Part 5 – Laura Baker 522918 Learning Log

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lekhdsXD-Ro
This video I have watch countless time during my preparatory work for Part 5. It strikes a chord with me a I can relate to the majority of what Eardley describes of her working practice.

Initial Thoughts

After reading the course notes on Part Five, I have a few initial ideas that are naturally coming to me for a starting point:

Key Words

Space, expanse, open, outdoors, green, blue, mist, stance, weight, imposing, large, voluminous, solidity, presence, nature, existence, low cloud, rain, valley, landscape, panoramic, views, dark, dusk, low-light levels, harmonious colour palette, subdued, modest, Scotland, dreich, beauty, wet, lush, vegetation, curious, exploration, trek, freedom, walking, travel, adventure, home, undulating, mountains, high, low, peak, historic, pastel, mixed media, layers, abstract, loose, calm, trees, plants, grass, thought-provoking, comforting, reliable, relaxing, elements, exposed, brutal, forgiving, unforgiving, brave, courageous, magnanimous, habitat, home, fondness, reminisce, memories, feelings.

Initial Conceptual Ideas

Frottage / printing / scraping / mark making / using fingers / caveman-style painting/ evidence of mark-making technique (fingerprints, scraping, angles, lines, tool marks) / raw materials / wet-in-wet, layers, granulation / chalk pastels / watercolour inks / water colour / water spray / charcoal / loose expressive work / colours / moody and subdued or moody and vibrant / blues, greens, ochre, lavender colour palette / woodland, heathland, coastal landscape / panoramic view / large paper / textured paper/ textured materials and/or medium / close up view like Vija Celmins? / black and white and energetic like Tacita Dean? Stabby unrefined marks like Paul Cezanne? / 3D, textural / tactile / crab, seagull, lobster pot / nautical / maritime/ rough / textured / tooth on paper / handmade paper / canvas/linen / natural or found support / sandpaper / kitchen paper, collage, base-layer texture / primitive / pottery / ceramic / three-dimensional / useful / utilisation / aesthetic / clay / natural materials / geography / rocks / formation / Joan Eardley expression and emotion.

Artists

Joan Eardley – https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16334/lot/73/ – used sand paper as her support and pastel for this portrait. https://youtu.be/lekhdsXD-Ro must visit this video again, lots to think about. Eardley used natural materials for mixed media/collage effect – daisies etc. She used to paint in the open air next to the scene she was painting. Materials at the scene would be used in the painting whether by accident or on purpose as she would paint in the wind and rain; exposed to the open elements (sand and grass being blown onto the wet materials etc.) She painted what she felt from the scene more so than what she saw.

Margaret Evans – https://www.margaretevansart.com/ – https://www.margaretevansart.com/scottish-galleries – I really enjoyed looking at Margaret’s work. There is a calm and peaceful quality to the scene she sets in her landscapes and portraits. The soft material of the pastels she uses blend luxuriously and produce landscapes with atmosphere with a softness from the soft edges synonymous with pastel landscapes.

Tacita Dean – My thoughts continually return to Dean’s work because of her atmospheric and soft exposure techniques she uses to offer her work to the viewer. It feels as if there is a ‘feeling’ that is being indicated through her work rather than purely the subject alone. I like her use of monochromatic colour palettes, either black/white tones or sepia.

Vija Celmins – As above with Tacita Dean, I really enjoyd looking through Celmins work in this and previous parts of Drawing 1. Her work is similar in the use of a gentle and subdued monochromatic colour palette. I was drawn to the up close and personal view of some of her work. Some perspectives that she used were unsual, such as Ocean or Sky produced in 1975. These unusual styles of compositions were offered to the viewer where the subject matter completely filled the frame and offered no alternative clues for context. I felt literally immersed in the scene and sometimes that made me feel a little uneasy in that I was searching for the meaning or message of the piece and my brain was trying to put the work into context where there were no clues such as the tops of trees or boats etc.

Dennis Creffield – I went back to Creffield’s work after looking back through my coursework for Drawing 1. I still appreciate the strong structural lines of charcoal over a softer, blended background representing a man-made structure. I noticed that I am yet again drawn to a monochromatic colour palette here. I also liked the natural properties of charcoal, a man-made medium out of a natural product. This made me think of the first recorded cave paintings and their simple use of line and natural found materials.

