This weekend i was supposed to be heading home, delivering paintings and seeing the family, But with Storm Emma, That wasn't possible, but very pretty photos from home. In Aber, we tend to get the bad parts of snow, the cancelled trains, the closures, the late deliveries, broken boilers, but no sign of snow! Unfortunately not the best quality photo, the light in the studio is sometimes difficult to get around but, overall i am happy with the progress i have made on my paintings this week. Friday: snow Day, Uni closed, My paint and board in uni. so i decided to make a start to my extra 10 credit four pieces which I'm going to make drawings again of the coast.
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Investing in a new sketchbook, brown paper, i feel that on a none white paper the tones are nicer, something i have been trying to do in painting is eliminate white unless necessary, and i am enjoying the challenge. A4 Conte Crayon on paper. Painting on square, Still trying to get consistency in my paintings but whilst developing and getting more challenges from painting them, the last thing i want is for them to become easy, and therefore boring for me and sloppy, but so far my interest in the subject is maintaining itself.
Monday: 09.00 Early start out on the seafront collecting resources, painting, sketching and enjoying the sea. Tuesday: 08:00. Planning on painting things from Yesterday, the weather was so lovely that I decided to paint out. Opportunities don’t arrive quite so often. Although the weather is pretty lovely, the colour pallete im going for for my exhibition isnt of today's weather, but i find it quite difficult to paint miserable weather on a day like today. Drawing from location is always a good practice either way, and will help me move forward in my paintings. Update on this painting. not quite sure if it is finished, but im trying not to over work paintings and trying to keep some of the energetic marks and the layers with out painting over them and over fiddling, keeping the drips and artist marks but only how ones that add to the painting. its difficult but i'm sure ill get there i love the excuse that being on the seafront is my form of "working", i always like to remind myself how lucky i am to be even doing a degree here, where i can be in lectures and the net minute walking across the sea, it is truly my favourite part of being here and i really don't want it to end. The reason for my subject matter and how it has developed is that the sea brings me happy memories of where i have lived, and enjoyed throughout my life, but also, whilst i'm in Aberystwyth i feel i should be painting something that interests me from my surroundings, i always feel we should make the most of what your give, if life gives you lemons as they say.
Morning fog, 8 am. I’ve started to come to the conclusion that my degree show isn’t going to do itself, and although I haven’t been happy with my paintings at the moment, I need to do I to myself: it’s the end of my three Years here and I want to make it count. Painting for me. scrubbed back some boards I don’t lik and drawn out some ideas to paint. It’s got to start somewhere and no time like now. from everything I have learned through painting, I know what I like and what I don’t by now, and I feel that by best comes out when I enjoy what I’m painting. There’s plenty of time for me still to develop and st the moment I care most about trying to capture the essence of a place and letting the colours live. Getting movement and real life in to the painting. I love that when I look at my work it brings the memory back of painting it, and the place. Some hint that always amazes us me.
mixture of days, got my essay mark back and am so pleased. Highest mark I have ever had on a piece of writing and won’t bring my grade down. Very happy about that. But not entirely happy with the Assesment as suspected they loved this painting, I suppose it had got more of me in it, but that feeling of you s not good enough is hard to take. presentsuon went well nervous as usual but pleased, And after my results this semester I’m happy, I got pretty much the same mark in everything of a high 2:1 , always frustrating that you’re that close to a first, but it’s not why I’m here, and as long as I always do my best I can never be upset by a number. snow again. Work progressing slowly but surely.
Snow has been non stop, coming and going. But my deadlines are only coming, and they’re not going anywhere. So now is the time to press on. drive back from home at Christmas is Never the nicest of journeys but I’m so happy to get back painting my favourite place. As usual I had plans to get some of my art history work done, but a week home goes very quickly so all my deadlines have to be done. And will be. aswell as finishing some paintings and nesting them up I started some more and it has been very enjoyable. Let’s hope assessment goes alright. not quite sure about this one, most recent one I painted and is from a half hour study that I quit as i didn’t like it, which will probably mean university Will think it’s the best. Normally the way.
