Intro:
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When being asked about my process, I always ask people to bear in mind that I'm very impulsive as a painter. Particularly as the application and use of colour has the ability to lift my mood so quickly. In a similar way, when I come across a story, scene or film that has a deep effect on me, I'm eager to react to that sense of wonder and amazement as quickly as I can. There's something about sketching, planning and consolidating, that more often than not, saps any initial passion and joy I had for what I'm trying to convey. I learn and come up with ideas by doing, and though this may change during the MA, right now it's something that I love to do, and it certainly has an affect on my style of painting.
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My YouTube channel was based on a desire to make the best of lockdown, especially as lockdown meant coming home early from Japan, only weeks away from driving round the country(a trip I'd been dreaming about for some time). It was aimed at helping others with their artwork, outlining lessons I'd learned in the videos, and encouraging viewers to engage in the exercises I was trying to get myself to do more.
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In light of this, I wanted my work to continue focusing on the idea of making the best of tough situations, and the potential we all have to do this. I also wanted to make sure it centred around community and helping others, so I began looking for stories of others making the best of Covid and lockdown, and the amazing things they were doing to help others.
The Boy who walked from Sicily to London:
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*Having grown tired of big news networks front-line stories that were largely controversial or negative, I decided to simply search on google for inspiring and uplifting stories.
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*The story of Romeo and his walk from Sicily to London was almost the first I came across: After reading various different articles about his journey, I decided to check if he had an Instagram page that documented the journey.
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*It was there that I found the image below left, and was immediately struck by the way the it encapsulated everything you needed to know about the journey.
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*I was so impressed, and so eager to get my passion for this kind of humanity onto canvas that I begun the painting as soon as I discovered the image.
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*I began this painting initially eager to fill out and be true to what was in the photo, however, when I laid the red primer down, and drew the outline of the boy and the donkey, I realised how much the present state of the painting could unlock the viewers imagination.
*Having also laid a blue primer on top(for the sky), I was aware of it changing the day to nighttime, and how we associate this with things such as the unknown, fantasy and most importantly story.
*This led me to only apply attention and detail to the two main characters of the painting, not only did this allow an easy direction of focus for the viewer, but it also held true, to the magic I want to convey in scenes taken from the real world.
The Footballer who campaigned for the less fortunate:
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*It is pretty normal for well-known footballers to speak up on certain issues and engage with charitable causes, but you have to look harder for footballers who not only continue to speak up on these issues but also take these issues to the government.
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*Add to that, that Marcus Rashford is only 23 years old, with all the money in the world, and you're left with nothing but admiration and respect for him as a player and public figure.
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*Following this story, I found a video of him and his mum helping out with a food bank delivery, and took some screenshots of the scenes and compositions I liked most.
*I continued to explore how the background colour could play an important role in unlocking the viewers imagination, also trying to limit where I chose to paint.
*In certain areas of the painting, I used a lot of turpentine in order to let some colours run down the canvas. I feel that this was a good way of adding to the dynamism of the composition, and placing it in the position of a faded memory.
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*The high-vis jackets are what harness the vibrancy of this image, and it was great building up towards these bright colours, leaving them till last and patiently laying down the darker, more mundane colours first.
The Man who climbed the 3 Peaks in a Diving Suit:
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*After discovering the story of Marcus Rashford, I started to find plenty of uplifting and inspiring stories that the BBC had reported, they were just not so easy to find via the site homepage.
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*This story of Loyd Scott and his diving suit, was not only inspiring, but also verging on the ridiculous.
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*Having read this article, I wanted to find an image that best portrayed the heroism of this man's task, and also the ridiculousness of it, not only in regards to the difficulty, but also in the way the suit contrasted with the surrounding landscape.
*Having only multiple painting at the same time a handful of times, I decided to do this painting alongside the Marcus Rashford image.
*In doing this, I was reminded of the advantage in having 2 paintings on the go, the way one can inform the other, and the relief they can offer, when frustrated and needing a break from either one.
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*In wanting to keep with that feeling of story and fantasy, I laid down quite a mundane grey/purple ground.
*By allowing it to come through the oil paint, and have a dominating presence on the skyline, the painting took on this otherworldly quality, as if Loyld Scott was among the first to set foot on a new planet.
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The Bike Lady:
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*Having come across 2 stories on acts of charity, I wanted to find some altruistic businesses and projects that had emerged from lockdown.
*After finding images of Jas(Pedalling Pantry) at work(through a BBC short film), I decided that in order to have a better understanding of the person, the company, and the images I was drawing inspiration from, I thought it would be great to interview her.
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*It was fascinating speaking to Jas, and made painting the images even more enriching, given the familiarity I had established with her.
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*On this occasion I decided to take more screenshots, and take more time in figuring out which image would work best in a painting.
*To begin with I did some iPad Paintings of these screenshots; They really helped me familiarise myself with the subjects environment, and also get some early ideas of how I may like my 2 paintings to look.
