Module 1

Empty Your Head

The first exercise in this module was to “Empty Your Head” by producing a number of rudimentary paintings in quick succession. As this was an experimental exercise, I expanded it by introducing a number of atypical surfaces to paint on. Given the rapid-fire nature of these paintings I elected to use acrylics, however, my resolved paintings going forward are rendered in oil. What I noticed about the series of paintings I produced was a focus on eyes and simplified forms with a macabre twist. I feel that it reflects my anxieties around being perceived and how I perceive myself.

Compositional Spacing

I applied the compositional spacing exercise directly to my resolved painting as I knew it would be a significant time investment, being the largest detailed painting I have ever made. The overall image is to be intersected with independent features, meaning that it can be identified from afar but appreciated in a different context when viewed up close. When approaching this painting, I drew from an exercise in semester 1 as inspiration. The initial painting was an exercise with grisaille painting, where I intersected it with bands that resulted in alternating layers of raw underpainting, tonal glazing, and a single pane that was fully scumbled.

I decided to recreate this portrait, continuing the design concept of interrupted layers. Rather than repeat the parallel bands, I thought it would be interesting to interrupt the portrait with a spiral that was similar to one of my Empty Your Head paintings. The conceptual prompt for the modules this semester was “personal narrative”, which historically I have communicated through popular media that inspires me. The figure in my portrait is a character from one of my favourite video games Dishonored 2, being a benevolent doctor afflicted with a second malevolent personality (a Jekyll/Hyde analogue). I found myself representing dualism in my body of work, and an individual with a morbid hidden aspect was particularly appealing. As a result, the spiral that interrupted the primary portrait was a sort of abjectly distorted portrait, blending and twisting features along with saturating and desaturating the colour palette.

To achieve the interruption I applied an underpainting of the primary portrait, which was then masked out with a combination of tape and masking fluid.

A note on the masking fluid: I found it difficult to apply with a brush as I needed a very delicate application for the curve of the spiral. It would dry out on the brush quickly, meaning it wouldn’t apply cleanly and ruined the brush as it dried like glue. I applied it with a palette knife with much success, however this process to around 4 hours. I proceeded to paint the full primary portrait until it was resolved and had hope that it would all come off in a clean layer. This was not the case as the solvents in my oil medium changed the consistency of the masking fluid, creating a sort of tacky substance where the fluid had previously dried. I was able to remove what did not peel off with a delicate application of turpentine, careful not to strip the portrait I had finished.

Rather than mass with the masking fluid or risk stripping the main portrait, I just painted within the boundaries set up by the prior process of masking. What resulted is one of my favourite paintings I have ever produced. I further amplified the theme of interruption with my application of gloss and matte surfaces. Areas that had been glazed presented a gloss finish, as opposed to areas that had been scumbled with raw pigment that had a more matte finish. What resulted was: gloss primary portrait, matte primary background, matte distorted portrait, and gloss distorted background. This combination of gloss and matte elements means that resolved work can be appreciated in 3 dimensions, transforming through the interaction of light from different perspectives. While this does not show as much in photos, the effect in person is striking. Given more time, I would further exaggerate this effect with an application of matte and gloss varnishes.