last day of lectures, including last ever art history lecture at th school of art, a moment of bliss or a sad turn of events? Maybe a mixture. Every week that passes this year I realise how close it is until the end of University? What will I do next, masters? Who knows. Time to go home for a week or so and relax- even though I have so much work to do, I know I will get it done, and my degree can wait, and still be completed, but family time comes round very little. - as I’m one of 7 little times are we all together . I really enjoy looking back at old disposables- and Polaroid’s. They’re more precious than digital photos, and for me are a memory, a part of you. These elements are something that I really like to get in my paintings. I’m not after realism, if I was I could do that in an instant. What I’m most drawn to is getting the essence of a place, and for me when looking back it brings back a memory of maybe blur, but hopefully happiness. And for someone else to connect with it in anyway, maybe. Bringing them a memory, or showing them what they saw but in a diffwrb t way. That’s much more important to me. Otherwise I may aswell have s crummy photos on my walls. That I can’t remember taking. I’m not quite there yet with my art but if I was why would I still be painting? Once you can do something it is very boring for me. I constantly have to find new challenges and for now it’s the movement in a scene and picking the important elements- in some way an abstract of a scene. But in my mind everything is abstract art as no one can recreate reality, reality is reality and that cannot be represented. anyways, merry Christmas all. Enjoy all.
as the essay deadline day is fastly approaching and is normally where I let my grade down, I have been extra specially working very hard on trying not to fail. Libraries actually have information? Also came to realise that a lot of the art books on my shelf at home have lots of helpful information in. Who would have thought! I have been finding this essay incredibly difficult to start, at 3500 words one of the longest pieces of writing I’ve ever written, and a week to write it. I mean I’ve been writing drafts but after a tutorial with the project lecturer I have a better idea of how to tackle it! And can’t wait for it to be over. with all the essay writing and preparation for the art history modules I found it quite difficult to pick up the paint brush at the moment. But I need to always keep painting in my mind and practicing so I don’t get out of practice so I went out for a couple hours essay break and did a couple of studies, very calming for once which I think is shown in the paintings and has made me take a more calm approach to this essay! unbelievably I managed to get my essay done, and it was time for my birthday treat, what was getting me through the week, seeing the kooks in concert. A band that originated from my town, and in my top 10. But haven’t yet seen them in concert. I like to have things to look forward to when doing my degree it’s like little rewards for everything I’m doing- and giving other elements of joy to my life. Which is very important for us to achieve our best. We must be in a good frame of mind, and it brings the best out of us. the weekend in Cardiff, Christmas is approaching. Enjoying the winter wonderland. A very nice treat. Let’s just hope my essay is good enough.
Group crit went well and had some good comments about the newest paintings. Really started to see my work going somewhere but this painting wasn’t for me. With that in mind, I’m sure I will always look back at this painting as a breakthrough. It changed my whole perception on painting, in my head it is representational but apparently many people see different things and evokes a lot of emotion. But that’s not all I have learned, through exploring paint application, brush sizes, applying the paint straight from the tube aswell as glazing and mixing my own colours using water to thin down the paint, I realised there is so much more for me to discover in paint. However painting clouds is no longer for me. after deciding clouds were not for me I looked back at some old work and thought that waves and the sea was something I always liked to have in my work. The water. And a lightbulb moment was I realised I have always been interested in movement and light and the forces of nature. And the paintings that are the weaker are ones where they are of something still.
Capturing movement in a painting rather than representing nature is my new goal. I went out to test my theory and instantly was drawn to the water, the way it reflects the sky aswell as how it can be entirely different to the sky. And how it can be calm or how it can be so powerful. I was only at the seafront for around an hour and I’d already filled half a sketchbook with sketches of the waves and did about 8 oil studies and felt so happy that I had something to work on and develop. Now time to channel all this enthusiasm and get meaning in to the paintings getting the sense of place rather than a pure representationz Group crit went well and had some good comments about the newest paintings. Really started to see my work going somewhere but this painting wasn’t for me. With that in mind, I’m sure I will always look back at this painting as a breakthrough. It changed my whole perception on painting, in my head it is representational but apparently many people see different things and evokes a lot of emotion. But that’s not all I have learned, through exploring paint application, brush sizes, applying the paint straight from the tube aswell as glazing and mixing my own colours using water to thin down the paint, I realised there is so much more for me to discover in paint. However painting clouds is no longer for me. after deciding clouds were not for me I looked back at some old work and thought that waves and the sea was something I always liked to have in my work. The water. And a lightbulb moment was I realised I have always been interested in movement and light and the forces of nature. And the paintings that are the weaker are ones where they are of something still.
Capturing movement in a painting rather than representing nature is my new goal. I went out to test my theory and instantly was drawn to the water, the way it reflects the sky aswell as how it can be entirely different to the sky. And how it can be calm or how it can be so powerful. I was only at the seafront for around an hour and I’d already filled half a sketchbook with sketches of the waves and did about 8 oil studies and felt so happy that I had something to work on and develop. Now time to channel all this enthusiasm and get meaning in to the paintings getting the sense of place rather than a pure representationz |