5-5 Reflection – MP Course & Painting Practice

The reflection immediately below is a a reflection account of my journey through the Major Project course. It is the combination of two separate but linked reflective accounts which can be read under this combine reflection. To go directly to these single reflections select a link below or read the combination:

5-5-1 Reflection – MP Course

5-5-2 Reflection – Painting Practice

MP Course Reflection (combined reflections)

This reflection is a combination of two blog posts:

Reflection – MP Course

Reflection – Painting Practice

Looking over the paintings completed during the course, I realise it has been quite a journey. I have greatly improved my visual skills and the ability to distil an idea into two-dimensions on canvas using paint. Ove the last few months I have built a collection of paintings of which I’m proud. Breaking off from painting to write notes, reflection, blog was a wrench at times, but it pays to stop, take stock and reflect on your studies. This reflective writing is noted in Learning-Blog.

Over the duration of MP/CS courses I have interacted much more than during previous courses. Reasons for this are two-fold – once on the course I quickly joined in with monthly critiques and meetings of OCA students and other groups (Kent Creative), additionally OCA has initiated many more courses, meetings and teaching sessions. Since the start of this year, I have been the organiser and host of the monthly MP critique meetings. These interactions are noted on my blog (Interaction)

Monthly Critique Meetings have been sounding board around which I was able to try-out ideas, discuss options on painting and on the course.

For the first section or two in both the MP/CS course, my ideas jumped around, but as research and painting continued, they coalesced into a meaningful and coherent concept. This revelation allowed me to see my research (MP/CS) and painting as a single intermingled strand, each intertwined and supporting the other. Reflecting upon this I was able to see things in a new light and return to earlier threads that had stalled, namely, my so called ‘binary-paintings’.

Starting the Major Project course, I had ideas and narrative around which to base my work, but needed to progress an improvement in my painting skills. Speaking with my tutor I was steered initially towards gaining competency in painting – flesh and meat. Portfolio 2

After working on rendering meat and flesh properly in paint, I transitioned onto painting damaged flesh. At this stage, I experimented with several types of media and how pain and trauma may be rendered in paint. Primarily working in acrylics, I also used oil paint and egg tempura paints to produce work. I had some initial issues getting to grips with oils, but I was able to use them competently by the introduction of Liquin to the ‘mix’.

Research for MP/CS was overlapping and introducing me to useful, interesting and very relevant writings and research. Some artists regard paint as a perfect medium with which to depict flesh; relevant pieces of research are: below. This analogy of paint and flesh was the backbone of my CS essay. Research Marc Quinn – Flesh Painting What Painting Is (Elkins) Rembrandt Saville

My first paintings of bodily damage depicted injured rugby players, sunburnt skin and seatbelt injuries on car-crash victims, gory and not to the taste of anyone squeamish. At Part 3 I was starting to notice a reasonable improvement in my painting skills and ability to depict flesh and skin. Portfolio 3

By Part 4 of the course, I had refined my palette from lots of colours through colour experimentation to a palette with few colours containing red, burnt umber, ultramarine, yellow and white, other colours temporarily added. Portfolio 4

During the course my tutor introduced to Colin Crumplin’s paintings, (diptych works), an abstract and a realist painting based upon triggers this may invoke for the artist. The juxtaposition of the two, seemingly unconnected works sets a narrative and a dialogue between the works and poses various questions of the viewer.

Research – Colin Crumplin Research & Artist’s Processes – Colin Crumplin

I researched led how other painters depicted emotion, and how emotions have been and might be depicted in painting, allowing me to find a new subtlety in my work. This enables me to provoke empathy in a viewer without recourse to graphic injury and its associated blood and gore, though these are no fully abandoned. (5-4-1 Paintings of Hidden Emotions & 5-4-2 Making Emotions Visible)

My paintings were described in various critique sessions, as “moving”, “emotional”, “full of pain” “moved the viewer to empathy” and “the use of metaphors accentuates the protagonists’ inner anguish”. These were the reactions I had sought and these comments by my peers were proof that – I was finally able to imagine a painting, to plan it, and then depict it as I had imagined with a believable depiction of emotion in the work. Portfolio 5

With many of the ‘emotional paintings completed I looked to team them with supporting works and make a series of binary-works. I then set to thinking about a narrative and how to support the figurative painting; this is where earlier research paid off. Researching how emotions are depicted, and how Old Masters had depicted flesh and meat. In several of the companion pieces flesh and meat features prominently. Some works such as Rembrandt’s Flayed Ox (1665), Saville’s Torso (2005) and Soutine’s Carcass of Beef (1925), were a big influence here.

