End of Second Year

What a strange year it’s been...

COVID has affected everyone’s ability to work this year. For me, this has especially been the case this semester, as not having any access to the studio at all has made it a lot more difficult to motivate myself and to keep a steady rhythm (on top of which I have come to realise I probably have ADHD, although that‘s still TBC). It’s also restricted me in terms of materials, as I am a very messy worker. So oils and clay, at least on a large scale, have been off the table this semester.

That being said, I don’t feel like this year was taken from me either. I have become more confident artistically and produced some solid (albeit sporadic) work. I’m privileged to have access to a large workspace and supplies, which allowed me to create a studio space in my room. Living with five other art students has also made it a lot easier to stay motivated.

My cozy studio space this semester

In many ways, working from home has been quite an enjoyable experience. It was definitely a lot more relaxing than in first semester, when we were moving back and forth from the studio to home. It was also good practice in motivating myself when I don’t have a place to go and work, which is something I don’t want to take for granted.

I do wish I had made more work this semester, but I am generally really happy with the work I did produce. I am also really proud of my essay, although I do wonder if it was a bit too descriptive - I spent a lot of time trying to fully understand Kristeva, so I ran out of time to research other writers. I’m curious as to what my grade will be.

If anything, I feel more motivated to do my best next year, when (fingers crossed) we will have full access to the studio. I am the type of person who really needs to separate work and leisure time in order to be productive (and happy), so I’m really excited to have a designated workspace again.

This Summer, there a few projects I want to work on. I already mentioned the painting I wanted to do on glass. I have since been researching paintings on glass and played around with different mediums (I am thinking of ordering some more transparent oils, as mine are either opaque or semi-opaque). I also emailed an artist who has done a series of landscape oil paintings on glass to ask for technical advice.

Once I go home, I would also like to make at least one oil on canvas piece. My dad is an oil painter himself, so I’ll ask if I can borrow some of his paint for a wee painting.

I would also like to do some sculpture this Summer. I ordered a lazy susan (which has taken forever to arrive), to use as a turntable. I really want to do more sculpture next year, as well as pottery once I have access to the clay workshop.

Most importantly, I want to make the most of my time. I’m looking forward to visiting plenty of art galleries once I am back home and sketching places around town. Once I am back in Scotland, I would really like to travel around to paint the beautiful scenery from life. I havent been to the highlands since I was little, so if COVID regulations allow it, I would love to go up at least once.

I‘ve really enjoyed writing these entries. It has kept me sane and helped me focus on the tasks at hand. Writing essays was my favourite part of school, so it’s been a great comfort to have this space to return to every week. I am planning on continuing to post here over the Summer at least every two weeks, depending on the amount of work I am doin... I hope my ramblings were also enjoyable to read.

Lastly... Upon my tutor Mark‘s request, I ended the semester with piña coladas... Here’s to many more!

Bibliography

Giacomelli, Amy, Stained Glass Tree #1, 2012, Acrylic on canvas.

Giacomelli, Amy, Stained Glass Tree #2, 2012, Acrylic on canvas.

Giacomelli, Amy, Stained Glass Tree #3, 2012, Acrylic on canvas.

Stavela, Velina, With and Without I, 2017, Mixed media.

Stavela, Velina, Winter footage III, 2017, Mixed media.

Weaver, Kevin, Kippford Sunrise, Dumfries & Galloway, Oil on glass backed on whiteboard.

Weaver, Kevin, Winter Fields, Dumfries & Galloway, Oil on glass backed on whiteboard.

Weaver, Kevin, Pica, Oil on glass backed on whiteboard.

Virtual Life Drawing

It’s been about a month since we had our final weekly virtual life drawing session. So I wish to dedicate this week’s journal entry to discussing my progress during these classes, as I haven’t really mentioned them in my other posts.

Having life drawing this semester was a game changer. Whereas in first semester I used my day and a half in the studio to keep me grounded, it was a lot harder to have a structure this time around. However, having these classes, more than anything else, really helped me stay focused and actually feel like I am in art school.

I’ll be honest, I have been really frustrated with the lack of classes offered in this course, so when I found out about these I was ecstatic. I had done some online life drawing in the past, but never on a regular basis. So I feel like attending these every week has really helped me progress and develop a more critical eye to life drawing. Alex Roberts has been an incredible teacher all throughout this, sharing her intelligence and honesty with us and making the lack of in person classes a lot less miserable than it could have been! I actually had a drawing surgery with her a weeks with her a couple weeks before out last class - funnily enough Jaeden was the only other person to attend that session, so it slowly became part couples art therapy...) which further helped me think critically of my work. In this post, I feature a variety of work from these sessions - in each section, I have put them in roughly chronological order.

I’d say I am naturally more inclined to working in tone than line. I feel like I have progressed a lot in my use of tone, which I partly accredit to life drawing. That being said, I would like to focus more on tone in the future, especially in order to better capture mid tones.

I also made an active effort to focus more on quality of line. I have really enjoyed doing a initial sketch in light pencil and then going over with a single line. It‘s helped me build confidence in trusting my eye and I am eager to continue working this way in the future.

In other works, there is more a combination of line and tone. In the future, I would like to find that balance

We also tested out different techniques that I really enjoyed. I found that using ink on the end of a stick was extremelty useful in playing with both tone and line. Collage was also great at allowing me to decompose tone.

I have discussed with my flatmate Eleanor about doing weekly life drawings on Tuesdays - the day we had the VLD with Alex. This would be really helpful to giving our time this Summer some more structure and to keep the practice going. I would like to draw at least once every day as of the deadline, something I should have been doing this semester. I also really want to improve at life drawing as it is something that I feel could nourish the rest of my practice as it offers itself to a lot of experimentation (which is something I am often too afraid of).

Discoveries from the local skip

Last night, I discovered a goldmine. On my way to Jaeden’s (who’s part of our extended household as he lives alone blah blah blah), I noticed a skip full to the brim of scraps from a kitchen. At the time I took little notice of it (amateur’s mistake, I know), but later that night I remembered I had been wanting to get a glass palette for oils and acrylics. So after working for a wee bit in his flat, I headed out with Jaeden to pick up the glass that had originally caught my eye.

To my surprise, the edges of the glass slabs were actually rounded (probably originally having worked as shelves), making them perfect for handling as a palette. There were also five of them, so I gave one to my flatmate as she has been using pizza boxes as a palette since we’ve known each other. By the next morning, the skip had been emptied, so we were lucky to have made it.

Other than the palettes, I picked up some wooden boards and cups. But most importantly, I found the following kitchen door.

I have had a little think about it, and so far I am thinking of painting the view from our window on the back of it in oils. The outer rectangles are slightly textured, so it will make the center look like it’s more in focus than the rest. I was also thinking of adding a patch of land in the foreground, so it looks like the view is from a hill rather than a building. I think this could add some interesting depth to the piece.

It might also be interesting to paint the front glass as well, so as to make us of the transparency and do some layering. I will probably varnish it in the end, so that will add another layer of transparency.