I found this painting really enjoyable since we hadn't really worked in colour before though it was slightly challenging in trying to achieve a painting that didn't look so simplistic.
Some examples of paintings using vibrant colours:
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Colour Painting
We were given small brightly coloured foam shapes and had to arrange them into a composition to paint however, we were not allowed to use white or black.
I found this painting really enjoyable since we hadn't really worked in colour before though it was slightly challenging in trying to achieve a painting that didn't look so simplistic.
Some examples of paintings using vibrant colours:
I found this painting really enjoyable since we hadn't really worked in colour before though it was slightly challenging in trying to achieve a painting that didn't look so simplistic.
Some examples of paintings using vibrant colours:
James Elkins: A Short Course in Forgetting Chemistry
Elkin believes painting to be distinctive in that it is something which can never be taught or learned, but rather it is something almost innate, something the artist can do instinctively. He believes it to be like alchemy – the production of a substance which no formula can describe. I agree with the idea that you can’t be taught how to paint. Clearly you can be shown different techniques of applying paint and informed about the properties of different paint, but how to actually create a painting is inevitably something that comes from within oneself. To combine what is painted with how it is painted so they become indivisible is to create something other than the chosen subject - a work in itself. Monet seemed to be more concerned with the process painting, the making of marks than creating a likeness to his subjects. The relationship between an artist and their materials is one that is so individual and unique, one that cannot be shared or replicated by another. The artist handles the materials, the paintbrush, the palette knife, the paints in a way that is comfortable to them, a way that is their own. There is a definite direct connection between what the artist sees in their mind - what they want to create - and the paintbrush in their hand.
Chaim Soutine: Side of Beef & Calf’s Head
This painting is certainly not one that I would choose to hang in my living room or any room in my house for that matter. I do not find it aesthetically pleasing however, I do find it is a very strong painting and I do like the texture of it. Everything about it is striking – the intense colours, the subject matter, the way in which it is painted. There is an almost grotesque air about the painting and when looking at it, there appear to be feelings of anger and possibly rage taken from the use of reds, yellows and oranges against the contrasting dark background. I don’t feel this painting relates to my own ideas about painting, the only qualities which I do admire in it are the thick texture and use of intense colours.
I feel that I’m always attracted to paintings which make use of vibrant colours specifically reds and purples, therefore I tend to use these colours in my own paintings. I also take interest in texture as I feel it adds a sense of depth and three-dimensional quality to paintings, making me want to touch them.
I had an idea that the painting was done on quite a large scale, this was taken from the assumed scale of the subject matter, quality of the brushstrokes, and how there doesn’t appear to be a lot of detail but rather areas of colour.
I think scale is an important factor in appreciating a painting – the larger the painting the more of an impact it creates. An extremely large painting can encapsulate you, surround you and really draw you into it which I feel you don’t get from a small painting. However, you can sometimes lose what the subject of the painting is when it is on such a grand scale.
Other examples of Soutine's work which I find more appealing:
The Man In Prayer 
Glaieuls Rouges
Carcass of Beef
I feel that I’m always attracted to paintings which make use of vibrant colours specifically reds and purples, therefore I tend to use these colours in my own paintings. I also take interest in texture as I feel it adds a sense of depth and three-dimensional quality to paintings, making me want to touch them.
I had an idea that the painting was done on quite a large scale, this was taken from the assumed scale of the subject matter, quality of the brushstrokes, and how there doesn’t appear to be a lot of detail but rather areas of colour.
I think scale is an important factor in appreciating a painting – the larger the painting the more of an impact it creates. An extremely large painting can encapsulate you, surround you and really draw you into it which I feel you don’t get from a small painting. However, you can sometimes lose what the subject of the painting is when it is on such a grand scale.
Other examples of Soutine's work which I find more appealing:
The Man In Prayer 
Glaieuls Rouges 
Carcass of Beef
Caravaggio
I feel Caravaggio is portrayed as an extremely passionate yet somewhat aggressive artist. He appeared to have a certain sense of power once he became more known to the public, and at points he seemed almost arrogant and self-conceited.
It was apparent that Caravaggio's life was centred around art, that his life was ruled by his paintings. And I agree that a true artist's life should be governed by their art, if it's what they're passionate about then it should be apparent in every aspect of their life.
The quality of Jarmen's film was reflective of Caravaggio's style - the acting was dramatic, the characters dark and somber, and the lighting was at times extremely dull and obscured and this I feel made the film look like a Caravaggio painting itself.
