Painting Methods
There was a complex still life set up. Everything on it was in tones of white -- a scrunched up lace tablecloth, calico, various props painted white, a plastic skeleton. We were supposed to choose a square to depict, and try and find the colour tones in the whites. All I could see really were shades of cream and yellow, so instead I had to try and use colour theory -- red things stand out, blue things recede to the back.
First I painted on white paper, which was tricky because the support was so strong, it made any colour I put on it very vibrant and obliterated any subtle shades of white paint I tried to add. I tried to use watercolour techniques and glaze from light to dark, but with white as your background, there isn't much wiggle-room.
Then I painted on black sugar paper, which was very absorbent and didn't show the colours well -- couldn't glaze, so the best thing was to build up layers of impasto. I really got the hang of making the light colours emerge from the dark support. Painting can be quite a slow process and you have to trudge through long periods of your work looking absolutely rubbish before it suddenly starts to look like it might turn out well.
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| (a white crucifix bundled up in modrock, and a fan) |
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| my very first painting with acrylic |
Homework: Set up a still life of some white crockery with a little food on it -- paint it, using the primaries and white. Do a simple sketch before you start, so you can familiarise yourself with it and get a good look.
Research: Lucien Freud, Jenny Saville and Van Gogh. Concentrate on still lives -- texture, impasto, gestural marks, wet in wet techniques.
Life Drawing
We did some ink and wash sketches. Then the teacher said she wanted us to concentrate on making a very accurate, measured drawing, focusing particularly on angles. She put tape on the model, from his head to his knee, knee to toe and so on -- he looked like a maypole. This was to help us visualise the angles. I was very pleased with that drawing.
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