Studio practice

 Evaluation  

--- A series of paintings that explore and transform windowsill shadows into places reminiscent of synthetic worlds and lucid landscapes through colour and texture.  Acrylic paint on canvas -  My Artist statement

When i began these paintings i didn't really have any idea about what the end result would look like other than being a series of paintings of shadows. The idea of windowsill shadows gave me the starting point and subject matter to just begin creating paintings without a regimented plan and kind of just see what worked and what didn't. Although i usually like to create paintings that have a mix of naturalist aspects mixed with expressive and abstract marks i quickly found that i was quite happy leaving out any particularly realist aspects in these paintings and just focus purely on the abstract quality. When it comes to my colour pallet that again just began from sporadic choice that then grew into reasoning throughout the journey of the paintings. When i first began the small boards there was no real justification behind my colour choice other than simply choosing colours i liked and felt like using in the moment. However, i soon found that i was using yellow shades in the backgrounds of each little board so after realising this i made the conscious decision that this could become the linking colour in the later paintings that would make them flow as a set. When beginning the large paintings i just decided to follow the colours id already tried, just adjusting tones slightly so the colours worked well together. Obviously after creating the first two large paintings i ran into some issues. Looking back over the process now i clearly overworked the paintings to a place of no return.  Id finished the actual painting but just kept trying to add more and more elements to the work in the hopes it would elevate it but it just ended up making them feel and look messy and confused. This wasn't all bad though as it became a point of learning i guess, id never really experienced overworking a piece, in the past adding more has always been beneficial for me but now i know this isn't always the case and i should definitely stand back and observe more before making irreversible decisions. I did preserve for a while trying to sand of the mistakes but it was a lot easier to just begin new paintings.  Despite this i am happy with how i accepted the death of the first two paintings, then continuing the journey of the windowsill shadows instead of just copying the first two or changing paths completely. When i got to the end of the two dead paintings and beginning of two final paintings this is really where the idea of the other universes and portals came in, i mean id briefly mentioned it earlier but this is really where it came into practice as i focused down on bright fluorescent colour and thick texture. This use of weird marks and really synthetic colour to me effectively created this sense of false worlds but also helped me feel satisfied in adding in the elements i felt the last paintings were missing without overloading them. I am pleased with how i portrayed this idea although if i had more time i would have definitely liked to of done more research and experimented with different methods and techniques to portray the idea. When it comes to displaying the work for the show the final product did differ slightly from my first plan for displaying the work but i don't believe that matters, it changed to accommodate the changes within the work itself. When first beginning the paintings the plan was to display three A1 paintings in a horizontal row, the final display consisted of a vertical row of four small canvas boards alongside two A1 paintings, despite the difference i believe it actually ended up making use of the space in a more effective eye-catching way.   

In conclusion, this whole project has really been a test of wit and a real journey of letting the work guide me. I am pleased with the work produced, it has changed dramatically from my starting point but that's fine, its part of the journey. The creative freedom of the self derived project was both a help and hindrance to me, it tested my ideas and thinking but i almost found it to be too much creative freedom. I found myself flipping through ideas to the point where i properly got started on final work a bit late in the project and this obviously limited me. However, overall i just see these small set backs i encounted to be beneficial to future practice.