Project Evalutation

Project Evaluation

My theme for my A2 fine art personal investigation has been 'abstract landscapes of Lithuania'. In the beginning around August and September my ideas were to paint either city landscaped of Lithuania from the photographs I have taken or very bright and unrealistic in colour paintings of nature landscapes in Lithuania.

After I had gathered photographs that I needed I began experimenting in the styles of Scott Naismith, Vytautas Kasiulis and Joseph Mallord William Turner, both by observing their paintings and my own photographs.

At first it seemed that there were a wide range of landscapes I could paint, which seemed worrying as I wanted to focus on something more specific.

In the beginning my main drawback was my own perception of what landscape paintings should look like, I had a thought that they have to be very detailed, clear with a specific subject matter even if they were abstract. This in some ways prevented me from expressing myself to my best abilities. However whenever I tried painting a city landscape with lots of buildings in the style of Turner (image bellow) I realised that I was focusing at the wrong kind of landscape paintings as I was too focused in getting my images right that the however all result would not look creative, I realised I needed to allow myself to just experiment in the most expressive ways, without being afraid to mess something up or have a unclear subject matter which does not particularly define anything.

After this I let go and began to focus a lot on colours and textures and how they combine together.

As I already mentioned I looked at three artists in particular.

In the beginning I believed that Scott Naismth was my main artist and that I wanted to relate my work strongly to his style. I also wrote and artist analysis about him and one of his paintings in particular called Sisters of Glencoe’. This analysis helped me understand the reasons Naismith paints the way he does and the techniques of his mark making as he published a lot of videos of himself painting online. It was also interesting do discover that one of his artist influences is Henri Matisse, which exhibition was on whenever I visited Tate museum. I did paint quite a few experiments in Naismith's style, however as I progressed through this project I slowly departed from his style and developed it and changed it in my own way to create my own style and techniques.

(Above some of my artwork inspired my Naismith's style and artwork.)

One artist that I chose because he represented my project in particular was a Lithuanian artist Vytautas Kasiulis, I liked his bright and unrealistic paintings mainly because he created his own world within his paintings, with stories and meanings behind them. In his artist analysis I analysed one of his panting called 'Mulen Ružas’ (Moulin Rouge) and compared it to Antoine Blanchard ‘Le Moulin Rouge ' panting to get a real understanding how unique Kasiulis can make the same subject or place look in his style. I also had a chance to visit his Museum and see a large amount of his painting from up close, this really showed me ways artists paint as well as understand that larger scale makes paintings look more spectacular. Here are some images of my work in his style bellow.

The artist Joseph M.W. Turner I did not think of as my main artists, mainly because I had a bad start working in his style, as I found painting in watercolours (as he does in some of his work) unsuccessful, however I later realised that his influence is not about using the same media as he does, but understanding his painting process and his beliefs about art. For instance whenever I had a chance to look at his painting ‘Yacht Approaching the Coast’ in London Tate museum, I found out that he often layered and repainted sections of his painting to such point that the main subject matter would no longer be clear. I also researched that he followed the movement of Romanticism which focused on nature being seen as a natural environment and focused on individuals their originality of imagination and experiments, it allowed organic development and emotion. This gave me some inspiration and confidence about my work, as I realised that art does not have standards of what is right or wrong, and that I can paint however I want if that is how I see or imagine that something had to be shown, I don't have to make my work state a clear subject matter as ambiguous paintings allow more freedom and imagination to the eyes of the viewer, hence over time Turner became my main artist influence. I also carried out some further analysis where I analysed one of his paintings called “Norham Castle – Sunrise”. Bellow is some of my artwork inspired by turners paintings and style.

After carrying out sufficient amount of artist experiments, I discovered that in fact my initial idea of painting unrealistic coloured and bright landscape paintings that show a distorted reality has changed. I now started to consider that subtle in colour and textured paintings, can look as effective and yet still abstract and unrealistic in my own way.

This is when I decided to start painting larger scale as my sketchbook was limiting me. I began painting on larger pieces of board inspired by my own photographs.

I also narrowed down the type of landscape paintings I want to paint, being sea side beach scenery and forest areas with rivers or lakes, as I find these subject are more interesting and open to more possibilities in terms of techniques.

Throughout this project I have had the opportunity to use a large variety of media such as: acrylic paint, oil pain, watercolours, board, canvas, ink and other media too. This allowed me to narrow down to the media that fitted my theme, style and work most effectively in relation to the scale and size of my art work

My final piece

For my final piece I had to reflect on all of my work and plans that I have created during the course of this project.

I had to look upon my strengths and weaknesses in relation to my work, and choose the most successful and refined techniques and styles.

Below are examples of my work that had the strongest influence for my final piece.

