Towards abstraction

I have combined my own experimentation with reviewing prior research as well as extending my research into abstraction and abstract art. This included visits to exhibitions, review of internet data and desktop review of selected literature.

References:

1.    Barnes Rachel (2003), “Artists in Profile – Abstract Expressionists”, Heinemann Library.

2.    Cowling, E et al (2003), “Matisse Picasso”, Tate Publishing.

3.    Gombrich, E.H. (1995), “The Storey of Art, 16^th Ed.”, Phaidon Press Ltd.

4.    Hedge, S (2009), “How to Survive Modern Art”, Tate Publishing.

5.    Kudielka, R (2002), “Paul Klee –The Nature of Creation (Works 1914 – 1940), Hayward Gallery.

6.    Van Vliet, R (2008), “Painting Abstracts – Ideas, projects and techniques”, Search Press.

 

I addeded a selection of readily available images from a range of my own  visits to exhibitions into my sketchbook as aids to my memory and for quick visual reference.

I experimented with some techniques employed by other artists in my sketchbook e.g. Gerhard Richter's paint dragging approach.

At one extreme my experimentation explored the behaviour of different paints e.g. household  paint and acrylic paint mixed with a tar gel medium. Letting the paint drip, dribble and be dragged across the surface of a support created a Jackson Pollock type effect for my "moving lights" expressive study.

At the other extreme I used solid man made objects (i.e. sculptures I had made previously in a life class) set in a garden setting as inspiration for exploring abstraction. Working with photographic images glued into my sketchbook, I played with enhancing elements or features.

These early studies in my sketchbook enabled me to play with concepts and different approaches. Using the sculpture head as a theme, this evolved into cutting a set of stenciles and forming patterns within a picture frame.

Inspired initially by Partick Caulfield's "Study of Pottery, 1969", my abstracted pattern evloved to fill the page and became rendered in different blocks of colour.

By taking my sculpture "little George" on an adventure around my garden, planting began to contextualise the abstracted object. Using an abstract pattern to represent planting and removing textural detail by over painting the image of "little George", the outcome reminded me of an image of Anthony Gormley's exhibit "One and Other (2001)" displayed in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Referring back to Picasso's work I tried abstracting the image of the sculpture using a series of straight lines.

I found this later abstraction process somewhat mechanical and forced. My preference was the develoment of pattern like random shapes and serendipitous mark making using the properties of the paint medium and associated support material. I also found it interesting working with colour in an expressive manner in these abstract studies rather than being held to reproducing true to life hues. I have found that by taking an image for a walk around a page of my sketchbook quite refreshing and a good way to explore an image I may be working on to revitalise my approach. This happend during the production of my final painting for the themed series i.e.

Now that I have a better understanding of abstract art and the process of abstraction, I am more conscious of the range of approaches by different artists. I have increased my interest in this approach to working and seek out exhibitions of artists work I have not come across before (e.g. Saloua Raoda Choucair and Ibrahim El-Salahi) so that I can contiue to grow my understanding and find alternative sources for inspiration.

Assignment 5 - Paintings on a Theme

I progressed work on developing a theme for assignment 5 in tandem with exploring the use of other materials. My experiments with with acrylic medium, PVA glue and found materials helped to inform my preparation for my studies and themed work.

Arriving at a theme involved looking through my work to date and reflecting on my own aims for the Painting 1 course. I was reminded that the key issues for me were improving my colour awareness, understanding acrylic paints and exploring my own style/approach. As a result I felt that by revisiting the study of still life groups I would have the time to practice techniques I had discovered to date. I also wanted to demonstrate a progression from pure representational work to first stage abstraction, simplifying details and/or playing with colour combinations. For inspiration I went back to the works of Giorgio Morandi, Euan Uglow and Patrick Caulfield.

I enjoyed applying and mixing found materials onto supports so decided to start by including this technique into my themed pieces.

Using the base of one of my experimental expressive still life with mixed materials as inspiration, I set up an actual still life group in my studio. By this time the initial idea of a tulip had moved on to flowers currently growing in my garden.

Over painting the expressive concept work I modified the composition whilst still making use of the textured surface I had created with PVA glue, sawdust, dried coffee grouts and sharp sand.

I found my initial background based on ultramarine too warm and lacked sufficient colour variation so re-worked this area bringing in reflected / observed hues created via the still life objects. I discovered that by using a more balanced palette of warm and cold colours and an earth colour I was able to achieve a more realistic colour rendering of my image.