It is this series of juxta-positioned, combined diptych works which I will present for assessment. Portfolio – Collocations

Edmond Tucker, 512153

[September 2021]

Blog: https://mpp3et.wordpress.com/

5-5-1 Reflection – MP Course

Looking over the paintings completed during the last year in the Major Project course, I realise it has been quite a journey. I have greatly improved my visual skills and the ability to distil an idea into two-dimensions on a canvas using the medium of paint. Ove the last few months I have managed to build a collection of paintings of which I’m proud to have painted. Breaking off from painting to write my notes, reflection, blog etc. was quite a wrench. However, it is always wise to stop, take stock and reflect; more so when writing about your studies. This reflective writing has been noted in my Learning blog.

Over the duration of MP and CS courses I have interacted so much more than during previous courses. The reasons for this are probably two-fold – once I started on the course I quickly joined in with the monthly critiques and other meetings of OCA students and other groups (Kent Creative), additionally the OCA itself has initiated many more courses, meetings and teaching sessions. Since the start of this year, I have been the organiser and host of the monthly MP critique meetings as well as a founding member and organiser of an online OCA groups of level 5 and 6 students looking at colour. These interaction within and without OCA with fellow artists etc. have been noted and can be read on my blog (Interaction)

The Monthly Critique Meetings have been an anchor point around which I was able to try-out ideas, discuss options on my painting and on the course as a whole. It has also enabled great interaction between students as we discussed each other’s work and our own works. Where progress has stalled the group has been supportive and where resources were missing some-one in the group inevitably had a copy of link to what was being sought. During the monthly discussions fellow students also provide insightful remarks and additional threads of research ideas to follow.

For the first section or two in both the MP and CS course, my ideas were jumping around, but as the research and painting continued these coalesced into a meaningful and coherent concept – in effect – this was like joining the dots, and seeing and understanding the whole picture. This revelation allowed me to see my research (both Major Project and Contextual Studies) and my painting investigation as a single intermingled strand each intertwined and supporting the other. Reflecting upon this I was able to see things in a new light and return to earlier threads that had stalled, namely, my so called ‘binary-paintings’.

The research into emotions (5-4-1 Paintings of Hidden Emotions & 5-4-2 Making Emotions Visible) and how they have been and might be depicted in painting allowed me to find a new subtlety in my work. This enabled me to provoke empathy in a viewer without recourse to graphic injury and its associated blood and gore, though these are no fully abandoned.

A few weeks ago, I had completed a series of works depicting emotion and injury, to enable a more comprehensive narrative to be developed I needed to team them with supporting works and this make a series of binary [paintings in a group of collocation works. I then set to thinking about a narrative and how to support the figurative painting.

I had a great deal of pleasure in developing other works to be companion pieces to develop and create a new narrative. This group of ‘binary-paintings’ will be the core of my assessment submission. Over the last few weeks, I have painted a series of these and married them with paintings into a grouping called Collocations.

In the first paintings the narrative may be subtle with not obvious back story, I have used the second works as a means to develop the narrative in a particular direction, though still leaving it open for the viewer to have the space to develop their own empathy and narrative around the collocated paintings.

While completing both the Major Project and Contextual Studies courses provides a sense of achievement, it also gives a sense of disappointment as I had everything in tune and working (painting and research) but now the momentum will stall slightly as I prepare for assessment. However, before long I will be ‘on point’ – I am now eager to commence SYP, which I already signed up to and will commence that course now.

5-5-2 Reflection – Painting Practice

To reflect on my painting process it not just to the start of the Major Project course I should look but further back to the start of the OCA courses. That reflection may take too much time here so I will just skim over it. I had painted reasonably competently for a number of years but had struggled to fully engage with the work I was doing. This changed during Studio Practice when I made the connections to paint autobiographical works based on my own experiences around pain and trauma. The trigger for this was, really seeing the works of Frida Kahlo much of whose work centres around her own pain and trauma.

Starting the Major Project course, I had the ideas and the narrative around which to base my work, so all I needed to progress was an improvement in my painting skills. Speaking with my tutor at the commencement of painting for the course (Part2) I was steered towards firstly gaining competency in painting, flesh and meat. Portfolio MP Part 2

After working on to render meat and flesh properly in painting I then transitioned onto painting damaged skin. At this stage of painting, I experimented with several different types of media and how pain and trauma may be render through the medium of painting. Though working primarily in acrylics, I also used oil paint and egg tempura paints to produce some work. Though I had some initial issues getting to grips with oils I was able to use them competently by the introduction of Liquin to the ‘mix’.

