Assignment 2

I am massively struggling for inspiration for this assignment. The notes say I need to demonstrate my understanding of colour which, in my monochrome house, is proving to be difficult when trying to find a source of inspiration. Still life and interiors were my nemesis in Drawing Skills and I really want to do this assignment justice. I have therefore decided to turn to the internet for ideas. My research can be found here:-

https://jansocapop.home.blog/2019/06/25/assignment-2-research/

Composition

Spending a couple of hours researching other artists to get ideas has suddenly given me so much inspiration.

I started in the kitchen. In the corner I have a blender, set of scales and Sonos speaker.

These objects are all silver grey and white and very much reminded me of James White’s paintings. Whilst I like the arrangement and monochrome composition, I am very aware that I need at least a little colour in this painting.

Thinking of MacDonald’s Apple painting and the Knife in Chaplow’s photograph, I picked a couple of apples and arranged them on a plate and placed them on a stool then sketched them roughly from a couple of different angles.

I didn’t like any of these and felt the items were too disconnected; the stool and plate felt too staged.

I moved the plate onto a table and added a mug and did a couple of sketches.

Looking down on the plate appeared wrong and the perspective incorrect. It was only when I lowered myself down to the level of the plate with the foreshortening of the knife coming towards me that I started to feel excited. This composition has possibilities.

Still keen to revisit my earlier thoughts regarding the bedroom shelf I shut the blinds turned the lamp on and did a couple of rough sketches.

The first at an angle but I didn’t like the perspective. The second I sketched square on. I had decided to add a book for added interest. For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemingway was my choice, thinking that it was a witty take on the alarm that wakes you up in the morning. The ironic thing is my husband, whose alarm clock it is, doesn’t read! Whilst I haven’t totally abandoned this idea, I have decided to concentrate on the plate, apples and knife for the moment.

This time I chose charcoal, rearranged the objects and started to sketch them in my book. I suddenly remembered a painting by James White that I had seen during my research called Under the Microwave (2008).

http://jameswhitestudio.com/2008/tkxau809hn3o9ua83qvfiwziqsvrbe

I am painting in my conservatory and the recent spate of warmer weather has caused insects to enter and then die overnight so each morning I wake to yet more dead insects on the table and floor. I decided to include a couple of the insects in the sketch and am going to call this picture ‘No, It’s my Apple!’

The teeth marks in the apple show it is being consumed and any lengths will be gone to protect this.

Preparation

I have decided to do an A3 painting on oil paper and use a combination of alkyd and normal oils. To ensure colour matching I have stuck a smaller sheet of the same paper in my sketchbook to use for practice. I took a photograph of the objects for reference as the cut apple will discolour over time. I will also be working on this both day and night so I wish to have some continuity of light to refer to. I also find that, to ensure correct proportions, using a grid helps my initial sketch on to the paper.

So far I have not decided on a ground for the painting. I want the bright white of the plate to shine through and have found in some of the exercises the darker grounds have dulled the effect; my paints may not be of best quality and therefore may not have strong pigment. My thinking is to do thin layers of similar coloured washes to the objects and then build up tone and detail from there.

I drew a grid on A3 and using a light charcoal pencil I sketched out the basic forms onto the paper then brushed the loose charcoal away leaving the faintest trace of outline. At this point I am not sure I have the ellipse correct on the plate but will adjust during the painting process.

Progress

Because I want the whites to stay bright I chose to block some very diluted washed of different colour alkyd oils to start in similar colours to the actual objects/ I was a little unhappy with the natural grey as this turned out much browner than my intention.

To use up the rest of the paint on the pallet, I then started to add in a few details to create some form. It was also an opportunity for me to experiment with how I am going to achieve the pile on the fluffy cushion.

Returning to this after a couple of days I decided to start with the mug and get the detail of the pattern drawn in. I used an F lead pencil to outline the pattern then used titanium to paint in the light areas.

My next task was to colour correct. Using Payne’s grey and white, I laid down a base of blue/grey for the settee and put in a little shadow. This will need to be refined later.

Finally for today, I toned down the yellow of the table using Naples yellow, white and burnt umber again putting in some shadows to begin to give form to the objects. I also added the dead flies simply to mark their position.

The painting was still feeling a little flat so using Payne’s grey and black I added some darker tones and then with a fine brush painted the black of the mug.

