ASS5 - FINAL Assignment

Final - Reflection of Assignment 5

    Looking back at this assignment 5 as a whole, I have really enjoyed it the most out of all the assignments in painting one. I think this is because I have come a long way, expressed myself in my work more than I ever have done and now feel more open to interesting ways of creating paintings. This assignment has shown me different ways to paint using tools: knives sponges, toothbrush and cardboard. I  learnt about them at the start of painting one but never felt ready enough until Ass 5 to use them.

     I have also learnt to use techniques, such as impasto and I have also learnt there are ways to apply paint expressively such as dripping splattering and dribbling onto a surface. 

    Then I learnt how to create textures into my artwork, by firstly creating a textured ground for a base to paint on and then mixing materials into paint, to create different textures.

     I also learnt about abstract paintings which freed my way of painting, in a way I never thought I could express myself. I discovered that I am more relaxed and excited when I am free of trying to create a perfect painting. This shows in the last two exercises that I have come more relaxed. I have come a long way from the basic boring flat paintings, I have now discovered an exciting, unique to myself way of painting which I have really enjoyed and I'm so excited about. I want to now use my new ideas and what I have learnt throughout this whole painting 1 course to bring all my knowledge together to create a brilliant final Theme of paintings.

My Ideas for assignment 5 along the way

          Since the start of this assignment, I have kept in my mind to keep thinking about what I am going to do for my final assignment. I wanted to think about creating something unique and different. 

    At the start of Assignment 5, I wanted to create a series of landscape paintings because before this assignment, I felt that landscape paintings was the best type of art out of the last four assignments that I had created. I was going to create 4 paintings from a 360 degree landscape area. I then thought of creating 4 paintings one of each season such as winter and summer, but I thought that this was not original and quite an obvious thing to paint, so I decided against it.

    I then thought about interesting ways I could capture landscapes I thought about using Braille in a painting so blind people could feel over the painting and understand areas in the landscape. I wanted to try and give a blind person some kind of visualisation of our world and as we see it. However I came to think that this was getting way too complicated and I needed to go back to the drawing board.

 I then decided to have a break from thinking about it and went to Walsall art gallery to get some inspiration this was about the time when I was creating a textured ground in this assignment. I then started to think perhaps landscape isn't what I should be doing, I should be trying to pick out a simple object and create something from it.
   I was then doing my tiled and orange abstract paintings, when it came to me that I really enjoyed laying up paintings with cardboard and creating great textures trying to capture them as best as I could.
   
      I was sitting in my living room it was cold and I wanted to put the log fire on. I started to get some of the logs out of the bag to put it into the fire one of the logs dropped out of my hand onto the floor. I glanced at it to pick it up but the log was very interesting and it caught my eye and I looked at it again in that moment, I thought that it would be an interesting object to look at and observe. I made the fire and sat on the sofa with this piece of log, just looking at it and admiring it's layers and textures. I then decided that this would be a great object for my final assignment to use. Here is a picture on the log below:

 I am now going to research bark and it's textures to help understand this natural object and how I can capture it's beauty.

Research on Bark

     Bark is the outermost protective layer that surrounds the wood of the trunk, branches, and even roots of a tree. It is actually a thin layer that extends around what is considered the wood of a tree and the term used to describe it is cork. The purpose of the bark layer is to protect the tissue inside the trunk, branches and roots that are responsible for the growth of the tree from various environmental factors such as pollution and animals.

Explaining its texture by visualisation?

   Patterns of bark vary from being smooth, spiny, bumpy, multi-coloured, or divided by layers causing different shapes and/or ridges. These patterns provide character to help in identifying trees . As the vibrant colours of fall give way to the more subtle hues of winter, tree bark becomes a focal point in the landscape. The splendid contrasts of bark are highlighted by the low-riding winter sun.

I have looked on the internet to find out what tree my log is from and it is from a Birch tree, see pics below:

     You can identify a birch tree bark buy its texture and colour. It has a light coloured bark, gleaming white, with curly strips of paper like areas. Birch bark is a lot thinner then the likes of oak and maple trees, they are more course. Birch trees are mainly found in forests and have a thinner trunks then large trees. Birch is also more prone to fires from heat because of its thinner layer of bark. The oak tree is adaptable with its thick bark which takes ages to start burning. I think that is why they use birch wood for fires in our homes.
So now I know what tree my log is from and I can understand that there are quite a few different layers in Birch bark. I am now going to look at how other artists have captured bark and there textures. 

