semester one - painting strand

As the final section of our three-part induction into university, we were told to create up to 20 paintings - completely from our imagination, no observational material to be used. This for me is incredibly difficult, as I find it a lot more stimulating working from life or from photographs, so I know where my end point shall be.

my studios

We were generously given unlimited paint and canvas, and were also encouraged to employ other materials, used in a painterly way, such as string, poly-filler, tape, etc...

oil paint on canvas

oil paint on canvas

oil paint on canvas

oil paint on canvas. I tried to push myself out my comfort zone with this piece by moving away from my usual bright palette and using earthier tones

oil paint on canvas

oil paint on canvas. 

as you can see on the two paintings on the left, I also experimented with layering, using fluid washes and heavier lines and curves to build depth in the paintings, as well as juxtapose harsh edges with looser ones.

                       

(top) oil paint on board (below) oil paint on aluminium

oil paint on aluminium

oil paint on aluminium. This one was achieved by layering paint thickly then scratching back into the surface to create features using a pencil or pen nib

The following pieces were inspired largely by Robert Rauschenberg's 'Combines' series. Using found scraps of wood or various bits of discarded items around the studios, I assembled the pieces in a painterly fashion to create these works.

A mixture of board, poly-filler, bubble wrap, tin foil, oil paint, electric tape, magazine collage and polystyrene 

Oil paint, paint tube lids, sticks of wood, magazine collage, newspaper, string, canvas, flannel, electric tape, bubble wrap and a jam jar lid mounted on cardboard

 cardboard, string, electric tape, magazine collage, bottle top, egg cup holder and oil paint on canvas

oil paint, scraps of wood and electric tape on cardboard

oil paint, electric tape, cardboard, magazine collage, poly-filler, tin foil, polystyrene and board

The Courier

Since being at university here in Newcastle, I have got interested in working in the media, and so have lent a hand to the university newspaper, The Courier. I have written for the Arts section, and here you can see two opinion pieces I wrote concerning Brexit and the Museum of Modern Art's (NYC) recent Emoji exhibition.

Semester one - printmaking strand

The second strand we completed is one in printmaking. I'm not a massive fan of printmaking, I do not enjoy the lengthy process and the unreliability of it - how you can spend ages on a plate and for it to turn out nothing how you expected!

Below are just some example of hard ground etchings and chine-colle collage.

a collaborative chine-colle and etching piece. All photographs found in POP magazine.

Semester one - sculpture strand

As part of our first semester at Newcastle University, we have to do three of four strands - printmaking, painting, sculpture and performance. Thankfully I managed to be in the group which doesn't require my dire performance skills.
The first strand for me was sculpture. This is the finished product after three weeks:

The brief: we each had to take a number from the hat, and each number corresponded with a random object the tutors had chosen. We then had to make something that would "exhibit in a future museum."

I was given these. I knew immediately that I wanted to taken this rigid structure, cut it all up (which meant using a band saw and getting to know woodwork technicians very well) and attempt to make a fluid shape. Why not make it difficult for yourself?

I then began using the block to create something of a sphere. 

I then had the idea that, to give this the futuristic theme, I would fill this "sphere" with discarded rubbish - also very cheap and easy materials to source! My idea was that the dystopian future had run out of landfill on land, and was having to hang it in the air. I also had to figure out how to suspend the  sculpture. 

I decide to use some of the unused structure I started out with to hang my piece from. I liked the juxtaposition of seeing where I started out, and where I had ended up, side by side in the same sculpture. 

I spent a fortune trying to figure out how to hang the sculpture. I bought various lengths of wire and cables, but settled on this white electrical cable, which I secured into place using the small white cable clamps on top. I was upset as I wanted to the sculpture to be hanging as if from nothing, and the white cable was quite visible. It did however create a nice link between the starting and finishing point. If I had more time and money, obviously I would look into it harder. I would probably hang them from the ceiling and create many of them, perhaps casting them in plaster so they were entirely white, devoid of colour in relation to a dystopian future. 

"alter ego"

As part of prep ahead of starting at Newcastle University, we were given the task of making work surrounding the theme "alter ego". Initially unsure what I was going to do, I decided to return to what I love - figurative work - and draw directly from my ever present bustle of family life. 

the final product

preparatory sketch of family members. Focusing on catching movement and liveliness, not a static anatomical drawing 

painted using a limited palette, focusing on using tone in place of colour.

I drew and painted on top of an old canvas - a painting I did last year during my foundation year that I really wasn't a fan of. In a way, I thought this would help with the "alter ego"aspect: recycling work from a previous artistic period in my life, creating a new painting almost a year later.

Another way I have cemented the "alter ego" theme: I set up a few cameras in my bedroom, and got family members to film me surreptitiously. Using these films, I was able to work almost from life, again focusing on movement. These films were a perfect way of capturing the "me" that I'm unaware of - an alter ego that I don't even know about.