Self Directed Canvases (and Robert Rauschenberg)

Untitled

Acrylic, White Emulsion and Collage Materials

100x100cm Canvas

Untitled

Acrylic, White Emulsion and Collage Materials

100x100cm Canvas

I decided to apply the colour/line composition onto a larger scale. I knew by this point that I had become quite bogged down in colour theory and needed to bring back some of the playfulness which was a part of my initial paintings. To do this I sought to loosen the way I applied paint, I took inspiration from Hitchens in this aspect more so than Klee, but at the same time retaining all that i'd learnt from Klee's colour theory.

First Canvas: The placement of the colours for this piece have been directly influenced by my 'colour and line' composition; though I have used a much looser approach in terms of application of paint. I used various collage items (including a piece of wood, fabric, tape, magazine paper, a slide, cardboard and the palette I used) on top of this. I chose to add collage on top to make the painting become more 3 dimensional and to add depth. I have even cut a hole in the canvas and strung fabric a few centimeters behind so that the sense of depth became even more apparent. I didn't want it to be about the objects i'd stuck on though, I wanted to implement them in a way that it keeps focus on their colour rather than objectifying them.

Second Canvas: I chose to create a composition much more loosely based on the composition ideas than I had with the first canvas. I still used some of those ideas, but I improvised and re arranged them on the canvas itself rather than before hand. I painted the lines white, so that the colours on the rest of the painting became lighter than my previous canvas - which had black lines. This shows how line and colour have an influence each other. I used collage for this piece too.

Whilst painting these canvases I became aware that certain aspects had a resemblance to some of the work of Robert Rauschenberg. I can see that it is mainly the seemingly arbitrary choice of mixed media, but with closer inspection they are there for either colour or composition reasons. My use of painted fabric could have been subconsciously influenced by Rauschenberg's 'Bed' from 1955. As you can see from his piece 'Charlene' which is one from his 'Combines' series of 1954, the whole composition is formed from found objects.

'Bed' from 1955.

Charlene, 1954, Combine painting.

Self Directed Statement

My self-directed project is a continuation from my first term project in which I am studying the urban environment, particularly the varying structures that form the landscape. In my initial paintings I wanted to emphasise certain structural elements of the subject, but also to retain a sense of ambiguity to these paintings. I did this by rapidly painting the outline with a large brush and then highlighting certain sections with thick black Franz Kline-esque lines. I started paying closer attention to my use of colour and begun painting some sections with blocks of colour, with tones more carefully considered than in previous pieces. I was recommended by my Self- Directed tutors to look at Paul Klee and Ivor Hitchens’ studies of landscapes and their use of colour in these. I started becoming more interested in how the colour tones and black lines create a sense of space and where they sit in the painting in relation to one another. In order to move the project forward I decided to see what happened when I isolated the thick black lines from the paintings and re adjusted them around.This process was a way of further abstracting any outcomes which came from this process. Paul Klee became my main source of inspiration once I read 'Klee - On Modern Art'. Klee writes about the creative process of creating a painting, which he believes begins in the subconscious. Klee then goes on to talk about the different dimensions which artists consider while painting - line, tone, value, colour. I began thinking about these dimensions in much greater depth than I had in my previous paintings. I had discovered that each choice of colour changes all subsequent blocks, I saw this as meaning the outcome is continually being rewritten. For each block, I had considered the size of the block, judged in relation to the size of other blocks' sizes. I had also considered the form of each block - the line has influence on this. Additionally, I began considering my choice in colour too, which has been judged in relation to neighboring blocks. I spent time on Photoshop, experimenting to see what happened when I inverted the thick black lines on my A4 paintings to white, in most cases it completely transformed the painting by allowing more focus to be had on the colour rather than line.  Having worked extensively on trying to create a composition with worked harmoniously in terms of line and colour, I decided to see how the compositions looked on a larger scale (100x100cm canvas paintings). I knew by this point that I had become rather bogged down in colour theory and needed to bring back some of the playfulness which was a part of my initial paintings. To do this I sought to loosen the way I applied paint, I took inspiration from Hitchens in this aspect more so than Klee, but at the same time retaining all that i'd learnt from Klee's colour theory. 