Including the large board paintings shown in the previous page. Also I decided that the best way to show all my learnt skills and techniques would be by working from three most influential photographs of natural landscapes, as all of these images have helped me discover new techniques hence focusing on them all, hence for my final piece they allowed me to really focus on the best aspects of my work and create a strong final piece. Here are the photographs bellow:

When creating my final piece I went through a long process of layering media, to create a textured in depth painting of a sea like landscape. Here is the process below:

One of the harder challenges in creating the final piece was making sure all of the media and colours would blend together in harmony, instead of standing out all over the place as this would draw too much attention in non specific parts of the painting. However as I had carried out a sufficient amount of experiments and refinements of work, I had a better understanding what media to mix with what, and what colours compliment and blend well together.

As a whole this final piece painting is meant to look quite blurred out and subtle, as I didn't not intend to bring out a specific feature of the painting that would define the subject mater in clear detail, but rather create a abstract surrounding, meaning every viewer can use their imagination as to what they see or feel when observing my painting, in a way I want to pass out what I remember and feel about my home country for those who haven't seen it, hence making it personal to me.

Overall I think the time taken in this project has allowed me do develop my art skills and understanding in a strong way, which was all down to research and continuous experimentations, it will also benefit me in preparation for my exam, as I am now more confident with my art work overall. It is interesting how my initial expectations and ideas for my final piece of a landscape painting have changed as I progressed with my work.

For my A2 Fine Art exam I would like to improve by;

• Continue to work outside my comfort zone, to challenge myself for the best results I can achieve and to allow me to be creative and expressive.
• Focus on areas in art that I find more difficult to do, such as pencil drawings so that I could improve my weaknesses and gain skill, and once more challenge myself.
• Instead of focusing on painting only, look into other types of art, such as collages, to diversify and differentiate my work.

Landscape textures

I have now begun working in my second sketch book. In this sketchbook my main focus is relating every piece of work specifically to the final piece, rather than experimenting new techniques, I am now refining my strongest techniques. It has especially helped that I have painted 3 successful board landscape paintings, as they have allowed me to think of the most appropriate media and techniques to used, which is very helpful in my final piece plans. Unlike in my first book (in which I made a slight mistake) in this sketchbook I am working in horizontal pages  not in portrait.

In my board experiments, I noticed that layering paper with various colours of acrylic paint is very effective as it creates not only depth from the different colours, but also a rougher texture in desired areas, which mean greater detail and precision can be shown. In the image above I used acrylic paint, PVA glue, pen, hairspray, paper. To make it more personal to me the writing you can see in the image, is section of a photocopied letter I got from my closest friend in Lithuania about 7 years ago, it relates to my theme because every time I read it it takes me back to my home country and the places there. 

These two pages I focused on my older technique where I select appropriate oil paint colours and apply them on a plastic wallet and then press the paint down onto a surface, However this time I decided to try it out on a black acrylic paint background rather than plain white paper. I have done this once before, however last time I did not apply enough oil paint, hence the colours did not stand out as well. The media I used was oil paint and black acrylic paint on paper. The reason I like this technique is the way the oil paint dries, because it is a thicker amount of oil paint, it does take a little bit longer to dry,  but the end result is rough and matt finish texture which looks very effective. This technique also allows to be creative in terms of combining different colours and shades that compliment well with each other, and see how they also mix up in the process to create other colours. The only down side to this is that the outcome is very unique, hence although I can try to use the same colours, so each time the outcome can be different, in terms of texture, thickens of media and colour visibility. 

This experiment relates back to another experiment I have created some time ago (image bellow) For some time now I haven't really thought about the process of applying thick amounts of paint onto a surface for marks and texture. So I decided to once more try it out. This time in more relation to greenery and ground, unlike my other experiment which focused on the sky. 

The main photograph I got inspiration from is the image bellow.  For this work I used white and black acrylic paint, pen, hairspray, and a mixture of ink on paper. 

As you can see in the close up photograph of my work, this technique surely creates effective detail with a colour contrast that compliments each other, however I'm not too sure if this technique fits in with my final piece ideas and intentions, one reason being that it lacks something else, there is of course the possibility of incorporating this with other techniques or only applying this technique in a small section of whatever will be my final piece, however I do want my final piece to be detailed, but not overdone which would make it overwhelming, hence it is important to balance everything out. So although this technique is successful, in terms of my final piece, I may have to depart from it, as it isn't exactly suitable in my opinion.

The two most effective surface and texture pieces of work
Referring back to the technique in which I mix oil paint onto a plastic folder/wallet and then press it down on a surface, I have recently discovered hot to take this method even further, to create a texture that can be used in painting a specific subject such as the sky or water.

