Formative Feedback
Student name – Rosalind Townsend
Student number – 516187
Course/Unit -Painting 1:The Practice of Painting
Assignment number -5
Type of tutorial -written report work viewed on line
PART FIVE Personal Development
Overall Comments
Your blog is still under one continuous category – this is something you need to address
before you apply for assessment.
PROJECT 1 Different ways of applying paint
E1) Impasto
I’m not sure you have found your way to incorporate these techniques into your own practice yet, but it is evident that the experience is opening your mind to the possibilities.
E2) Dripping, dribbling and spattering
Working in pure abstract, where imagery is not the entry point, requires the artist to use
colour, colour relationships, paint application, and composition alone to evoke an
engagement with the viewer. Every aspect has an important part to play. The artist’s
intention is not always conveyed to the viewer, and indeed this may be unimportant to the artist – however, it is important that the artist consider their intention for the work as it is what centres all the decisions that need to be made. I feel you made these works as explorations to see how applying paint in this way would work. This is fine as a starting strategy. In order to explore the possibilities more rigorously however I would suggest you identify an intention more clearly. For instance your intention could be ‘to produce something pleasing and friendly’, it could be ‘to produce something sinister and dark’, ‘something energetic’, ‘something calm’ or ‘something that evokes tension and conflict.’ This would then determine your choice of colour relationships, you composition, your application of the paint. And in this way you could to see the potential for this way of working within your own practice.
PROJECT 2 Adding other materials
E1) Preparing textured ground
You used a lot of different materials and created a number of different effects. Each stage
you posted evokes a different mood. In my opinion the most effective was the very first
image. Its simplicity allows the viewer to really explore the difference in the textures and
colours you have created – the relationships are very intriguing and therefore engaging. As you went on you added more and more. While this is good experience, I feel the more you added the more you lost the coherence and it became less focused.
E2) Mixing materials into paint
You made some good explorations.
PROJECT 3 Towards abstraction
E1) Abstraction from study of natural forms
You made some interesting work and made some good observations about the results in
order to find the direction you wanted to go. However, I feel you started the journey but didn’t complete it.
E2) Abstract painting from man-made form
This is a very interesting piece and I think rather successful – well done. The distortion
creates an interesting ambiguity in the scale of the object. And while recognisable as a
pencil sharpener it is easy to interpret it as a building. The background lines create a
dynamism and evoke a sense of stage lighting. Having created an impactful image however it then becomes ‘used up’ rather quickly. This is the danger of bold graphic images – they do not lend themselves to lingering consideration.
ASSIGNMENT Five
You have embraced this assignment with enthusiasm and determination and as a result
produced some good work – good for you!
The three pieces are connected by theme but not so much by style. However, at this stage
on your journey, it is so much more important that you explore and experiment than restrict yourself to a particular style, so I applaud your diversity. It is evident you are learning a lot and coming up with interesting and successful solutions and strategies for making your work.
The first piece – You employed a lot of different techniques to get the textures and colours
you were after and came up with a convincing image/sculpture of limpets on a beach.
However, the overall feel is a little one dimensional and crafty, and there is little room for interpretation – it is what it is. This is an aspect of how an artwork operates that is important to understand – often it is the ambiguity and incongruity which is most appealing for a viewer as they try to untangle the mystery. This piece is quite impressive with its depiction of reality but is not particularly engaging.
The second piece – This piece has something much more mysterious and therefore
engaging for the viewer. The fish feel like they are alive and caught in the act of breaching the surface of the sea – yet the ‘sea’ becomes a solid wrapping on a table top. You have distinguished the textures of the fish, the newspaper and the table top in a way that is exciting and beautiful – well done.
The third piece – It is good that you have searched the work of others to discover your own tastes and to inform what it is you want to make. There are lots of different elements in this piece and it would have been easy for it to become fragmented and disconnected or confusing (as your earlier piece) – yet, you have managed to pull it all together with your strong colour scheme. The orange on the foreground texture plays so nicely with the more faded orange in the sky; and the rich blue on the boat on the foreground connects so well with the less intense blue of the water. These strong, bold elements allow all the other different textures and collaged pieces to recede a little and be discovered slowly. Well done.
Sketchbooks
You didn’t put images of your sketchbook under a separate heading on your blog (as I
asked), so I cannot offer you specific feedback. Please do refer back to my previous
feedback.
Research
I am glad to see you are noting your own responses to the work you are looking at – this is helping you discover your tastes and find your own direction. In addition you are clarifying for yourself the experience of how an artwork can operate on a viewer. This is so important and will help you understand how artworks can operate specifically and in general – keep this up.
Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
You are noting what you are doing, what is working for you and the different strategies you are using. In this unit I can see that you are directing yourself and finding your way to making work that is meaningful to you.
Well done Ros – I feel you have made particular progress in this unit. It’s been a pleasure
working with you. Good luck with the assessment process!
Tutor name Ilsa Brittain
Date 28/11/2018
Next assignment due Well done with this module!
RosArt Painting1 