Research of paintings of bark

Enzina Marrari

http://www.enzinamarrari.com/post/68539636806/derma-birch-bark-gesso-hair-wood-2013

     I am really glad to have found this piece of art. I feel the artist has captured the texture well. I like the use of the 3d layers with the use of paper. It reminds me of my recently use of cardboard layers in my own work. The colours have been captured very well. Birch is a mixture of subtle colours. From this painting you can understand the textures involved in the bark.

Niki Gulley
http://www.nikigulley.com/natural-textures-new-aspen-tree-painting-by-niki-gulley/

     This painting also caught my eye. It has been created by using knives and I like the rough texture on the bark that the artist has managed to capture. I also like the colours with a dark background to set it off well and it makes the trunks stand out.

http://boredart.com/2014/11/beautiful-oil-paintings-like-you-have-never-seen-before.html

     I picked this paintings as it was a bit brighter then the others I had seen. It gives you an idea of what colours to use. I still think keeping it subtle works best and create a more natural painting. I think the artist has got good detail here of the tree and I like how the sun is reflecting off the bark.

Megan Coyle

http://mcoyle.com/

      This painting/collage looked really interesting. I like how she has used her own ways to express what she is looking at. I like the idea of using ripped up paper eg; news paper and magazines and to use the font as texture of the birch tree. It is a unique way of interoperating what is in front of you on to paper.

Sketch of log

    Now I have researched I am going to sketch the log that is in front of me and try to capture as much detail of it as I can.

Here's some close ups of my log I am looking at:

My Sketch:

    As you can see I have done quite a good job here of sketching the log. I feel I have captured all the main areas, that I would like to import into my paintings. There are so many interesting areas it makes me excited to get started. I'm planning what I can create from observing this log there are a few ways I have thought of.

Theme and Layout 

      Next is to think of a theme and how I'm going to show this log to the viewers over a series of paintings, which need to be good enough to be put in an exhibition. Firstly I do want a background behind this log and I feel a textured ground which is subtle will be sufficient. I want to keep the log the main focal Point. I am thinking about getting leaves from outside to create a theme of a forest or maybe coal from the fire and painting that into the background I could also add just from the coal from my fire which will give the added scent of a burning fire this may however lose the log as a focal Point so my better option I think is to collect leaves and paint it all in one colour to keep it subtle yet have that good nature textured ground effect.

     Next I have decided to look at the layout of how I want my log to look like and how many paintings I am going to create. I think 5 is too many but 3 or 4 shall be enough.

For the lay out of three or four paintings my ideas are:

• Look at four areas of the log and blow them up to create for abstract paintings
• Paintings of the log at different angles.
• Painting the log on 3-4 boards and each one using a different tool. 
• Paint my log all over a series of paintings which then put together in an alignment on a wall creates the full form of the log.

     I have thought about this and done some exercises in my sketchbook and decided that I am going to paint my log over a series of canvases. I think this will be really interesting to look at and a challenge. I am going to use the background of the natural objects with the leaves and paint that in a subtle colour, to keep the log the main focal point in my art. With the real leaves in my painting, it will help towards creating a forest theme surrounding the log, which will work naturally well together. 

     The next thing I need to know look at, is what size canvases do I need to paint my log on and how big am I going to do it? I want to make sure it is proportioned correctly:

1

2

3

   I have now tested my layout, you can see in the photos above a few different sized boards with the log on top of them to see which works the best.

Photo 1: Shows the canvases in a row but I feel these were too wide and would have took me a while to paint with detail 

Photo 2: I decided that this would stretch my leg length ways and so it wouldn't be proportioned correctly

Photo 3: I thought using the cardboard was a better idea, as I couldn't find canvases suitable for my assignment idea. This way I wouldn't have to stretch or try to fit on my object on to basic sized canvas, I can personalize the cardboard size to how I wanted.

     I finally decided perhaps to use cardboard as my canvas area was the best option, So I found some cardboard and measured the log and decided to blow up the log four times its original size. I then decided that three paintings will be enough. I did try previously with four but it would stretch the log too long and make it out of proportion. I measured the log x 4 and divided it by 3 to create 3 canvases. I added 5cm each side for my natural textured background. Please see my sketchbook for the workings out.

