Having been disappointed in having to wait 6 weeks for a Tutor Report on Assignment 2, only to be told I was having a change of tutor, I was very relieved to have contact from Brian Eccleshall very quickly, and thought it was a good idea when he suggested using Skype.  He arranged this very quickly, and this helped to get my motivation back on track.  I hadn’t started Part 3 whilst waiting on the tutor report.

I was very impressed that Brian had looked at my work on my blog before the tutorial and had made some notes.

I was encouraged by his assertion that I needn’t worry about my drawing skills.

Project 1 Exercise for space, Depth and Volume

I was slightly disappointed in his comment about working from ‘contrived’ still lives because I am enjoying the fact I now have my own studio to work in.  I have set up a ‘still life area’ with a back drop to drape material over and have lots of vases lying around.  Having vases of roses around helped me experiment with the studies for Assignment 2.  Having said that, I totally understand where he was coming from and that using ‘found’ groups of objects can be more interesting.  If I felt strongly that I wanted to work from a still life I would still do so and would explain why I wanted to do it in my blog.

Project 2 Mark Making Materials

I was interested in his comments on the Mark-making materials exercise because the two versions that he was most interested in were ones that I liked too.  His comments made me realise that perhaps I’m not trusting my own instincts, and instead thinking about what would be most pleasing to others.

Project 3 Narrative

I was pleased with Brian’s response to these exercises.  He really got the emotion I was feeling when completing them and his comments about not setting up still lives made sense.  The items I was sketching were put together authentically, as they had been on my mother’s bedside table.  The unusual inclusion of the Irn Bru bottle made it different or quirky, and therefore more interesting than a conventional still life.

Research

I was very interested in Brian’s comments about the research I’ve done because I’ve always recorded it in my learning log in the same manner and no other tutor has commented, I suspect only because Brian is much more thorough in his review on my blog.  It’s good to have constructive criticism and a steer on how it should be done.  I will review this area and edit it.

Assignment 2

Brian began by asking me what my own thoughts were on my final piece for Assignment 2.  When I answered that I wasn’t convinced I had the best outcome and preferred some of the black and white drawings and he agreed with me, in a way having what you suspect confirmed by another is reassuring.  My gut instinct was that I could have had a better outcome.  I need to trust this instinct in future and not be swayed from it.  I think I’m still trying to come up with a final piece that others will like, i.e. the final piece where I used watercolour and ink and printing etc, I thought appeared more finished or polished that a black and white drawing.  If time allows I may have another go, or try what Brian suggested with collage etc.

Parallel Project

Brian’s suggestions for the way forward for the Parallel Project were very exciting.  He had an endless stream of ideas.  I felt encouraged by his enthusiasm and more confident about tackling it.

All in all the tutorial was a very positive experience.

Brian began by saying; you can draw, that’s a solid foundation you can build on but there’s always work to do.

If the exercises don’t excite you, don’t be afraid to ‘push it around’.  For the exercise on drawing machines it can be a toy, human body etc, at level 2 you need to be trusted to find your on way of looking at the world.

Project 1 Exercise for space, Depth and Volume; you’ve handled the medium pretty well, good drawing and use of tone.  Drawing in this way forces you to edit.  You set up still lives a lot, there is nothing wrong with this but also try to find subjects to draw that are all ready there, things that you come across and are less in control of.  Go out into the world, you cannot control the environment in the same way.  Look at shoes left at the door etc.

Project 2 Mark Making Materials; I’m captivated by the second one, it has a dark, gloomy atmosphere.  It has an interesting composition and there is a subtlety to it.  I like that you reversed what you had done in the first one, ie black tree instead of black background.  Does it look better in reproduction than in real life?  Me – yes, a bit.  That is quite common.  It has really quite a haunting silhouette.

I also like the one where you used acrylic paint.  It is less showy and more brooding and seductive.  Start breaking the rules and making mistakes, you’re quite experimental, keep that up.  You’ve got permission to try different things; try it, if it doesn’t work it doesn’t matter, there is no obligation for everything to be good.

Project 3 Narrative

The results from this exercise were quite moving.  I liked the drawing of the Irn Bru, in some respects this is what I meant by not setting up a still life, but using things already there instead.  It is a nice drawing, I like the paint effects and the use of the white paper.  The drawing of the humbugs is a sweet little study.  Recording different stages of a drawing is useful, Matisse did this and sometimes the final painting looked nothing like the photographs of the different stages.  I found the sensitive subject quite moving.  You’ve really achieved something with the humbug drawing, it’s really neat, unpretentious – it’s a good example of the advice – don’t think about art, don’t try to make art, you don’t need to make a grand statement.  Drawing 1 is all about enquiry, finding out about different medium, Drawing 2 is finding all about drawing.  I like the white paper that you’ve left, there is an interesting tension between the drawing and the space.

