First Elective: Painting

I couldnt be happier to begin the New Year year with Painting as my first elective study. We began into the 2 week project by bringing in items such as articles, images and art references which inspire and excite us, which was a highly interesting task as the variety of imageery throughout the studio was astonishing. We were then given a lecture on Contemporary artists which I found very helpful as it opened my eyes in the world of contemporary painting. I find keeping a critical and contextual notebook to be of great importance as it allows me to understand the variety of art that lies within our world and to gather inspiration from these artists for my own work.

We were given the practical tasks of blind painting, negative space painting and painting with card which i found highly learning as I discovered that one can paint with the simplest tools instead of the obvious brush. Also painting the negative space really helped me attain greater skill in being more accurate in life painting.

Our next and current task is to create a construction inspired by a well-known painting. This project really excited me as there is no boundaries or limitations to what can be created. I researched various artists which inspire my own work and that have been personal favourites of mine but one artist stood out in particular which is Paul Gauguin. I chose to make a representation of his painting " The Poor Fisherman" as there is numerous textures and materials found in the image which I found would be interesting to use in my construction. So here is a collage of items that i will be using to convey my representation of The Poor Fisherman. I used orange skins, pebles, bamboo, heshing and various other materials to convey a tropical sense that reminds me of the lands of Tahiti and the subject matter that lies within Gauguin outstanding painting.

I have to say that I am really excited about what the next few days may bring.

Until next time!

-Theresa <3