Aim
Consider the creative, material, and political concepts that pushed artists to change the art world, testing some of those ideas (and others) in your experimental pieces. Work in the same way as you did for your study of pre-1850.
Consider the creative, material, and political concepts that pushed artists to change the art world, testing some of those ideas (and others) in your experimental pieces. Work in the same way as you did for your study of pre-1850.
Using Dark Grounds
Aim: Using dark grounds to experiment with light and exaggerated expression
Inspiration: Francisco de Goya (1819–1822) - post modern art
I completed some research about Goya's work during the textual research, which can be found here.
To summarize again what I discovered about Goya's Black Paintings was:
- dark themes, namely evil, terror, ignorance and death
- exaggerated gesture and attitude
- free and energetic sweeps of the brush (loose and spontaneous)
- tense emotion
- stark contrasts of light
In particular, I will focus on the use of contrast and expression, through the use of colour and loose brush strokes. I realize that Goya worked on black grounds, but as these are experiments, I wanted to see how different coloured dark grounds would effect the expression conveyed. I therefore decided to use the same facial expression and paint it several times with different colour combinations. I worked with a reference image that had a subtle expression of sadness or longing, as I wanted to see whether using bolder colours and bolder brush strokes would serve to exaggerate the emotion.
Inspiration: Francisco de Goya (1819–1822) - post modern art
I completed some research about Goya's work during the textual research, which can be found here.
To summarize again what I discovered about Goya's Black Paintings was:
- dark themes, namely evil, terror, ignorance and death
- exaggerated gesture and attitude
- free and energetic sweeps of the brush (loose and spontaneous)
- tense emotion
- stark contrasts of light
In particular, I will focus on the use of contrast and expression, through the use of colour and loose brush strokes. I realize that Goya worked on black grounds, but as these are experiments, I wanted to see how different coloured dark grounds would effect the expression conveyed. I therefore decided to use the same facial expression and paint it several times with different colour combinations. I worked with a reference image that had a subtle expression of sadness or longing, as I wanted to see whether using bolder colours and bolder brush strokes would serve to exaggerate the emotion.
Study 1
I started study 1 by first painting the background with sap green and letting it dry completely. You may note that this colour is quite translucent, so it is not quite the dark solid ground that Goya used. But what I like about that is that it lets through areas of light from the canvas. I then used ivory to block out the colour of the skin using loose strokes of varied thickness. I again waited for this layer to dry before applying the next layers. I then used a larger brush to block out areas of dark shadow with phthalo blue and areas of mid shadow with cerulean blue. As I was working with both these colours while they we still wet, ther are spaces that create a nice blend. In order to add some additional depth, I went in with a final layer of payne's grey which blended well with the two blues, as it also has a blue tint to it.
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study 2
I started with study 2 by first painting a background using permanent crimson lake. This is again a colour that allows that light of the canvas to come through in areas. As with the previous study, I blocked out the same face with ivory. As I used my free hand to block out the face from the reference image, you will note that is slightly different. Once the ivory dried I followed a similar technique of blocking out dark tones and mid tones, this time using sap green for the dark tones and permanent green light for the mid tones. I also worked less conservatively with the paint and brush on this study as you can note in the large dark patches and rougher strokes. There is already a more noticeable difference in the appearance here as the two complimentary colours create a greater contrast.
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study 3
For study 3 I started with a black ground painted with lamp black. This particular pigment is completely opaque and therefore creates a nice smooth, solid ground to work on (if that is what you are looking for). Once it dried I again blocked out the face with ivory. On this study I noticed how the ivory dragged over the surface and left areas of black peaking through. I quite liked the texture and contrast that this created. Once the ivory was dry, I used permanent crimson lake to add shadow and detail. In the other two studies I used a colour within the same range to create mid tone, but in this study I decided not to as adding a mid tone would take away from the texture created by the lamp black seeping through the ivory.
