The Magic of the iPad!

Drawing with the iPad - genius!

'Why not?'

A relatively new dimension to the art world, David Hockney probably the most famous artist to successfully bring this technology into the ever critical art world!

I have to say I think this is the breakthrough in drawing I have been searching for. Its immediate, portable, colours abundant, and prints can be enlarged without pixelation unlike your standard photography... 

Experimentation with tonal qualities and mark making. I have sketched in the exhibition space, capturing its atmosphere and essence, sat on a long coach journey and allowed my creative abstract self develop designs. The beauty is you draw with your finger, choosing the thickness of the lines and of course a barrage of different colours to layer as many times as you like, develop the tonal and textural qualities. Im completely sold on this approach to drawing.

'JH as Brunel - Edwardian Cloakrooms'

'Starting with the light'
iPad approach

Light fitting

Oxford arches

'Dogs go wild in toilet block'

'Because'

Dinosaur I

Dinosaur II

What worked well

Its immediate and has endless capabilities. As Im not into detailed images there is a total sense of freedom and expansiveness about how you can approach a subject. I enjoyed capturing the essence of the space in a loose, gestural style without having to have tonnes of artists material to hand.  I love the quality of the image and the fact it can be printed to any scale without pixelation. Playing at inverting colours - its a fabulous education in colour blending and matching and its so simple!

Its certainly a medium I will be developing further in my future art practice. 

What didn’t work so well

I just need more practice... working out how to take these drawings to the next level - watch out David Hockney... Im coming!!! :O) (joke!)


www.telegraph.co.uk/culturevideo/artvideo/10408677/David-Hockney-unveils-his-iPad-art.html
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a3283/drawing-from-life-0914

Drawing - Textural experimentation

White emulsion paint, watercolour paper, instruments to mark make & soft charcoal

Really enjoyed this technique. It felt slightly Jackson Pollockish!  Total freedom of movement, yes I could go mad with the looseness and randomness of markmaking.Played with textures by splattering large quanities of paint on the paper. Once it dried, smearing, rubbing in and rubbing out the black charcoal. Really allowed you to highlight certain areas, this is when you could start to build the image. Layering and rubbing out.

Whats next?  I plan to experiment on canvas and go large! – will need to place a block under the canvas to prevent stretching but Im interested how if I load the canvas with thick paint I can use various implements to create a variety of marks, with the intention of making the final drawing even more interesting.I think Im going to need vast quantities of charcoal :O)

Drawing - Experimentation

Graphite, printing ink and oil pastels

'Spiral'

'Chequers'

Exploration of creating a design / image with graphite pencil. Creating tonal values within the shapes. Loading printing ink and rolling white onto a plate. Roll through the press together; Result: I love the ability to blend the graphite into the printing ink to create blurred and tonal greys, adding shadow and softness to lines. It’s a technique allowing you to ultimately draw with your fingers. I think it would be interesting to develop the drawings from an original drawing on the Ipad, build it further through this technique as it adds a richness that you could actually present as a final piece. Love the approach.

What didn’t work so well

Where as the iPad is more immediate and mobile, this approach does feel slightly more restrictive as you need immobile equipment, namely a printing press but I want to experiment and push this technique further next year.

Drawing experimentation - Frozen ink blocks

Drawing with blocks of frozen ink:

Felt like being back at school, a real sense of freedom, Diluted ink frozen into blocks. Large paper and blocks of colour – this approach really does feel like playing with marks and movement. By mixing the colours and then adding chalk crayon to add texture and depth to the drawing it provided a freedom of movement as detailed work was not possible with the ink alone.

What worked well

It was playful and provides a very free approach to mark making. Can play with density of colour and the addition of working with the chalk crayon added texture and strength to the drawing.

