Exhibition Launch: Mandy Payne "Out of Time", Huddersfield Art Gallery

Exhibition Launch: Mandy Payne "Out of Time", Huddersfield Art Gallery

Introduction

I have previously identified the artist Mandy Payne as an artist who is inspired by urban landscape, Brutalist architecture, social housing and finding beauty in the ordinary/overlooked. Mandy's practice therefore resonates with my own interests. She works with materials which have a physical connection to the sites she depicts, such as concrete and spray paint, building up flat zones of colour:
https://mandypayneart.co.uk/

I recently interviewed her and a record of our discussion features in my Blog of 23rd August, 2019. I will not go over the same ground here, but following our discussions Mandy was kind enough to send me an invitation to the launch of her current Exhibition, "Out of Time" at the Huddersfield Art Gallery. Details of the Exhibition can be found at:
https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/museums-galleries-history/huddersfield-art-exhibitions.aspx

 

Huddersfield Art Gallery

Exhibition Launch, Saturday, 12th October, 2019

 

 

Mandy explains her work to visitors

I went along to the Gallery for the launch and was lucky to be able to have another chat with Mandy during which she expanded on her painting and printmaking practice, and in particular, her expertise in stone lithography. She gave me details of a print workshop which specialises in this area.

I chat with Mandy at the Launch as we discuss her prints

Mandy emphasised how she is inspired by the physicality of the materials she works with.
Mandy has now also introduced marble and fibre glass as well as concrete as a surface for her paintings. She has also introduced additional media, such as marker pen and ink to her work.
I have previously introduced such concepts into my own work. In particular, I have used steel and aluminium as a medium for prints featuring factories and industrial buildings.

 

Buxton House, 2019, spray paint and oil paint on concrete

 

 

St George's Warehouse, 2019, spray paint and oil paint on concrete

 

 

Looking at the Overlooked, 2019, spray paint, oil paint, marker pen, ink and varnish on glass fibre reinforced concrete panel

 

 

 

Out of Time, 2019, spray paint, oil paint, marker pen, ink and varnish on glass fibre reinforced concrete panel

 

 

Remnants of a Welfare State, 2019, spray paint, oil paint, marker pen on glass fibre reinforced concrete panel

 

 

Kirklees College, 2019, spray paint, oil paint, lithograph ink and varnish on canvas

 

 

Glass cabinet of prints and printmaking tools

 

Mandy emphasises her social messaging with the use of pertinent, and sometimes political, overtones.

 

For the Many Not the Few, 2019, spray paint and oil paint on marble

 

Conclusions

 

Seeing Mandy's work emphasised the physicality of her work. Some of her paintings on concrete were set within a wooden frame, whilst others were hung without any frame. I think that the unframed concrete made more of an impact as the materiality of the substance was clearly in view. The gallery was well lit and the paintings hung spaciously. The glass cabinet was a good way of exhibiting the prints, some of which were printed on delicate Japanese paper stuck onto stone and varnished. Viewers were engaged and enthused by the exhibition and Mandy added to the experience with her "hands on" approach and interaction with those present.

 

 



 



 



 

 

 

Colour: Exploration - Working with water colour backgrounds to prints

Colour: Exploration - Working with water colour backgrounds to prints

Introduction

Over recent weeks I have been exploring the use of water colour backgrounds for prints. The idea is that this process would add an extra layer to prints to provide colour and depth. During my research I had spoken to other artists who add coloured backgrounds, a good example being Mary Carrick, who works mainly with collagraphs. She often introduces colour by creating a second collagraph which she colours in a variety of ways and prints over the top. I thought that it may be a good idea to experiment with water colour as the paint is transparent and has good potential as the printed line would show through.

Experiments

1. "Hide"

On the banks of the River Humber there is a bird hide which I have used as a subject for an oil painting. The hide stands alone on a turn of the bank heading towards the locks at the Ancholme River. I walked along the bank in the Spring and looked inside. The window looks out over a large stretch of  marshland with the Humber Bridge in the background. I continued my walk and upon my return I noticed the view again. I came up with the idea that I could do a print with three views - approach from the east, approach from the west and the view from inside the hide, looking out towards the Humber Bridge.

I started by preparing a piece of aluminium and drawing into a hard ground to create a line drawing of my idea. I then printed out an initial first impression to see how it could be improved.

 

The initial line drawing

I felt that I then needed, as a second stage, to add tone to create light and dark areas. I achieved this by using an aquatint which I etched in stages and reprinted the image with black ink.