This first experiment is created using the method described above, I only used oil paint on paper for this art work. The only alteration I have made for this is that when I pressed down the oil paint onto the paper, I covered the page with tinfoil and just left it to dry. Later when It was dry I removed the tin foil and ended up with this result. The surface hence was quite rough and both smooth in some areas and the paint looks quite matt. This is one of my most favourite pieces of work, mainly because the colours look as if it is a small section of a painting, personally to me it looks like a cross over between two paintings by Vytautas Kasiulis and Joseph M.W. Turner. It tricks the mind, it both reminds me of a blurry image of a lively street in the night, or a boat (bottom brown paint near the centre) in the sea with the city lights further behind  reflecting into the water. Although everyone's imagination may think of a different landscape scenery I think this technique is effective to paint soil, sand or other rougher non shiny surface or the sky.

These are the two paintings, that my artwork reminds me off.  Above on the left is a painting by Joseph Mallord William Turner ‘Yacht Approaching the Coast, oil paint on canvas, London Tate Museum. On the left painting by Vytautas Kasiulis 'Mulen Ružas’ (Moulin Rouge) oil on canvas, 1980’s, taken in Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum. Both photographs have been taken by me. 

Lastly the images above are of my second attempt, for which I also used oil paint on paper applying the media in the same technique, however this time instead of covering the paint with tinfoil, I used a clear plastic wrap. Because the plastic wrap is very light and creases quite easily if not applied smoothly, as seen in the image on the right, it leaves marks in the oil paint. I like the way this technique creates a surface that tricks the eyes to thinking the plastic wrap is still on the paint and like the paint underneath is still not dry, when in fact it is just dry oil paint. This type of technique is effective for painting water surfaces, as the surface appears glossy and reflective of light as well as smooth. The only downside about this piece of work is the turquoise green colour does not really bled in nicely with the other colours, and it looks artificial and unnatural to me.

Overall I believe these two methods will be useful for creating my final piece, as I will be able to create a texture that matches the surface I am painting which will add more detail and make it more realistic, and interesting ass it will not be the same type of surface all across the painting. 

Canvases

Other than experimenting in paper in my sketchbook and before creating big board paintings, I have also previously experimented on canvases.










The images above are of a canvas painting which focuses on layering texture. For this work I used acrylic paint, ink, pen and hairspray on a canvas. I began from the base, by applying white acrylic paint in circular motions making sure the paint is applied thicker than usual, so that once it dries the surface becomes textured and uneven. I then got orange, purple and white ink and mixed it all together, then I poured the ink all over the canvas to create free flowing marks and lines, once it dried some of the ink colours such as orange stood out from the whole painting making it appear more highlighted.

I also tried out a different technique on a canvas, firstly by using white acrylic paint to create a base background, then I followed the technique of using a plastic folder and oil paint and folding the plastic folder, in order for the oil paint to mix, I then pressed down the paint onto the canvas to create this painting.

 For my next piece of work my main inspiration came from these two photograph above.

To begin with I got a square canvas and cut out the middle of it just a little bit smaller than the transferred technique photographs of the sky and the beach which I combined together fro a more in depth result. I then glued the images down from the back of the canvas so that the images would appear like a framed photograph. I then glued down different pieces of paper onto the canvas for a more textured effect, Using oil paint I began painting a background similar to the colours of the sunset sky photograph, In my opinion the colours turned out quite bold and dark which in some sense prevented the middle photographs to stand out from the rest of the canvas.

To make the painting look more subtle I dipped a paintbrush into turp substance and went over the oil paint on the canvas creating streaks which created these in depth lines of different colours showing through, I then also applied some white acrylic paint round the edges to make the whole canvas look as a single piece. Lastly I went over some sections of the canvas with  some coloured acrylic paint.

Although some of these experiments did turn out quite interesting, I didn't feel like they matched my theme ideas and restricted my abilities, as for instance unlike board, a canvas is more limited to size and scale that I would have needed for successful pieces of landscape artwork. Also the technique of cutting out the middle of a canvas, has not proven to be successful as it is tricky to cut out a perfect square or rectangle, as well as gluing down the image onto it. Also by cutting out a part of a canvas it becomes weaker and harder to work on, hence being able to apply a generous amount of media as I do for my work.

Further Development

After focusing on the two landscape paintings on board which gave me greater understanding and sense of direction, I decided to paint on a even larger scale.

The photograph I used was one of my few taken in Lithuania during the summer.

I chose this photo because it consists of very subtle colours that harmonise the whole image. In my previous two paintings, one focused on the sea whilst the other one was a  forest surrounding, which meant I used differer painting techniques, Hence I like how this image contains the combination of both, as this will allow me be combine the techniques I learnt from the tow previous paintings together more effectively, hence resulting in a more refined and unique painting. I must note that when I printed out this image the colours were even lighter and less bright as seen originally on the screen, hence my painting was also painted according to the colours from the printout.