I noted that by using as a base an earlier under-painting my composition resulted in the bottle extending towards the top of my support, an effect questioned by my tutor during earlier still life studies. I, therefore, decided to adopt a portrait orientation with a modifed the still life group for my next painting.

Following a sketch and colour study in my sketchbook I repeated the process of the previous work. This involved sketching out the group on a prepaped support (i.e. primed hardboard) onto which I added texture to selected areas using PVA glue sawdust, sand and coffee grouts. Once dry I sealed the textured areas with acrylic washes prior to building up the layers of paint.

Over several days I modified the tonal effect and depth of colour and adjusted the flower which moved as the cut flower adjusted to the light. Once I was satisfied with the hues I sealed the image with acrylic medium, using a gloss medium on part of the image and a matte medium on the remainder. The result felt a bit too busy with a tension between the blue bottle and flower preventing the eye to rest.

Whilst visiting this year's Art in Action event I noted that the work of still life artist Sarah Spackman also included larger groups of objects and a limited palette similar to many of Marandi's works. Recognising that concept I proceeded experimenting with some different groups of objects.

 

However, like Patrick Caulfield I wanted to add some humour to my work but also wanted to begin abstracting. I started with an idea of "the old speckled hen" playing a metal model against the approapriately named beer brand. I prepared some studies in my sketchbook and started to lay out my ideas on a hardboard support.

Having blocked out the main colours and composition, I realised this was becoming less expressive or abstractive than my sketchbook concept and potentially moving back to a realistic image. This was not my intention so put this work on hold.

At this point I felt I had deviated too much from my original theme so moved onto ideas for a single pot and flower (in the style of Euan Oglow) and then another group but this time varying the composition such that the group of objects was balanced by more space .

I incorporated the single flower which had become a thistle found on my walk across local fields, into the new still life group.

From this group I produced a number of studies working up both realistic and abstract ideas. Working to a smaller scale than the first two paintings in this series, I tried out different support board materials (i.e plywood and MDF) which I primed prior to adding textures.

I found that I naturally started to develop the abstract concept playing with complementary colour combinations whilst I waited for the PVA glue to dry on my textured ground. I created a very bright textured background using a palette knife to apply the acrylic yellow/white paint over a crimson base coat contrasted with a purple foreground into which I scratched marks revealling the white primer below. Textured material was collaged to form the thistle head.

I sanded back parts of the background to try and expose some of the crimson under layer before coating the surface with acrylic medium as a varnish. I was pleased with the outcome particularly as I had worked quickly on this piece trying not to fiddle too much and modifying my approach as I went along without too much pre-planning in an attempt to keep the work as fresh as possible. The artificial colours were a more expressive response to the still life group and reaction to periods of concentrating on earlier work where I was focussing on a realistc colour representational style.

Returning to a representarional approach, I continued working on a representational version. Going back to this piece after the expressive version, I found I wanted to adjust the proportions of the object which then affected the underlying texture previously applied. This texture I scapped back with a knife before reapplying gesso which I allowed to dry before spreading a thin layer of acrylic paste to smooth out the adjusted surface. 

Working relatively fast and working with a limited palette, I modified the background and foregrounds. I worked the group of objects in muted colours then added a dark wash to the background behind the group to enhanse the contrast. The wash sat and soaked into the support in different ways creating an unplanned yet interesting effect.

 

Looking back at the Euan Uglow examples I had selected as research for this assignment, I felt I still wanted to work up a single plant and vase example. I replaced the whole still life group with the vase holding the thistle and re-worked my earlier idea.

For this painting I chose  to experiment with a canvas support which enabled me to accentuate the verticality of the still life object. 

The composition and positioning of the object created top/backlit effect with a dark background and hightlighted edges to the thistle. Having primed the canvas with two coats of gesso I blocked out the main areas. I then added texture to the head of the thistle using four layers of fine netting applyed with PVA glue and heavy body acrylic paste mixed with colour to the vase face into which I scrapped a pattern exposing the underlying paint layer. Once dry I gradually built up the painted image.

Tonal variations, refections and reflected hues together with details to the thistle stem were then applyed. This process helped to ground the vase and stop it feeling as if it was floating above the table. By this stage I was beginning to feel that I was in danger of over working the painting and fiddling with details. That was my signal to stop.

Reviewing the series of paintings for this assignment I got a sense of the way in which my work both evolved whilst at the same time leapt about as I restled with concepts and ideas that flashed up in my mind almost sponteniously. I have enjoyed the process of exploring adding materials and applying acrylic medium so that they enhance my work. Similarly, moving from paper and mountboard supports used for previous assignments to more rigid material and then onto canvas has extended my knowledge and experience. Working on supports larger than the pages of my sketchbook has provided the biggest area of growth with the associated freedom of working on different support materials, sizes and proportions. This has meant learning new skills in colour mixing, application of paint and observational techniques.

