Process of painting and drawing:
Materials and Resources: graphite (2B-9B), grained paper, blu tac, photographic image, computer, drawing table and chair.
Techniques: self portrait, cross hatching, grided image, monochrome.
References: Seurat, Charles Darwin ” Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals”.
Process: photographed images of people portraying different emotions (e.g. Anguish, laughter etc.), then crop the image and change to black and white on Photoshop, printing it of ready to have a grid drawn over the A4 print out, using a two centimetre square grid.
Creating a series of ten large scale works on paper (paper with a grain) measuring one metre twenty centimetre by one metre fifty centimetre. Shape and form, contrasting monochromatic layered textures, juxtaposed contrasting dark and light to create the illusion of form.
Griding of a photographic image, manipulated in Photoshop by changing it to a grayscale image. The image is a portrait of people expressing different emotions. Then relaying the grid on to a large piece of paper, so as to scale the photographic image up to fit the paper. Then sketching lines on to the paper referring to the image and gradually cross hatching, and applying further, layers of croshatching and mark making.
The drawings of people portraying emotions is a response posed as the stimulus. The image/drawing is both stimulus and response. The further idea that an art work is a paradoxical object.
The drawing is a contradiction, it is confusing. The subjects are portraying “emotions” but they are staged or scripted emotions; they are the masks we wear. Masks that are familiar to each person and because they were asked to portray them. Will this always be the case by asking some one to express an emotion in this context? And other than capturing some one with out there consent. I am drawing/painting masks of emotions. Each mark is political and this is in the same way each word is. Each mark made is as choreographed as each line or dot is, used for each word written. The intention behind each mark is equal to that of each mark used to represent a concept or feeling. It might seem less choreographed but those repeated croshatched lines layered one over the other, speak and communicate a political content-all movement is equal and all marks made by each movement represents that political content.
Curved lines and cross hatched to give the idea of shape. Using the white of the paper to give the impression of light contrasting with the repeatedly cross hatched and heavily worked in to graphite marks, that creat the illusion of dark or shadow. With a gradation of monochrome between the heavily layered croshatched graphite shadow portrayal and the light of the paper of light. The gradation between the contrasting extremities of dark and light or repeated drawing and no drawing, creates form.
The lack of colour allows the space to concentrate on what form is, in particular and what shape is as well. The use of colour would be provided with the use of paint. The application of paint to create form and shape, depends on the paint?
The paints: acrylic, oil, gouache, watercolour, poster paint, household (Matt, gloss, acrylic etc.)
The object as stimulus to the viewers response
Title: Phil