Examples of his work:
Judith Beheading Holofernes
Self-portrait as Sick Bacchus 
St.Matthew & the Angel
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The Cardsharps (I Bari)
The Rest on the Flight to Egypt
It was apparent that Caravaggio's life was centred around art, that his life was ruled by his paintings. And I agree that a true artist's life should be governed by their art, if it's what they're passionate about then it should be apparent in every aspect of their life.
The quality of Jarmen's film was reflective of Caravaggio's style - the acting was dramatic, the characters dark and somber, and the lighting was at times extremely dull and obscured and this I feel made the film look like a Caravaggio painting itself.
Examples of his work:
Judith Beheading Holofernes 
Self-portrait as Sick Bacchus 
St.Matthew & the Angel .jpg)
The Cardsharps (I Bari) 
The Rest on the Flight to Egypt
Collings: The Inner Life of Painting
Collings feels that the art of today has no connection to the past ‘in any real way’ implying that art has transcended into a sort of new realm where paintings have no real meaning anymore, no symbolism and no connection or likeness to existing matter. I don’t agree that art today is mostly ‘visually boring’, I simply think a new approach towards art has developed and the traditional process and ‘purpose’ of painting is fading.
What attracts me to painting is the ability to create something visually enticing from your imagination, by manipulating something, or seeing and showing the beauty in ordinary objects.
Painting is something which comes from within, something which only the artist can decide on - every mark, every detail is their decision. It is their own unique touch created by them and only them. I feel that you can get lost in a painting, in both creating one and simply looking at one. A painting can evoke emotions, feelings, sensations, memories. It can create a mood, an atmosphere, express an opinion. It can impress, stimulate, clarify an idea, inspire and move you unlike anything else.
What attracts me to painting is the ability to create something visually enticing from your imagination, by manipulating something, or seeing and showing the beauty in ordinary objects.
Painting is something which comes from within, something which only the artist can decide on - every mark, every detail is their decision. It is their own unique touch created by them and only them. I feel that you can get lost in a painting, in both creating one and simply looking at one. A painting can evoke emotions, feelings, sensations, memories. It can create a mood, an atmosphere, express an opinion. It can impress, stimulate, clarify an idea, inspire and move you unlike anything else.
Films: Peter Greenaway & Jean-Luc Godard
The films were an insight into the minds of other artists and their personal take on painting. As with many works of art, they were at moments seemingly confusing and hard to interpret, yet I found them intriguing and somewhat perplexing in a good sense.
To make a film about painting would be highly personal and would involve my personal experiences with art, examples of pieces that I feel are successful or that I enjoyed immensely painting, and possibly what I’ve learned (and am learning) about art. I do however believe it would be reasonably difficult to put across, or put into words, the feeling you get from creating a painting, or why you’ve painted something in a particular way, and this I believe is a reaction shared by many artists.
To make a film about painting would be highly personal and would involve my personal experiences with art, examples of pieces that I feel are successful or that I enjoyed immensely painting, and possibly what I’ve learned (and am learning) about art. I do however believe it would be reasonably difficult to put across, or put into words, the feeling you get from creating a painting, or why you’ve painted something in a particular way, and this I believe is a reaction shared by many artists.
John Berger: Once in a Painting
Painting is said to capture or preserve a moment in time, yet it is apparent that this is more true of a photograph than a painting. A painting is a static image of what the painter sees before them, or how they interpret what is before them. It is a combination between reality and the imagination of the artist. There is a distinct connection in a painting between the subject and how the artist wants that subject to be portrayed. In relation to life, an artist can take an ordinary every-day object and make it into anything they desire.
The possibilities within and around art are endless - the ability to create something out of nothing, to change the seemingly unchangeable, and create a world unlike our own.
I feel it is only possible to portray the most significant characteristics of a subject in a painting as your perception of it is constantly changing. By depicting what you consider to be the most striking aspects of a subject at any specific moment (whether these change throughout your progressing work) you are capturing what you feel illustrate your subject at its best, and therefore overcome the relationship of permanence to transience.
In my experience, a painting is finished when the artist feels they have accomplished a perfect balance throughout the painting. It must “feel” right to the artist, independent of what others may think. It doesn’t necessarily need to show a likeness of an already existing subject, it doesn’t necessarily need to serve a purpose, or symbolise your inner emotions. It can simply be the result of an urge or impulse to create.
The possibilities within and around art are endless - the ability to create something out of nothing, to change the seemingly unchangeable, and create a world unlike our own.