     So far I have now got my theme which is a forest and I have got the sizes and the quantity of paintings that I need, to create this final assignment. Once put in an alignment it will form the log as a whole. I now need to look at how I'm going to create textures, colours and look at the background area to see how I can bring it all together

Textures, Colours and Background

    Luckily I have another piece of birch wood which was not as interesting, but it was great for pulling bark areas off to study the textures. I stuck them in to my sketch book and described them. I then also had a look at the colours. As I really enjoyed using subtle colours this piece of log is great for me to paint naturally, as its colours are very subtle. I looked at the log and in my sketch book tested colours, that I think would work the best in my paintings. I put notes of how I mixed them to remind myself when coming to painting them.

     The next thing I have done is to look at capturing the textures. I used cardboard just to practice creating the bark area. I used oil pastels just to quickly grasp to textures to see how layering the cardboard would work.

      I then went in my garden and looked at the plants/trees and decided on two types that I thought were different from each other but would add a textured interest, I have now decided that when I put the leaves on for the background I am going to paint all this area white, to keep it simple . I just want to show the natural textures and I think this simple idea will work well and keep my log the main focal point in my paintings. 

Overall Final Idea

   This below is my final idea. I think I have captured the log well in a draft test. I have tried to experiment using the cardboard to create the layers that I want to show in my paintings of the bark. I used Pva glue to stick it together and oil pastels to add the detail, just so I can get an idea of how this is going to work over three paintings.

    As you can see around the edges I have just showed where the leaves and twigs will be to create a border around the outside of the log. I think this is a great idea and will set the theme well. 

    When you look up close here, you can see the layers I've created with the cardboard. It's a bit difficult as the cardboard that I am using is  what I'm using for my bigger main paintings so it actually looks thicker in this smaller trial then it should be. 

     I think I've created a really good idea and I'm excited to get started. I think looking at it and how well prepared towards it, I feel I am ready to attempt this Final assignment for painting one. I know I will come across some challenges whilst painting this and I will talk about it and see how or what I can improve on along the way if there is any areas that may go wrong or if I discover some interesting techniques along the way. 

     At this moment I think the tricky issues may be to paint the whole log over the three canvas areas. I need to make sure thy align up well and when together you can see that is one area as a whole. I also think the cardboard texture may show through the paint, so keeping this in mind, I shall keep the paint thick to try to avoid this showing. 

I now need to get my cardboard canvases and my log and begin the paintings:

My Step by Step process for my Assignment 5 final

Evening 1:

    Firstly I have used the normal guess to apply over each of the three cardboard canvases to create a primer for my paint

     I have now use a thicker heavy duty Gesso on the ends of each canvas. Then using the side of the knife dabbed into it to create a texture for where my natural background with the leaves will go in place.

    I am now going to add the leaves and hopefully the Gesso will hold them into place.

    I have now added some of the leaves in. As you can see there still green but they are placed on top of the Gesso. I'm hoping this will hold them down and I will then apply another layer of Gesso over the leaves, to create my textured ground. I may still need to use white paint at the end to brighten this area up, but I am going to see how the Gesso covers firstly just in case I don't need to add paint on top.

Evening 2:

      I have just painted over again my leaves with the thin I Gesso and left it too dry. What I wanted to attempt next here is try to create the log sticking out of the canvas. I want to make it arch slightly out of the canvas to help with the 3D effect. I've decided to use cardboard to build up this area by creating layers and then I am going to put a longer piece of cardboard over the top and glue it down. Hopefully with the raised areas will create a slight Arch of the bark area.

  I have now done this on all 3 paintings and I have painted them in Gesso again for a primer so I can paint on them. Now the next part I am going to do is add bits of cardboard on to my log area to create the shapes of the layers that overlap of the bark.

     As you can see here, I have now used the cardboard to create the overlapping edges of the flaking bark. I have started using the Heavy duty Gesso, to overcoat as a primer. Also using a knife, I have added textures by dragging the knife through and etching marks, as well as dabbing it on to the surface to create a rough textures.

    Here is an overall above look at my first textured ground, that I have done. I have added the cardboard and covered it with Gesso, to create a primer. Some areas I've used the heavy duty Gesso and a knife to add textures that I wanted to capture from the log to build up my 3D painting.

      I have now done this for all 3 paintings. I have decided to use some slim parts of wood to put it in places on the bark, this will help show the natural object even more so and I will have some textures of the actual type of object itself.

