the shower the still wet spots were removed leaving the drier areas intact, revealing a particularly interesting textured appearance of the lighter toned layer below. Finally, for subtle shadowed areas, I added some very watery paint using the same inky blues as for the lines. During the layering process I had to be watchful of how dry the paint was. If too dry not enough or no paint would be removable and if too wet most of the paint, if not all would disappear under the running water. Some paint that was pre-mixed with matte gel medium seemed to hold together when mixed with water and resisted water slightly more, which helped a little, but there was no real discernible difference. A lot of it was a case of trial and error, but at least small experiments I had done beforehand put me in good stead, so by then I was quite familiar with the process. A conglomeration of my preliminary work was definitely instrumental in bringing about his particular composition.

No4

Up to a short way into No1 painting I intended to use the same composition for each one in the series. During the painting I decided more interest could be created by varying the views between each one, without too much risk of spoiling the look of continuity, I think this has worked as they all have certain characteristics in common: same basic palette, subject and format. Orange gradually began to creep its way in more and more, until by No4 it was the predominant colour. All the same, I am not altogether comfortable with the colour combinations. No.s 2 and 4 convey a similar diagonal emphasis, very noticeable when placed alongside one another and likewise No.s 1 and 3 a vertical emphasis.
As time went on I suddenly noticed that I had been unconsciously working away from direct observation of the subject. I had already realized, as with the Towards Abstraction project,  this way of working allows for more freedom of interpretation which I feel is a decided advantage in my case, being of a tendency to adopt a rather constrained style normally.
What I intended for the series was essentially four different abstract interpretations of patterns and contours on a piece of flat rock and layers of strata around the sides and in this respect I think it has been successful.
I found the biggest hurdle was achieving cohesiveness in individual paintings, particularly the first three. I think I managed to bring it about by calming down much more, areas towards the corners and repeating areas of colour close in range, such as the oranges and blues in No.3. Concentrating on directing lines towards the focal area also seemed to help - case of constant adding and subtracting. Though the subject is unrecognisable there is a sense of depth in all of them. They also have a tactile quality apart from No.4 which is completely smooth.

Artists whose work  I considered were:

Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler soak stain paintings:

http://www.wikiart.org/en/helen-frankenthaler/glow-ii-1968

http://banditblog.com/helen-frankenthaler/

Jackson Pollock
Lee Krasner abstract florals:

http://www.patternpeople.com/pattern-pairs-erdem-x-lee-krasner/

Jose Manuel Broto - Day Celebration 1983

http://www.march.es/arte/palma/coleccion/artistas/jose-manuel-broto.aspx?l=1

Jane Frank, particularly the Aerial Series and Crags and Crevices
Although an abstract expressionist painter, Jane Frank's style of painting is sometimes referred to as 'geomorphic abstraction' (wikipedia - Standing Apart) having a sculptural quality built up with many layers. Described as a laborious process, concerned much with trying to make a three dimensional space on the canvas surface to give the effect of deep voids or passages going back or moving away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Frank_Crags_And_Crevices.jpg
http://www.wikiart.org/en/jane-frank

Jaap Wagemaker
http://tunodajyuku2.blogspot.ie/2013/10/jaap-wagemaker-living-desert1957.html
The way Frank and Wagemaker have utilised found materials, I find particularly intriguing.

Angie Zimmerman's fascinating paper sculpture of cast paper pulp (which I would like to make use of in the future), photo collage and wood,  inspired by elements of the natural environment melded together.
http://frankjuarezgallery.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/untitled.jpg