What didn’t work so well

Very cold on the fingers! it would be beneficial to have various strengths of frozen ink as some I found too dilute and pale. I prefer more pronounced strength in my colours. I can see the appeal but Im not sure I will experiment further as its not as refined as an approach as Im looking for and feel the ipad has the more spontaneous approach which appeals.

Drawing approach for 'Starting with the Light'

The Drawing Journey:

A combination of sketchbooks - planning, capturing in a journal, working out the final exhibition space




Photography and drawing with light:
Imagery inspired by Thomas Edison (light bulb filaments)
Photography
Flames
Bike lights
Blow torch
Printed imagery

Spray paint and the filaments. Loose, gestural mark making.









Experimentation with paint
Moving into the medium of paint. Drawing experimentation with layering of glazes, experimenting with painting techniques with oil and acrylic paint. Multiple layers of paint to achieve a movement in the painting Im looking for. 
Many hours spent with the  preparatory drawings, who knew it would be so complex!?

Light Installation planning - drawing with light - fibre optics
Drawings and plans developed in the sketchbook - measurements of how the exhibition space needs to be set up to work with the lighting. Playing and developing the coloured gels to be used to create the right feel in the space as well and compliment and work with the final painting.

The plan is to bring together 2 mediums - a final painting and light installation.

Objective:
2 parts = > than the sum of 2

Chequered History Exhibition

What a build up to our exhibition, marketing has been full on in the last few days.  Its actually happening, as the Bristol Post Diverts Art Collective the 9 of us have developed artwork to reflect the quirky space in the Edwardian Cloakroom.

1 Exhibition, in 

2 Edwardian cloakrooms/ featuring artists from

3 continents /using  

4 Edwardian washbasins and 

5 mahogany toilets as traces and layers of the

6 languages we speak/We are engaging with

7 different media in 

8 interlinked installations by 

9 fine artists

The Bristol post diverts are a collective of second year FdA (fine art) students at Bristol School of Art. The first of their three exhibitions this year is a site-specific show (November28th- 1st December 2015) in the Edwardian cloakroom, a Bristol City Council Art Space. This exhibition includes work by 9 artists in ceramics, photography, paint, film, sculpture and installation in response to a particular Bristolean cloakroom.

Some of the work is a dialogue with the colours, styles and textures of the environment and its former uses, whilst other pieces focus on the Edwardian era (1901-1910) and the new ideas of popular celebrity; scientific invention and intellectual development that influenced everyday lives at the turn of the twentieth century. Yet other pieces celebrate the lives of the gay men who have used this space as a place to meet and have sexual encounters over the last couple of centuries. 

The Final Piece

'Starting with the Light'
Oil and acrylic
100cm x 75cm

My theme is light, inspired by Edwardian inventor Thomas Edison. Im in pursuit of 'Framing Infinity' by creating an ethereal feel to the exhibition space with imagery and lighting.




'My invitation to you (the viewer) is to open the door into the darkness, make sure the door is closed behind you. This is now your space... take a few minutes for yourself. What feeling does this evoke for you?'

I didn't want to just hang the painting in natural light, this piece was more than just the painting. I wanted to add a second dimension of light. 





Inspired by James Turrell, I worked on developing back lighting fixed in place behind the false wall I built. With the same violet gel I 'single spot lit' the painting. This brought out the reds and movement in the oils to create imagery of the cosmos and infinity. As the viewers eyes adjusted to the light the painting moved and expanded.Im happy!

'Chequered History' - Preparations for the Opening

What an intense time preparing for 'D' Day and the Private view! As part of the marketing campaign we managed to secure Made in Bristol TV to come and interview us prior to opening  (link to interview to follow!) Reaches about 140,000 local Bristolians a week so hopefully someone will see it!

Jo on camera

Kims 'toilet rolls' on him

Blacking out the windows

The space I am using is self contained and needed to be blacked out as I have plans to create an 'Experience' subtly lit with violet lighting and a spotlight on the painting. Easier said than done blacking out the light ! I seem to have picked the room which resembles more of a fish bowl! 300 m of black tape and blackout material later job done!