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* what the iPad Adobe fresco offered that sketching or a preliminary painting did not, was that similar feeling of reacting to the story and images with a sense of immediacy, whereby I had any colour material shape or size the touch of a button away.
*For both paintings I experimented with a new technique for the early stages, whereby I would put the acrylic colours down, draw out the figure, and then try to scrub and wash away whatever I could off the canvas. By laying paint down and then starting again, I was being given more than one chance to have a fresh reaction to the image and the activity of the figure.
*It also meant that the background colour planes were taking their own shape, through the process of some paint remaining and then areas of that being covered with new paint. For both backgrounds I enjoyed the way it set the stage for introducing the figures.
*The 1st and larger painting, certainly was successful in what was being highlighted, the certain colours that were chosen and the sense of story, imagination, work, and sense of selflessness that I'm trying to convey. However, it clearly showed something that I’d already done, and whilst I think it does its job and people have responded to it well, there is not much visible sense of progress or discovery, and the environment still seems to have a very secondary presence to the figure, which I think slightly impedes the viewer from truly immersing into these worlds I'm trying to create.
*On the other hand I think the 2nd painting was a lot more successful. Not so much in its effectiveness in getting across what I'm trying to convey, but more so in it being an image I haven't really made before, especially in the way I shifted the chronology of my building process.
*Even when I brought in the oils and started to introduce the figures, I still applied and scrubbed/washed away at least 5 to 6 times.
*This began to merge the subject and the background, and on some level the figures almost became the secondary character. Keeping in mind what Jas said about less is more and my belief in that, I restricted my colour palette for the figures and only really brought in the colours that were being struck by sunlight.
Painting Santa Helena:
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*Whilst seeking to find more inspiring stories of people making the best of lockdown and 2020, I became more and more aware of the great importance of community and the significant role it plays in our lives.
*I stumbled across a TEDTalk Given by two Dutch artists in 2014, about their experiences in Rio.
*Artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn create community art by painting entire neighborhoods, and involving those who live there — from the favelas of Rio to the streets of North Philadelphia.
*In this funny and inspiring talk, the artists explain their art-first approach — and the importance of a neighborhood barbecue.
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*Having been so eager to respond to the stories I found, and then discover the next one, I decided to spend more time looking into Favela Painting, the current state of the project, and discover artists that have been in involved in similar projects.
*Again, using the iPad to draw up some ideas for how my images may look proved very useful.
*it gave more speed to showing my reaction to these beautiful images of the crew painting the buildings.
*Even in the photos, without the figures, the buildings took on an abstract form, particularly as the colours are unnatural to what we’re used to as a normal building colour.
*This opened up an interesting direction towards the effect of colour, and how the facades could begin to have more of a relationship with the figures, than they might in a photo.
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*This began to show in the iPad drawings and the buildings began to take on a whole new presence of their own.
*The 2 paintings, were taken from one of their more recent projects, painting Santa Helena. Where various buildings and street paintings needed restoration.
*I think both of the paintings turned out very well, I love the way that the figures in both images are harnessing both the reality and structure of the paintings as a whole.
*They act as both the characters and entry points into these images.
*The scale of the buildings in both images, and the vibrancy of colour, dwarf the figures, and reflect that greater purpose, that they’re all contributing to and engaged in.
*I absolutely love the white lines in ‘Painting Santa Helena 1’. I was at a crossroads with the painting, where all seemed to be moving toward completion, but the central focus and balance of the image seemed off.
*By introducing these white lines, dripping and weaving down from the two horizons, not only did I frame the image in a very interesting way, but these lines took the shape of little streams, all leading in the same direction, towards the same endpoint.
*Rivers are a fantastic representation of our lives, our projects, successes and failures. One moment all is running smoothly, the next we’re thrown in another direction, struggling to keep up with the change in speed, and the twists and turns.
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*The figures in Painting Santa Helena 2 are all totally engaged in what they’re doing, not allowing anything around them to distract them.
Christmas Escape
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*Whilst I thought it would be good to take a break from painting and where my work had been focused, I still wanted to maintain that habit of creating, so I thought it would be good to go back to the root of what drives my work, my passion for painting and the simple desire to tell a story.
*I find that it's really important to do this every so often, it takes the pressure off, and reminds me that first and foremost, I need to love what I paint and just have fun.
*Again the iPad has opened a door to creativity that I can't get enough of, the immediacy is just brilliant.
January Re-boot
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*Whilst this month has been difficult to navigate without a studio, being able to work on the iPad and recreate some of the images I've been so drawn to from favela painting, has been crucial.
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*I've particularly enjoyed picking out colours that jump out to me, creating negative space by outlining objects in their respective colours and allowing the ground to come through.
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*This creates an interesting juxtaposition with the image seeming otherworldly/dreamlike, but also having come from the real world.
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Recently Jaime Gil’s work in Venezuela has been great to look at, especially in the way local figures interact with his shards of colour dotted around the neighbourhood.