 

Tonal areas added using aquatint process

Thinking about how I could introduce colour, I pre-prepared some printing paper and marked out the exact size of the final print. I then looked at the initial prints and worked with water-colour to follow the three sections of the subject matter. I used a variety of colours, but kept each background within the refines of a limited palette. I then printed the plate onto the pre-prepared coloured backgrounds.

Final Print with green and brown palette

 

 

Final Print with blue, orange and red palette

 

2. "Horkstow Bridge"

 

Horkstow Bridge is about one mile upstream from the locks at the entrance to the Ancholme River. It was designed by Sir John Rennie as part of the River Ancholme Drainage Scheme, completed in 1836, and is a Grade II* listed building. It is a very early example of a suspension bridge. It is a surprisingly magnificent structure for such a remote spot, but the bridge was used in the 19th century as a vital link over the river from a nearby quarry. Horkstow Bridge reminds me of how local people have used the river and its surrounding environment as a source of economic prosperity over many centuries, adapting and changing the environment over time.

 

I decided to follow the same methodology as above to add watercolour backgrounds to some hard ground etchings which I had made. I played around with different colour schemes.

 

 

Watercolour background using "Fauvist" colours

 

 

Finished print

  

 

Watercolour background using a more limited palette

 

 

 The Finished Print

 

I also experimented by painting an etching with watercolour after it had been printed in black. I followed the "Fauvist" theme.

 

 

Watercolour added following printing

 

Conclusions

 

The final prints worked well in that the colours provided depth and colour interest. The colours harmonised well and the limited palette was restful to the eye. The Fauvist colours were more interesting and provided excitement. The method enabled a freely painted background to blend in with the scheme of the design without being a rigid process - the final outcomes had a sense of "flow". This contrasts with the print which was hand coloured with watercolour afterwards, as this process produced more accuracy in following the lines of the image. The fact that the paint was transparent allowed the detail of the line drawing to show through. Both methods were successful in that they gave "life" to the prints and "lifted" them. Hand-colouring afterwards would be more appropriate if detailed, accurate colouring is required.

 

 

Screen Printing: Exploration - Working with Stencils and Drawing Fluid (or other medium).

Screen Printing: Exploration - Working with Stencils and Drawing Fluid (or other medium).

Introduction

Last month I attended  a Workshop on Screen Printing with artist Alison Stack. My aim was to increase my confidence using this medium and to learn new skills and techniques. My previous research has highlighted that screen printing provides the opportunity to produce prints which I can enhance with coloured images and backgrounds. Also, screen printing  provides opportunities to make monoprints i.e. "one-offs" and series of prints using stencils and other methods. This workshop concentrated on the stencil method of screen printing and working with drawing fluid and other mediums.

Materials and Equipment

The workshop was very informative in that the instructor, Alison Stack, provided information and examples of the equipment required, including:

- aluminium screen printing frames, which are better than wooden ones as they do not warp
- white mesh for ordinary purposes, but yellow/orange mesh for photo-printing
- a mesh size of 55T is suitable for general purposes ( a wider mesh is required for fabric and a finer mesh for photo emulsion work)
-  a wooden printing base fitted with butterfly clips/clamps screwed onto the board
- a plastic sheet (acetate) can be attached to keep the board clean (or to do a trial test)
- acrylic "Speedball" inks (for fabrics or otherwise)
- can "refresh" old inks with Glycerin/Glycerol
- acrylic screen filler (for mixing with acrylic inks at the ratio 1/3rd ink to 2/3rds filler)
- i.e."System 3" Acrylic printing medium or "Speedball" screen printing transparent base.
- squeegee of a size which must fit within the screen
- screen filler remover for cleaning (or use plain water)
- screen printing paper no thicker than 300 grm (ordinary printing paper for etching etc. ok)
- smoother paper required for detailed work
- a frame may be purchased to keep the screen firm whilst in use

The screen attached to board with butterfly clips

 

A frame to clamp the screen firm whilst printing

 

 

An example of  a printing medium

 

 

Method

Stencils

- do everything "clean" first
- then do the printing process
- use greaseproof-type paper for the stencil
- trace image onto the paper
- take a craft and cut the image out of the paper
- tape the stencil onto the mesh on the outside of the screen (the flat side)

 

 

The drawn image and cut out stencil

 

