bridges/water: 1990, 2003, 2010 (2010)

bridges/water: 1990, 2003, 2010 (2010)
Originally uploaded by kelise72

ink, paper (metal and plastic frame)
6 feet x 6 feet x 6 feet (approx.)
2010

I've had my first group critique...errrm... I mean, crit (why does it bug me that people call it "crit", like they're trying to sound hip and with it but instead sound like something else...)

ANYWAY... So I've had my first crit, and somehow, I feel like I've done something not-quite-right but I can't quite put my finger on it... until I figure it out though, I won't worry about it.

In a nutshell, here is how I presented this piece:

This piece is about getting to know my new city, my first glimpses as a tourist, then settling in as a new resident. In the beginning, I am an outsider, capturing only brief moments of London, struggling to find my way around… an exciting city, it can also be dizzying, overwhelming, confusing…

It’s about getting lost and learning to find the way with the aid of familiar landmarks. It’s also about never being lost when you can see the Thames from here.
Seven years have gone by, and I’m pretty comfortable in my city now.

Time and experience give me an insider’s view… I’m not the one getting lost anymore; it must be that I’ve gained confidence - these days, strangers are asking ME for directions!

Three weeks in...

For my first drawing project, I started with the idea of bridges linking two halves of a city and meant to do a sort of quilt where the bridges (knots) sort of stitch the city together again...

and then I ended up somewhere altogether different with a sort of drawing that you have to get INTO to really see it...

Basically, it's a long piece of paper (12 feet/360 cm long) that is fashioned in a ring and attached to circular frame (made of wire), and suspended from above. On the inside of the ring is a drawing of London's bridges, end-to-end (so that it looks like one continuous bridge). On the outside of the ring is just blank paper - so, like I said, you have to get INSIDE from underneath to see the drawing properly - and because the ring is only 4 feet in diameter, you are forced to look at the drawing from a very close distance.

Hanging on the wall behind the ring is a 12 foot drawing of one continuous line starting at one end to the other, all squiggly-like - which sort of could pass for a pattern of moving water.

(when my phone is charged up again, I'll add a photo)

As for what it all MEANS... well... I have to think a bit more about that, because right now I'm so tired that I might just go to bed early (at 7:15PM!?)

For now though, I'll just throw a couple of words/phrases out, things I was thinking of as I was working through the project:

* time/timeline
* continuity/infinity
* bridges normally convey people/machines from one side to the next, but this one you can see but you can't get on or off - instead it just hangs there in space, a surreal and impossible bridge
* frustration/impossible, doesn't make any sense (an incomprehensible communication)
* interaction with the piece is different from the outside looking in, vs the inside looking out
* there is a definite and controlled way of viewing the piece, particularly when on the inside of it

I'm sure I could come up with more ideas but I'll stop for now...

p.s., I am utterly LOVING the course!

self (2010)

self (2010)
Originally uploaded by kelise72

16x20 inches, acrylic on canvas

Using the same limited palette as in the previous still life, I attempted a portrait with a similar “calming” effect, selecting a composition I thought would suit the limited palette, something simple and serene.

I used the same palette as in the still life:
- Titanium White
- Dioxide Purple
- Cadmium Yellow Medium
(two complementary colours)
- Payne's Gray
(all Liquitex Heavy Body)

I think this painting was successful generally as a painting goes; however, I’m not convinced that the “calming” effect was achieved as intended. On the one hand, the pose of the figure is one of quiet solitude, perhaps even she is expressing some kind of love or acceptance or self-esteem (so in that sense, the painting achieves a certain serenity...)

On the other hand, because a human figure is often dynamic by nature, and because the figure’s arms are crossed, giving diagonal (and dynamic) lines, there is still a sense of movement to the painting. Also, the strong lighting, and dark shadows against her pale skin gives a sense of drama (that was unintended but it works).

So in the final version of the painting, there is a play of dark and light, intensity and calm, joy and sadness, yet I think what the viewer may leave with is mostly light, calm and joy. The woman in the painting has come out of a dark place, perhaps a scary or unloved place, and yet has found peace, love and acceptance – in herself.

still life (2010) - bowl, chopper, mortar-and-pestle

still life (2010) version 2
Originally uploaded by kelise72

16x24 inches, acrylic on canvas

This is one is now version 2.0 (after feedback from my tutor who makes some very good points).

Basically, the "problems" with the original (see previous blog) were
- the composition that included strong diagonals was a bit too "dynamic" for the soft palette chosen
- the mortar-and-pestle was "floating" - because the shadows were inaccurate, and seemed to be a different shape than the object throwing the shadow. Also the shadow was not really "connected" to the object, giving the appearing of floating
- The bright colour of the mortar-and-pestle caused the object to be out of place, ie., it didn't "fit" in the picture - seemed to be from a different palette maybe.

All in all, I'm happy(er) with the painting after the changes... the little jar in the front isn't "floating" anymore (having been firmly anchored to the countertop by the shadow) and also, the colour/tone of it seems to fit better with the whole composition.

I worked on the mortar/pestle, and the shadows a bit, however, hestitated to change the diagonals (as I really wasn't sure then how changing diagonals would affect the shadows?) So in the end, I merely softened the diagonals with lighter grays/taupes, and I think it worked out OK.

