Exploring Painting (2)

Exploring Painting (2)

Moving on from my previous two works, I am now focussing on using tonal grounds upon which to work and concentrating on the shapes I see as a basis for my painting.

a) Jetty, Low Tide

I have decided to paint the abandoned jetty from a different angle. This time from the bank of the Old River Ancholme, and looking towards the CEMEX factory site.

I started with a ground of burnt umber, and built up tonal layers using white, yellow ochre, burnt umber and dark brown/black.

I left some of the tonal ground untouched. This process resulted in the creation of a mysterious atmosphere, which I felt suited the subject matter.

Jetty, Low Tide - Tonal Painting

 

Outcome

 

I think that working on a tonal ground really helped with the build up of the image. It meant that I was able to use the burnt umber ground as a reference point for the lighter and darker tones.

It helped me concentrate on the shapes and forms which make up the picture with less distraction from having to think about texture or local colour. The flat plains of tonal colour worked well, especially in evoking the concept of the mud  and shallow water at low tide.

b) Lock Gates, Old River Ancholme

As I walked further along the bank opposite the old jetty, I got a good view of the lock gates which were open at low tide on the Old River Ancholme. I felt that the image provided a good opportunity for a second tonal image due to the interesting view through the lock gates.

Again I used burnt umber as the tonal ground and built up the rest of the image in the same way as above.

Outcome

I felt that the outcome was particularly effective in the way that it focusses on the "key-hole" effect of the view through the open lock gates. The tones worked really well in the way that they lead the eye directly to the brightly lit aperture. The rest of the image is built up with lines and shapes which provide an abstract quality, which is quite arresting.

Future Work

After receiving feedback from my tutor, I decided to leave the two paintings as they are without adding further colour. I believe that they can stand up as works in their own right and have interesting qualities about them with an air of mystery.

I think that these experiments are really taking my practice forward. I am finding out more about how I can use paint in a more effective way to create distinctive  images which build on my themes and provide lots of atmosphere.

I used acrylic paint again for these paintings, but my tutor suggests that in the future I should use oil paints. Oil would give me more flexibility due to the longer drying time and the colours are more natural. I have used oil paint before, and will go back to it for the reasons mentioned and see which medium I prefer.

My tutor also mentioned that my recent paintings remind him of the work of the artist Michael Raedecker. He suggested that I should do some further research into Raedecker's practice to see what I could learn from him. This would be with a view to introducing patches of colour.