The stencil attached to the screen

- with this method the image when produced is not "reversed"
- turn screen over and check what you see
- the deep part of the screen is called the "well"
- tape can be used to block off parts of the screen, or the greaseproof paper can be made the exact size of the screen so all parts (except the stencil image )are blocked off
- leave at least 1 inch around the inside of the well for the image - do not let the image go right up to the edge of the screen's frame
- screw clamps down onto the screen
- attach acetate onto wooden base to keep the board clean
- lift screen up and prop up (after every print)
- pour ink out at the top of screen

 

ink applied with screen lifted ready for flooding the screen

 

 

paper placed under the screen

 

 

acetate attached to keep the board clean

 

- flood screen while still propped up - move squeegee backwards and forwards once so that the ink returns to the top of the screen (gets the ink into the mesh)
- put paper underneath and line it up by the eye
- put screen down on paper (flat)
- pass squeegee down the well of the screen at 45% (the "pass" can be once or more than once)
- lift up the screen and take the paper out

        series of prints

 

finished print

- push the ink back up to the top of the screen again with the squeegee
- if run out of ink reflood the screen
- at the end of the process save the ink
- clean up straight away and do not let the screen dry out
- cover the ink with tape or cling film
- clean screen with plain water (better) or a little Fairy Liquid

I used an image of a hoopoe bird for my stencil, as it has a very distinctive silhouette.

Drawing

Using "Speedball" Drawing Fluid/other mediums

- put picture or a stencil underneath the screen (flat side up) to draw from
- draw with "printing medium"
- use a different screen for different colours or can block out the colour done first with screen filler
- let the drawn image dry
- cover the whole of the outside of the screen with screen filler (a blocker) and let dry
- spray with water to remove the drawing fluid
- print as before
- can use "Speedclean" - good with brush and water
- can use soluble painting crayons with screen filler over the top
- can draw with graphite or with water soluble printing crayons (on top/flat surface of screen)

      Application of drawing fluid

 

Detail

 

Exterior covered with screen filler

         Use of soluble painting crayons

Conclusions

The stencil print is clear and the method used was relatively straight forward as set out above. I think that this method could be used in circumstances where I want to create a strong image, perhaps with another print underneath.

The drawing method is more fluid and deserves further experimentation as due to time limits it was not possible to explore all possibilities using this way of working.

Research: Printmaking - Interview: Sally Beaumont, Print Maker

Research: Printmaking - Interview: Sally Beaumont, Painter/Print Maker

Introduction and background

Sally mainly exhibits in London and was a prize winner in the recent North Lincolnshire Open Print Exhibition. My research into Sally's practical work concentrates on colour and techniques.

Sally was initially inspired by Albrecht Dűrer for his subject matter and decorative style and Jaques Callot for his expression of depth and distance. More recent inspirations include the work of Paula Rego, Lucien Freud’s paintings for his subtle humour and “fantastic proficiency” in oils, Shepard Fairey a contemporary poster activist in America for his guts and morality and Robert Rauschenberg for his large-scale mixed media combos. Sally likes to know the influences of one artist on another, but has no real passion for one movement.

Sally approaches her work from a quite different perspective than my other interviewees. She is predominately an intaglio printmaker and the Renaissance print making techniques have heavily influenced her work, particularly the introduction of tone through cross hatching/chiaroscuro and aquatint. She has an interest in anything equine and London.

Approach and Methodology

Her main subject matter includes “perennial tabloid themes – politics and patriotism/religion and royalty/sex and gossip/strange and exotic”. Sally directs my attention to a particular print, a photo-litho called’ Referendum’ which reveals David Cameron in 18th century courtly dress holding a baton for Britain in front of the London skyline, together with other symbolic references. The pelican and chalice symbolise self sacrifice and gravity. Below Cameron are drawings by my grandchildren and a wooden crib – these represent the future and the unborn. The Queen peering round a door looking very worried.

Sally Beaumont, Referendum, photo-litho 

Sally likes “to make a visual comment on events of our time. Humour is important.

“I like to remind people of our heritage and often refer to Christian symbolism. My work has always been cathartic, a fun way of surviving this world”.

Sally seeks to incorporate colour into her prints, explaining that etching traditionally is very much black and white – “You cannot beat black and white for drama – look at Norman Ackroyd, but, balancing white space and black ink in its simplicity is difficult”. However, in her opinion, “bright colours in artwork are necessary to sell work. This has been a recent difficulty as to how can I introduce colour”. Sally has recently introduced bright colour, using hand colouring and batik (a process I am not as yet familiar with).

