It's been a while; it seems that no matter how many times I say I’m going to post regularly I always end up going back on my word. So here I am, once again, hoping that I can make blogging a regular event in my week. I want to upload blogs more often because it not only helps me make sense of my thoughts but it’s nice to be able to look back in the future and see how my practice and methodologies have developed.
This week marked the beginning of the end, I’ve only a few months left at Aberystwyth University and I’ve begun now to put together my personal statement for my MA applications. I’m looking at moving to Leeds at the start of July and as this new chapter of my life creeps up on me I can’t help but get nostalgic, I will always treasure my time at Aberystwyth University and will be sorry to say goodbye. One thing is for sure, I will be returning to Aber again at some point in my future. It has become my second home.
I’ve spent more time thinking than actually doing this week but that’s okay, trying to get to the crux of what my painting is about. And to be perfectly honest I’m still not sure. Below is a photo of my current work in progress.
Untitled work in progress, Oil on Canvas 183 x 128 cm, 2021
My current painting process is as follows…
· A thin base of colour, application is gestural, intuitive and not constrained in anyway. Purely about making marks,
· Then step back and create some small thumbnails in my sketchbook. Blocking out any shapes or patterns found in my gestural base layer.
· The rest is a slow process of adding and removing. Mixing the colours as I go. Mixing them specifically for a certain spot on the canvas. Building up the painting as I go.
· And then… I just need to know when to stop.
My work is coming from within, it doesn’t have a solid starting point that someone could point at and say, “yes that’s where that came from!”. I think my work holds elements of the landscape but I’m not comfortable to say that the work is about the landscape. It feels bigger than that to me. I define a landscape as an area or space that is often discussed in relation to its aesthetic properties. Could it be a depiction of my inner landscape?
Google defines the inner landscape as 'the personal representation of reality. It is the image that defines the space where we live. The inner landscape is a map that contains historical references based on our emotions, sensations, ideas, and habits that we use to give meaning to the facts of everyday life.'
All these are things that I’m going to continue to think on during the week to come. But at the moment I think my paintings are about gesture, intuition, feeling. I’m planning this coming week to get a bit experimental and create some small gestural paintings with a limited colour palette and tools. Try and go back to basics in order to know how to move forward.
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