Slight change of pieces chosen for exhibition

After discussions with Margaret on Friday, I have decided that the 3 large square paintings will be displyed in the exhibition downstairs, while the two fish fin pieces and my framed fish dissection drawing (picked up from getting reframed today) will hopefully both go in the exhibition on the second floor.

I also used white acrylic house paint (used to paint the plinths) and white washed the edges of all 3 paintings as I feel it makes it look more professional and uniform. I am very happy with the overall results of the work I am going to show, and very excited about seeing the exhibition!!

Exhibition pieces finished!

I have finally completed my two large fish eye paintings, and also my two smaller fish fin paintings, which I intend on putting in the exhibition. I also completed the first original larger painting (90 x 90cm orange and blue), but was not completely satisfied with it, and when viewing the pieces together, the colour scheme didn't fit well alongside the other work.

I have also got my fish drawing at the framers being reframed, and hope to pick it up next week, so it may be able to go in the upstairs exhibition if space is limited downstairs.

Here are some pictures of the two main pieces at different stages of progress:

As at 19th October

As at 8th October:

Fish painting causing me frustration!!!

The fish painting i started with splatters of ink and water, was going well. It needed something and i took advice to work on the background further but made the mistake of using oil paints. Now i can't turn back!! Not sure how to resolve this piece but i have started another painting (this time of a face) using the original techniques, and hope to learn from my mistakes :)

How it was:


After some oil paint.... (top right and bottom left)

After more oil paint... aghhhhh

Exhibition pieces full steam ahead

Progress of another fish fin painting

This is some stages of another marine painting. This time I started with water based inks, which has worked really well. The early stages were purely inks and acrylic, and later on I started glazing with oils. The ink still shows through the oils in parts which is cool.

Some older tafe work

More painting on my sick days

Had two days off tafe due to a cold, so thought I better use my time wisely to produce some work. Here are my efforts:

Getting closer to fnished, but still a while to go. The oil paints are starting to bulk it up though

This is a painting from imagination. Keep rotating the canvas as i go, an exploration of colour and working the composition from there.

New painting started

Here is the newest painting for my marine series. This one is detail of a parrotfish's fin, and is taken from the same book which I got the fish eye inspiration from. I'm not sure if my final exhibition will purely be these paintings or also incorporate the box drawings/ hybrid drawings from Chris Worfold's class.

Box project

Fish drawings continued

Here are pictures of one of my finished drawings, and the other two in progress. I have really enjoyed working with the inks, and using white conte, black biro and ink pens to attempt to simulate more 3 dimensionality within these works. Although not directly related to my exhibition paintings of fish eyes, the drawings also focus on the fish theme, and I am thinking of trying the inks on canvas as a preliminary background, perhaps within my fish eye series.

Fish drawings

For my drawing subject this semester, we are doing a hybrid project. Mixing contemporary drawing with a non drawing technique/source. I have decided to use scientific diagrams from my biology text books (suprise suprise) and drawing them on ink backgrounds with mixed media. I was also thinking of labelling them with amusing names such as 'piss bag' instead of urinary bladder to contradict the usual seriousness associated with textbook imagery. Here is some of my bookwork/ drawings so far.

Proposal for Exhibition series

For Tafe this semester we need to produce work/s for the end of year exhibition and document our intentions and progress. I am continuing to pursue the fish eye theme and perhaps some fin/scale detail paintings using acrylic underpaintings and oil glazes. I would like to experiment with resin and wax mediums but time may be a constraining factor.

We have approximately 12 weeks til the exhibition and seeing as though we need to produce work to a very high standard I forsee completing perhaps 3 large paintings in that time. I have already begun one painting which is 90 x 90cm and is the largest I have worked so far. (see my marine series post).

I think that a series of 3 paintings, each 90 x 90cm would be visually pleasing and perhaps a reasonable expectation. Due to the size of that paintings and the fact that I have to catch the bus to tafe, I expect that a lot of my actual painting production will occur at my studio at home.

The best book for painting ever!

This is the main source of inspiration for my current marine series of fish eyes and details of fins etc. I bought this book for $20 at the Griffith Conservatorium of music bookshop and was so inspired by the stunning photography.

This site has some of his fish eye photography

http://www.dos-bertie-winkel.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=163&Itemid=114


Here are two photos and the paintings that they inspired

Sketches and life drawing

Here are a collection of some of my older sketches and life drawings from the last few years

Some of my favourite artists

Although these artists don't relate directly to my current work, I love the aspects of transparency and delicacy which they have. The fact they are painted on wood panel is very intriguing and I love the way that some sections of unpainted wood create the highlights. In my fish eye series I have been experimenting with thin acrylic washes follwed by encaustic (wax medium) and oil glazes. I am striving to achieve a similar transparency where the texture and patterns from the original acrylic wash can still be seen through the other layers.

Audrey Kawasaki is definetely one of my favourite artists, and I recently discovered Amy Sol via the Juxtapoz site. Her style is very similar in some ways and she also works on wood panels.

Audrey Kawaski's site:

http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/

Some of Audrey's work:


'Taken'

'Drip'


Amy Sol's site:

http://www.amysol.com/

Some of Amy's work:

'The clovervine slumber'

'The apple and the string'

'Dream of a distant cousin'

Marine Series

Newest painting in progress towards my end of year exhibition





Here are some photos of my current obsession, paintings from macro marine photography. I have been experimenting with oils, acrylics, encaustic and I have been told to try resin. I am planning to continue this style of work for my end of year tafe exhibition, as well as following the same themes in both my drawing and printmaking classes.