Sally Beaumont, Basrah Arab Horse and Cattle Show, 1918 – with hand colouring

In her print making Sally has used etching and aquatint for many years having acquired knowledge from Michael Rothenstein and Barto dos Santos at Middlesex University and the Slade School. She has also used the Photo-Litho transfer technique in the last 2 years, which she says is “a fast way of collaging images together but not easy to replicate and edition”.

 

Sally Beaumont, an example of an equine subject with an interesting “half-finished” look and distinctive, focused colouring

Sally works from her reaction to a visit to a place or museum. Often, she will “just flick through books and catalogues which fire up my imagination and take me to another place”. She does photograph situations such as the unnecessary destruction of buildings or objects in the silver galleries of the V and A. Any drawing observation tends to be straight onto the etching plat as she is keen to get images printed and so tends not to make preliminary drawings. She also works from old photos e.g. her grand-father’s photos of WW1 and images from her childhood – e.g. her father’s “Tiger Tim” annuals.

Sally says that she does not go out of her way to create mood. “Whatever is in me reveals itself! My etchings are pretty overworked, and decorative. The photo-lithos are fun and chaotic”.

Sally uses oil paint for large paintings such as Marriage a la Mode, 6’6’’x2’6’’, a combination of a Hogarth painting and Lady Lade by Stubbs. This painting was her interpretation of marriage.

 Sally promotes her practice through her professional studio and thinks that mixing with other artists and communication skills are important. “Technology is the secret”, using social media, a good website and Instagram and most importantly, good photos.
 
Summary

What impresses me most about Sally’s work is the uniqueness of her work, both in subject matter and technique. Both are very personal to her. She has her own very clear artistic voice, with a sense of history, memory and social comment, sometimes in an amusing or chaotic way. I will explore some of the practical techniques Sally uses, for instance, Batik, to introduce colour, but her subject area is rather specialist to her.

 

Research: Interview with Tim Needham, Painter/Printmaker

Research: Interview with Tim Needham, Painter/Printmaker

Studio 7

The RopewalkMaltkiln Road

Barton upon Humber
North Lincolnshire

General:

Are you inspired by particular artists (past or present)? – If so, who and why?

I am still interested in the artists which inspired me when I was at Winchester studying for my Art Degree.  I go back to them “like an old friend” e.g. Paul Nash who was very influenced by where he lived. I am interested in his landscapes, the style of his work and the psychological elements of it. He conveys a mood or feeling and “I connect with that”. My work is influenced by his approach e.g. the coast and the sea “and the connection with what is man-made”. (He shows me a collagraph as an example, see below): 

Tim Needham, Collagraph inspired by the coastal landscapes of Paul Nash

Paul Nash (1889 –1946) was a British painter and war artist, as well as a photographer, writer and designer of applied art. Nash was among the most important landscape artists of the first half of the twentieth century and played a key role in the development of Modernism in English art.
 I visited the places he painted and I actually moved to Swanage in Dorset for a while where Nash used to live to get a sense of the “place”. I like the way that Nash commented about the sea, and the quality of different seas, for example, Nash described the North Sea, near Hornsea as “fearful joy”, whilst he described the sea at Swanage as “blue and beguiling”.
I was also inspired by my contemporaries at Art School i.e. William Crozier, Gillian Ayres, John McClean– and especially by abstraction. My paintings convey a sense of place, poetry or feeling – even if the work is abstracted. I developed an interest in poetry – a language which is you and which you use to think about your work and try to explain some things which are inexplicable – the works are visual – and not transferable into words – the nearest thing is poetry. Nash was a neo-romanticist (explains what that means), but any poetry or words can connect with the art work.

Are you interested in any artistic movements or theories – if so, what and why?

I would say Contemporary British Abstract Art which links with my Winchester tutors of the 1980s onwards e.g. Frank Bowling. This approach links with the development of cubism and American Abstract Expressionism where a painting is an object in itself.

Do you aim to make a point through your work e.g. political/social/ environmental? If so, how?

I want to convey a meaning, which is more difficult when working with abstract painting. I compare it to music (e.g. like Kandinsky) – a composition in visual terms. I prefer the piece to be suggestive of place – a sense of place or of the light or colour of the place. The painting carries the sense of place, mood, colour, light, and an emotional connection in some ways.

Have you been influenced by your background or surroundings? If so. How?

Definitely – the coastal landscape and the sea. I find inspiration or see something and wonder how I can capture the elements of what I have been feeling- sometimes this is better as a painting or a print.

How would you describe your own “personal artistic voice”?

