Exhibition Prep: The tension between experiments, resolution and scale.

A small mark making experiment I did the other week turned out quite well in terms of colour and layering.

Below is the original, very loose mark making that formed part of a zine.

This then developed into this study - still small - but a slightly more 'conscious' piece of mark making.

I made the very small study without much thinking and certainly no tension, and really like how it turned out. I like the translucent look of the layered paint and the juxtaposition of blues and yellows. I also like that it chimes with the imagery and feminine themes I've been looking at, a nod towards pagan or druid cultures and a worship of the sun. I wanted to try and re create this on a larger scale, with the hope of showing it either for the interim exhibition or the other one I have coming up in April.

Because I liked this and in order to embrace an objective of my study statement:

Objective 5: To engage in the above processes, whilst not restricting movement towards definition and resolution on paper and other surfaces. To allow semi abstract landscapes and figurative drawings and paintings to emerge organically.

I wanted to see if I could create the same feeling/mood with this piece but on a larger scale, with a view to it being a more refined piece.

I want to achieve the happy medium between trusting the creative process, allowing ideas to form etc but also not obstructing something developing.

I think the last week, knowing I have to have some work ready to show at the interim exhibition (as well as some more for a showing in April) has made this challenging!

Although I'm trying to stay put in an experimental phase, where I'm not pinning anything down and trying out different painting and layering techniques - I can tell I'm feeling a tension and pressure to 'produce'. It's like I'm lurching from relaxed mark making where I'm happy in the knowledge no one will see it - to suddenly thinking about April and needing framed work ready for sale. In hindsight, perhaps it wasn't the best time to commit to another exhibition.

I'm still working intuitively (ie I'm usually going straight in with paints rather then under drawing) and then allowing the movement of brush strokes to dictate the forms - but I don't feel I've been successful at relaxing into this and making work I'm happy with.

All the following larger tries didn't turn out right at all!

Some elements of this piece worked ok, more towards the left side - but I over layered the figure and the paint became too scuffed. I don't think the paper was that great either so think I'll get some better quality watercolour paper.

I do like the yellow in all of them though. I'm trying to achieve of feeling of the sun's warmth. Perhaps because we are nearing the end of winter and I'm desperate for some warmth!

I made a mistake with the first wash on this one, accidentally mixing green into the yellow so I didn't that feeling of the sun. I like the angle of the figure though.

I think I could be shying away from drawing faces so need to confront this sooner or later! In the end I got frustrated with this and just slapped on a dark wash over the top to see what would happen. I think this will go into the reject pile!

In the end I moved on an made a smaller piece again. I wonder what it is really, that I find so challenging about working on a larger scale. Perhaps I need to go back to some of Kentridge's drawings and get the big roll of paper out again!

I'm not really sure what was going on with these, but if nothing else, at least I produced a lot of work this week that I can use to make into sketchbooks!

I feel a bit like my experimental flow has been interrupted by the commitment of an exhibition (not so much the interim one as for this, I actually want to show some experiment work anyway) but more the one I have signed up to in April.