Studio: 4th May

After my epic canvas making session, I have 6 4x4 ft canvases to work on. I have decided to work in a standard format so these pieces are interchangeable and will visually link but not necessarily be part of a deliberate series. It also appeals to me that they could be rotated and still fit with some sort of chronology or suggestion of anti chronology.

This is a detail from the top left of a new painting. You can't see the drawing of the whole image from the photo. I had to redraw her twice as I placed her too far left which made her disconnected (not in a good way) from the other figure. I haven't yet found a face for her - it's only about 6cm - but will keep looking.

This is the figure with house appendage from the bottom right of the composition. I have made her more crumpled than in my drawn plans and wrapped her arms around her legs to give the impression of the weight from the house on her back. She is also faceless, although I have a plan for this.

This piece has the very first stages of under painting. I didn't like the effect from the 'ghost painting' I tried out in the previous pieces so I have been quite limited in my use of dark under painting for the time being. I have also applied a wash of cadmium yellow to begin to sculpt areas of flesh and cadmium mixed with ochre as a ground in some areas as this was the colour I felt was most successful in my tests. The figures are intended to suggested splitting and doubling, or merging in reference to my reading of Marina Warner's Fantastic Metamorphosis...

Reflection
I am really relieved to have found an anchor point for my work to move my ideas forward. It always seems to prove more fruitful when I can work on multiple surfaces (of different varieties), so to have started 2 larger pieces along with the others I have on the go is almost a relief as I can spread my attention and move between them, giving thought and drying time. I'm pleased that I am beginning to show my exploration of hybridity visually. There is a playful element to these new pieces and also a sense of awkwardness in the composition; I hope that these will start to link in with my idea of implying a narrative. It will take a long time to work through the process of glazing and hopefully achieving a more subtle colour balance so now seems an optimum time to evolve what is happening on canvas. I'm thinking about repeating some of the same characters across multiple surfaces so there is a suggested relationship - this is quite far away from actually happening but as always my ideas move more quickly than my practice can evolve.

One Month Reflection
Having now worked on these pieces on four more occasions, they are beginning to take shape and there are some changes in composition that I have made. In particular, this is adding structure into the background to add depth. I have been working on these pieces on opposite walls as I although I want them to link, I don't want them to have the same colour palette. I have thought more about using the same characters on multiple surfaces; I like the idea of including a more prominent figure from one in the far background of another, like they are creeping into the scene. This might help to create a sense of place and lead the eye through the composition. I made a decision at the point when I chose these compositions which address division/multiplicity (twins) and the body with architectural space. I am imagining these in a series where I also explore more animalistic/anthropomorphic, and crumpled falling, crawling bodies as there are more dimensions to this idea than are currently apparent in my work.