Here comes the Private View......

A 'Wallace' smile - could it be panic?

Light painting II in oils

Working in oils this week, I am pushing my technique and experimenting with starting with the light image and then working outwards into the dark space. Working with the creamy texture of the oil the blending of colour is very satisfying and is somehow easier to blend the colours avoiding any distinct lines. By working in this order the light source visually sits behind the darkness so you look into the painting rather than the image sitting on top. I need to wait for the paint to dry before I can decide if its giving me the look and feel Im searching for.... maybe this one is going to be the final piece.....?

Oil on canvas

Its more than a painting....

Taking inspiration from James Turrells light installations (Im feeling ambitious) I want to exhibit more than just a painting at my first public exhibition. My ambition is to create a calm contemplative environment in which to view my artwork. So... I plan to install a false wall in the cloakroom on which my painting will be hung and position some hidden fibre optic lighting which will illuminate a length of the original tiled wall to the left and behind the painting, (using Lee theatrical theatre gel - Ultimate Violet). This gel will also be placed in the fixed lighting on the ceiling to create a soft light., removing the harsh white light. All windows in the room (of which there are many!) will be blacked out to prevent any other conflicting light pollution. I plan to position 1 LED spotlight to illuminate the painting to add the impact Im striving for.

The Space
False wall will stand infront of the fixed cupboard

'Stage Electrics'
Theatrical supplier of lighting gels

False wall in the making

To 'stipple' or not to 'stipple' that is the question!!

Grounding complete on the canvas, 3 layers of acrylic, oxide red, black wash and a violet glaze. Happy with the end result. It has a warm, soft, velvety tonal quality. Now to paint the light... ha.... the difficult bit as I don't want to ruin the canvas! Discovered a technique called 'stippling' basically a very large shaving brush which is made of badger hair (poor badger!) method is all about dabbing the paint repeatedly so you get very soft, muted images - used a few different tonal blues to get a bit of contrast. Not sure if its finished but will take a break and revisit later...

Down in the sculpture room
the only place with enough space to work on the canvas!

Progress with the stippling!

Dark Spaces - James Turrell

An interesting discovery tonight looking through Turrells work. He developed 2 pieces called 'Dark Spaces' which where created with light and only could be seen once your eyes adjusted to the space. In my work for the 'Chequered History' exhibition I am exploring the perception of light and dark and have recreated an image I photographed in a dark room with a blow torch (I nearly melted the lens of my camera in the making!)I have recreated the imagery in canvas using acrylic paint but it feels there are similarities to that of Turrells - the main difference being my work is a little more obvious! The painting isn't finished as yet but Turrell is providing me with food for thought.

Sally Coulden
Photograph: Blow torch - 13 second exposure

Turrell
Serene - 1984

Turrell
Blind Sight - 1992

Frank Auerbach

Autumn in London, a buzzing Tate Britain, the works of Frank Auerbach await! This is an artist who works oil on canvas primarily, his renowned for having sitters that come to his studio every week, on the same day to sit for years !! The final picture looks like it was done at the first attempt but he has actually taken 50 - 200 separate versions that he deemed not good enough, typically taking months to complete a painting. His canvases are often unbelievably heavy mere due to the quantity of paint he applies.This exhibition has been arranged by the decades of his work starting in the 1950's to the present.

A fascinating exhibition which takes you on a journey through his development as an artist, portraits and landscapes that are familiar to him. I specifically loved the fact that he poured so much of himself into the works, he made no apology for the fact he repeatedly reworked the piece until it was right for him even though often the portraits were a mass of paint and looked somewhat abstract to the onlooker. 

His paintings had an energetic feel to them, you could almost feel the intensity which he would have felt when painting it, quite exhausting! Inspiring for any aspiring artist to follow what feels right for them when creating a piece of artwork, don't follow the norms follow your instinct!