Visual Arts Practice 1

I plan to follow two lines of Practical Inquiry; landscape and figurative. Within landscape I plan to revisit two major paintings which have the potential for further development and which I have ‘intended’ to work on for some time.  I am surrounded by art work both past and present which is an invaluable source of inspiration to me. Triptych and diptych works interest me as I look for the connection from one piece to the other, so this will become a line of inquiry. I want to return to these important paintings created in the past, select areas from them and by enlarging, manipulating and exploring a range of materials, create art work which focuses more on abstraction, composition, colour and line. Colour is very important to me; contrasting, bold, dramatic, so it may be a challenge to experiment with more muted tones and black and white. Line; I love the undulating line found in landscape and would love to explore what lies beneath the surface of the earth.

Figurative studies will initially be under the theme of ‘Nurture’ with the potential to expand this theme. At the onset of the ATP I prepared an oil pastel sketch, semi-abstract in nature, brightly coloured, depicting a mother cradling a child (children) with the view to pursuing this theme in later works. I plan to work with Portraiture, perhaps digitally enhanced, then painted.  Whilst painting my landscapes, ‘figures’ appear within them, so I plan to delve back into these paintings and explore the figurative aspect.

Inspiration will come from artists such as Picasso and the Cubist movement, the Fauves, The Scottish Colourists, The Abstract Expressionists, Hunterwasser and other Contemporary artists/groups. It is my intention to visit several important exhibitions which will inform my own personal art practice.

Medium will include oil paint, acrylic, oil pastel, sketching pencils, textiles (in particular felting  with wool and a variety of surfaces to work on); hand- made paper, canvas board, canvas box frames and perhaps even some photography. I have access to an Pentax K100 SLR film camera and Fisheye lens as well as my own CanonEOS 550D. In other words I plan to be as experimental as possible and explore a whole range of materials in pursuit of expression. I am aware that the pursuit of art can go off at a tangent but I am prepared to take risks. By photographing my work at stages of development I will chart my progress and failures and plan ways to move forward and develop my skills and ideas.

I have joined an art group which will offer me the discipline of attending specific classes on a specific day(s) and I look forward to the interaction with others in the group, both professional and amateur artists.