Watercolours

Watercolours and I have reconcilled our differences and perhaps bonded somewhat. Image is commissioned piece © Thomas William Barnett 2012

Plaster and Paper - a stroke of genius from Denise

An extremely interesting flurry of ideas - ageing shown in glass, working in a semi-sculptural way, pressing my face into a vaseling covered bag of plaster. Seems insane but infact quite brilliant. Atony Gormley, a veritable master of the human figure, provided the start of the conversation with this work below, featuring figures almost pressing themselves throught the walls of a large white cube. Althouhg Gormley is dealing mainly with the human body's relationship with space, there is an element of the harrowing emotion of Much's work in the decidedly lonely way the figures are presented. This developed into exploring the idea of figures pressing through paper/canvas to create a painting with a semi-sculptural quality to it. This captured my imagination, and I am fascinated by the mental image of the shape of a human face pressing through the fabric of a canvas, painting itself into reality, escqaping from the material. This could be an extremely vivid way of exploring the fear of and obsession with aging and vanity I mentioned previously as a potential theme. The idea of someone trying to escape from their own face is haunting and powerful.

I was then introduced to a glass artist by the name of George F Jackson, who uses figures and multimedia in his glasswork to explore the theme of ageing and its effect of beauty- somewhat callously using his wife as a subject for this brutal exploration. The results are fascinating though, contrasting the shapely figure of his young bride with the sagging, lumpen form of his middle-aged partner. This is an interesting look at the emotional responses to ageing.

http://www.gfj-glassartist.co.uk/gallery.html

Thanks Denise!

Drawing from Life?

It has been recommended to me that I explore creating more work drawn from life as opposed to from photographs. This is certainly something which on a conceptual level appeals to me greatly, firstly as it seems far more Romantic and legitimately artistic than sitting crouched over a small photograph taken by a bleeping, whirring electronic monstrosity.

I can also appreciate the immediate benefits it might have for the quality of my work, as I do feel that some of my previous portraits feel rather conspicuously like painted copies of photographs, rather than of the people themselves, as I am having to interpret the camera's own limited capture of real life. I also feel that working from life would offer me a greater chance of capturing the spirit  of someones face and features, as seeing them in even the slightest motion indicates their tendencies and 'iconic' habits specific to the sitter - for example if a person has a particular predilection for curling their top lip when expressing feelings of distaste, or raising an eyebrow when making a point.

However. However, however, however. There are practical constraints, as a mere art student. Whilst I fully agree that to work from life is indeed the ideal way to work, finding a sitter who is not only inspiring facially, but also patient and willing enough to sit for possibly hours for me may be something of a challenge. I have devoted friends, but there are limits. It also means that I will obviously will not be able to pursue my famous/deceased muses as mentioned previously, as I am not prepared to grapple and beg for decades with Vivienne Westwood's management team for the sake of an A2 portrait.

As far as compromising and doing some drawings from life and others from photographs goes, I do not know whether that would be a satisfying solution. To go back to photos after experiencing life would seem like a technical regression, whilst starting with photos and moving to life may feel disjointed (or maybe it could work, must think). It is now a questions of deciding upon my subjects for my paintings so that I can begin organising the participation of my sitters/photographic subjects.


[EDIT] After re-reading this article a few times, I am edging closer and closer to abandoning my famous muses, and instead pursuing some drawing from life of more anonymous but I am sure equally wonderful sitters.

Ageing, Youth and Beauty

Ageing and youthfulness, and their correlation with a concept of beauty may be something that I could explore as a proposal for my Unit Three work. This may perhaps allow me work in many of the diverse sources of inspiration contained in my previous posts. I could explore my personal dilemma of balancing beauty with truth in my artwork, still use some of the muses which I have identified as typically inspiring to me, and could also work in some of the deeper meaning epitomised in Much's paintings by exploring attitudes to age, youth and vanity. This may also provide and opportunity for some self-portraiture work. I could explore age and youth in its extremes, or could also focus on the considerable physical ageing which occurs in the brief span of years of childhood and adolescence.

Key words from this somewhat messy late-night splatter of thoughts seem to be: Youth, Beauty, Ageing and Vanity.

In The Aftermath of Sue

Having consulted with my tutor about a potential direction for my Unit Three project, I have come to the decision that I need to come to a decision regarding the purpose of my investigation. I am conscious that this makes me look a little lost and perhaps clueless, but it is not that I am straining to find something that I am interested in, it's more that there are so many things I feel like I could explore and investigate, but I don't feel a particularly stronger urge towards any particular one.

It has been recommended to me that I explore drawing or painting from life, as opposed to photographs, which is something I agree would be beneficial, as it removes the middle man, allowing me to work without having to account for the limited interpretive abilities of the camera's sensor.

There is a key dillema in my ideas on portraiture. On one hand, I lean towards the aesthetic, deliberately choosing subjects who I find to be beautiful (in relation to my own sense of beauty) or interesting on a superficial level. I enjoy trying to capture the features which create this ephemeral element, breaking down an intangible concept into physical shapes, cheekbones chins and eyebrows. However, on the other hand, I feel like I should strive for something more meaningful than beauty, and that I should perhaps be more honest in my work. I sometimes find the aforementioned romanticising of everything sickly, and at one point, after watching a harrowing documentary on the subject,  felt compelled to paint pictures of children with facial disfigurements. This is perhaps an extreme response, but nevertheless, I think an embracing of the grimy truths of faces and bodies might be an artistically - and spiritually (?) helpful exercise. Self-portraiture was discussed in my consultation, and proves an interesting vehicle for this contradiction.

This latter idea may be driven by my belief that portraiture should be meaningful - more than just an accurate representation of a face and character. They must say something more universal and identifiable. I just need to figure out what it is that I want to say.

Musings on Muses

Looking over some non-college work I have created recently, I have come to identify a theme of recurrent interest to me - a particular breed of subject, more specifically. Noting my enjoyment in capturing and exploring the character of prominent figures such as Vivienne Westwood, Katharine Hepburn and Kate Bush, I have identified that the people who inspire me artistically tend to be opinionated, eccentric, unconventional women. The reasons for this, no doubt, lie in some horribly tangled psychological disfigurement, and so do not invite further pondering. I do think though that on a very immediate level I am drawn to and respect massively human beings who manage to battle the crushing monotony of conformity and establishment to carve out their own inimitable, unforgettable niche of creative brilliance, and to maintain, crucially, a sense of dignity whilst doing so.

These are perhaps the traits which I picked up on and became excited about in my earlier somewhat gushing post about David Bowie - though he is not quite female. I need to think more about this trend of inspiration that I have identified, and try and discover the key idea which makes these people interesting to paint, and develop that into a message or idea to explore in my Unit Three project.

Below are images of the aforementioned 'muses' and some of my work from them:

Victor Wang

Victor Wang's evocative portraits have many qualities which I intended my work to posses. These include the rich, romantic colours, thickly impastoed textured paint surface, and a thoughtful, contemplativeness which makes them highly absorbing pieces of art. It is mainly the richness and tactility of his brushwork which inspires me. I tried to achieve a not entirely dissimilar effect in my Unit Two paintings, although greatly subdued in comparison, and this style may be something that I could develop in my Unit Three work.

http://www.victorwang.net/index.html