Applying the paint medium thickly with different items and scratching marks into the wet paint is very liberating. At the time I was experimenting with this technique I visited the Gerhard Richter exhibition at Tate Modern. I found a series of grey tone paintings he produced between 1968 and 1973 particularly inspiring (i.e. Grey Beams 1968, Inpainting (Grey) 1972 and Portrait, 1973). Richter had used different contrasting marks in the three works from radiating bands, a lattice of intertwining,freely woven curvaceous marks to wide short horizontal marks in a brick like pattern. In later work, Richter has used colour which has been scraped across the canvas, some applied apparently wet on wet and other colours applied as a partial layer / marks onto a dried a surface.
Working in pastels I discovered the potential of oil pastes was vastly increased when smudged and worked with white spirit on a cloth. I like the strength of colour obtained with the oil pastels and also the limitations with respect to fussing over details. Soft pastels are more demanding as they need to key into the support and if not fixed quickly smudge and lose their form. After visiting the Degas exhibition at the RA, I experimented with using tracing paper as a support but found that using modern pastel paper was more satisfying particularly starting with a coloured ground as illustrated here.Having worked with water colour and ink washes for several years, I found the washes produced using acrylic paint were less translucent. They also dried quicker than water colour and similarly to ink washes are permanent and can't be re-worked in the same way as water colour. Despite my limited practice to date, I discovered that I could actually produce a more even transition from dark to light using acrylic white than when applying a wash. A moist brush and pre-dampened paper helped to get a smooth transition. These practice pieces were on relatively small A5 pieces of paper and I discovered that on larger areas (e.g. Assignment 1) the quick drying time of acrylic paint makes quick working essential without the aid of extenders.
The monochrome studies took me back to my comfort zone. Preparatory sketches in pen and ink and then with thick paint and wash contrasting techniques in my sketch book felt free and expressive. Then using these studies to produce larger works created an unexpected outcome.The flat opaque grey background I created was uninteresting and I had difficulty achieving the density of paint colour with the fine brush when applying the mixed ultramarine and black. In my sketch book I had produced vertical brush marks in a dry applied grey near wash. Also the spatula applied paint added to the texture and interest. The overall effect was freer. In contrast the painting of opaque negative spaces over a darker wash produced a pleasing ghostly effect. It has produced a more 2D pattern with the marks in the wash creating interest.
The final tonal studies were fun to produce. Using charcoal and pencil studies in my sketch book these were followed up with tonal studies on white and darker supports. I used a mix of opaque and wash painting techniques with the foreground opaque and background washed. I preferred the outcome working on a white support. My attempt at applying the chiaroscuro technique using a dark support was less successful, I believe, due to using a washed dark tone rather than an opaque background. I plan to practice colour blending and applying the chiaroscuro technique to improve my technical skills. However, I feel that by mixing opaque and wash techniques to suit the subject and /or theme I am working on, I will be able to create some interesting, more spontaneous and personalised outcomes in my future work.