In terms of my style and approach I feel I am now achieving a more painterly outcome and better representation of observed colour when appropriate than when I started. However, despite researching a range of 20th centry and contemporary artists, I have only made small steps into exploring the opportunities that abstraction can afford my own self development. I consider that opens the door to on-going exploration of both acrylic based materials and found materials. I have not yet settled down to studying further any particular theme being surrounded by wonderful countryside, having access to family pets and an interest in the built environment. I feel, however, that I want to explore working with mixed media some more at this point in my development.

Overall the OCA Painting 1 course has provided the structure and support I was seeking to help me step outside my comfort zone and experiment with themes and techniques I had not tried before. It has also made me re-evaluate prior techniques and approaches to my art opening my eyes and mind to a more risk taking, playful and at the same time more disciplined approach.

Adding other materials

Working in my sketchbook I experimented with preparing a vaiety of textured grounds.

Starting with simply using PVA glue and tissue paper, I applied colour washes over the dried surfaces to enhance the texture. This was followed by applying medium thickness acrylic gel medium mixed with acrylic paint that I dragged and combed with tools and card.

Trying a board support, I then experimented with found materials mixed with PVA glue. In order to give myself some structure I visualised a still life group before applying the materials to the support.

Going back to my sketchbook and working with my garden as a theme, I prepared a collage from a mixture of photos and cut out shapes from old magazines and coloured paper. The focus was a sculputured head I had produced of a life model some years ago in a life class which I moved around my garden to get some inspiration.  

Building on the collage approach, I took an urban jungle theme for my next experiment working again on a board support. Using images and blocks of text cut from old magazines, I used my memories of working and travelling in London to create an expressive work enhanced with acrylic paint to give depth and atmosphere. The final work was treated with an acrylic gloss medium to protect and bind the surface of the collage.  

Moving onto mixing various materials into paint I gathered up some sand, sawdust and straw which were then used in an expressive landscape still working on a board support.

Through these exercises I have discovered that PVA glue and acrylic mediums in association with found materials can provide endless fun and fantastic scope for infinite textural effects which can enhance the impact of works. I particularly like the expressive nature of applied materials and how textures have a habit of caputuring light and enhancing shadows in unplanned ways. I have also used these exercises to trial the use of wood based boards as supports. Being more rigid than paper based supports, the boards have taken heavier materials such as sand and enabled thicker surface textures to be formed.

I have found that working with mixed materials has loosened my approach and encouraged me to be more expressive. I feel that at last I have discovered the true versitility of acrylic medium and associated support gel mediums. These exercises have given me a taste for working in mixed media an approach I intend to explore further.

Part 5 - Different ways of applying paint

Exercise impasto

For the first two exercises I changed my normal support material from paper or mountboard to hardboard and plywood. These supports were prepared with a household paint emulsion to seal the timber fibres.

To increase the body of the acrylic paint I mixed it with a gel medium. This helped to maintain a sufficiently thick layer of paint as I applied course marks with medium sized brushes. I found that brush marks still had a tendancy to smooth out the paint and easily enabled a degree of blending on the support. I was not satisfied with the colour rendering of the pear which highlighted my tutor's comments regarding recreating seen hues. As a result and as a side execise I have gone back to some basic colour mixing exploration. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the impact of the apples painted in this looser courser manner.

I have already experimented with painting knives in earlier exercises so had some fun with this exercise. Initially I applied a glaze by mixing a blue acrylic paint with glazing gel. The painiting knife enabled me to create a wave inspired pattern as the glaze was scraped across the plywood surface leaving thicker/denser edges as the blade was lifted from the support. While the paint was still wet, I scratched some marks into the surface with the edge of a painting knife exposing the white under paint. Once dry, I added a small amount of unmixed colour with a different shape of knife. I particularly liked the effect created with the glazing gel where the paint has picked up the texture of the support resulting in different density of hue.

Returning to a watercolour paper support for the next exercise, I used a medium thickness gel medium mixed with acrylic paint. I started by applying the paint with old business cards and then dragged through patches of colour across each other creating broad areas of blended colour. While the paint was still wet, I added some additional paint onto the surface then dragged these into each other and the underlying paint using a plastic comb. This created peaks and troughs in the surface which dryed hard due the acrylic gel medium.