I like the idea that that the work is connected to a purpose and that it has a meaning even if decorative. My father was a sailor and was in the navy and this connects with my work. For instance, here is a set of prints I made based on a series of figure heads on boats.

These figure heads convey the type of cargo the boat would be carrying, e.g. they would include a sheaf of wheat, others figures are blind and feeling the darkness with their hands, or listening to a conch shell to guide their way, one is of a figure belonging to an early exploration ship in the Arctic (see below).

Tim Needham, Figure-head, intaglio print (part of a series)

How do you promote yourself as a Professional Artist? Do you have any advice?

I have exhibited at the Royal Academy (three times – prints and paintings) and I maintain my artistic identity. I have exhibited in galleries across the country e.g. surrey and York – I am hoping to do more, and recently I had a joint exhibition here, at the Ropewalk, with another artist.

Practical Painting/Printmaking):

Do you specialise in a particular medium or mediums?  -If so, what and why?

Painting – mainly acrylic – it is thinner than oil, dries quickly and I like the effect on un-stretched or raw canvas as it stains and gives an under-surface. The un-primed canvas does not rot with acrylic as it would with oil paint. I lay the un-stretched canvas on the floor, this way the paint does not rundown and dries like that. This way the canvas is easy to transport as I work outside, and I work often work on things I find e.g. corrugated cardboard. I use the qualities within the “everyday” or things thrown away and found objects.

Tim Needham, an example of a large painting in his studio

 

Tim Needham, an example of a work on cardboard

Prints – usually involves preparation and involves an idea I want to make happen or convey. I decide what process to use to get the effect I need. 

Tim Needham, The Deluge, an intaglio print

My printmaking is mainly intaglio, but I do make some lino-cuts. I am influenced by the diving figure (I don’t know where that came from). Recently on holiday in France I found some bits of wood and carved it with some old lino tools I had taken. I like the idea of “ready-mades”. I used some circus flyers to print on. The outcome of the print borrows the colour of the flyer, but loses the clown – it loses the original identity and becomes something with a meaning. See illustrations below:

A copy of the original circus flyer

 

 The woodblock print

The diving figure printed on top of the flyer

 I also use the diving figure in my abstract work – I like the vertical/diagonal line coming into the piece. It has a symbolic element – there is a leap of faith when someone jumps from something – they do not know how they are going to land – it is a tense moment – a fearfulness – I like that idea.

See two examples below:

 

Sculpture – my sculpture has the same philosophy.

Tim Needham, Icarus, sculpture from “ready-mades”

 

Tim Needham, "Ready-made" from pieces of ceramic

 Please describe your way of working and why e.g. do you work from observation, memory, photographs or in some other way?

See above.

Does colour play an important role in your practice?  - If so, how?

Yes, colour plays a significant role in my work. I like colours which are challenging – sometimes there are compromises and I over-paint. I ask him what he means by a challenging colour – a colour which gives a bit of a lift or edge or you notice it e.g. a pink landscape I made worked very well, or a yellow sky would transform an image – something not quite naturalistic, for instance a blue sky may be too realistic, so I may make it purple.

 

Tim Needham, a strong use of colour

I use layers in print-making and often will make variations in colour. He shows me some demonstration pieces of a Picasso-types image by way of illustration (see below).

Tim Needham, finished print illustrating the combination of layers to produce different colours

Above, the three plates from which the different colours were layered to make the final print

I also use this approach in painting. This method is good for collagraphs – there is a mix of things in it. The method also works for dry points, aquatints etc. and can be combined with other techniques.

Do you think that monotone can be effective? If so, in what ways/ circumstances?

Painting will work in monotone – the composition still works e.g. I took some black and white photographs of some of my pieces and they still worked. Tonal elements also influence the aesthetics as well as colour e.g. John Maclean has contrasted these elements in the same painting (e.g. as an example, a work of a grey castle with light above it).

Can you describe how you achieve mood or atmosphere in your work?

A combination of the subject and the play of light on the surface, contrasting with a darker tone, or a combination of certain colours. As an example, in a painting I did (which is sold now) I tried to get the mood I felt years ago of being on an old playing field and the sense of place (e.g. goal posts/ white lines on grass). I used contrasts such as light and dark coming across in the painting and a limited palette, which worked very well – green (sort of like a “corporation” green), terracotta/ pastel yellow. It gave a mood of that memory.

How do you relate your work to the viewer?
Using the concepts set out above.

You must look at something for a long time, and look for something in it.