Annotation and thoughts on the small sketches.
I have enjoyed this experimentation with smaller canvas’s, reducing the size has been helpful in the regard of the process.
I have also timed the sketches and allowed only 20 minutes per sketch. I have painted 4 at a time, using the same color palette on all of them.
I have used a variety of different papers with different surfaces rough and smooth to explore how the paint applies and reacts to the textures. I wanted these sketch’s to have a sense of the overgrown ,expanding nature in the environment in spring.
In the sketch’s above I was exploring ways to add an atmospheric light the feeling of a grey dull, spring day where the light is different. I Used charcoal and ink with water to diffuse them, and lighten them. I then worked into them with a black wax pastel for some heavier trajectory lines.
I researched Artists from the romantic period of landscape paintings and looked at the techniques they used. Certain Romantic artists made innovations that later movements incorporated as crucial elements. John Constable (1776-1837) had a tendency to use tiny brushstrokes of pure pigments to emphasize dappled light in his landscapes. He discovered that, when viewed from a distance, his dots of colour merged. This development was taken up with great enthusiasm by the Barbizon School, the Impressionists, and the Pointillists. Romanticism period was a cultural awakening in the art world, so it’s no surprise it produced some of the most historic paintings in the history of the world. The movement championed spiritualism over science, instinct over deliberation, nature over industry, democracy over subjugation, and the rusticity over the aristocracy. Again, these are all concepts open to extremely personalized interpretation and these ideas are still very relevant today The studies and finished work of the British painter J.M.W. Turner were abstract in everything but the name.
Sun Setting over a Lake c.1840 Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851 Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/N04665
In the Sketches below I have used a loose approach to applying the mixed media materials.
I used wax relief on the above sketches, as i find it helps to keep the white of the paper visible. I used Fabiano paper , ink and water to create lines and textures.
I am pleased with these “sketchs”The colour palette is harmonious, the lines give a sense of movement and an expansion, giving a sense of growth overall.
I had hoped that they would fit into the small charity shop frames but they were to small, as i had painted them more landscape than square.
I have decided to take them to be framed by a local framer. Unfortunately they will not be ready for presentation day, However I will share them on a future blog.
I have decided to use the wax relief process moving forward, mainly to ensure I keep some of the original canvas showing. It helps me to keep light and contrast. I find it gives an atmospheric feeling to the work which I like.