Matthew Draper – Scottish artist who produces really beautiful and atmospheric artwork. I can identify with Draper in which apparently he works instinctively rather than with methodical and systematic techniques. I feel unrestricted when allowed to follow what ‘comes naturally’ rather than applying a series of rules and regulations to my paintings. That being said, I do understand and can apply basic theories to describe tone, form and shape etc. It appears that I am also drawn to Draper because of his gentle focus of the landscape, soft edges and lines and subdued, neutral or monochromatic colour palette.

John Bell – “His subjects are often along the Ayrshire coast near his home in Troon, where the expansive shoreline and the ever changing weather provide unlimited subject matter. He is interested in the quality of light and colour in the Scottish landscape, particularly the sky, which often dominates his paintings. His brushwork and use of colour capture the movement of the cloud and the effect of the light on the land and the sea.” https://fotheringhamgallery.co.uk/artists/john-bell/#:~:text=John%20Bell%20Artist&text=He%20painted%20from%20a%20young,Architecture%20in%20Glasgow%20in%201993.&text=He%20is%20interested%20in%20the,which%20often%20dominates%20his%20paintings. Although Bell usually worked in oils, according to the above website, I can see some similarities in his execution of his landscapes compared with the above artists discussed. The colour palettes are harmonious and natural, much like the subject matter he paints. I am excited to read that he also takes great inspiration from the natural elements and weather that change greatly in Scotland. I feel an organic bias towards the weather and the elements and maybe this is a good direction to take my artwork for this part of the course. The difference in the oils when compared with the pastels and charcoal is that they tend to give a more solid or heavier quality to the outcome whereas the pastels and charcoal could offer a more lighter, softer and translucent feel.

Stephanie Dees – I quite enjoyed looking through Scottish Artist Stephanie Dees. She has blended natural and man-made structures/ landscapes in some of her work which is an interesting composition to look at. It makes me consider what some people might find beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. I also notice her calm and subdued use of colour palette across the main body of her work. I enjoyed the ‘cartoony’ likeness of her landscapes with architecture. It felt soft and approachable rather than strict and imposing. some of her mark making reminded me of Paul Cezanne with the short stubby brushstrokes. It surprised me that I liked the inclusion of maritime vessels in the shoreline pieces that Dees produced. It gave a real nautical feel to the work and the contrast between the sharp lines of the man-made items of the boat and seaside architecture compared with the gentle lines and edges of the natural world that give these items context in the composition.

Ann Blockley – Ann throws me a curve ball in my line of enquiry here because she goes further with her abstraction and expressive compositions. There are still recognisable elements in the pieces such as animals, beehives or fences to give clues of the landscape but there is great experimentation with different textures and mark-making practices. These give a really unusual and engaging composition. I enjoyed looking through her book because it was vibrant and exciting. I love the idea of adding texture into my work which evokes the thought of wanting the viewer to reach out and touch the work with their fingers to satisfy another sensory stimulation whilst engaging with the work. The evidence of the artist/practitioner at work also leaves some really interesting marks on the support and I quite like the crudeness of this; the traces of the artist at work can be read like a story.
Further research into the following artists was also undertaken.

Kurt Jackson- I watched two YouTube videos on Kurt Jackson and felt a strong connection to his way of working. He explains that he thrives on spontaneity and getting out in nature to see and feel his surroundings. He also talks about laying down a layer on his support prior to beginning to take away the worry of starting on a imposing white surface. I enjoyed his honest and raw approach to his materials, using paint pots to spread the mixed media around feeling free in his approach, not limited by rules/ regulations. He talks about putting himself in unusual situations to produce unexpected and exciting results. I see that his work is heavily influenced by his geographical location next to the sea.

Picasso – ceramic plate, 1948 – I like how Picasso has painted on a different surface, almost like sculpture crossed with painting. Painting is no longer on a flat plane and comes to life with something that is useful, it stays with the viewer and has a purpose. Reminds me of the primitive cave paintings and how they were made for a use or with reason rather than purely aesthetic. Utilisation / practical. This area of research inspired me to look further at sculpture and textural artwork. I also looked into using clay / gesso as a foundation on which to paint or to dig into the clay to create a ‘negative’ piece of work that goes into the material rather than coming out.