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Reflection:
Looking back at my aim, I wanted to explore dark ground and exaggerated expression. The 3 studies have each revealed different techniques that show expression/ contrast more successfully. In study 1, the tighter brush strokes and choice of colour seem to lessen the emotion, even though the colour blue sparks a sensation of sadness by association. In study 2 the complementary colours immediately draw greater attention to the face and therefore allowing for more contrast. The larger, looser strokes also add to the expression on the face as it now feels like the image is moving. The colour choices however are quite vibrant and dynamic together so I don't necessarily feel sadness when looking at it, it now has a more sensual feeling, like longing or passion. In study 3 the ground is so dark that it becomes less dynamic. The contrast it creates in the face is nice and the colour association again does convey a sense of sadness. Of the three dark grounds, I think the translucent grounds create a more dynamic images as there is a luminosity to them. Of the three faces, I believe that study 2 has the best exaggerated expression due to the loose, large strokes and colour compliment. However, if just focusing on facial expression, the blue colour and features on the face of study 1, do a better job of conveying sadness.
As my results were a bit mixed I thought it would be good to do a 4th study and try to incorporate the strengths from each study in to one study to see if this works.
Looking back at my aim, I wanted to explore dark ground and exaggerated expression. The 3 studies have each revealed different techniques that show expression/ contrast more successfully. In study 1, the tighter brush strokes and choice of colour seem to lessen the emotion, even though the colour blue sparks a sensation of sadness by association. In study 2 the complementary colours immediately draw greater attention to the face and therefore allowing for more contrast. The larger, looser strokes also add to the expression on the face as it now feels like the image is moving. The colour choices however are quite vibrant and dynamic together so I don't necessarily feel sadness when looking at it, it now has a more sensual feeling, like longing or passion. In study 3 the ground is so dark that it becomes less dynamic. The contrast it creates in the face is nice and the colour association again does convey a sense of sadness. Of the three dark grounds, I think the translucent grounds create a more dynamic images as there is a luminosity to them. Of the three faces, I believe that study 2 has the best exaggerated expression due to the loose, large strokes and colour compliment. However, if just focusing on facial expression, the blue colour and features on the face of study 1, do a better job of conveying sadness.
As my results were a bit mixed I thought it would be good to do a 4th study and try to incorporate the strengths from each study in to one study to see if this works.
Deeper exploration of expression
Before embarking on painting study 4, I did some research on expression. I watched a video called 'Humans only have four facial expressions' (Seeker, 2014). In the video the refer to a theory by Darwin, that humans across the globe manifest and interpret emotions in a similar way (Ferris, 2010). Paul Ekman, an American psychologist decided to test this theory through by taking photographs of people from one culture with different expressions and then showing them to people from another culture to see if they guess the expressions correctly (Burton, 2016). Though the study narrowed it down to 6 emotions; anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust, it was also found that any many cases anger and disgust were perceived the same and fear and surprise were perceived the same. So yes, the human being is a complex character with several fluctuating emotions, but when just focusing on facial expression, there are only 4 distinct expressions. I suppose I could agree with this theory if only concentrating on the face, however, being a Drama teacher I know that the moment we add gesture and posture to the equation, we would be able to clarify our emotions. But for now, sticking with just the facial expression, I decided to take some selfies and explore the 4 expressions. I sketched these roughly with pencil to see which brought out a stronger response.
sketches
These are all just quick rough sketches. I used free, hard strokes to create the shapes on the face as a way to mimic what the brush might do. This has made them all pretty expressive, except for happiness. I found it challenging to paint this with harder lines, as the demeanor of the face feels light and therefore requires a softer touch. I think as humans we are also drawn to more complex emotions. I also noticed that while sketching , it was easier to draw emotions that formed harsher lines and shadows on the face, as these allow for creating greater contrast. As I used sadness for my previous studies, I chose to continue with it to see how I more exaggerated expression of sadness would compare. I also wanted to incorporate the strengths from each study into the new study so I would be able to tell if it enhances the impact.
But before starting my oil study, I wanted to create a watercolour study. As you know, in my other studies I tried to experiment with atmosphere by looking at Turner's work, but all the pieces I painted were of buildings. I have created similar studies of faces with watercolour before and thought it would be good to see how the expression reads with this technique and medium.
