Color Study and Experimentation with Raw Canvas

Color Study and Experimentation with Raw Canvas

After doing a bit of research on other artists, I'd begun to cut out elements I wanted to bring into my own pieces. I knew that I wanted to have abstracted pieces, with elements of place and figuration in them. I also wanted to bring in certain attributes I noticed in some of the films I'd been watching, such as use of architecture in division of space and creation of abstract shapes. I also wanted to try experimenting with raw canvas after reading about Helen Frankenthaler's methods.

I figured I should start small to begin with. Ive been really enjoying experimenting with different hues of blue, and oranges/ pinks alongside these. I wanted this initial piece to have elements of drawing in it so I began to carve out elements of a building structure from memory. Here you can see semblances of windows and doorways, brickwork and a cubist structure of a room. While some of the structures are sharp and defined, I left others soft, even rounded lines when they shouldn't be round. I wanted this to mirror dreamlike qualities and I think it was successful in doing so here. In this painting I've chosen to use acrylic paint and water, more speedier drying times.

Remembering the work of Gerhard Richter, I decided to go in and intentionally blur/ obscure parts of the painting, bringing it further into abstraction. While this painting has not been particularly successful as a piece overall, I have found it helpful in experimenting with process. I have learned that using the raw canvas soaks up the paint in a way that I really like. Once it has been left to dry, the paint soaks into the canvas and leaves some very interesting textures which I think work well to be painted over. The paint itself takes on a much more delicate quality. It is difficult to control the paint, working wet on wet. The colors merge very easily with one another and therefor I had to be extra careful that I placed specific colors next to each other (that I didn't mind blending) otherwise I found things could turn muddy very quickly.

I like how some of the structures are showing through, and the obstruction in certain areas is interesting as well. What i find most successful is in the areas where the paint has been left rather thin, and the canvas is allowed to show through a bit. This allows a certain light to emanate throught the painting, so I'll likely try and remember this and carry it into further works.

I thought it would be interesting to try using the imagery from the painting, to cut it up and use it in a collage. This made it possible to further break down the shapes and create further shapes from them, which I could use for ideas in further paintings.

I decided to experiment further with color on this painting, returning to it once I had allowed it to dry fully. Although I liked some of the elements from the painting before, I felt it was too one-noted and fell flat. I am always drawn to reds and so I began to introduce some here. I also decided to go in and define some of the structural components, bringing them closer to the forefront of the painting, while still allowing much of the painting to be abstracted and burred. The colors here i feel have begun to work more harmoniously, and I think the definition in the windows and doors have suited the painting well.  I think applying the paint in very thin layers leaves a interesting effect, allowing each layer to become visible, and slightly sheer.