Drawing Statement

I decided to study the urban environment. To get started I made some Ink drawings of various locations around Leicester that I thought might be interesting. I found myself attracted to areas which are more derelict, such as Frog Island. There I discovered a myriad of run down buildings which became subject of my initial drawings. I was very interested in the structure of the buildings, and the lines which form them. I used India ink as this is a very direct medium, which was great for getting the structural elements of the landscape down onto paper. As a development to my initial drawings I started working on a larger scale (A3), as I found these drawings lend themselves better to larger scales than smaller ones. I felt that some of the previous drawings had no sense of depth to them, so I started using both charcoal and black emulsion to form the drawings. Firstly, I draw out the basic structure with the charcoal, then I go back to the studio to add the black emulsion, which then gives the image it's 3 dimensional-like depth. I have been particularly interested in the electricity pylons which I have encountered while studying the landscape. The Pylons 3 dimensional structures seem to me like skeletons - which made them an fascinating subject for me as i'm looking in particular for interesting structural elements. I decided that I working on a larger scale (A0) was to be the next development. The A0 size allowed me to use the Emulsion paint to its full potential, with a thicker brush encouraging lots of expressive drips to run down. I started using masking tape to add a third layer, as the larger size allowed for more room for wider use of materials. I sought other artists who have applied paint in this fashion, in doing so I came across Franz Kline, whose enormous black and white paintings have confident marks. I started to work much faster and with less carefulness to produce my subsequent pieces. I found that paper was not suitable for the media I was using, and the was I applied it, so I opted to use Cardboard, a much more rugged material to work on top of. The textured corrugated cardboard also made for some interesting marks. I decided to continue studying Pylons and just build upon that idea, rather than diversify the subject matter because I know that Pylons lend themselves well to larger scales. Working with masking tape for my previous pieces proved effective so I experimented with Duct tape. The Duct tape provided a much deeper black than the black emulsion paint, and seems an appropriate material to use to represent the strong steel that forms the structure of the Pylons.Using what I'd discovered from the project I created my final piece, which brings everything together. This is by far the largest piece of cardboard I have used in this project as I feel that it needs to be this size in order to tower over the viewer, just as a Pylon does to people looking at it from the ground. I have used a craft knife to cut away sections and paste them around, further adding to the layers of the piece. The speed and vigor I have applied the materials mirrors the power of the high voltage electricity that runs through the Pylons with such speed and danger.

Paul Klee

Paul Klee,  Maibild (May Picture), 1925. Oil on cardboard nailed to wood with original strip frame. 16 3/8 x 19 1/2 in. (41.6 x 49.5 cm)

Exercise from Paul Klee’s Colour Class, 1925

Paul Klee was a German-Swiss painter, who is considered to be one of the most highly influential figures of early 20th century Expressionism. Klee is most notable for his many abstract paintings focussing on colour and form, and his colour theory writings are considered hugely important. Klee’s art theories are well documented. In Pedagogical Sketchbook (1925), one of his several important essays on art theory, Klee tried to define and analyse the primary visual elements and the ways in which they could be applied. Klee gave a series of lectures on his colour theories at the Bauhaus between 1921 and 1931. His aim was to teach the foundations of colour and form to the students with a series of exercises. These unconventional exercises included a six-part rainbow shaped into a colour wheel. Klee set about seeking alternative ways in which to hold his paintings together visually. A benefit of utilizing small selections of colours was that the resulting impression appeared unified and harmonious. A significant aim was to translate simple colour exercise to the complex work of art.  His strategy was not only to integrate drawing and painting, but also with considerations of form, composition and content.

Klee’s visited Tunisia, where he was inspired by the colours and the light he saw there. From this experience Klee created his first abstract piece, ‘In the Style of Kairouan’. The coloured rectangles became his basic building blocks. I have been particularly interested in the way  Klee combined these blocks with a harmony which draws parallels to musical compositions. His selection of colour is very considered, using complementary pairs of colours as well as dissonant colours – much like in music where you find harmonious notes contrasted with dissonant ones. Some of Klee’s later works were noticeably darker with thick lines and fewer colours. He was diagnosed with Scleroderma, a wasting disease, in 1933. Which from therein limited his productivity as an artist. In 1937 Adolf Hitler and the Nazis deemed his work as ‘Degenerate Art’, seizing 102 of his public collection.

Ivor Hitchens

Damp Autumn (1941)

Oil on Canvas

406 x 743 mm

Ivor Hitchens (1893 -1979) was an English painter best known for being a part of the artists circle known as the 'London Group'. I was recommended to take a look at his work by my Self Directed tutors. Hitchens neither painted landscape as a detached observer, nor did he abstract forms from nature, and he valued the disciplines of Cézanne too highly to allow structure to be controlled by subjective response alone. I am particularly interested in Hitchens' use of colour - though his work lies between abstract and figurative he has used different tones to provide a sense of depth. Looking at his 1941 piece 'Damp Autumn' you can see that he has not used a wide range of colours but a limited palette with subtle changes in tone - which I think gives an effective sense of depth. Unlike much of Klee's work - another artist i'm studying - Hitchens' has applied the paint in a loose but still figurative way.

Paintings Photoshop edited

Photoshop Edited Paintings

I wondered if the black lines of the paintings were too overbearing over the colour. So I decided to invert the black to white using Photoshop. By doing this the paintings have been significantly transformed, to me they feel more vacant than the originals, but it does draw more attention to the background colours.

Self Directed Colour Study Photoshop Edited

I created these Photoshop-edited versions of the colour study painting. I did this to see if adding colour to the white sections added to the painting - and if so what arrangement of colour worked. In the first image I added the colour which surrounded the white sections, I felt that this worked however it seemed like the safe option which I kind of knew would work. For the second image down I have used colours which are the opposites (in terms of colour wheel) to the surrounding colours, I didn't feel this worked particularly well as it didn't go with the rest of the painting which has a harmoniousness about it. For the third image down I wanted to see what happened if used the same colour for each of these sections, this also did not work as it somewhat flattened the image. For the forth image down I used a tool on Photoshop which allowed me to take sections from the main colour blocks and draw them into the gaps. I took sections which were from opposite sides of the painting (same for fifth image),  I felt that this brought the painting together more, making it feel much more whole and complete. 

