Monday, August 18, 2014

Objets Trouvès 3 W.I.P.




Back in class in May with our 12 colour exercises (see previous post) for inspiration, and having chosen another subject - which had to include both geometric and organic forms, with photographs of it to work from - we were let loose with acrylic paint on three of four big canvases (600x600mm).

We did have some restrictions on each format - on one we were to draw our geometric forms with aids such as rulers with an acrylic line of changing hues, and then washes or glazes of pure hues, pulling back with a cloth to reveal shapes and textures (pic 2).
On another we made shapes and textures by any means other than brushstrokes - printing with textured surfaces, rolling on colour with cloth or plastic, splashing, spraying or slapping (pic 1) and transferring some of this wet mélange onto the third canvas, where colour, shape and texture was further achieved through stencils and transfers (pic 3) This last one changed completely from the way it appears here, but I forgot to take more photos until much later in the process.

So this was mostly a lot of liberating fun and playtime, especially for someone like me who tends to get pernickety about rendering things (that comes later!) I had chosen a very simple image - the bird bath in our garden with some brickwork and foliage behind and reflected in it - and was getting worried that I would be spending the rest of the year painting my bird bath.... I still am but with so many surprises and interventions in store, it's hardly recognisable - but I'll get to that eventually.

5 comments:

Polly Birchall said...

This sounds really exciting and can see that you are having fun.

RH Carpenter said...

This sounds fascinating - and I bet you learned a lot. I once had a teacher who made the class do the same set-up and painting 5 different ways - there were some very interesting things coming out of numbers 3-5!

Cathy Gatland said...

Hi Polly and Rhonda - that was fun and yes, I am learning a lot... when really pushed you can come up with some surprising results, one reason I keep going back to Greg's classes - the trick is to do it all on my own one day!

Sadami said...

Hi, Cathy, wow, wow, wow~~!! Your class and your work is brilliant! Thank u for sharing.
Best wishes, Sadami

http://carolking.wordpress.com said...

I love how the birdbath changed in each painting and how you found ways to express yourself using different tools.

I know this is fun for you but it's fun for me too. Thanks!