Evening 3:

    

As you can see I have added the broken parts of wood into my work. This creates good texture for the slit areas of the bark which you can see on birch trees. I will now paint over the top of these kindling parts using guess so it is all ready to paint

   Here below is other one of my paintings that I have done using the cardboard in place and the broken wood I have just glued on.

Evening 4:

Tonight I have begun to start painting I'm really excited about how this is coming along. I want to create dramatic effects. With deepest areas of my log I wanted to do use a black to create depth into my paintings. I have attempted this as seen in photo above, I used a knife and a tooth brush to create thick textures. I am also mixing the paint with Liquin to thicken the paint to hide the cardboard texture and create good rough and smooth effects of the bark. I love the colours they are very subtle but also bold when used together. I am now going to wait for this to dry a bit and attempt again tomorrow.

Evening 5:

     Today I have attempt the painting again. I have added some other areas in and you can begin to see the flake areas which are curling go over the main bark area. I can see the three paintings together forming the whole of the log. You can see this clearly in the photo above with the flake area joining together at the bottom left from painting 1 to painting 2. I am now really just applying the basic block colours needed and then eventually will add another layer for the smaller details, such as shadows and textures.

    Again I've got to wait for this to dry and will try again tomorrow to continue. What I have notice whilst painting is as I'm moving my boards around to reach certain areas to paint, the leaves in my background areas are quite brittle and they are actually just breaking off the more I move the painting around. These areas now look a little worn, so I've decided that once I finished the main areas of the log, I will then go back to the border and refresh it up to make it look better and more sturdy by using PVA glue too to hold them in to place.

Evening 6:

     I am really enjoying this painting, I have still a fair bit to do, but I can see it coming along well and how I wanted it to. I have now covered most areas tonight  with there base colours. All that needs to be done is an area in the middle,where the pieces of wood are on the barks surface. I need to paint them in a darker colour, if you look on the Birch tree, you can see that there are lines going across the texture of the surface of the bark.

    

     I think by using the Liquin medium and mixing it with the paint is working well too hide the surface of the cardboard. Obviously you can see the cardboard when you put the painting to the side as you can see the layers built-up under the painting, but to me this doesn't really matter as when looking at this painting you will be looking at it from the front, so you should not notice the cardboard.

Evening 7:

     Tonight I have now covered all the areas. I painted the wooden areas and also added a bit of a darker nude colour around them to give them a bit of a shadow. What I really need to do now is leave them alone until they're fully dry and come back to them to start adding tones and the fine details on to each area. I'm going to do this by again using my knife and toothbrush. I've really enjoyed using the knife and it works really well to create rough bark textures in my painting.

Evening 8:

     I took a photo just to show I have started adding some of the detail on to the log area. Here I just started to add it on to the main surface, where the brown and the lines run across the bark. I've added a bit of splattering here and different shades of brown to add a bit of Shadow and crates and depth into this area. I'm now going to finish off putting the textures and detail on all the areas this may take 2 evenings to finish off. I am then going to sort the background natural border out to get this looking as good as the log.

The finished series of paintings, ready for an Exhibition

     I have now finished my Painting but firstly, I wanted to show some close-ups of the areas I have painted and then show you the overall painting, just to grasp the layers and the detail that I have put into this painting. Firstly I want to show the finished textured background, it now looks a lot better and more sturdy. I used PVA glue with the Gesso and I ended up painting the background white. It looks more brighter and I think this textured ground works really well. It makes my painting feel as a whole with the nature theme. I'm really happy with this idea I thought of and how it works well with the log.

     Here is a close-up of my my log I wanted to show the cardboard layers and how they have worked well in my painting. As you can see in this area of the textures, I have used a knife and a toothbrush. I found the toothbrush very useful to merge colours together and putting marks into different colours of the painting, in a sweeping motion. The Knife was really good it's a very versatile tool. I could dab paint on, drag it down with the knife and even put marks into the paint. I feel that I have grasped the texture well here.

     I just wanted to take a photo to show the depth areas that I created of the lowest points in the log. I ended up going over the deepest areas with a darker black paint, to create more depth in the painting and it really did work. Now it's made it stand out more. I've also had to look at the way of the wood texture move in certain areas such as the flake areas. I've had to create a text to show it Curve to make it look 3D. I also put textures of Shadow and light on these areas to make them stick out even more so. I'm really pleased with the textures I've really work hard and I'm really excited about what I have created and what people are going to say when they see it. It is a real different to what I was painting before.

