Increasing the Scale

Over the past week I have been working on a new project, painting in response to feedback I received from my peers and tutor. I try to take the insights of those around me into consideration regarding my artwork (particularly of those I share a studio with) as I wish to communicate through my work and learn if my ideas have been received the way I intended.

Two very important - or what I considered to be important - points made in my critical evaluation regarded depth within my paintings and their size. It was clear that I was unsuccessful in creating the desired depth within my work, which was something I began to tackle immediately in my Prussian Blue mini series on wood. After believing that this was successful, I challenged myself to up the scale of my work and paint on a much larger surface.

It is at this second point that I am currently working. The piece is one hundred centimetres square, almost four times the size the majority of my previous paintings on canvas. I decided to continue with my choice of colour from the Prussian blue mini series, adding hints of yellow ochre, burnt umber and the tiniest amount of silk purple to keep the piece interesting. I feel that this colour pallet is suitable for what I had envisioned painting and that the earthy tones create a nice contrast amongst the blue. In addition to this, I've been using heavier brush strokes to that of my last pieces, which have helped in creating texture and thick layers of acrylic.

So far I am nine hours into working on this painting; I'm enjoying the process however challenging and feel that I am learning more about my project through painting this particular piece than I have any of my past work. I'm especially enjoying the colour pallet and have ideas about creating a series involving these tones.

Above are two images I took close-up of the piece I am currently working on, demonstrating my use of brush strokes and colour pallet.