Research

Something obviously chimed with you when viewing Duncan Shanks work.  Steal his ideas, borrow ideas, the level you are at in education, the idea is to learn.  I do drawings of other people’s works.  Look at composition, materials, mark making, use the format.  Looking at the photograph of Duncan Shanks’ sketch book with the Cow Parsley flower drawing on the left page and a painting including the flower on the right, you might decide to use this to do a diptych.  If something excites you, use it.  When you write about other artists, you write a little about what they do, then you can sometimes be a bit dismissive.  You don’t need to like the artist’s work that you are looking at, you only need to write about it.  If you don’t like it, go into more detail about why, e.g. “I was unconvinced by his use of….., although colourful, this didn’t work for me because…..”, do more digging and be more analytical.  The easiest way to do this is to compare two artists, e.g. John Pyper draws landscapes…., which is different from David Hockney, who uses colour….  Or compare with and relate to your own work.  You may want to review your research again and edit it.  You given your opinion on the use of digital work, we are all digital artists; we paint, we photograph the painting and post it on-line where others view it digitally.  Try to find something positive to say about something you are reviewing, don’t be dismissive, or too gushy.  I’ve written about artists I don’t like, but by the time I’ve researched them and written about them – I like them.  Grayson Perry said he wanted to put up signs in galleries saying ‘You don’t need to like it’.  If you like flowers, look at botanical studies, such as those of John Ruskin.  Georgia O’Keefe is having an exhibition next year in London.  It’s difficult to see her work in the UK.  She does massive paintings and uses a zoomed in quality.

Assignment 2

Your studies are really interesting.  There is some really interesting mark making and a few quite nice gestures, there is a rhythm and energy.  In the first drawing there is something really quite bold, quite free, you’re not over thinking, just making art.  I really like the pattern on the cloth, it adds interesting detail and texture.  In some of the exercises you try a few things then settle quite quickly on what you’re going to do.  For the assignment you have been much more experimental and your work is better for that.  The black and white drawing of the five roses has a graphic, almost Japanese quality.  It is a nice piece of work on its own.  Was it a conscious decision to use calligraphic marks, almost a written painting.  There is real clout in there.  Likewise, in the drawing with the grey wash, the subject matter is not arranged, it’s just lying there.  There is an interesting use of negative space and the composition goes off the edge of the paper.  There is lots of intuition going on in your sketches, you’ve not tied yourself to any medium, there are lots of black ink, you’ve not tied yourself to any style.  There is some really rich stuff going on.  Brian asked me how happy I was with the final piece.  I answered that I wasn’t sure;  I wasn’t convinced I had the best outcome, when I looked back over the sketches I had done.  I liked the black and white drawings I had done, but had not developed them further.  Brian answered that it was ok to feel that way and that it was a sign that I was trying to propel myself forward.  He suggested that I play about with it; photo shop it, cut it up and collage with it, and draw over it.  When I pointed out I had changed the image on photo shop he commented that I was a digital artist!

Brian commented that he liked the photograph with the newspaper, pencil and rubber and other paraphernalia in the back ground and found it interesting.  I replied that this wasn’t intentional, I was just in a hurry when posting on my blog.  Brian said that accidents can be exciting, art happens, take notice of the world.  Start to contextualize your own work, which will come from looking at artists that are relevant.

Parallel Project

Brian advised me to look at a blog post he had done on D2 student Sarah Euston, who had scored 78%.  She had grabbed hold of her subject and milked it for all it was worth.  She focussed on a place, where she later found out Cornelia Parker had worked.  Her assignment piece was a film of her painting onto glass then smashing it at the end.  It was quite high concept, but it’s up to you how far you want to travel.  She also integrated a lot of the exercises into it, once she had decided on her subject she based the exercises on it.  The critical review should relate to the contextual study and should be relevant to the parallel project.  Compare and contrast, for example if starting with the work of Alistair Gray, look at his approach as opposed to mine, what is different, as opposed to a recording or CCTV surveillance?  What does a drawing give you?

Also what about the restrictions and obligations I have to clients, not just in not naming them, but also without showing them?  How do you make work when you’re not allowed to make work?  There is an interesting set of constraints.  Think about what it is to observe, not just appearance, but you are privy to their personal lives, but honour bound not to discuss, you carry that around with you.  Also the bureaucracy, a client becomes a clerk of their own life, and needs to record their own efforts.  For the critical review, record how I first encountered it, who did I compare the work to?  E.g. someone more abstract in approach.  Think about institutions that structure people’s lives and impact on their routine.  Think about daily project, e.g. 4 month diary, narrative or drawing.  You could focus on 3, or 4 people only and record, or do a drawing of what you have for lunch that day, or a drawing of the weather that day.  Set up a process or a routine and at the end I will guarantee that the outcome won’t be what you expect.  What are still lives around the office, what is just lying there, or think about how a court reporter records what happens when only allowed to draw from memory.   The procedure could reflect the bureaucracy of the place.  Don’t waste time thinking about it, just set up a structure and work on it.  What about Stations of the Cross?  In a diary of a client, when he gets a job, his pages are left blank.