I like this 2nd attempt MUCH better now, so it is saved from the bin :)

still life - bowl, chopper, mortar-and-pestle (2010)

still life (2010)
Originally uploaded by kelise72

This is one is attempting to imitate Morandi's style, using a limited palette to paint still-life objects (bottles, bowls, jugs and such). heh, I just said "jugs"...

I like the softness of this painting very much; it has quite a soothing quality which is a bit unexpected for a painting of a collection of simple kitchen implements... makes me think of the sleepy shuffle to the kitchen to make the morning coffee...

Technically speaking, this painting wasn't very difficult as I spent about half the time (about 4 hours overall) just to set the initial drawing (using graphite pencil). Drawing well to start makes the rest of the piece easier to accomplish. Interestingly, the first layer of paint sort of blended with the graphite and moved around the canvas, helping the shadows to appear. (I'm thinking to do something similar with charcoal as the underlayer with just water or maybe watery white paint to move the charcoal around ... hmmmm....)

As it was, I used the following Liquitex colours in this painting:
- Titanium White
- Dioxide Purple
- Cadmium Yellow Medium
(two complementary colours)
- Payne's Gray

It seems that the composition is quite strong too, in that the diagonal lines move the eye around the picture quite easily - without the strong diagonals (of the countertop, the shadows), I think the composition would be weakened.

If I'm to make one criticism, the yellow stone mortar/pestle seems to "float" a bit, almost seems to hover over the countertop but as I'm now bored with the thing, I won't bother to make any changes. And the "floaty" mortar/pestle is less apparent in the real painting anyway.

Other than that, I'm pretty pleased with this one!

Next up: a portrait using the same limited palette, it will be interesting to see how that turns out!

fur elise (2010)

fur elise (2010)
Originally uploaded by kelise72

I’ve had this painting in mind for a couple of years – I’ve got a book of vintage nude photography (from 1880’s and forward), and the photo this painting is from is one by Brassai, 1932. Of course the actual photo is black and white, so I had to take artistic liberties and paint her in colour.

I rather liked the expression on the model’s face – sort of like Mona Lisa, enigmatic, is she smiling or is she sad. In the photo, the model looks a bit “hard”, maybe jaded, but somehow, in my painting she’s ended up looking confident maybe even happy, not at all ashamed of her situation. Maybe she’s even proud to have such control over men, and over her own body (as I kind of assumed by the photo, she’s a hooker or even some kind of 1930’s “porn star”). Her stance seems to scream out, yeah, I can do whatever I please and who are you to tell ME what to do with my own body?

Although the model is not me, I feel she still aptly represents me in the sense she conveys my own personal attitude, one of self-confidence in any situation - even one where I might be vulnerable and seemingly constrained by a “mask” (e.g., the “mask” of someone else’s expectations, or the “mask” that society/culture expects you to be a certain way); In fact, I’m quite OK in a situation where somebody might ask me to be something other than I’m not – I still find a way to express the real me even if some of who I am is disguised in order to “fit in”.

You may notice that she’s standing in front of a mirror, so that a slight reflection of her back is apparent. This is representative of the idea that sometimes (for me) I’m only outwardly exhibiting the APPEARANCE of confidence – sometimes ACTING confidently is easier than actually FEELING it. So overall, the viewer can’t be sure if the model is ACTING or FEELING.

I am quite pleased with the resulting painting – I feel there’s a lot of depth to it, even though it’s quite simply done. I tried to be as “accurate” again with the tones of the model but purposely chose a garish yellow wallpaper (she is a hooker, after all, so I thought it was fitting to have wildly yellow wallpaper that’s so bright so as to not encourage hangers-on, I guess. A mirror, too, is essential decor!)

The composition (bend of her arm and bend of her torso etc) really leads your eye around the painting I find, and I’m hoping that the reflected image in the mirror is not immediately apparent. Sometimes I do that with my paintings, I don’t “give it away all at once”, leaving something for the viewer to find later.

precious (2010)

precious (2010)
Originally uploaded by kelise72

16x20 inches, acrylic on canvas

I started this painting with the idea about expressing the bottles not just as an arrangement of coloured glass but rather an arrangement of precious objects, and then when I turned the spotlight on the arrangement the play of light shining through and on the bottles instantly made me think of coloured jewels: sapphire, black pearl, aquamarine, topaz and emerald.

What I’m really trying to do here is say something about how precious these bottles can be; the blue one on the left most precious of all, particularly valuable as it once held water. I actually liberated (stole?) it from a restaurant many years ago. If it was worth “stealing” then it must be worth something. (I thought it was unusual and pretty and worth taking it off the table without permission as a perfect addition to my collection of other unusual bottles).

As for the other objects, well, some can become addicted to the alcohol they contain, which is some kind of irony that something so pretty can be so harmful, (not only to the drinkers but sometimes to the victims of drinkers who’ve never touched a drop.)

So there’s a touch of melancholy in this painting, with the empty wine bottle tipped to one side (as if it in itself is drunk) and with the shadows and refracted light turning out in same colours of day-old bruises.