5. Another Head

(2/4/23)

Today I painted at home for the first time since starting the course, it felt odd to not be in the somewhat clear studio setting that accommodates painting and to be set up in my kitchen with precautions such as rolls of lining paper under my calico as to not get paint of the kitchen floor. Nevertheless change in surroundings can be good sometimes.

Today I began by priming my metre square calico with white emulsion paint. As I was letting the white emulsion dry I spent some time looking at the calico letting myself imagine what I was going to paint to see if any outstanding ideas came of it. As I was thinking I couldn’t get the style of painting I had done in my last one I updated in my previous post (skull with blacked out eyes and colour around it). So I decided to try not to copy what I had done, but create another painting that feels part of the same family as the other with gestural stroaks and mark making with a naive flair and raw energy to it. And this is the first spark of clear intent I have had towards a painting since starting, for it to feel a part of a family or collection with another painting. I feel this is the beauty of working purely on process when painting because I am free to explore ideas, if they work or not, and ultimately come to a through line or style that I like enough to persue for potential inclusion for my FMP. 

After considering what to paint I set to work and decided to create a head in the centre of the calico. The white paint was still not fully dry and mixed nicely with the green paint I used to create a lighter green mix that you can see the gestural marks though, with the brush stroaks lapping over eachither and weaving into themselves, I very much enjoy the energy and chaos of the brushwork I created. After creating the initial head shape I used a roller, brush with green and red wax crayons to create lines coming out from the shape of the head, lines that looked either like an explosion, sunset behind the body or blooming flower. I thought this would add focus to the head but I felt the green was too dark and made the entire piece feel too green. So I rolled over the green with the same white emulsion paint I used to prime the calico, and after doing this I really enjoyed how you can see the white that has gone iver but also the green and red lines peaking from behind makes a compelling backdrop that feels more energetic and chaotic that if I had left the green and red marks bare. 

After I turned my focus to the features of face. I made the decision to mix oil paint with the emulsion while it was still drying when painting on the mouth area as I enjoy the cracking and reaction the emulsion has when it drys or mixes with oil paints because it creates a rich and interesting texture that adds and extra layer to the piece. I applied the oil paint in thick chunks and spread it about mixing the various colours of blue and burgundy to create a mess of a swirl that looks threatening and gnarling. This is an aspect i consciously attempted to carry over from the last painting I created (the skull) as I am now thinking of a through line with the paintings and aspects to incorporate in order to make them seem as if they are a part of a cohesive collection, but also not replicas of one another, so that each piece of work has its own identity. 

Below are pictures captured of the process of this painting.

As this painting is somewhat of a continuation of my last effort, there is still a strong Jean Michel Basquiat Influence to this work, although this piece is a lot less busy with mark making with oil stick, pastel and crayons, as well as numerous colours of paint. This piece in its current state feels more blunt in its appearance although I feel the brush work on the head shape adds a great element of energy and subtle angst to the piece. Below I will add a picture of a Basquiat painting for reference that has elements that I have used in this painting, albeit not consciously. 

This painting had an abundance of energy and I feel there are similarity’s between this and my painting in a few ways. One being the mark making and brush stroaks incorporated that appear to mix paint and cover up other colours. Another being the way the shoulders are shaped and how the body is formed in a a quick naive manner that does not lay much attention to anatomical design and more to the referential shape of a body that a viewer recognises. 

More Later 

Lots Of Love 

John Hancock X