It's all just stuff.

I've been working on my project for uni. It's theme is based on identity and place. It explores the objects in our lives and the power that they hold over us. I've done this through looking at all the things we left behind during a flood evacuation - not the things we took, but the stuff we left behind.
These are just the material and technique explorations used to work through my ideas and what style and materials I want to use. These are not the finished works yet (I am working on the final body of work now). Mostly I was just playing around with materials.
Each object has a history, a reason for being in my possession in the first place, it has had a life with me, and sometimes prior to me, some have connections to memories, such as those associated with my mum. Some are of little emotional or monetary value and easily replaceable. Some were easily left behind, some we fretted over leaving. In essence, the power an object has, compelling me to keep it is a power I have given it.

Toothbrush

small Avon perfumed rabbit

Water spray bottle

Iron

Coffee Mug

Coat Hanger

Ceramic Flower pot

Teacup

More to come, I just haven't photographed them all yet.

Painting My Local street

So for last Study period I chose architecture as my topic of study (we were given the choice of quotational, identity, architecture and landscape. I was exploring my local area and decided to paint historical and current scenes based around a local street that has been a central part of the community since the 1800s.
These are the sketches and studies I did playing around with materials until I decided what I was doing:

Shop Boy in front of Edmondsons 1800s

Capital Theatre 1940s

Edmondsons 1800s

Edmondsons 1900s

Edmondsons 1930s

Mechanics 1950s

Courting couple 1800s

Woman riding a bike 1900s

1920s view of the street

1950s Modern rendering on an old 1800s building

1930s Art Deco building

shadows beneath the awnings

Woolworths 1990s mixed media

Woolworths 2004 mixed media

Watercolour sketch

Water colour sketch of street

Art Gallery and shadows

1980s Take-Away

 And these were the 4 final paintings I did in large format on boards

Woolworths now

View of Street 1920s

View of street 1900s with woman on bike

Art Deco building and family

Presenting the 4 final works on location this building used to be the city art gallery

All about Impasto

Another lot of exercises for painting, this time working with impasto and expressionism, I worked to a theme of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

Earth - I had chosen to go mostly thicker impasto because I'd used impasto fairly sparingly for thickening up paint before, but wanted chunky and thick and textured for this lot.

Spak filla, acrylic Derivan background colours and crack paste medium

Impasto medium, River sand and Derivan Matisse acrylics.

Sand, PVA and Gesso mix and Derivan Matisse acrylics.

Air - I applied many thin layers of different colours of paint and used strong isopropyl alcohol and sanding to sand and rub back paint layers.

Water - Thick impasto paste medium with Derivan acrylics.

also added sand to the impasto paste mix

 Fire - mix of impasto paste and thinned out paint onto the rough side of masonite

The fire- thick impasto layers dried and built up over time overlaid with thin glazes and dispersed with isopropyl

while the fire is passing, haze accidentally created by the rough side of the masonite soaking up the colours unpredictably. Impasto paste mixed with acrylics used to depict the burnt trees

Fires passed impasto paste medium added lightly to create the ash ground, thickly for the trees

 I really enjoyed working on all of these!

Alla Prima Exercises

Alla Prima comes from Italian, literally meaning "at once". Alla Prima is a rapid working style of painting where you should finish the painting in one sitting. You do not build up layers or use glazes, the painting is completed while the paint is still wet. It is a more direct, expressive style, with minimal preparation although I did use paint to quickly paint-sketch in lines first so I knew where I was painting what. Typically this method would be used with oils because oils dry more slowly allowing more time to work. Because I work in acrylics I added a drying retarder to the mix - it helped a little bit, but it is still a race against time to get it to work before it dries!

Because I was waiting for them to be marked and results posted, I havent finished posting my paintings from last Study period, so here I go trying to catch up!

These 4 works go along with my others on the theme of the state of work and play within schools, interaction between students and teachers - teachers as workers, students at work and play. I'm not a great fan of working like this strictly speaking in one sitting and before it dries. But it did make me not fuss over things so much - even while filled with angst over each brushstroke not being right hehehe.

I'm still finding my feet with painting and needing much more practice!

Series “You can’t go out to play until you’ve finished your homework!”

Light Impasto added to paint, Rough side of Masonite, Glaze to create deep stadium shadow that creeps across sporting ground in summer: Mix of Raw umber with drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Shadow beneath cricketer; mix of raw umber and pthalo blue drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Paint applied with palette knife. Glaze applied with Cotton wool.

Light Impasto added to paint, Rough side of Masonite, Glaze to create deep shadows and darken room : Mix of Raw umber with drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Golden light glaze across faces of the children; Yellow oxide, drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Paint applied with palette knife. Glazes applied with old sheet. Glaze wiped from light blue and pink on the boy and from the homework book.

Light Impasto added to paint, Smooth side of Masonite, Glaze to create deep shadow on the left: Mix of Raw umber with drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Golden sunbeam glaze across work landing on the players; Yellow oxide, drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Paint applied with palette knife. Glazes applied with large brush.

Light Impasto added to paint, Hessian on Masonite, Glaze to create deep shadows and darken room : Mix of Raw umber with drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Golden light glaze across arms and hair of the boy and in the background form light from a table lamp using tape masking; Yellow oxide, drying retarder and Spreader medium and water. Paint applied with palette knife. Glazes applied with cotton wool ball. Glaze wiped from front shirt of boy and from the homework pages. The glazes deepen the room to indicate its getting later in the day and he has still not finished his homework.