I also really like the dots on the screens.  I’ve written that I would normally concentrate on people, but I had to wait until the office was closed, so what else is interesting to look at.  I also like the reflections; these can reflect what I’m doing.  What do dots make you think of, e.g. Damian Hirst.  The critical review should be an informed commentary.  Don’t be afraid to try different things, you can always pull back.  The Job Centre, I would imagine, can be a real gritty place.  Look at other ‘non places’ in geography, I. e. no one lives there, other examples would be petrol stations, air ports etc.  The client doesn’t have a choice he has to go there.  Working over a space of 4 or 5 months could build up a lot of work, what shifts over that time?

Tutor report

Overall Comments

Thanks for speaking with me about your transfer to me and about your second

submission. As discussed this report will be more note-like than the longer

narrative reports. You have a copy of the conversation so please feel free to revisit

that.

You’ve made a solid start to the course, There’s some good experimentation going

on, especially in the last piece.

We talked about the Critical Review and Parallel Project. I recommend that you

start work on these sooner rather than later as they are crucial to you building up a

practice, rather than an ‘exercise’ oriented approach to work.

We talked a bit about the tension between the handmade work and the digital. You

needn’t pursue it, but it’s interesting that work make by hand is often seen online.

How does this change the work? Can the digital be folded into the handmade?

Select one of the statements below:

I understand your aim is to go for the Painting Degree and that you plan to submit your

work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this

assignment, and providing you commit yourself to the course, I suggest that you are

likely to be successful in the assessment.

Feedback on assignment

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of

Creativity

Lots of interesting experimentation, but based on solid observation.  The result might not be as satisfying as you’d hoped, but there’s some really good work en route to it.

• Photoshopping is a good idea.  Think about how you might print these off and them back into the drawings. Collage? Repetition?

Sketchbooks

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity

• Try and notice existing ‘Still Life’ arrangements. You do this a bit with the ‘narrative’ set of work but keep an eye out for interesting stuff.  this could include stuff you incorporate in the Parallel Project.

• Think, too, about the accidental bits of the world that impinge on your blog

photographs. This might include materials that don’t work properly together.

• The ‘narrative’ images are good. You’re working loosely and discovering

interesting calligraphic marks.

• Taken alongside the final assignment there is some strong work here.  Keep playing with composition and marks.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

Context

• When writing about artists and their work, analyse more. Find something to be

positive about even if you don’t like the work.

• Use compare and contrast technique to help unlock useful insights.

• Compare your work or approach to another artist: helps with contextualisation.

Parallel Project / Critical Review

You think that you’re going base the project on your workplace.

• Think about an ongoing visual diary that plays with the constraints of your job.

You could submit a book or series of books. Perhaps a ’work’ format might also

be appropriate. Powerpoint?

• OCA Blogposts about Parallel Project http://weareoca.com/fine_art/drawing-2-parallel-project/ and http://weareoca.com/fine_art/sarah-youseman/

The Critical Review is to help you contextualise your practice. Look out for

relevant artists and think how they can help you explain your position.

Suggested reading/viewing

Context

we didn’t talk about this, but the Reading List has some useful stuff in it.  If you find artists whose work you like, feel free to incorporate it into your blog. You do this anyway, but it needn’t just be the art you see in the flesh.

If you stick with flowers, look at Georgia O’Keefe (1887-1986)

http://tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/georgia-okeefe

You might also look at more botanical illustrations. Less composed or ‘artistic’ but

that can be an interesting way to present work.  John Ruskin (1819-1900):

Sigrid Muller(born 1962) came second in last year’s Jerwood Prize with

this image (http://www.artwales.com/artists-detail-mtg-en.php?artistID=38):

John Piper (1902–1992), for his bold colour and approach to materials:

Pointers for the next assignment

In a way a lot of the work included in this submission relates to what comes next.

The inky line drawings, especially. Think about what it feels like to have and ache

when drawing.

The machines exercise can be pushed a bit. Try using a paintbrush on a long stick of bamboo to make large flower drawings perhaps.

Look through the artists you like and see what you can borrow / steal. Colours,

compositions, marks.  By the time you’ve processed it, it will be different.

You have real potential to explore as your basic drawing skills are good. Don’t

worry on that score. They way to succeed on Drawing 2 is to listen to the work and

to pursue interesting lines of enquiry. If you can turn the exercises into something

useful for the Parallel Project, then do so. This will help develop your voice and, in

turn, your practice.

If you need more time, let me know.

Tutor name Bryan Eccleshall

Date 9/8/15

Next assignment due 13/9/15