Painting (image-making) workshop

Experimenting in my sketchbook

Larger Outcomes

Contextual studies essay

Assessment task: Conceptualising your own work.

The ability to be expressive and having the courage to use impasto confidently is something which I really revere in the work of Frank Auerbach. By using a large paint brush to create bold marks with the paint he seems to achieve the desired effect effortlessly. It is interesting in the way which Auerbach uses black and white in contrast with each other in order to create marks that really stand out. It can be argued that the restricted palette reflects a narrative thread of sorts in the work. I think perhaps the artist is trying to get across the idea that the subjects within, in this case people, are colourless or possibly that their lives are colourless and driven through negativity.

Although some may only see a distorted and somewhat overworked figure painting, I can really appreciate the precision and meaning behind each mark that has been made. Line seems very prominent and important in Auerbach’s work with the artist using bold marks to create important structures within the piece such as jaw lines or necks.

I think it is often quite important to have such a distinctive style and technique when it comes to painting and even art in general. I believe the way in which someone is able to walk into a gallery and immediately identify the artist of a piece of work really shows originality and the impact of the artist’s work upon society.

In terms of my style and technique of painting, I have, in the past, been unable to work past the idea that something should always be a polished final piece. I believe that the picture of the final finished outcome that resides firmly in my head, throughout the process of creating, really has tended to hold me back. Especially in terms of painting, where it takes great skill and patience to create a piece of work that looks like a photograph, the need to be expressive and to experiment has recently become of great importance to me.

In my more recent paintings, I have relished in applying paint thickly, quickly and more expressively. I believe the outcomes which have come from my new found courage really do emulate the way in which I have learnt to work with the paint rather than against it.

It is not only the way in which I apply the paint that has changed but also the confidence to use bold colours that contrast greatly together.

Although my pieces are at present quite experimental, I’m excited to take this new found confidence and create larger paintings in which I can really express the emotion of the figure within as well as my emotion towards my work. By using a more expressive approach to my painting I want to be able to give meaning to every brush stroke and really push the boundaries of my painting ability.

Through looking at the work of Frank Auerbach, analysing it, appreciating it, I believe I really have entered into a new era in my artwork. This is an era in which experimentation is considered just as important as the production of a final piece, with every initial drawing, photograph, and mock up being a contribution. I have been greatly influenced by expressive painters such as Auerbach and Jenny Saville and I plan very much to continue working and developing my painting skills in this manner.

Anna Stollery

Tutor: Andrew Vass

Word count: 564

100 Tasks: # 35 List everyone you remember in an hour

100 Tasks: # 98 Draw your teeth holding a pen between your teeth

100 Tasks: # 51 Poster to celebrate laziness

100 Tasks: # 55 Make a potato print of a potato

100 Tasks: #30 Draw a decaying object

(In chalk and charcoal)

100 Tasks: # 56 Make a family portrait

100 Tasks: # 57 Draw some illustrations on your hand

Drawing hands on my hand.

3D Fine Art workshop

Painting (image-making) workshop

Amsterdam photography

Sublime

Contextual studies essay 1

Assessment Task: Visual analysis.

Chosen pair:

Francis Bacon self-portrait 1971 & still from Battleship Potemkin dir Eisenstein

       The works of Francis Bacon can be described as no less than disturbing, dark, and even horrifying, the work of an arguably disturbed man himself. The work in question has been created using oil paint on a canvas surface and sports a grainy effect achieved by the use of a relatively dry brush, an effect that is used in many of his works.

The distortion used in the face of Bacon’s self-portrait, achieved through folding and tearing initial photographs, I believe acts as a distraction away from the subjects’ exterior appearance to instead appreciate who the person is within.

It is obvious just by looking at his work, in comparison with that of other artists at this time, that Bacon never believed in doing something just because everyone else was and instead believed in pushing the boundaries of the art movement of the time to the limits. This falls in line with the idea of distorting his subjects so that people begin to contemplate who the person really is and also defying the artistic need to portray perfection and obvious beauty.

By using the concept of conveying who a person is within, there seems to be a deeper meaning to self-portrait 1971 compared to other works by this artist. It can be argued that no one knows who Francis Bacon is inside better than himself, allowing him to create works that have greater impact on the viewer.

Although bright colours have been used upon a dark surface suggesting a more positive theme, the sunken, dark eyes within self-portrait 1971 seem to represent the life of a broken man, who at this time has begun to look at darker themes such as death after the suicide of his lover.

Bacon believed in creating work outside the norms of artistic society as well as everything being liable to being called into question. With this in mind I think it can be argued that, as Bacon painted many self-portraits, that he was aware that even he could be questioned in terms of his concepts, ideas, and perhaps even his life.

Francis Bacon was greatly influenced by Eisenstein’s images and shots used in the Battleship Potemkin, using one of the still shots to contribute to his own work.

This silent film is considered to be one of the most influential films of all time, representing the rebellion in 1905 of the crew of Battleship Potemkin against the officers of Tsarist regime.

The particular still shot in question here has been taken from the Odessa steps scene where a Mother discovers her young son has been shot by the Tsars, with the actress’s face conveying panic, horror, sadness and pain. I think it is these emotions that make this still shot very relevant to the work of Bacon who relishes in also portraying the negative emotions in his works.

Eisenstein’s film was created for the purpose of revolutionary propaganda, however, the opportunity was also taken to edit the film in an experimental way in which to produce the greatest emotional response from the viewer. With this in mind, Eisenstein tested theories of ‘montage,’ experimenting with the effect of film editing in order to produce a more interesting and original final product to influence its audience. This, again, is parallel to the ways in which Francis Bacon worked, with the experimentation of montage and editing by Eisenstein relating directly to experimentation in Bacon’s work in terms of expressionism, colour, and technique. These artists are similar in that they both push the boundaries of the area they work in. By finding new techniques and producing original work that has a profound effect upon artistic society, the work of these artists acts as a catalyst to fast-track the development of these areas of work.

Word count: 626

Tutor: Andrew Vass