I feel it is only possible to portray the most significant characteristics of a subject in a painting as your perception of it is constantly changing. By depicting what you consider to be the most striking aspects of a subject at any specific moment (whether these change throughout your progressing work) you are capturing what you feel illustrate your subject at its best, and therefore overcome the relationship of permanence to transience.
In my experience, a painting is finished when the artist feels they have accomplished a perfect balance throughout the painting. It must “feel” right to the artist, independent of what others may think. It doesn’t necessarily need to show a likeness of an already existing subject, it doesn’t necessarily need to serve a purpose, or symbolise your inner emotions. It can simply be the result of an urge or impulse to create.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Painting & Drawing Module - Object Painting
We were given the task of doing a tonal painting using a minimal palette(blue,brown,black & white) from an oddly shaped structure which had white cloth wrapped around it. Lights on the floor were shone on to it to emphasize the highlights and tones of the creases and folds of cloth.
I wasn't entirely pleased with my painting at the end of the day, feeling that it lacked detail and depth. So I contiuned to work on it a few days later and achieved the result I was aiming for.
The subject matter of this painting was not something I was entirely keen on painting and at first glance there didn’t appear to be enough “substance” to take from it. However, it was clear that it was the detail of the highlights and tones that were going to be important to achieve a tonal painting. I aimed to outline roughly the form of the sculpture with charcoal and build up the composition with the three chosen oil paints.
By doing this painting and looking at how other people approached it, it confirmed my thoughts of how artists always interpret subject matter for paintings in such individual ways. What one artist sees or depicts in an object can vary immensely from another artist. My feelings at the beginning towards the this type of painting changed the more I got into it, and by the end I quite enjoyed working with the limited palette and also the fact that it was on such a large scale.
Generally, I enjoy using a lot of detail in my drawings and paintings but this piece made me really look at the detail of the folds in the fabric and how it catches the lights so intensely at certain points, yet it can be so dark at others. This however wasn’t so apparent to me at first, but I learned that the more you looked at the object the more you began to see, and this showed me that it is possible to take a lot from a “simple” object.
I used to think that you could only create a painting which had meaning to you if you painted an object/scene/subject that had meaning to you. Though it became clear to me that it doesn’t necessarily matter what the subject of your painting was, you always make it into something you want it to be. It is you the artist who decides what to paint, what to leave out, what to alter, making it an object in itself. So it occurred to me that sometimes the subject matter of a painting is irrelevant since you make it into something in itself, something that you want to see, anyway.
From what Berger was saying about the endless transience of the subject of paintings, I felt that as I progressed with this particular piece I was constantly altering and redoing lines and tones for the sculpture appeared to be in constant transformation and my perception of it was continually changing too.
I wasn't entirely pleased with my painting at the end of the day, feeling that it lacked detail and depth. So I contiuned to work on it a few days later and achieved the result I was aiming for.
The subject matter of this painting was not something I was entirely keen on painting and at first glance there didn’t appear to be enough “substance” to take from it. However, it was clear that it was the detail of the highlights and tones that were going to be important to achieve a tonal painting. I aimed to outline roughly the form of the sculpture with charcoal and build up the composition with the three chosen oil paints.
By doing this painting and looking at how other people approached it, it confirmed my thoughts of how artists always interpret subject matter for paintings in such individual ways. What one artist sees or depicts in an object can vary immensely from another artist. My feelings at the beginning towards the this type of painting changed the more I got into it, and by the end I quite enjoyed working with the limited palette and also the fact that it was on such a large scale.
Generally, I enjoy using a lot of detail in my drawings and paintings but this piece made me really look at the detail of the folds in the fabric and how it catches the lights so intensely at certain points, yet it can be so dark at others. This however wasn’t so apparent to me at first, but I learned that the more you looked at the object the more you began to see, and this showed me that it is possible to take a lot from a “simple” object.
I used to think that you could only create a painting which had meaning to you if you painted an object/scene/subject that had meaning to you. Though it became clear to me that it doesn’t necessarily matter what the subject of your painting was, you always make it into something you want it to be. It is you the artist who decides what to paint, what to leave out, what to alter, making it an object in itself. So it occurred to me that sometimes the subject matter of a painting is irrelevant since you make it into something in itself, something that you want to see, anyway.
From what Berger was saying about the endless transience of the subject of paintings, I felt that as I progressed with this particular piece I was constantly altering and redoing lines and tones for the sculpture appeared to be in constant transformation and my perception of it was continually changing too.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Actual Installation
(can't seem to rotate this picture round for some reason)
After having deliberated a million different ideas of how our video was going to be projected, we finally reached a decision with only a few days to spare.
