Fine Art Project - A Sense Of Place

Painting study with pallet knife

Here is my first painting study inspired by an entry near 12 quays. I was inspired by the suggestive mark-makings of Frank Auerbach's urban landscapes and tried to incorporate similar techniques into this painting. I used card to blot in the flat layers before applying more detail with my pallet knife.. Quite often I would let the paint dry for approximately five minutes to build texture. Once the surface dries I would work back into the study and adjust the colour contrasts in order to make it look accurate to the photograph I was working from. I find this works quite well, although I feel my sense of perspective could do with working on.

Quick Alleyway Drawing (approx 10 mins)

In college, I was assigned a task to produce ten quick sketches of my alleyway photographs. This allowed me to test my drawing skills and see what kind of marks I can make within the time frame I had for each study. The drawing above demonstrates just this. The lines are quick, vigorous, and gestural. As well as drawing with my graphite stick, I also used my rubber to draw into the lines to create quite spontaneous  marks reminiscent to the stylized drawings of William Kentridge. I think for the time constraints I had this is quite an intense drawing with many qualities that would influence my drawings to come.

Quick Alleyway Drawing .2 (approx 10 mins)

Just like the previous study, I quickly drafted out the composition before incorporating more suggestion of detail. This proved to be quite tricky because I had to move draw quickly if I were to capture everything within the photograph I was working from. While applying the graphite onto the paper, I would smudge into the lines with my fingers to create more tone in which I would later manipulate with my putty rubber. This was a very useful technique for suggesting depth and detail particularly for the discarded objects at the far end of the pathway. 

Quick Alleyway drawing .3 (Approx 10 mins)

Here is one of the strongest studies I produced. By this time I was starting to get use to the speed I was working at which allowed me to "loosen" up slightly. What made this exercise more enjoyable was that it didn't matter if I made mistakes. Because my drawing style consists of gestural mark-making and intense visuals, mistakes are very easy to edit.  Here I managed to incorporate a variety of marks with my graphite stick and enough tone to suggest depth and shadows. I think the viewpoint of the photograph I was working from helps to make the drawing look more dramatic, especially with the metal pole facing towards the architecture at the far end of the road.

Quick Alleyway Drawing .4 (Approx 10 mins)

Another of my favourites is this drawing above. The viewpoint was taken about 4 yards from where the previous image was taken. In terms of the mark-making, I tried a slightly different approach. Instead of incorporating single gestural lines, I applied harsh layers of graphite which enabled me to create intensely dark tones. I then tried removing some of the graphite with my putty rubber which creates strong contrasts of light between the two opposite buildings.  

Quick Alleyway Drawing .5 (Approx 10 mins)

In terms of composition and colour tones, this one works very well. While I think I could have incorporated more gestures to the outlines, I still think the visual qualities make this one of the more significant drawings I've produced. Similar to the previous drawing, I applied some tone with my graphite stick before incorporating lines to suggest detail. I'm particularly pleased with how the two public bins contrast with the black gate at the far end of the pathway, which in itself looks quite uncanny.

Quick Alleyway Drawing .,6 (Approx 10 mins)

Out of all my ten drawings, this one here seems to be the busiest in terms of mark-making, gesture, and tone. I drafted out the composition by drawing quick, loose yet confident lines which add to the quality of the intense visuals. I then began applying strong graphite marks to suggest the darker areas followed by the application of the putty rubber which brought back the lighter tones. To me, not only is the mark-making convincing, but the viewpoint if the image re-enforces the intensity of the drawing.  

Mixed-Media Painting Study on Board .1

Here is my first mixed-media study in which I used similar techniques as my final outcome for the "out of the ordinary project". Much of my inspiration came from the heartfelt, minimalistic buildings of Peter Doig and the intense surface qualities of abstract expressionist David Tress. To begin, I fused early objects such as saw dust and sand onto a wooden board using P.V.A glue. I then applied a quick wash of white paint before incorporating the intense colour contrasts. As well as using dark browns, I tried mixing other colours such as orange, reds, and whites to get a range of tones in which I applied onto the surface with accuracy and gesture using tools such as a paint brush and a pallet knife, all of which add to the intense visual qualities of the painting. While the two opposite buildings are highly textured, I kept the buildings at the far end of the pathway quite flat and minimalistic in order to capture the sense of distance from the 12 quay's campus and my current viewpoint. All in all I am very pleased with the end result. I feel both the colour contrasts and the texture fuse well with one another.

Mixed-Media Painting Study On Board .2

Just like the previous painting, I collaged a range of materials such as sand, saw dust, and news paper to create a highly textured background. I tried to maintain a balance between textured and flat layers in order to suggest depth and distance once I begin to apply colour onto the board. For the building on the left, I quickly blotted a flat layer of dark brown before adding gestural mark-making to suggest detail. While applying colour onto the brick walls, I carved small rectangular shapes which seem to give the painting a sculptural quality reminiscent to some of the landscapes of Anselm Kiefer. This side of the painting contrasts with the flat, suggestive visuals at the far end of the pathway. I steered away from incorporating too much texture as it would ruin the sense of distance from the gates at the far end of the alleyway and my current viewpoint. I feel a significant aspect of this study is the door on the left hand side due to it's gritty realism and abstract qualities which seem to resemble the decayed visuals of DADA artist Antoni Tapies. The building on the left looks may be lacking in perspective, but the idea of having the buildings in the foreground textured and the end of the pathway flat has alot of potential.

Mixed-Media Painting Study On Board .3

Out of all three of my final painting studies, this one appears to be the most abstract. Unlike the previous two paintings were I tried to capture a sense of perspective, I wanted to capture the intense grittiness of the alleyway itself. Once again I incorporated organic materials onto the wood leaving only the top middle section relatively flat as it was were the end of the pathway was going to be. I quickly blotted the first layers of colours over the texture before adding suggestion of detail, although most of the time I would let the texture do the work. It too some editing to tidy up the building on the right hand side as it looked quite muddy to start with. I also found the ground itself to be quite tricky to correct because it was getting lost with the news paper collage beneath. To me, the most convincing aspects of this study are the gates at the far end of the alleyway and the weathered concrete walls on the left hand side. I find the suggestion of detail at the far end gives this study quite an minimalistic quality while the dark, organic colour contrasts on the left hand side fuses with the gritty textures which brings s sense of realism to the study. The dramatic angle of the composition is another successful aspect and is something I will consider for future painting studies.