As you can see from the images above, I started off by painting the whole board with white acrylic paint and a large paintbrush, for a light and clean surface. I then began painting sections of the sky also using a mixture of acrylic paints, however this time I applied it with a damp sponge as this is the technique I have previously used with Joseph M.W. Turners inspired experiments, This way unlike when using a paintbrush, it allows the colours to softly blend together and this is exactly the type of technique needed to recreate the very light and soft looking sky. Although looking back at my image the sky in it is fairly light and not as in depth as some of my previous painting photos are. From the images you may see I did in the beginning apply darker blue tones, that however I later covered up with white acrylic paint. The whole idea of this was to layer different tones of blue to create an undertone for the fairly light sky and give it some subtle depth. 

I also started to glue down pieces of paper (both white paper and glossy book paper) this way I wanted the painting to build up some texture and not make it all just a flat smooth surface. I took this technique from a previous painting bellow; 

As you may see the paper in the lower left side brings out some detail and depth from the painting making it less flat. 

After finishing painting the section of the sky, I began focusing on the forest area both in the distance of the image that is less clear, and the trees closer to the sand area.
Like in my previous painting (image bellow) I used the technique where I applied a stroke of oil paint onto the board and then pressed down onto the colour with turp substance which then caused the colour to leak down. However because I was only painting sections of the forest I did not want the colour to lead down all across the board to begin with, hence underneath the colours I stuck down some masking tape, which would stop the colour dripping down further down the board. Because I found the oil paint colours too intense, after they have dried, I applied a thin layer of white acrylic paint over the oil paint to tone it down and allow it to blend with the rest of the painting. 

As I mentioned the painting above, is the painting from which I initially discovered the layering of dripping oil paint technique. However the whole inspiration to achieving this came from refinement of an experiment in the style of Vytautas Kasiulis.

After doing some initial painting on the tree sections, I went on to start painting the sand area of the painting. The trickier part of this section was the fact that the sand has a lot of different shades and colours, that were harder to mix up, as I did not want the whole of that section to consist of a singular colour which would make the painting look 2D and unrealistic. Hence once I would mix up and appropriate colour and paint it on to the painting, the remainder of the paint I would tint with white acrylic paint to get lighter shades of the colour. For some very light sections of the sand I smeared some tea stain over the white acrylic paint, as the tea created a thin golden yellow translucent layer which slightly highlights the lighter areas and makes them bled in with the whole context of sand. Once I painted the base background of the sand, I repeated the technique of dripping oil paint with the sand, by mixing a light sand brown oil pain colour and applying it all round the lower part of the painting.  This added some extra detail that does not stand out too much but compliments the other details and colours of the painting. 

To finish the painting off on the lower right side of the painting I added a clear paint mark which I then layered over with white and green paint, to create a beginning focus point for the viewers. This works effectively as all the other colours in this painting are quite light a subtle whereas the bold green paint line highlights and makes a section stand out. Whereas if I would have painted the whole painting bright, it would look overwhelming and intense, with no specific focus point.

Above is the image of my finished painting. Overall this whole process of painting has allowed me to refine and gather my ideas, skills and techniques. Working on an even larger scale has proven to me that scale does matter for landscape paintings, as it allows the image to appear more spacious, making it feel like the person observing the painting is actually there. It is also more comfortable to work on a larger scale as it allows more space for better mark making and more possibilities of incorporating a larger variety of techniques. I now know that for my final piece I will not go down in scale, as the results will not bet as effective, and not as visually appealing to the eye. I also think the actual photograph that I used in this painting works very well with my landscape theme, and I will most likely paint inspired by it again, possibly for my final piece too. 

Looking back it me previous evaluations and thoughts of my other work, thought this creative process I realised that in the start I intended to make my paintings and other artwork bold and possibly unrealistic in colours like my artists Scott Naismith and Kasiulis do, because I thought it was a very abstract and unique way to paint, because the artist have painted this way too. However after doing plenty of artist influenced experiments and  painting series of successful paintings I now understand that being inspired by an artist does not mean painting with bright and lively colours like they do, it is more about understanding their mark making and technique, even the reasons they paint this way,  that then influences me to find my own techniques like the dripping oil paint and the blending of acrylic paint with a damp sponge, I feel like my abstract landscapes do not need to be bright and unrealistic in colours anymore, I actually noticed that in the beginning I wanted my work to look more like Scott Naismith's, but now as I progressed I understand that more of my work now relates and is inspired by Turner, both in terms of his techniques, art movement and the use of natural, subtle colours. Even then I still adapt Naismith's and Kasiulis's techniques into my work too.

Now that I feel sure about my style, media and ideas, I will continue to focus working towards my final piece.