The research I was doing for both the Major Projects were overlapping and introducing me to useful, interesting and very relevant writings and research. Some artists regard pint as a perfect medium with which to depict flesh. Working on that analogy was the backbone of my CS essay. Some relevant pieces of research were:

Research Marc Quinn – Flesh Painting What Painting Is (Elkins) Rembrandt Saville

These first paintings of bodily damage depicted injured rugby players, sunburnt skin and seatbelt injuries on car crash victims, some gory and not to the taste of anyone squeamish. By now I was starting to notice a reasonable improvement in my painting skills and my ability to depict flesh and skin. Portfolio MP Part 3

By Part 4 of the course, I had refined my palette from one with lots of colours through colour experimentation to a palette with few colours. My normal palette consists of a red (crimson or cadmium), burnt umber, ultramarine, cadmium yellow and a white or two – titanium possibly with unbleached titanium white. I did add other colours as required but only temporarily and for specific passages of painting, such as orange. I had also refined my painting process as follows:

A graphite pencil drawing, then a dark blue-green mix to make a tonal underpainting (verdaille); this underpainting assists with achieving skin colours and tones in the finished work. I might produce several works at a time to this stage and then continue working across possibly two or three paintings as they dry and the mood takes me. Some works were left at this underpainting stage, as a tonal work, with possibly some colour added. Continuing the painting process, I mix transparent paint using acrylic flow improver which makes the paint more fluid and transparent. I continue in this mode layering the paint firstly over the underpainting and then over the full colour layers as the work progresses to a finish. Portfolio MP Part 4

In the middle of the course as part of my research I was introduced to the paintings of Colin Crumplin, he paints works as diptychs, one being an abstract and the other a realist painting based upon the triggers this may invoke for the artist. This juxtaposition of the two, seemingly unconnected works sets a narrative and a dialogue between the works and poses various questions of the viewer. Questions such as – what does the abstract work trigger in you, can you see the connections made by the artist and can you make new connections – to note just a few.

Research – Colin Crumplin Colin Crumplin Research & 3-2-2-1, Artist’s Processes – Colin Crumplin

I was also researching painting methods and practice, modern and historical through video and books such as How to Paint like the Old Masters (Sheppard, 1983)

As I ended Part 4, I had moved on from the depicting bodily trauma and visible injury to pain and trauma that may be concealed and kept inside the subject, such as depression, pain, regret. I named this stage as the emotional paintings. I wanted to develop the narrative around the works as well as leaving space for the viewer to develop their own narrative with them and thus I turned to the device of using two juxta-positioned together as the basis of how to finalise my works. On this last part of the course my research led me to looking at how other artists depicted emotion in their works, how could emotions be displayed in a painting, i.e., what elements of humanity are visible to another person to show emotion and how the artist might capture these to depict them in a painting.

Research of Emotion and Portraits 5-4-1 Paintings of Hidden Emotions & 5-4-2 Making Emotions Visible & Contemporary Portraiture

Through Part 5, I completed more of the works termed ‘emotional paintings’ as well as developing as series of ‘secondary’ or accompanying works to make their companion pieces. This final couple of months of painting was where I noticed a big improvement in my ability to develop the paintings, to depict human skin and bring vitality and presence to the works. The paintings had now become believable renderings in paint of people.

In addition to the paintings depicting emotions, I have also painted works as ‘companion pieces’ for them. Developing a narrative to the works and what subject to use in the juxta-positioned work was where the earlier research had paid off. The research into how emotions are depicted (link above), how Rembrandt, Quinn and Saville as well as Soutine had depicted flesh and meat in their works. In several of the companion pieces flesh and meat features prominently. The works that were a big influence here were works such as Rembrandt’s Flayed Ox (1665). Saville’s Torso (2005) and Soutine’s Carcass of Beef (1925).

The paintings were described in various critique sessions, as “moving”, “emotional”, “full of pain” and “moved the viewer to empathy”. These were the reactions I had sought and these comments by my peers were proof that – I was finally able to imagine a painting, to plan it, and then depict it as I had imagined with a believable depiction of emotion in the work. Portfolio MP Part 5

It is this series of juxta-positioned, combined diptych works which I will present for assessment. Assessment Portfolio

5-5 Reflection – MP Course & Painting Practice