PRACTICAL ART DEVELOPMENT / SKETCHBOOK
This page presents the development of my practical art, including annotations and a documentation of techniques I have experimented with over the course of the module and and extra curricula activities. Where a normal sketchbook would include artist research, my research is presented on a different page for greater clarity. However, my responses to the artists I've researched are annotated in detail below.
(To the markers: There are more than 25 images of my process because I have uploaded images of individual pieces, rather than whole pages of my sketchbook).
Practical Art Development
The practical art is predominantly influenced by Angelica Mesiti, Sean Scully, David Hockney and Brian Eno. The annotations along side sketchbook photos explain how and why.
Experimentation Techniques
Etching & re-purposing etching plates
Lino Printing
Charcoal
Photography & edits (using Instagram + Google Docs)
Oil Painting
Acrylic Painting
Oil Pastels
Soundation Software (view this on music experimentation page)
Oblique Strategies
Workshop & Extra Curricula
The workshop and extra curricula elements include the practical art that may not strictly relate to my theme but has been relevant in the project's progression
Scrolling down the sketchbook, you will find techniques and mediums I used, workshop and extra curricula elements relevant to the project, and the progress in chronological order. The experimentation with music however is on a separate page. Whilst it may be mentioned below, a more in-depth account can be found by clicking the MUSIC EXPERIMENTATION button above. This leads to a page explaining the musical progress throughout the project and photos of the technical processes mentioned. I would recommend visiting the music experimentation page FIRST, and then scrolling through the sketchbook. This will allow the viewer to form their own impressions of what the music represents before dissecting how and why I made the decisions to have it sound this way.
Scroll down for overview of Sketchbook with annotations. (Clicking on the image will not include annotations) LINKS TO PORTFOLIO AND FINAL WORKS FOR SHOW ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
THE BEGINNINGS:
THE CAR was drawn with charcoal on A3 over the first few sessions in class. Drawn from a toy car.
Following Angelica Mesiti's video installations that touch on themes of daily life, culture and translation, I began thinking how I could go about making a fine art piece on similar themes, but with fine art mediums rather than making a video installation myself.
This A4 sketch is of flamingos at Edinburgh Zoo. I used the drawing as reference for an etching, see print below. I've included this in the sketchbook as it was the first attempt at this medium and encouraged me to make other prints that are more relevant to my working title, Momentum.
sketches of my brother using biro and acyrlic paint.
This etching print was made following a life-drawing session I attended. Still experimenting with printing techniques, I left the two black lines of ink because they reminded me of notes on a piano, and seem loosely relevant to my musical themes.
I decided to explore how I could capture elements of daily life, relating back to themes I researched in Mesiti and Hockney's work.
Whilst Mesiti captures culture and ordinary routine in her films like The Calling, I wanted to capture elements from an ordinary day. This photo is of my brother one morning
I started experimenting with how I could edit the photos, and if I could make the subject more abstract, like Scully's figures in the Madonna Triptych.
This black and white picture was edited using google docs.
I like how the results have obscured the background and add ambiguity to the scene, inviting a viewer to look a little longer in order to distinguish what's going on.
The results of editing photos on google docs inspired me to create some lino prints.
I feel they do more to blur the subject matter, making it harder to distinguish the scene from the background to the foreground. It seems flatter. This may be a positive, considering how Scully said "abstraction was invented to make everything happen at once" and I want to have an audio component happening at the same time for my final work.
This was a quick A4 sketch using charcoal. I wanted to experiment with other mediums to present my brother's morning routine. Since I found the lino prints give a flatter effect, this drawing was primarily to experiment with how I could present depth. The foreground has clarity, focusing on the glass, and the background has been smudged on one side. Drawn using the google doc edited image as reference, I think the proportions are a little off, however I like the clarity of the glassware, you can tell what they are, compared to the ambiguous background.
This abstract painting was done on A4, using the same subject as the previous images. Also inspired by Scully's figurative abstract works, I wanted to experiment how I could present a figure with few shapes.
More edits using google docs, these images show my parents.
From the google doc images above, I did some etchings based on the figure's abstracted forms.
So far, the process of photo, edits, etching reminds me of Mesiti's translation process in Assembly, having taken a poem and translated it to different art forms.
This notion of taking one thing and passing it through other mediums relates to the idea of movement and my working title Momentum.
By this stage, I had experimented with a few ways of manipulating an image, using a figurative subject that signifies elements of daily life.
Here, I started thinking about other images and symbols.
Whereas Mesiti's Assembly piece featured Italian court rooms, I began thinking how a location in my work could signify my own themes.
Regarding the title Momentum, I considered how elements of time could be represented.
The following images are the gothic ruins of Byland Abbey, near my home in North Yorkshire. Representing a time gone by, I thought ruins could be an interesting subject to continue this theme of momentum.
