Exercise 2 Finding inscriptions and traces.
For this exercise I wanted to put some of my visual vocabulary into practice. In exercise 1 I had included my walks and the steps I take regularly in not just finding inspiration but also getting together sketches and paintings. The foraging map and the transition town have become intrinsic to my life and so is my local town. Having worked on my foraging map I wanted to use its trace and where the planted areas are to create a very seasonally coloured painting. Just as Cy Twombly captured the colours of the seasons, I want to try to capture the colours of my fruits as they change seasonally on the map. My inscriptions or traces of the fruits will be quite bold and I plan to use a large canvas with acrylic carveable paste for texture.
My first step is to make a replica or plan of my map using the original as well.
In the process of creating my map of the area I wanted to try to ensure my colours were similar to what I would paint.
Once I’d got my plan ready I set to work on the canvas. I was aware that in order to achieve a good textural surface I would need at least two tubes or containers of the paste.
It’s difficult to take photos when covered in paste but I mainly used the palette knives. I’m conscious I’m on a drawing course so I will be drawing with fingers and palette knife. The first photo is a close up of the paste. You can see where I used the knife pulling away from the surface in the top right hand corner as I want to create the rugged terrain of a map/aerial view. The other lines are made with the flat of the knife against the paste on the canvas. My canvas is a large 24ins by 30ins.
This second image below shows the pathways in place. I couldn’t help trying to capture one or two of the fruit shapes. I’m really not sure how this will work. I have colours and shapes in my minds eye but I must give agency now to the materials and the paint.
Below are apples shapes close up. I must now leave to dry. I’m feeling a bit despondent as my original intention was to create a more blocky rectangular grip but it was like the knife took over.
Having left for three days to dry I begin to paint but I coat first with two layers of white gesso. From my experience of my last textured piece the gesso helps seal the material but is also a good surface for the light to show through. My palette will reflect the seasonal colours of the fruits. Spring summer and autumn which might be ambitious. I mix my colours usually from just the primary’s cad yellow or lemon yellow, ultramarine blue, alazirn crimson or cad red and titanium white. For this painting however I shall also use a viridian and yellow ochre. My paints are windsor and newton water based oils and I shall add in some zest it thinner and some safflower oil.
I begin to block in my spring colour of greens and I also make up a darker green a cooler shade for more dense summer green. Life is all about different pathways and I’m not entirely sure what colour will suit the pathways as they could also be interpreted as tree branches and bark.
This close up gives a flavour of the green asand density of the undergrowth/darker shade.
Below is my palette after I’ve added the greens.
I’ve now added some fruit colours. The ripe reds of the apples and some smaller cherries. I’m not working to size as this is an abstract painting, textured and rough like the terrain.
I add more colour to all areas and build up more fruits. I’m following the contours of the texture in most places. At this stage I’m not sure which way up my creation should be hung so I’ve taken this image the other way up.
I’ve built up a few more colours today after allowing the painting a few days to dry. I’ve added in the autumn colour with the yellow ochre and for the pathway I’m testing out the mix of an alizarin crimson mix with blue to create a red-brown pathway. This may change. At this juncture I am mindful that the more dense I go with the layers of paint I will lose some of the light and luminosity. I’m not going to worry about this I want to push the paint and materials further or should I say I will trust in them and go where they will take me. In some ways this is quite exciting but there is some anxiety about the final outcome. I leave there for today as the work needs to dry again.
After a few das to dry I paint more layers of colour to all areas and I define the fruits more. I’ve gone deeper on the colours and overlayed. Thankfully the results are quite good. I define the lone damson all the apples and the cherries. My map is taking shape. Just one more layer once dry from today. I really felt my paint doing the work. I loved some of Katherine Grosse’s work and the amazing depth of colours. Being confident is key just go for it. I keep telling myself let the paint do the work and it doesn’t let me down. What I’m not sure about is which way up it should be. It could also be vertical.
I’d like to apply more paint but I’m running out of time with drying. I’m not sure how successful this is. Maybe I shouldn’t have included the fruit. It does detract from the map. I do like some of the green areas that give an ariel feel of the terrain.
Drawing 2 Interpreting the environment 