Edvard Munch

 Reading a Guardian article about the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (watching the football would be just far too normal), I was struck by his expressive brushwork and handling of colour to create tension and atmosphere. Studying the artists works has given me some idea of how to construct a project focussing on human beings (figures or faces), whilst not making them the SUBJECT of the painting, but making aspects of the human condition, emotions and impulses the main aspect of the painting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jun/22/edvard-munch-ghosts-of-vampires-and-victims

 

 

Oh! You Pretty Things

David Bowie is on the television, and he's just overpoweringly brilliant, I feel that there is something about these light soaked, bespangled images from the past of this great, great man and artistic force that is deserving of and needing to be captured. This could be a potential influence on my project. I am interested in the extremely extrovert theatricality of the performances, the quality the primitive film cameras inbue the images with, and mostly the realisation that the shimmering, glittering icons of the golden age of music are perhaps the closest things to living legends we have in the modern world. They are sequined Greek Heroes and Gods, enshrouded in neon spandex and the unimaginable exoticism which is so terribly lacking from modern, sterilised music, film and perhaps even art. There is a bravery and extremism to Bowie's music and performance style, underpinned by lyrical meaning rich enough to support a vast range of concepts in my work. I could perhaps explore juxtaposing/fusing images of musical legends such as Bowie with Romantic/Rennaissance works of art depicting legendary mythological figures.

Initial Ideas for Unit Three

From my previous work, I have leaned that I have a predilection for portraiture and figure work. I would therefore like these elements to form the main subject matter for my forthcoming work. I enjoy painting using traditional media such as acrylic or oil paints, the latter of which I intend to refine my skill in using, and eventually replace acrylics as my default media of choice. I wish to carry forwards the experiments in thickly, loosely applied paint from my Unit Two work, as well as some of the grandeur from my Unit One, although hopefully shedding the clunkiness and dull style of painting.

As aforementioned, I wish to focus on portraiture and figurative work, although I do not wish for the accurate/evocative reproduction of the human subjects of these works to be the main or only concept of the paintings. I would like to find a way of expressing ideas or concepts I am interested in through the symbolic use of portraiture work.

Reviewing Units 1 & 2

Here I stand, balancing on the precipice of Unit Three, tentatively embracing the next stage of my artistic education. However, as in all areas of life, one can only move forwards by looking backwards, so here follows a brief summary of the points raised in my evaluations from my first and second units of work. The intention being that by picking through my past successes and failures, I will be equipped to proceed with my work in a more considered, self-aware fashion. This, apparently, is a good thing.

  Self-Evaluation - UNIT ONE

The original aim of the this project was to explore the formal elements of art and design  (line, tone, texture, colour and so on) through studies from a ‘Shadow Box’ assemblage in the style of Joseph Cornell. These explorations included experimentation with new and unfamiliar materials and styles, such as blind contour drawing, dry-point etching or wet-on-wet watercolour work. This broad technical experimentation provided me with the knowledge and wide understanding required to make an informed and uninhibited decision as to the thematic and creative direction of my project later on.

After a brief false-start I concluded that the strength of my assemblage lay not in exploring the physical subject matter of my assemblage box, but in its concept – which was that the objects it was comprised of represented the individual elements of a piece of writing, a novel condensed into physical items, if you will. From this I took the core idea of attempting to reduce a novel and all its themes, associations and ideas to a single image. Of course, I then had to select a novel to begin working from, and it was Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ which I settled upon, owing to my personal adoration of it, its rich aesthetic ideologies and punchy, highly visual Faustian central message. I immediately knew that the final outcome would be some composition of characters from the novel, symbolic objects and setting, and so the first thing I was to digitally engineer the face of Dorian Gray himself, in order to have solid reference to draw/paint from. The development from that point onwards was really just finding the perfect combination of figures, symbols, colours and details and configuring them in the best possible composition in the most suitable media.

If time and the limits of human endurance had not been restrictions, I would have developed much more thoroughly my painting technique, focusing on the actual application and brushwork as opposed to colour and composition. I feel that the lack of technical refinement in my sketchpad is responsible for the technically lacklustre and somewhat underwhelming feel to my final outcome. If I had more time to study John Singer Sargent’s style and technique, completing a bulk of studies in acrylic and oil paint,  I feel that I would have gained the ability to bring the separately developed elements of the painting together in a more impressive, coherent and ultimately visually attractive way. My final piece’s mediocrity aggrieves me deeply, as I am keenly aware that there was so much potential to create a beautiful painting, and each aspect was individually developed carefully and tastefully, but the piece as a whole lacks the finesse and consistency necessary to carry off these individually strong elements. In short, it is as a whole less than the sum of its parts.

However, if given the opportunity to do things differently, I believe that a success could feasibly be made of the project. I would firstly use a smaller canvas, to enable myself to create the painting in a less preposterous amount of time. I would also look into experimenting with oil paints, a material for which I fear acrylics have been a poor compromise in this instance. I would change the colour scheme from the hideous dark green to a warmer, more consistent and less detracting palette, and would crop the composition to eliminate much of the empty space and give the figures of the two men greater impact. I would also complete some sketches of models posing in the exact poses of the figures, for anatomical and proportional accuracy – something for which I feel incredibly foolish and highly amateurish for not doing before starting painting.

Nonetheless, I feel that there are many successful parts of my project. My AO3 composition sketches are some of the strongest pieces of work in my sketchpad, and were invaluable in refining exactly what I wanted to capture about ‘Dorian Gray’ in my painting. I feel that whilst I find it essentially ugly, the content painting does capture and symbolise the meaning and plot of the novel effectively, and the poses of the figures and symbolic flourishes (the ghostly, haggard Dorian emerging from the smoke of Lord Henry’s cigar or the flower withering at the ghost’s touch) tell a decipherable but intriguing story that gives the painting some depth. I was also particularly pleased with my collograph work, which was essential in establishing the tone of the painting and the basic concept of showing Lord Henry’s corrupting influence over Dorian.

Prior learning that aided me in this project included a basic understanding of the character and suitability of different materials, a wide appreciation of artists and naturally a thorough understanding of ‘Dorian Gray’ so that I could draw from my own knowledge of the book as ample and reliable reference. After having completed this project, my understanding of the formal elements of art has been greatly strengthened, and I have gained an appreciation of previously unheard of materials and techniques through experiments such as my dry-point and colloggraph work. I also feel that I have a better understanding of what preparation must be undertaken before beginning an ambitious painting,

In terms of time and effort, I feel that I have surpassed myself, and despite the results, have invested heavily in this study. I have endeavoured to explore my ideas as thoroughly and skilfully as possible, and have avoided cutting corners, often at personal expense. I feel that perhaps I must find a more concise, focussed way of producing work, as the amount of time and energy invested into this project is simply not sustainable. That said, the journey this project has taken me on has been a thoroughly enjoyable, creatively stimulating, eye-opening experience, and most importantly has left with a more definite sense of direction as an artist, which I consider to be an invaluable reward.