Reflecting on previous work I can see opportunities to enhance my paintings by applying these techniqes. For example the first exercise above using impasto with brush marks could be applied in portrait painting to free up my approach and capture a geater range of hues paticularly in skin tone. Similarly I can see the potential of using palette knives and glazing technques to create greater depth and interest in landscape, townscape and seascape studies as well as in still life work. The same can be said for applying scratching techniques. I feel that all approaches but particularly the last two exercises could lead to more spontaneous and serendipitous outcomes.

  

Exercise dripping, dribbling and splattering

This exercise was pure play and, I discovered, that this was obviously what I had been saving all my old decorating media for. Using wallpaper lining paper as a support and a mixture of ends of household gloss and emulsion paints, I dripped, dribbled and splattered from ground level and via a step ladder. The range of hues was restricted in this example to available old paint. However, the outcome was interesting and the process cathartic! The types of mark were influenced most by the properties of the paint and the force applied to move the paint from  various sticks onto the support by dropping or flicking from various heights.

I repeated this exercise at a smaller scale, in my sketchbook, using acrylic paint mixed with a clear tar gel medium. Using Series 3 Daler Rowney acrylic paint, the mixture did not flow off the painting knive as readily as I had expected and not as running as household gloss paint! I was able to drag and lift thin lengths of paint from blobs and smear the mixture across the support. The mixture dried with a gloss finish and textural thickness.

Looking at examples of work by contemporary artists' in various small galleries, I have noted that some have used these techniques sparingly to express movement, lighting effects, or the random planting of wild flowers in landscapes. It appears to bring a degree of serendipity into their work and provide an impression of the atmosphere of their subject matter.

Research point:

American Abstract Expressionists and European Tachist artists appeared following the World War 2 period. This "action painting" approach of working straight onto the support surface with bold expressive, energetic marks enabled an emotional reaction, idea and/or response from the artist to evolve without any specific reference to or attempt at illustrating reallisticaly a single observed subject. From my initial observations of works by artists such as Hans Hartung, Franz Kline, De Kooning and Jackson Plock, together with my experiements decribed above, I can appreciate the appeal of just allowing something evolve somewhat intuitively as serendipitous marks are developed.  I particularly like the mark making and associated textural qualities of Hans Hartung's work and note that Franz Kline found household paint more fluid and therefore suitable to his approach than fine art quality paint (as I have now discovered).

I feel that by continuing to experiment with a more expressive approach may help me to loosen up my own style taking me beyond my comfort zone of expected outcomes and lead to more interesting works. Looking back at my sketchbooks, it is those situations where I have just spread paint either from rubbing my old palette onto the page or using up left over paint and letting the colours mix by chance that I have produced more relaxed sketches/studies.

Part 4 Looking out - Landscape research

Principle reference sources:

Forrer, Matthi (2004), Hirosshige - Prints and Drawings, Prestel

Gombrich, E.H. (1995), The Storey of Art (16th Ed.), Phaidon Press Ltd

Heine, Florian (2012), Art the groundbreaking moments, Prestel Verlag

Koja, Stephen et al (2006), Gustav Klimt Landscapes, Prestel

Padberg, Martina (2008), Impressionism, h.f. Ullman
Pery, Jenny (2005), Eyton's Eye - Anthony Eyton: A Life in Painting, Royal Academy Publications

Visits the the National Gallery, the Coutard Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Liverpool

Various web sites including those of the National and Tate Galleries. 

I started this blog in Nov. 2012 and have kept it open throughout this section of the painting module as I have continued to come across new examples of work that have been of interest.

My journey began with some images of the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshinge (1797-1853) whose prints I have been interested in for some time and contrasted this with a look at a contemporary perception of landscape in the yellow pages adverts. From here I took a more academic approach. I researched via an initial desk top study of readily available reference sources (see above) followed by a visit to the National Gallery in London where I collected some examples that expressed my understanding of early western development in landscape painting.

This took me through a period from the 17th century to early 20th century. I selected examples by Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634), Meindert Hebbema (1638-1709), Canaletto (1697-1786), John Constable (1776-1837), JMW Turner (1775-1851), Camille Pissarro (1830 - 1903), Claude Monet (1840-1926), Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) and Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931). I liked the storey value of the Avercamp with the imagined illustration created from detail studies of people and places. The winter scene too created both a historical and emotionally charged atmosphere. Hebbema's and  Canaletto's views were fundamentally single point perspectives using man made structures (i.e. road and canal respectively) drawing the viewer's eye into and around the pictures. Canaletto's style was very precise almost photographic creating a completely different feeling of light and space to the Avercamp and Hebbema works. Constable's style appears more relaxed to that of Canaletto and more in keeping with the nature of the English landscape. Constable's composition and skill at colour mixing produces a realistic scene that can still be glimpsed today.