Our final idea still involves the two viewers sitting back-to-back watching and listening to the video at the same time. However, instead of it being projected onto a surface, or using a projector, we decided to show it on two computer monitors. These monitors would be placed on a table, ontop of a plinth, so when sitting at the table, the monitor would be at eye-level to the viewer.
We constructed two boxes which the viewer would have to look through at one end, and the monitor would be placed at the other. The boxes consisted of an outer box and an inner box, where the outer box would fit the dimensions of the monitor so it seemed like it was one big piece of construction. And within this box was a tunnel, which fitted solely around the screen of the monitor. The viewer would therefore be looking through this tunneled box and viewing the screen at the other end.
The idea of the tunneled boxes was to confine the viewer and the video, so it would reach them on a more personal level. Viewing the video through a dark tunnel symbolises the idea of narrow-mindedness and tunnel-vision, which we feel is evident in today's society. The viewers would be listening to the track through head-phones which again allows them to concentrate purely on the message of the video and disengages them from the world around them, which is what people tend to do nowadays - isolate themselves into their own little worlds by walking around and listening to mp3 players. This use of technology (head-phones, computer monitors) again highlights the idea of communicating via technology.
The two viewers would watch and listen to exactly the same things at the same time, and be in very close proximity to eachother, yet still be in their own little world. We feel this layout is an exact reflection of the theme of our video and brings it to a more personal level for the viewer.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Finally Done
We finished the sound for our video on Friday - all rather exciting! The main song we're using is very powerful, the meaning of the song is not entirely related to our theme, but there are certain lyrics which do go very nicely. So we edited this song, only using the lyrics we felt were suitable, and combined it with another song which is purely melody - we feel the sound and rhythmn fit the timing of the video.
The main song is by The John Butler Trio - 'What You Want'. Its actually about a couple breaking-up, yet they both still feel strongly for eachother but neither can bring themselves to make the first move. It therefore relates to our theme, this lack of communication and not wanting to make the first move. We used the lyrics which were fitting to our video and repeated them throughtout the track:
"What you want to say...";
"I'm sick of communicating over the telephone"; (this relates to the use of telephones in our video and the idea of people nowadays solely communicating via technology instead of face-to-face)
"But tell me how you feel, for I am lonely too, need you to know I'm just as cold and numb as you...";
"But I could fly away, or I could be no one..."
We used these lines repeatedly throughout the soundtrack and combined this song with parts of another song by Eric Mongrain - 'Fusions'. 'Fusions' is more upbeat and has a suitable sound and rhythmn which we feel fits nicely with the colours and tempo of our video.
So thats us done now...finally! We just have to burn it onto DVD and upload it onto YouTube and all that jazz...
The main song is by The John Butler Trio - 'What You Want'. Its actually about a couple breaking-up, yet they both still feel strongly for eachother but neither can bring themselves to make the first move. It therefore relates to our theme, this lack of communication and not wanting to make the first move. We used the lyrics which were fitting to our video and repeated them throughtout the track:
"What you want to say...";
"I'm sick of communicating over the telephone"; (this relates to the use of telephones in our video and the idea of people nowadays solely communicating via technology instead of face-to-face)
"But tell me how you feel, for I am lonely too, need you to know I'm just as cold and numb as you...";
"But I could fly away, or I could be no one..."
We used these lines repeatedly throughout the soundtrack and combined this song with parts of another song by Eric Mongrain - 'Fusions'. 'Fusions' is more upbeat and has a suitable sound and rhythmn which we feel fits nicely with the colours and tempo of our video.
So thats us done now...finally! We just have to burn it onto DVD and upload it onto YouTube and all that jazz...
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Audacity is NOT our friend
We finished the visuals for our video the other day, and have been working on the sound part since, well, atleast trying to. We had problems trying to convert the song we wanted to use to a suitable format for Audacity, and our computer kept crashing when trying to open up Audacity, so that wasn't stressful at all... but at long last after receiving quite a bit of help, its working. There are two songs we decided to collaborate together, so the aim for tomorrow is to get that finished. Then we'll be ready to burn the video onto a disk!