But before starting my oil study, I wanted to create a watercolour study. As you know, in my other studies I tried to experiment with atmosphere by looking at Turner's work, but all the pieces I painted were of buildings. I have created similar studies of faces with watercolour before and thought it would be good to see how the expression reads with this technique and medium.
watercolour study
I began by first creating the background. I used peach, ultramarine and sap green. I added quite a lot of water to them and then dropped or flicked them over the canvas. At some points I also picked up the canvas and tilted it in different directions in order for the colours to spread over the page, but also to bleed into on another. Once this dried I traced the outline of my sad selfie onto the sheet. I did not use my free hand for this, as I wanted to get the features right. Next I used ultramarine to block out areas of shadow and facial features. For the first layer of this I just dabbed large areas around the face with little detail and then waited for this to dry. I then did a 2nd layer, focusing a bit more on specific details. On this layer I also used less water. I finally added a few small blotches of crimson to have some colour variation in the face.
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I love watercolour as a medium, thinking about how Goya often uses loose and spontaneous brush strokes, immediately reminds me of working with this medium. I have a different confidence when I paint with watercolour as I am less afraid of making mistakes and often just go for it. I also love the effects you can create while still being minimalist. As far as meeting my aims I would say that the expression has become more dynamic. I did not use a dark ground for this, as this is not a technique that would work for watercolour, but I still incorporated the idea of darker and more expressive shading. I think what makes this an interesting comparison to the oil studies, is how light it feels. The fact that you can still heighten and exaggerate an emotion without have to go for darker, moodier colours.
Moving on the the oil study, I first reflected on what the strengths were from the previous 3 oil studies:
- dark ground that has translucent quality
- use of complimentary colours
- letting the ground through areas of the skin
- loose, expressive brush strokes
Moving on the the oil study, I first reflected on what the strengths were from the previous 3 oil studies:
- dark ground that has translucent quality
- use of complimentary colours
- letting the ground through areas of the skin
- loose, expressive brush strokes
Oil Study
I painted the background first with phthalo blue, using large strokes in various directions, and allowed it to dry. I then used ivory to block out the face using my free hand. I allowed areas of blue to push through the skin in order to keep that textured feeling. As I was working with blue, I wanted to compliment that with orange. I decided to use burnt sienna and began blocking out areas of shadow or facial features. While this was still wet, I used a vibrant orange to lift up certain areas, this blended in nicely to enhance the contrast. I allowed this to dry somewhat and then used phthalo blue again to add some final details where lines or shadows needed to be enhanced. I would say that a viewer would be able to recognize this emotion as sadness.
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Reflection
I set out to explore some of Goya's techniques including the use of darker grounds, exaggerated expression and his loose, spontaneous brush work. My first 3 studies revealed that each different technique had a strength to it that enhanced emotion or expression. My additional research into expression also helped me realize that certain expressions allow for more exaggeration than other. When looking at the sketches of anger and surprise, I consider then more dynamic, which is also why I chose not to use them, as I wanted to see if using specific painting techniques could take a less dynamic expression and 'enlarge' it. Looking at how my experimentation comes together in the final study of Sadness I can see a definite change in the expression. The use of colour to also suggest emotion is a powerful tool. The focus on brush strokes to convey energy also adds to what the viewer feels. I would say that my aim lead me to a successful outcome, by investigating the different impacts of colour and paint application. This is an interesting way of seeing how inspiration can be taken from someone and repurposed to your own aesthetic.
works cited
Burton, N. (2016) What are basic emotions? [online] At: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201601/what-are-basic-emotions (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
Seeker (2014) We only have four facial expressions. [online] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW0PaKOXxQI (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
Ferris, J. (2010) The evolution of emotion: Charles Darwin's little-known psychology experiment. [online] At: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-evolution-of-emotion-charles-darwins-little-known-psychology-experiment/ (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
Seeker (2014) We only have four facial expressions. [online] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW0PaKOXxQI (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
Ferris, J. (2010) The evolution of emotion: Charles Darwin's little-known psychology experiment. [online] At: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-evolution-of-emotion-charles-darwins-little-known-psychology-experiment/ (Accessed on 25 October 2018)