I edited the photos using Instagram to add the colour pink.
This was to experiment how I could make the image more ethereal, giving way to musical experiments that seem nostalgic and other worldly.
Regarding music: the audio experiments that relate to this piece unfortunately corrupted so are now essentially broken, but I used a combination of synthesised sounds available on Soundation and long piano tones I recorded myself, edited on loop and with heavy reverb and echo effects.
These images are of Helmsley castle, another ruin near my home that could present similar themes of time that I mentioned above.
This drawing is actually very small, less than 10cm by 10cm, drawn using pastels. This was a quick response to the photos, attempting to present the form in as few marks.
This is a small painting of Helmsley castle using acrylic paint and biro.
Similar to the audio recordings for Byland abbey, the manipulated recording was also lost. It featured heavily on long piano tones in a minor key that typically melancholic 'blues' ideas.
More photos of Byland Abbey
OIl pastel, Byland Abbey, A4
Helmsley Castle photo.
One of the reasons I chose to use locations near my home was because of my research on David Hockney.
Regarding this image in particular, the bright orange, light blue and green reminded me of the colour palette he often used for painting Yorkshire.
Following my interest in Hockney's paintings, I began using colour in my scenes of Yorkshire.
Watercolour, Helmsley castle, smaller than A4
Watercolour, postbox.
Relating back to momentum and themes of time, the overgrown nature depicts this, whilst the red box is a symbol of communication. This relates back to themes I researched in Mesiti's work. Where she presents themes of communication and the significance of location using the medium of film, I could translate similar ideas using fine art medium inspired by Hockney.
The figurative subjects I decided upon were inspired by Sean Scully's Madonna triptych, and the visible marks on the surface were also influenced by Scully's style, though on a much smaller scale.
The music invites the viewer to stare at the works for an assigned amount of time, and the ambiguity of form in the drawings encourage the viewer to attempt to discern the surroundings.
Brian Eno's oblique strategies came into use both in the audio and the visual composition. Throughout the creation, I would pull cards reading instructions such as 'listen to the quiet voice' and 'repetition is a form of change' or 'give way to your worst impulse' and 'what wouldn't you do?'.
I let these chance elements dictate the process of the piece.
Regarding the audio, the process of composition is charted on the Music Experimentation page, and the result is an amalgamation of minimalist features such as noise from daily life, the lack of a traditional melodic structure, and effects such as looping and reverb.
The images have a bright colour, but the music is in a minor key and evokes a reflective mood. The effect of this invites the viewer to ponder over how the music can represent the images, and if it is a narrative of one image in particular.
I previously wrote on the music experimentation page that this audio relates back to my research on Eno, finding that music becomes real for him when he can imagine the place, the colours and the temperature. For me, this music I've called 'just carry on' connotes ideas of the Yorkshire landscape by my home, on a spring day with bright greens and warm blues. Combined with this series of oil pastel drawings, the viewer can decide which part of the routine is represented by the combination of the audio and visual. Is the lock in the audio the end of the day or the beginning? Are the characters about to leave the house or is someone else entering the scene?
Charcoal study of Byland Abbey.
Here, I was considering how the ruins, as a symbol of time, could be presented as the visual art to an audio accompaniment.
Whether they would loom in the background of an image or be the primary subject.
Graphite pencil sketch of Byland Abbey, A4 size
Graphite pencil sketch, drawing from life whilst out walking in Yorkshire
(smaller than 10cm x 10cm)
Watercolour observation of tree in my garden, using Hockney inspired brush strokes and bright colours
Continuing my developments regarding Hockney's style, I read about his digital art, where he has recently favoured using his iphone to create observational drawings.
I created these plant observations using the iPad app 'Paper'. I tried different techniques, regarding the pencil tool and blending the lines.
Choosing bright background colours relates to my research on Sean Scully, recalling his Madonna Triptych in particular. The work in question features bold and primary colours.
The image on the right with yellow horizontal lines is a homage to Scully's linear style.
I took my own photos of the Yorkshire landscape.
Regarding Hockney's exhibition 'A Bigger Picture', I began considering how I might go about creating a work made up of multiple pieces. Just as Hockney had multiple canvases coming together to form one unified picture, I experimented with the layout of these photos and how they can create a panoramic effect.
I created painted this forest scene from the photographs above, using acrylic paint on A4.
Whilst out walking and taking photographs, I also added to the sound recordings, which are featured on the Music Experimentation page.
This would provide content for me to edit on Soundation, and form into an ambient composition which attempt to connote ideas of the location, and to then visualise this scene in a different way ...through a minimalist music composition.
Below are a series of reference photos, used to experiment with Hockney's portraiture style.
