The blank canvas syndrome can be extremely inhibiting for an artist, especially when time is short, and the pressure is on you to perform. The best advice I have to avoid this is to just ‘do’; do something, anything, just get the paint out and begin. This process-led approach is at the heart of my practice, and the way I can begin to draw on my research, observations, ideas and loose thoughts/connections swirling round in my consciousness. After absorbing and exploring the environment; the house and gardens, park, river, old town, cuisine, castle, weather, history, people, local conditions, local produce, traditions, and as have mentioned, the journey, my initial explorations looked something like this…
Nérac old town
To the castle
Studio Faire gardens
Looking at the little things…
Setting up.
Water/boat/cobbles/leaves/human
Colour/texture/line/form
Beginning with a new yellow
I hadn’t paid that much attention to putting time aside for arranging my studio space into the most effective layout, but it’s really quite important that I create a sense of order when I’m working. The garage studio at Studio Faire is really spacious, and I found it easy to create different zones – working on the floor on a really large canvas, 2 x dirty, experimental tables/trestles, a clean/dry space for my laptop/camera, and somewhere to display work in progress, allowing me opportunities to write, think, and reflect.
Moving between activities is an integral part of my creative process, keeping a kind of momentum going with my ideas without overworking any one piece. While one painting needs drying time, or, crucially, thinking/reflection time, I can work on another piece before I’ve done too much, too quickly. There are downsides to working on several pieces at once, and a series of inter-connected pieces can begin to look too generic and of the same palette/idea if one is not careful.
However, the process of moving between large/small scale, different surfaces, collage, paint (acrylic, watercolour and ink), line and colour, brings up challenges and questions, and requires much re-evaluation and different approaches naturally occur through experimentation and simply having to adapt to new parameters. Early explorations from the first couple of days were exciting, sometimes too exciting, bold and colourful…
Thin layers, simple palette, expressive lines
Muted palette, watercolours, scratches.
Burnt sienna, ultramarine, gesso, black posca acrylic pen
I threw too much at this one, but an important stage to go through, of freedom and risk.
Detail
Sketchbook page
Detail
Further development on the 4 panels, adding layers, contrasting values, harmonising colour.
Early stages of the long canvas. First layers…
The Van Gogh chair…where the thinking happens!
My next blog will detail how my ideas and artwork began to develop further, finding a path through initial exploration towards more refined paintings, and a clarity of ideas beginning to emerge. The residency in France to undertake this new body of work has been a great privilege and a personal journey in more ways than one, and sharing it with others adds so much value to the experience. Thank you for reading!