This week I have been developing my large painting - I worked on it all week to get it just how I wanted it which took forever! I'm not entirely sure if it is finished yet but I am happy with the result for now - I reached a natural stopping point.
I used a technique where I just let myself paint without thinking using large quantities of thick oil paint. I like using oil paint because it's thick consistancy lets me make a mess and experiment with different textures and patterns I can make. Also the fact that it dries slowly if something I find useful for my practice - I like creating mixtures of colours within each layer byletting the colours blend together as well as layering on thickly some tones that I want to show up more vividly. I generally love the texture of the oils and I think this is important for my project as it's all about expressing what I feel inside and within my Unconscious - this way I am comfortable with the medium and enjoying the process thus making it easier to communicate my emotions through art.
I had worked into the painting the previous week to get some base tones for my work - I had first begun with dark/cold colours such as blues and purples. I felt these colours communicated how I felt as I picked them to express particular feelings and thoughts I was experiencing at the time, e.g. the blue tones always feel very meloncholic to me. As I had previously used the oils on the board they had half dried/concealed - this was perfect for building the layers as I could work over the top of them and create a sense of levels of the unconscious with colours as well as being able to blend certain areas where the paint was only partially dry. As I worked on my piece I let my natural responses take over and decide what tones/textures to develop next - it was an exhausting process both mentality and physically!
When I had worked on the colours enough I decided to work on the textures more. The direction of the brush strokes was important to express the array of emotions - but I tried not to think too much about the process and let the piece come together naturally. When I tried to control the process too much I found certain elements ended up becoming less successful and these sections would have to be developed again.
This progress linked in with the idea of the Stream of Consciousness or Free Association Writing theory - a Freudian theory as well as well known element of expression and insight to the psyche - basically this outlines how by allowing one's self to write without thinking it will eventually show an insight to their unconscious and things that possibly the person may not have realised they felt. My painting process touches on this theory - replacing writing with painting. Although I do the writing also as an artist - which is why I decided to include elements of the written word in my practice. I am interested in how the two art forms can be combined in different ways to express a sense of my unconscious. My writing expresses how I feel in a more structured way than by painting which is why I wish to explore ways of linking them together - in particular using fragments of writing in my word.
My first idea was to explore projecting writing onto painting - an idea I will still look into - but after my tutorial at the beginning of the week my tutor suggested that I try writing into the paint. I wasn't keen on the idea at all but I thought I'd experiment. I began by choosing fragments of my writing to carve into the layers of paint - suprisingly it worked very successfully. Mainly because the writing was crudely carved and half unrecognisable - this showed a sense of the hidden unconscious and how it appears to be the more secretative part of the brain. I carved in more fragments of writing - all linking to how I felt - structuring them around the piece. I marked the letters using a pencil and a pallet knife and as I carved into the paint it revealed all the different colours and layers beneath the top layers. I also began scraping at the top layers of paint to show through other layers beneath to mix in with the carved lettering. Once I was satisfied with the markings I left the painting to dry for a day so it would conceal again and then I used a smaller amount of oil paint to go over the surface to bring out certain areas and highlight the words. I also mixed in a bit of sand with the paint so that the top layer would dry with a texture - this was also to formate the idea of the top layer of the unconscious being the closest to the conscious mind and the thickest "barrier."
I am pleased with the progress and I plan to create more pieces using these techniques. I want to create a sense of "walls" with my paintings and then create a form of installation inside the space that will be framed by the large paintings. I also have the idea of using small items/fragments of items in my paintings to make them "3D paintings." These items would be ones used for my installations or similar to them.
Installation
I still am unsure about what items to include in my installations - I am working on including CDs that I have bought as blank copies which I am in the process of burning particular songs onto them that have some effect on me - that conjure feelings and emotions in relation to my unconscious, e.g. sometimes I am unsure of why they have an effect on me, some sort of association etc. I plan to use these to create an installation - one which will be tempory and photographed for documentation and possibly one for a more permenant piece that will be linking to my final collective of work.
I am also working on a book of collective written works which will be included in the final installation collection - I want the book to used as a contextual and visual piece. The book will be an insight to my unconscious and show where my ideas have come from as well being a piece of art itself. I will have the book propped open - I have an idea of using some form of miniature sculpture to hold the piece open so the writing can be viewed and the book can be seen as a piece itself.
Overall I am pleased with the progress of my practice. The next stages will be the development of my installation pieces - beginning with the tempory ones. Also I will be beginning another painting next week - a large one, possibly slightly taller than the last one - which I want to develop more texture on.
Looking back on my photography pieces that I began at the beginning of the project - I plan to go through the collection again and work on the next pieces I want to take. I will work on the pieces I have and decide whether I will use them as individual pieces or as a combination with some other piece. Some of the photographs have been used for my collective writing book - as illustrative pieces. I want to also work on more photography, looking at it from a more personal level by photographing places that I have connections with and also photographing myself in different ways to express my emotions/thoughts. The set up/locations for the photography will also help me to figure out what to use in my installations. I also have ideas to project the photographs onto the floor or onto pieces of work and the idea of using the print room to produce some pieces onto fabric is also an option for me.
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