JMW Turner's work is much more atmospheric than the earlier artist's approach. His study and representation of light and movement removed the need for the addition of fine detail to be replaced by the application of colours to create suggestions of shape and form. Tate Britain provided an opportunity to view sketchbook studies by JMW Turner and note how he modified his palette of colours as he experienced the different light conditions at various locations across Europe. Turner's sketchbooks contain many examples of watercolour studies of skies as he experimented with capturing observed atmospheric conditions. Claude Monet' impressionist style also captures atmoshere and a sense of place. Working "plein air" enabled Monet and the other impressionist's to observe the changing light conditions as they worked which they reproduced in broad brush marks and the new tube paint colours.

Vincent van Gogh's expressionist approach conveys energy. His use of bright colours and strong textural marks have feeling and produce an emotional reaction. I enjoy his work and manner in which he distorts reality. When looking at his work it often raises the question in my mind of "where does drawing stop and painting begin?". There is obviously an overlap and van Gogh appears to span this zone. Paul Cezanne although of the same generation as the impressionists, developed his own approach independent of others. Gombrich in his "The Storey of Art" suggests that Cezanne questioned the impressionist approach "Where was that striving for a harmonious design, the achievement of solid simplicity and perfect balance which had marked the greatest paintings of the past?". His work appears flat and patterned but still manages to convey a feeling of place. His mark making/brush stokes although defined are in my mind more painterly than drawn as in van Gogh's work.

In the example of Camille Pissarro's work I have selected he has used the impressionist approach to reproduce a wet evening townscape. He has taken an aerial perspective view looking down into the Paris street below the viewer's eye level. Again the impressionist approach has captured the atmosphere of the place without the need for fine detail. A more serene view has been produced by Akseli Gallen-Kallela of a still reflective lake. Here a realistic view has been recreated with a calm and cool atmoshere. The artist has chosen a high horizon which helps to emphasise the vastness of the lake.

In addition to the Tate Britain exhibition of Turner's studies, a visit to the Coutard Gallery enabled me to inspect the exhibited "plein air" studies by Georges Seurat (1859-91) using oil paint on small boards. Both these exhibitions helped to appreciate that experimentation and studies are for the artist's personal benefit. They are not intended to be finished works or for public display. They are a place to explore, play and challenge. With this in mind I am attempting to expand my sketchbook mark making to contain a higher percentage of experimentation and observation than complete pictures.

As I have progressed through the exercises in Part 4, I have gone back through examples of other artists' work I have acquired from earlier exhibitions, I have attended new exhibitions (e.g. Tate Britain's exhibition "Looking at the view", Feb 2013) and investigated artists that I have become aware of. Within that list are examples by Spencer Gore, L.S. Lowry, Julian Opie, David Hockney, Gustav Klimt, Anthony Eyton and Ton Schulten.

I enjoy Lowry's work which although often of bleak views make me smile at his somewhat naive approach. In this river scene he has created a feeling of depth through his use of colour, fading it into the distance and by reducing the scale of buildings as they recede into the background.

The manner in which Spencer Gore had abstracted the observed shapes in the landscape around Letchworth in Hertfordshire attracted me to this example of his work.  Comparing this with the contemporary interpretation of a landscape by Julian Opie, there is more detail and feeling of energy in Spencer's image. Opie's minimalist approach and choice of hues in his print creates a feeling of peace and calm.

Anthony Eyton appears to be able to capture the light and atmoshere in his landscapes. His style appears to be impressionistic in approach using broad brush marks denoting shadow and tonal variations caused by the sun and reflected light. David Hockney has used the route/road theme over the years as a key compositional feature. In his exhibition at the RA "A bigger picture" he demonstrated how his approach has changed over his lifetime to date and how his technical ability can be applied through the use of linear and aerial perspective.

Gustave Klimt and Ton Schulten are two artists that were brought to my attention through my wife's textile work. Both artists use colour in exuberant ways with Klimt's eye for detail contrasted with Schulten's focus on imagination and pattern. I like the expressionist approach of Klimt which is in my view is more painterly than van Gogh's strong marks.

It is clear to me from my research to date that there are infinite opportunities presented to the artist to exploit the way that human brains try and link images to individual's experience of seen objects/views. Thus a painting whether it be an artist's illusion of reality, a dream or an idea may be enjoyed as pure pattern, juxtaposed colours and/or representation of a real place.