Self Directed : Colour Study Painting

Untitled, Acrylic on Cartridge Paper, 30x20cm

I have recently been very interested in Paul Klee's theories which I have discovered since reading 'Klee on Modern art'. The sections where Klee writes about the creative process of creating a painting, which he believes begins in the subconscious - was of great interest to me. Klee then goes on to talk about the different dimensions which artists consider while painting - line, tone, value, colour. I have thought about these dimensions in much greater depth than I had in my previous paintings. I have discovered that each choice of colour changes all subsequent blocks, I see this as meaning the outcome is continually being rewritten. For each block, I have considered the size of the block, judged in relation to the size of other blocks' sizes. I have also considered the form of each block - the line has influence on this. I have considered my choice in colour too which has been judged in relation to neighboring blocks.  

Self Directed Composition Formation

In order to move the project forward I decided to see what happened when I isolated the thick black lines from the paintings and re adjusted them around. Firstly, I directly copied these lines from my A4 paintings so that I could clearly see their composition. 

Then I decided that I wanted to cut out sections of these compositions and arrange them to see how different parts could fit together, the process was almost like doing a Jigsaw puzzle. This process is a way for further abstracting any outcomes which my come from this process. Here are some of the compositions that I came up with. I used my judgement to arrange compositions that weren't too cluttered and seemed to work. This image (first below) became the standout composition - it seems to have a flow about it which I felt lacked in some of my other compositions.

Untitled

Acrylic, White Emulsion and Collage Materials

100x100cm Canvas

Untitled

Acrylic, White Emulsion and Collage Materials

100x100cm Canvas

Untitled

Duct tape, masking tape, white emulsion black acrylic, Charcoal on Cardbard

 160x70cm

Untitled, cartridge paper, Black emulsion and Charcoal A0

Untitled, Acrylic on Cartridge Paper, 30x20cm

Untitled

Duct tape, masking tape, white emulsion black acrylic, Charcoal on Cardbard

 80x35cm

Untitled, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint - Edited on Photoshop

Untitled, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint - Edited using Photoshop

Untitled, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint

Untitled, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint

Untitled, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint

Flats, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint

Frog Island composition, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint

Water view, A4 MDF, Acrylic Paint

Drawing Project Large Cardboard Piece

Untitled

Duct tape, masking tape, white emulsion black acrylic, Charcoal on Cardbard

 150x80cm

Using what I'd discovered from the project I created this piece, which brings everything together. This is by far the largest piece of cardboard I have used in this project as I feel that it needs to be this size in order to tower over the viewer, just as a Pylon does to people looking at it from the ground. I have used a craft knife to cut away sections and paste them around, further adding to the layers of the piece. The speed and vigor I have applied the materials mirrors the power of the high voltage electricity that runs through the Pylons with such speed and danger.

Drawing Project Cardboard Development

Black and White Emulsion, duct tape, charcoal on corrugated cardboard

 Top 70x30cm Bottom 40x60cm

I found that paper was not suitable for the media I was using, and the was I applied it, so I opted to use Cardboard, a much more rugged material to work on top of. The textured corrugated cardboard also made for some interesting marks. I decided to continue studying Pylons and just build upon that idea, rather than diversify the subject matter because I know that Pylons lend themselves well to larger scales. Working with masking tape for my previous pieces proved effective so I experimented with Duct tape. The Duct tape provided a much deeper black than the black emulsion paint, and seems an appropriate material to use to represent the strong steel that forms the structure of the Pylons. I sought out other artists who have applied paint in this fashion, in doing so I came across Franz Kline, whose enormous black and white paintings have very direct and confident marks. 'Mahoning' from 1956 is a good example of this.

Franz Kline

'Mahoning' 1956

 Oil and paper collage on canvas, (203.2 × 254 cm).

Drawing Project Further Development

Black and White Emulsion, charcoal, masking tape A0 (both)

I decided that I working on a larger scale was to be the next development. The A0 size allowed me to use the Emulsion paint to its full potential, with a thicker brush encouraging lots of expressive drips. I started using masking tape to add a third layer, as the larger size allowed for more room for wider use of materials.

Drawing Project Development

Black Emulsion and charcoal

A3 paper

As a development to my initial drawings I started working on a large scale, as I found these drawings lend themselves better to larger scales than smaller ones. I went out into Leicester to study the urban landscape some more. I felt that some of the previous drawing had no sense of depth to them, so I am now using both charcoal and black emulsion to form the drawings. Firstly, I draw out the basic structure with the charcoal, then I go back to the studio to add the black emulsion, which then gives the image it's depth. I have been particularly interested in the electricity pylons which I have encountered. The Pylons seem to me like skeletons, with their 3 dimensional structures - making them an fascinating subject for me as i'm looking in particular for interesting structural elements.