I got It!!

I did it! I got into painting! I cant believe it! Thankyou so much!!

Ranking

So, today is the last day of the three week ranking project, we have to be set up by tomorrow morning at 9:30. After that the doors will be locked and we will have to wait till Friday for our results.

Terrifying really, that our lives for the next three years is in the hands of our tutors.

A list will be placed on the door apparently of those who have made that top twenty or so. The rest of us will have to find somewhere else to go.

I hope I will do well.

Above is my set up for the ranking project.

Colour blocks

Three photos I took looking at block colours around the college.

Three painting studies I did of the photos I took.

Gran wash-off

The picture before I added the ink

A wash-off I did of a close up of grans face.

If you click on the image it will come up much bigger.

Mum the Gardner

Some painting studies of mum while she is working in the garden. I completely messed up her face on the second one, her nose is half that size!

Linnen

Some testers I did on linen, experimenting with soaking the un-primed canvas/linen. Then going back and either painting an image in or using a palette knife to place the paint on top of the linen and then scrape it back off again.

The top one is my favorite, the rest seem a bit chocolate boxy for me.

More Sketchbook stuff

Just some pages from my sketchbook. Studies of my mother, grandmother and myself.

A little Grey

Some self portraits inspired by Marlene Dumas.

I was really happy with how the top one came out exactly how I had in my head. It looks almost 3D. I want to try and work more with the dripping effect. I like how the face is melting. The newspaper collage came out alot lighter than I originally planned. I wanted it to be mostly text and less colour. But I guess I still had my original flower ideas in the back of my head. It works well though, this dark gloomy face surrounded by a world that is slightly camouflaged by bright colours and nice words...

The 2nd painting I did of myself didn't come out so well. I suppose that's to be expected when your working late at night and when the light is fading. There  is almost to much information. I would of liked it to be alot flatter, with more block colours, alot like Marlene Dumas portraits. I might try that again..

Death of the Author

The portrait above is one of my favorites, its so simple. This one as well as 'Dead Marylin' below, were very influential for the two above.

Dead Marylin

Intimate Relations

Self-Portrait

Id like to also do something similar to how Marlene did the two portraits above. I think it could be very interesting.

Belated Print

This was our last project in print that I forgot to put up. The final stage. We all had to take one photo of St. Josephs Street and make it into a print, out of how many prints we made we chose the one we thought was best and gave it to Des. They were then put together to create a large picture.
It came out really nicely! There is a close-up of mine in the 2nd image, its the one that's two over from the left and one down.

A little Grey

An ink drawing I did of myself today.

Sketchbook portraits

Two small portraits I did.

The one on the left is my dad making a frightening face, and the one on the right is a loverly lady called  Geraldine Dunraven.

(If you click on the image it will come up alot bigger.)

Mum and Garry

A mixed media piece I did of mum over the weekend. Mum is in acrylics, Garry is done in pastels, and the jumper is done in white conte pencil.

All my reference material.

The finished piece. It came out very blue, but then the photo was very blue, and the orange of the cat was reflecting off mums face.
Note to self, stop using that funny setting on the camera!

The Original photo..

When  you look at the photo and painting side by side one can see so many mistakes, it is very annoying, I made her face to big in the painting! How annoying!

The Man Who Tasted Shapes

One of my tutors lent me this wonderful book called, 'The Man Who Tasted Shapes,' by Richard E. Cytowic M.D.

Its about synesthesia, people who's senses all melt together. Dr. Cytowic tells the stories of a man who can literally taste shapes and a woman who smelled colours.

I just wanted to post a small section from the end of the book from part 2, chapter 8, Other Peoples Experience;

'Satisfying art is a product of deep knowledge and understanding within the artist.It is true that art is informed by the intellect and with acquired technique. But the function of the artist is to penetrate the visible world to illuminate the mystery behind it. That mystery is a ground of universal truth that supports the human condition.If successful, the artist's expression resonates within the inner life of the of the reader, viewer, or listener who experiences what I have called an intuitive recognition. Ultimately, the art of fiction is not an intellectual achievement, but an emotional one in which intellect serves only to articulate the human truth, not to explain it.'

Mum

A drawing I did last night of my mum.

Trials and Tribulation

Had a bit of a bad week this week. Wasent really sure my head was at, and was, and still is somewhat, feeling a rather inadiquite about my work, and wasent sure what the hell I was doing. After talking to my tutors I do feel a bit better about it all and feel alot more confidnt about being in paint. Its what I came here to do and I know if I left I would be very dissapopinted in myself and would always have that inkling of regret. Hopefully it will all work out for the best. The only bummer is that I have gotten very little done this week. Hopefully I can do a bit of catching up and everything will go back to normal!

“If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?”

-Chuck Palahniuk