IAS371: oil paint & a Tansey method attempt
Wanting to approach this project exploring grief in monochromatic abstraction from a more analytical and mechanistic perspective, I began by making a table of the 16 compositions I want to play with. Then added to that a list of mediums to dive into with these 16 compositions. First up was oil paint and Mark Tansey's method of applying and removing paint. I started by preparing some grounds with oil and turpentine (stinky!), frottage and stream of consciousness writing.
It took a while to dry. I like some of the effects created by turpentine washes and it's nice having a ground to work back into although due to having no idea what I'm doing, I went a bit heavy on the backgrounds and definitely could have been more subtle and minimalist. It would've given me more room to add layers on top and more variation in tone.
Some of these are more successful and interesting than others and I realised at the end of two days making these that I should've primed the paper first! Hahahaha (groan). Good lesson. The paint sank into the paper too much and I couldn't take it back to the white or layer underneath. I tried adding linseed oil (also stinky!) and that was nice to work with and created some lovely bleeding edges. At this early stage of experimentation, I discovered I don't like applying white paint on top of black - I prefer the application and removal of medium to create tonal contrast. I'm finding myself attracted to black on black and I wonder if (once I've worked through the spreadsheet with each medium by itself), I'll wind up using mixed media. I'm interested in exploring white on white too (just not quite sure how?). I really liked holding each piece and rotating it to see what perspective and layout most appeals. I'm also really attracted to the horizontal line... (could be my Mark Rothko love affair).
It took a while to dry. I like some of the effects created by turpentine washes and it's nice having a ground to work back into although due to having no idea what I'm doing, I went a bit heavy on the backgrounds and definitely could have been more subtle and minimalist. It would've given me more room to add layers on top and more variation in tone.
Some of these are more successful and interesting than others and I realised at the end of two days making these that I should've primed the paper first! Hahahaha (groan). Good lesson. The paint sank into the paper too much and I couldn't take it back to the white or layer underneath. I tried adding linseed oil (also stinky!) and that was nice to work with and created some lovely bleeding edges. At this early stage of experimentation, I discovered I don't like applying white paint on top of black - I prefer the application and removal of medium to create tonal contrast. I'm finding myself attracted to black on black and I wonder if (once I've worked through the spreadsheet with each medium by itself), I'll wind up using mixed media. I'm interested in exploring white on white too (just not quite sure how?). I really liked holding each piece and rotating it to see what perspective and layout most appeals. I'm also really attracted to the horizontal line... (could be my Mark Rothko love affair).