My brother, Alasdair
My Dad, in his mother-in-law's very pink living room
My mum
My younger sister, Rosaleen
These photos were taken candidly, hence why the sitters are consumed by their technology
I began digital sketches (inspired by Hockney's techniques)
This is a self portrait, again using the app 'Paper'
I experimented with different colours and backgrounds, but found overall that I would rather use a brush for fine details.
However perhaps there was potential here to create a print of sorts. By this I mean that at the beginning of my project, I was thinking of creating etchings or mono prints for the final work, but these plans had to change due to lockdown. Perhaps a print of this digital art would have been an alternative result that still centred on a form of printing.
Oil painting of my mum, A4
I wanted to use bright colours, as is customary with Hockney's portraits especially when you look at the bright blue backgrounds of his 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life.
The specks of paint were a chance occurrence caused when the painting fell off my wall overnight, onto my palette . However, I embraced this as a chance effect that Cage and perhaps Eno would have welcomed. Both these composers implement the happenings around them into their work, so I left it as it is.
Oil painting of my dad, A4.
I painted this as a pair with the portrait of my mum, and they hang next to each other on my wall.
I like my colour choices that link the figures to the background, they are so absorbed in their tech that they become almost part of their surroundings.
However, I found the oil hard to work with, finding the texture it created appear not as smooth as I would have liked. In retrospect I think it was due to the choice of paper.
Oil painting of Alasdair, A4.
I left this piece unfinished, as I decided not to use oil paint for the final work.
Also, I decided I liked this portrait better with the bright red background, confirming that I want to use bright colours in my final work.
I painted my sister on A4 using acrylic, and following Eno's oblique strategies picking 'give way to your worst impulse', I spontaneously chose to paint the background green to evoke ideas of the forest.
A3 study in charcoal
PLANNING THE FINAL WORK
A key part of my final work was to be how it would be presented. If it would be a triptych or a singular piece, for example. Throughout the project's development, I taped the pieces on my wall. The picture to the right is from the end of my project, showing how I would match images together, displaying them in pairs or threes, horizontally or vertically.
I want my final piece to be based on the elements of daily life, using photos and recordings from within the house and environment of Yorkshire.
I referred back to my photos, the edits on google docs, and subsequent etchings to consider the figurative form that has been inspired predominantly by Scully's abstraction, and Hockney's choice of subject.
Here are examples of how I could display the piece. Vertically, using 3 of my brother.
Grid formation of numerous drawings, suggesting the individual scenes are part of a bigger picture.
In the end, the final selection of the postcard sized oil pastel drawings were based on my favourites regarding the colours and which most accurately suited the audio component I was creating at the same time. The images on the right are examples of a selection, whilst the actual final work and its audio accompaniment are to be viewed on the page FINAL WORKS FOR THE SHOW.
EVALUATION: My project took a slightly different course than expected. I originally planned to create a series of prints for the final piece, though the Lockdown circumstances meant I couldn't access the printing press and other materials. The figurative elements however continued in line with themes I initially researched from Mesiti's work, regarding time and daily life, and the art of translating forms into other mediums.
I spent some time researching how I could implement symbols of time, for example the ruins I visited, though as the project progressed I decided to focus on subjects within the home and capturing NOW and the momentum of a routine.
The visual cues from Scully's work have translated into my own. The simple shapes and forms allude to the universal language Scully talks of, aiming to produce something everyone can recognise. The surface marks indicate the artist's labour, and the subject matter is personal to me.
The ambiguity of the figures is inspired both by Scully's figurative works (The Madonna Triptych), and by Hockney's spontaneity in his 82 portraits. Hockney's bright colour palette and decision to paint those close to him have also played an influential role. I experimented with Hockney's choice of mediums but chose oil pastel for the final work for a combination of reasons involving the oblique strategies, a compromise instead of prints, and the effect of ambiguity that coordinates with the minimalist music.
The musical experimentation led to recording and collecting noises from daily life, from in the house, public transport, piano clips, noises from nature etc. This was initiated by my research into John Cage and Brian Eno, both of whom promote the appreciation of the noise around us, noticing our environment, and manipulating it into an art form.
Whilst the music software was unfortunately unreliable in charting my progress, the act of experimentation and use of minimalist techniques developed the final audio.
The methods of Brian Eno, particularly the Oblique Strategies have played a vital role in the project. He intended the cards to be used in the process of music production but I found they were also useful in the creation of my visual art too. Using these methods only further served to implement the chance element that Cage and Eno rave about, and the method behind the work is one of the factors which unifies the visual art with the audio component -because they were both shaped by oblique strategies.
Momentum has explored how the depiction of an ordinary subject can translate elements of a normal day into a multifaceted art form that ultimately encourages the viewer to find art in their own daily life.