We also had a bit of an issue with the projection aspect for our video. We didn't really have any idea of what we wanted to project it onto, apart from the idea of a curved surface, but trying to justify how that is related to the theme of our video was the issue. We both had a sudden random brain-wave after considering the idea of 'headphones', and realised what it was we wanted to do. In a couple of the still images we're using, we're sitting back-to-back and this inspired the layout for our installation. So, situated in the middle of a room would be two chairs where the viewers would sit back-to-back, the video would be projected on a large scale for both the people to view independently and they would be using headphones to listen to the sound. This not only reflects the physical contrast/distance between the two people in the video, but also addresses the concept of communication - that so many people today go about listening to music on mp3 players, and are just so disconnected from the world around them, that they avoid communication with others. The video simply being projected onto a blank surface may not be very exciting or creative, but its the layout of the installation thats important. The layout is reflective of the images of the video and so the viewer is more involved on a personal basis.
We also had a bit of an issue with the projection aspect for our video. We didn't really have any idea of what we wanted to project it onto, apart from the idea of a curved surface, but trying to justify how that is related to the theme of our video was the issue. We both had a sudden random brain-wave after considering the idea of 'headphones', and realised what it was we wanted to do. In a couple of the still images we're using, we're sitting back-to-back and this inspired the layout for our installation. So, situated in the middle of a room would be two chairs where the viewers would sit back-to-back, the video would be projected on a large scale for both the people to view independently and they would be using headphones to listen to the sound. This not only reflects the physical contrast/distance between the two people in the video, but also addresses the concept of communication - that so many people today go about listening to music on mp3 players, and are just so disconnected from the world around them, that they avoid communication with others. The video simply being projected onto a blank surface may not be very exciting or creative, but its the layout of the installation thats important. The layout is reflective of the images of the video and so the viewer is more involved on a personal basis.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Getting there...
The last clips and images for our video were taken yesterday. We managed to alter all of them in IPhoto which was actually so much fun! They were then imported into IMovie and we started to put them into a suitable sequence. We've been working on the video all day today and have made quite some progress, its just way too long at the moment cause of the amount of pictures we have. And theres only a few transitions and effects that are suitable for our video without making it look daft, so its been kind of difficult trying to make sections look different while using the same ones.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Making The Video
We decided the other day on the final ideas for our video, the themes being 'Lack of Communication' and 'Ignorance in Society'. The idea is basically, two people who know eachother yet seem to not want to know eachother, so whenever they come in contact they simply ignore eachother. Trine and I came to this idea by a few conversations we've had in the past surrounding the fact that we've had experiences with people who choose to continuely ignoring us for some reason or another even when they know you. For example, you could have a flatmate, who you live with and see everyday, yet they wont even make eye-contact, let alone say something. And i've wondered what it is that makes someone blatantly ignore you even when they know who you are - is it shyness? is it simply ignorance? not knowing what to say? why is there this lack of communication? Whatever it is, it is nevertheless annoying and we feel it is visible in today's society. So, we tried to illustrate the idea of two people (Trine and myself) living in similar environments, having the same routines/habits, meeting in many situations, noticing eachother, yet are never able to bring themselves to say something.
We started taking photos and mini video clips around uni in places we would likely bump into eachother eg. passing eachother in the corridors or street, at a bus stop, in a cafe, in the library, in the park, jogging. (We got some strange looks off of people but that just added more humour to our day.)
The images we've got with be edited in colour and quality and imported into IMovie.
We started taking photos and mini video clips around uni in places we would likely bump into eachother eg. passing eachother in the corridors or street, at a bus stop, in a cafe, in the library, in the park, jogging. (We got some strange looks off of people but that just added more humour to our day.)
The images we've got with be edited in colour and quality and imported into IMovie.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Some Inspiring Images
Researched images which we liked the look of, and would like to achieve similar effects in our own images. Imported some of these images into IMovie and distorted them, making a mini video, just to see what kind of effects we could get. We're going to start taking pictures and short videos of ourselves, distorting them on IMovie, and building up our final video.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
More Ideas
Link to a video by Adam Chapman. He deconstructs movies and uses selected clips to make a new movie...
http://www.adamchapmanart.com/video/rope_frame.html
http://www.adamchapmanart.com/video/rope_frame.html
Been thinking about the project, but obviously no real progress can be made until Trine and I see eachother again. I've been looking at work from artists to try and get some inspiration and ideas for what we could do, and I like the idea of using a digital camera to capture images, but changing the settings so the outcome is different. I had taken several pictures, experimenting with different settings, but unfortunately the memory card was playing up, so I couldnt transfer them onto the computer and they were lost (its my brother's camera, so i'll just blame him!) While messing about, a couple interesting pictures did get taken, so when doing the actual project, I hope to capture similar effects.
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