   Here above are just some more areas to show close ups of different areas that I thought were most interesting in my painting. 

The final 3 paintings, forming the log as a whole:

      Here above is my overall paintings together showing you the log as a whole. I am so so happy about these paintings. I feel like I've come such a long way and I'm so excited to see people's opinions are on what I've created and how I've created it by using cardboard to create layers to create a 3D painting. I really like where the bark areas flake over the edges. I think I've captured this really well and the main surface of the barks area is my favourite, I've really looked at and made sure I could do it as precise as I could and express my own view of it. I think I have done really well.

     I am really pleased with the border too, it just set the log perfectly. It even now looks like A Winter's theme because of the textured background being white. It doesn't affect the log area which still stays as the main focal point. It is a great subtle background to show off the log area that I have created.

Overall of Final for Assignment 5

  The task was to create 3-5 paintings of a series or theme that would be good enough to be put in an exhibition. I think I have took on the challenge well and created something that would look great in an exhibition. It is really interesting and captures the eye. You can look up close and see all the different 3D layers and the textures. The you can step back and see the three paintings work together to create the piece of log as a whole that I was looking at. 

   My opinion of this Final assignment is that I think I have done something unique, original and I am impressed with what I was capable of. I have come to realise how far I have come. I am now looking at objects differently and deciding how I could create an original piece of work based on the object. I think I have researched well and really looked at my object to capture it as best as I could, in a way that I thought was best to express myself through the object.

Issues:

      I think the main one with the textured background,which I spoke about earlier. It started getting brittle as I was moving the paintings around too much. I fixed that problem by using PVA glue mixed with the Gesso and then painting white paint on the top which made it look brighter and better. I even added more leads to make it more sturdy. I think it works a lot better.

      Another issue to mention would be when looking at the side of my paintings, you can see the cardboard underneath. This is not much of an issue as the viewers are looking at my painting head on. Maybe if it bothers me next time, I could use card and glue it on the sides to hide what is underneath the top surface of my painting.

    As I researched and pre-planned, I feel that there's not many issues that I came across in this painting apart from those two.

Success:

       How I created a texture on the cardboard that hid the cardboard texture itself. I feel I have observed this from the tile painting previously and improved on it on in this assignment final. You can't really see the cardboard when looking straight on at my painting.

    I created textures by using a knife or toothbrush and splattering paint I never thought I'd create a good painting without using a paint brush. Instead in this one I have actually only use the paint brush for scattering paint, which I have surprised myself about but I actually feel more comfortable with a knife and other tools rather than a paint brush it helps me be more expressive.

 Overall I am really thrilled with this painting and this style, is something that I want to continue and improve on. I think it's a unique style and I feel I have found my personal voice in painting.

Conclusion of painting 1

     Painting one has been a long journey and challenge for me. I started off knowing nothing, only knowing how to draw, which is all that I've really known and how to do. I wanted to do painting 1 Course to give me the skill of painting, to use in my illustrations.      

      I have learnt a lot in painting one, I've learnt about different tools, mixing colours, ways of looking at things differently, applying textures on grounds, mixing materials into paint, painting different things such as landscapes, people, objects and abstract painting.

   

     I have really surprised myself and even though it took me until assignment 5 to bring my personal voice alive, I feel that I am now really enjoying painting and understand that a painting doesn't have to look perfect to be a perfect painting. I know now to appreciate artist Masters who created these perfect paintings that I wanted to create, but as spoken about before now, we have photos and technology. Painting and art now in modern times, is more about expressing yourself and looking at an object and turning it into whatever you want it to be. 

    

      I was constantly painting basic boring paintings that were obviously things to paint along this course,but now I am actually thinking about objects and wondering how I can create something unique from them. 

    This course has not only taught me to paint, it is also taught me to be patient which I have never been even with things in general life, but in painting you have to be when you're waiting for paint to dry. It's taught me how to look at things differently, It's taught me how to use colours and it's even taught me how to look at art differently.

     I have come a long way and I am thankful of painting one which is helped me become a stronger person and another step further to being an artist with a personal voice and one that knows where she wants to be heading.

     I am now looking forward to my next course which will be Illustration one and hopefully I can use my new painting skills into that too. I have decided that every two months from now, I am going to do a painting and continue to paint. I don't want to lose the skill and techniques that I have learnt, as they have become quite important to me.