For my external project, I chose to push myself and do something I hadn’t yet previously done. I have always been fascinated by gestural paintings, however, when using acrylic previously, have not gained the sense of a finalised, or raw, real piece which I had hoped. I spent a week with paint technician, Tim, and learnt an overwhelming amount about oil paints, and the way in which we, as artists have a choice of painting.
Firstly, I made my first canvas strainer’s in wood work, which I had not done before this year, as previous paintings were created using MDF. To make an A3 canvas, it had to be 420 x 297, I had to:
- cut the wood with the miter each end then use the clamps to attach
- use the bandsaw for bevel (top) each piece of wood – face up
- connect with clamps & use glue & nail pin to attach
- 3 x pin each corner
Then, I had to take my three A3 frames to paint, using cotton duck I:
- ripped the canvas 7cm off where the frame was from each corner
- cut & tear
- staple long sides first – half a thumb between each staple
- then, staple the longest ways first, leaving spaces to fold and then staple the corners
- create ‘box’ corners
- spray back of canvas with water to even out any creases
- to prime for OIL – use acrylic primer
- priming: side to side, hold like a pencil, only very tip of squared brush
After failed attempted paint tests, I spoke to Tim & we discussed that the technique I was hoping to achieve was called ‘Scumbling’, and the methods I had been doing myself were in fact incorrect to achieve this approach.
I spoke with Tim about how to mix Oils, and how brands make such a difference in accordance to what you wish to achieve. He suggested from the colours that I spoke about that I buy: Cerulean Blue, Naples Yellow, Cadmium Red, White & Prussian Blue. I literally binned all my cheap paints, and purchased these Windsor & Newton Oils, using turpentine with a palette knife to mix and create the wholesome texture I had never seen before. We discussed how gesture is like a timeline, and when I began doing these tests, he spoke about how you can see where I start, and where I ended, a concept I found intriguing.
Above are some of my notes taken while exploring the use of gesture, colour, equipment and oil paints. The moment where the palette knife, or brush touches the paper, canvas, or other material, is known as the pinnacle point, particularly with gestural pieces it can make or break the work – you have to be in the right frame of mind, whenever I was tense in tests, you could visibly see it. When I was freely expressing, you could see that, too.
When I began to feel confident with making the mark, I spent a couple of hours mixing the paints, and creating these colour swatches. The left image shows the developmental mixture of Prussian Blue & Titanium White, and the right image shows Naples Yellow Light & Titanium White. The small colours in the right corner show the three shades I chose to use for my final canvases.
Tim suggested that I look at artists Analia Saban (Left) and Professor Maria Lalic (Right)
Overall, I found the experience of working in a new workshop extremely beneficial for my practice. It had been something I had wanted to do for so long, but was not confident enough in myself to try; I will certainly be using the paint workshop in my second year & I am keen to further my knowledge of oil paints.
Caitlin Jackson 