Tag: Experimentation

I have started working on a new idea for a painting.

Critical analysis:

Following my practical experiment with a repetitive activity, I came to the following conclusions:

My composition should focus on the essence of this exercise – the coffee, glass with ice and lemon, and a bottle of sparkling water. This still life setting is a constant in my experiment and in the foreground of the overall image. It never changes and there are no visible modifications and adjustments to the position of all items on the table.

The view with people and arm chairs in the background is the variable of the image. This part of the composition is dynamic and frequently altered by randomly passing visitors, slow morning business or just emptiness of the space. Interestingly, the focus in my work is reversed from people onto objects. The underpinning narrative of action in the background, behind the centre, is out of focus and less important than a simple still life like setting in the foreground. The same cup of latte, the same slice of yellowish lemon and the bubbles of gas in the glass.

Subsequently, my plan is to remove the constant and the obvious – the expected. The place in the sub-light, the focus of the composition will become empty and covered by the background colours and textures.

I plan to use paint and, step-by-step, over-paint all foreground objects, while recording this process digitally, perhaps as a video or a photographic timeline. Editing will follow to further refine and emphasise my creative intentions. I want to divert attention from the foreground to the background. A jet of water, or a cleansing power of a washing machine and powerful detergents will be replaced with a hand painted background.

The Three Burmese Monks are gone and disintegrated now. The time has come up to erase my morning coffee experiences.

All really important issues always take place behind the scenes, in the distant and seemingly unimportant vacuum of background void.

I plan to progress to working with a new theme titled ‘Coffee Routine”.  This idea was generated during my recent research trip to Costa Adeje.  I am still in a phase of reflecting on this bizarre experiment.  In the meantime, I have decided to introduce a radical change to the Three Monks piece.

Through overprinting, I have created a cloud-like impression of a school of birds overwhelming the monks.  The next step will be to bring some detail into this colour layer by using delicate patches of blue.  Their main function will be to reinforce the structure of the birds and, therefore, make them more recognisable yet not illustrative of visually descriptive.

The canvas has also been stretched.  This created a natural boundary and boarder between the image and surrounding real world.  The sharp edge and 90 degree corners formalise the piece.

I am very exciting to start mapping the new composition onto unprimed canvas.  This will move me partially away from portraiture and possibly allow me to experiment with an alternative.  The focus is on a still life and the participating characters and the narrative are in the depth of filed.  They have a purely supporting role and function, while revealing and giving a glimpse of the underpinning story.

I have continued with experimentation, while working on my two recent pieces. The photographs below show both, an overview of the work on unprimed canvas and a cropped view to show the actual composition, when the canvases are stretched.

A more refined version of this large-scale piece is below.  It includes a range of overprints in gold.  This colour is of specific significance to Myanmar and their Buddhist tradition and religious beliefs.

I have also experimented with adding further colours in order to reduce the effect of chiaroscuro and, simultaneously, increase the dramatic effect in the sky area.  This has resulted in the monks being surrounded by action and dynamism in the peripheral parts of the composition.

This arrangement seems to have worked well and introduced a sense of balance and hierarchy to the piece.  The focus is firmly placed on the three characters.

The image below portrays an intermediate stage of the overprinting process.  The work havily relies on contrast and chiaroscuro, bringing all attentiuon to the centre part of the piece.  The monks appear to be positioned behind, in a peaceful and fully lit place.  My intention was to bring them back to the surface and engage them in interaction with the birds.

I have been busy experimenting with a new approach to painting and layering colours. The process started with painting the under image using a rug and large scale brushes. The composition was inspired by the Burmese Monks series. I used large unprimed canvas and started to jot the colour down using expressive movements and gestures. The image begin to grow really rapidly and soon, the overall colour scheme was ready. The second stage was to overprinting the background with a screen, which o developed recently. It portrays a swarm of birds ‘dancing’ around the monks and creating a beautiful flow and rhythm. The printed layer was subsequently watered down with sponges, robbed with dry towels and paper to revel light and the colour, which got trapped underneath.

The entire idea for the new pieces is to experiment with layering of images and colours before making any commitments to the narrative content of the work.

I have included a range of photographs of my experimentation and, at the bottom, a single print of the screen itself.

Mixed media on unprimed canvas.

168 cm x 118 cm

Following a long period of working on small to medium size canvasses, I have got the confidence to approach a large-scale painterly composition. The current size amounts roughly to 4 times A1. This “space” should allow me to explore the painting matter on a much broader front and experiment with integrating a range of media and processes.
The new piece portrays three Burmese monks taking a break from their money collecting duties, while entertaining themselves with a large group of pigeons. My primary sources originate from Yangon in Myanmar. I was undertaking some visual research by recording activities in a remote market area of the city.
There were large numbers of child monks present. Most of their days are spend extorting large amounts of cash from the hard working, fearful and deeply religious market community. They are immaculately dressed in pink robes and sarongs. Simultaneously, they walk bare foot to project an image of poverty and humbleness.
However, the truth is different. They have got daily targets to fill their metals trays with a mixture of coins and bank notes to satisfy the needs and expectations of their superiors.
My creative intention is to disrupt the entrapment in the vacuum of hypnotic repetition of daily routines. This concept will be further articulated through the recording of the washing cycle using a laundrette. I am very much intrigued by the metaphorical ambiguity of the meaning of the cleansing process. It is more than just the removing of every day stains and dirt, and washing off sins and unwanted memories of the past in order to ensure cleanness and purity.
The dynamism of the composition created by the birds has got partially got lost in the process of glazing and overprinting. The screen-printed text contains a collage of remains of my notes and observations from this experience. Perhaps, I need to consider different ways of bringing it back. I have also considered some experimentation with both, my painting and the original video recording.

I have included below, a range of documentary photographs depicting the overall composition and a variety of intriguing detail.