A few other artists whose work I explored during this stage of inquiry:
Ron Lawson, Judith Bridgland, Wendy Brooke-Smith, Emily Nelligan, John David Wissler, Sarah Burns, Jim Campbell, Peter Dworok, Garry Brander, Ivon Hitchens and Willem de Koonin

In the Cloud, 1991, Richard Long
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/AR00143

A really interesting piece that utilises a written account of the landscape the artist experienced. I never would have thought that text is still a visual language but when taking into account the font, size, style, colour, background etc. I can understand how all these elements can piece together a concept for the viewer to make use of. That, and our innate desire to read written text ensures the viewer stands long enough to read and comprehend what the artist wishes the viewer to initially take on when looking at this piece.

“I did not paint it to be understood, but I wished to show what such a scene was like”
Joseph Mallord William Turner, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/student-resource/exam-help/weather

‘Turner said that he wasn’t trying capture what a storm looked like but what it felt like. In order to fully experience the terrifying power of nature he asked to be lashed to the mast of a boat during a storm, risking his life.’
Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth,1842 Joseph Mallord William Turner http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/N00530. This piece by Turner ensured the viewer felt the force and magnanimity of the elements in this scene by his clever use of directional marks.

Experiments and Investigation

Whilst taking into account the extensive preparatory research and following my intuition surrounding the ‘landscape’ theme, I decided to begin embark on a self-guided journey towards my final piece for Part 5. To kick off my adventure, I took to my sketchbook by means of written investigation, looking back at all of the work I had prepared for Drawing 1 and analysing the strengths and weaknesses I had encountered along the way. There were many moments that I enjoyed that I had forgotten about which have somehow become absorbed into my daily way of working, subconscious competencies, likes/dislikes or biases towards particular areas of interest. The main area, which I highlighted through my sketchbook investigation, was that throughout my studies, I had become more strongly linked to works which were slightly abstract, expressive, textured either physically with mixed media/unusual supports or by clever use of describing texture through manipulating media. The idea that a viewer may take a moment longer than a simple glance at my work, to try to understand and allow themselves to become immersed in the atmosphere I try to create is a very appealing thought. In my sketchbook notes, I highlighted words which were the clues to the way I like the work and excitingly, my starting point for my final assignment. The key words I identified were: unusual material, temporary, emotion, layers, elements, mixed media, texture, tactile, instinct, natural, landscape, spontaneous, moment, experience, blurred/soft focus, passing moment, weather, loose, expressive, immersive.

Initially my ideas were to look at the castles, stones and rock formations that I had seen on my travels. The monumental structures whether man-made or natural were impressive and I was drawn in by the texture and colour of the stone/rock. I was torn between large up-close and personal views like Vija Celmins and wide sweeping landscape views like Peter Podmore above. I started with experiments with a close up view of my subjects and gradually expanded the view, taking my sketchbook and various supports with me on walks like I had done with the sketchbook studies previously. I also researched a little into primitive artwork left behind by our ancestors on cave walls with natures art materials. I therefore initially concentrated on materials that contain mainly natural ingredients such as charcoal and soft pastels.

Duffus Dreich

On a wet and wild day, I spy Duffus Castle standing bold and stubborn against the brutal Highland winds. The historic hard stone meets with the soft youthful grass which is where I take my shelter and view point; lying down so I can peek through to see the hero of my piece. I wanted to give a soft, out of focus response, which echoed the mist and fine rain that enveloped us. Grey clouds ensure the well-watered grasses pop and give this landscape the natural beauty it deserves. Pastel landscape, A2, 2020.

Now I feel I have come to a natural conclusion of my preparatory work. I have been continually walking out and exploring to gain inspiration for my subject matter and, after my practical and theoretical research, am ready to move towards the final piece.

Bibliography

Category: Part 5

Dr 1, Pt 5 PREPARATORY WORK and RESEARCH for Personal Project and Written element – 19/07/2020