With the same colours on my pallet but with the addition of white I then painted in the sofa. I found that it was easiest to blend the oil paint with my finger to give a smooth surface. A medium flat brush allowed me to add emphasis and detail. The same colours were used for the knife adding a little Naples yellow to help with the reflections, particularly under the handle. Close inspection of the white plate actually shows that it is a very pale grey and this was my next task to give the plate form and to show the reflections. At this point I also painted out the flies as I felt they were in the wrong position.

I had concerns over how I was going to tackle the two cushions. They are both the same colour but one is fluffy and the other satin with sequins. I started with the satin cushion, using oxide of chromium, Payne’s grey and white and a medium round brush and started with the mid tones. I then added the lighter areas of the material and finally the darker details. The sequins were put in with dots of lemon yellow mixed with white. I used a fan brush with the other cushion, layering different tones of the green over each other to represent the texture of the material.

I am really happy with both of these, I think my approach was quite successful and I particularly like the dimples in the bottom corners of both cushions where they are resting on the settee.

Detail was then added to both apples using a mixture of medium flat, found and fine brushes. Finally I grain to the table and the two dead flies.

Finish painting – No It’s my Apple!

Reflection on Assignment

Use of Colour and Medium

I chose oil on A3 Winton Oil Colour paper as this is the largest I have. For future assignments I may consider joining pages together to create a larger surface. Oil was my chosen medium and I felt this was right as it would enable me to blend colours together and create a realistic painting which is my aim. I struggle with colour and indeed, my house is very neutral and so I needed to do a lot of decision making to find a subject with colour. I really paid close attention to the real life colours and was pleased with the results as I do think I have managed to represent the actual colours with careful mixing.

Composition and context

I like to find a slightly unusual composition and feel I found this with the foreshortening of the knife by lowering my eye level to almost level with the objects. The space on the bottom right of the painting is deliberate; I wanted the composition to look spacious, light and casual, not formal and staged. The addition of the flies were a little tongue in cheek but actually became the inspiration and almost the most important part of the painting, stopping it from just looking like a ‘pretty picture’ and adding a little intrigue.

Mark Making and contrast of Line and Tone

My tutor commented that my first assignment piece looked like I had used the same brush throughout which I pretty much had. This time a made a huge effort to use different shapes and sizes of brushes. There were various sizes of flat and round head brushes used for the majority with the fan brush for the cushion and a fine brush to help with the details. Although most of the brushwork is quite smooth, if brush marks became apparent, I chose not to wipe them away or work them in. The items were set up in my conservatory on a sunny day and so the still life was very light with very little shadow. I took great care to look for the darker tones within the composition.

Form and Experimentation

Playing close attention to tone helps to depict form as well as careful analysis of the perspective. I think I was able to give an accurate depiction of the still life objects and am particularly happy with the cushions and knife. I wanted to paint an accurate depiction and again feel this has been successful. The perspective of the mug is slightly out, not helped by the fact that the top of the mug is eye level so you cannot see into it. The ellipse of the plate is also very slightly out and the edges could have been smoother. I think the experimentation in this painting was with the different brushes that I have so far not used in any of the exercises.

Reflection on my progress so far…

So far I have made the discovery that I am not a massive fan of acrylics. The fast drying time does not seem to suit my style of painting, the paintings become blotchy and I find myself dissatisfied with the results.

Demonstration of technical and visual skills and quality of outcome

I feel I have demonstrated my visual skills in my assignment painting and also the exercise with the bag. I like looking for accurate perspective and tone and think I have achieved this. I have done some experiments in my sketchbook, some more successful than others and have found that I begin to like a painting once I have walked away from it for a while. The colour exercises were interesting and the blue and orange flowers were quite successful to demonstrate the complementary colours but again I wasn’t really happy with any of the paintings done with acrylics. I however enjoyed the exercise I practised with a little watercolour and think this is a medium I will use again, particularly with landscape.

Demonstration of creativity

Favouring realism, I lack imagination and feel creativity is a weakness. That said, I do like searching for unusual composition and think I achieved this in my Assignment. I note that many of my exercises were done, rather unsuccessfully, with flowers; wanting to try something challenging, I chose this subject. I feel the most successful of this set was the thistle painting and I have tried to experiment more with different types of brushes.

Context reflection

I have found research to be difficult in this part. Struggling with time and also the fact that all research points are so vast I found it hard to tackle the enormity of the subjects. I find it much easier when focusing my research on a small topic, for example when researching for my assignment. I have also found that I really enjoy studying the work of contemporary artists and find I can relate to these better than the old masters.