Yes, I know, it’s been a while but I was away for two and a half months in the USA and settling back in at home has not been without some challenges. But now, there is work to be done!
I need to assemble a portfolio at gain direct entry into the Diploma of Art and Creativity at The Learning Connexion in 2016 and I’m finding it an interesting and positive experience to look back at what I have achieved and the roads I’ve travelled to be where I am now.
I need to demonstrate technical competency in two of three areas: painting, drawing and 3D work. The latter is easy, there are many examples on this blog, and although I don’t draw much, I have examples to present, it’s painting that is more the challenge. I don’t consider myself to be a painter, but if a label is required then I’d describe myself as a mixed media artist. For me paint is just another material to use but not the primary medium in my work.
It’s not that I haven’t painted. I had a foray into oils and it was the lovely feel, the lustre, even the smell that I loved but now. for convenience, I use acrylics for prints and making collage fodder. I even use watercolours occasionally.
I started by copying . . . as you do . . . before attempting to work in the style of Modigliani, one of my favourites, but with originality.
Would that I could recall the artist. Why didn’t I write a note on the back! If something comes to mind please let me know in the comments. 400 x 325 mm, oil on recycled cardboard.
Another copy, this time by a New Zealand artist I think . . . I do wish I could give credit to the original artist. 410 x 575 mm, oil on recycled cardboard.
Finally, inspired by a photograph and with more than a nod to Modigliani. 640 x 500 mm, oil on cardboard.
Despite the last example being a little unresolved or incomplete (she has no nose, just nostrils), there are elements that I am well pleased with such as the background, the proportions, the tilt of her head, the shading on the neck. No, I’m not completely satisfied but critiquing my own work, what meets my learning goal and the next step to work on, that is what drives me to improve what I do, and at the time, I was satisfied with my results.
I’m hoping these three paintings will met the requirement to demonstrate technical competence however I’m left wondering . . . Why didn’t I persevere with painting for its own sake? Why did I relegate it to the background? And, do I want painting to remain there as something I did in the past?
late start studio 