A plan for my Fine Art methodology module
1. Outline of current concerns reflecting on the work you have previously made – outline the concerns/ideas that you wish to develop in this module. You might plan to continue and further develop a personal project begun in stage 1 or develop additional and/or new ideas/concerns.
I thought about continuing on from the last project concerning mental health especially with the current situation of the world, but it put a lot of strain on my already damaged mental health and didn’t want to put myself through that again, so this year I wish to focus on a few topics and combine them to hopefully produce beautiful images.
I have a fascination with faces, nature, fantasy, the mythical and the magical, I want to be able to combine my love of all these things into beautiful images using both graphite and developing my graphite drawings into large scale paintings using a range of mediums.
UPDATE** I have looked more closely at what I want to portray and in keeping with the theme I have chosen to work on, I have narrowed my main theme down to star signs, I remember working on the 7 deadly sins in college and liked the idea of doing a portrait for each and never quite got around to it as the module didn't allow. I do want to revisit that theme and others in my career as an artist and want to start with the star signs.
The biggest concerns for me is that there are 12 signs and I want to work on graphite and painted images, so it's most certainly a big undertaking which means a lot of work, so I best get to it.
2. Studio practice/working methods.
What working processes or strategies do you intend to use to develop your personal project? What new processes/strategies/studio practices do you intend to try/test out during this module?
I want to try my hand at using a range of different mediums on the same image, I’m fascinated by mixed media artists, by how they create pieces that are messy, creative and stunning all at the same time, they bring images to life in a magical sense to me and I wish to try this out.
This process will certainly need a lot of practice simply because I find it so difficult to step out of my comfort areas in case I make a mistake I cannot correct.
I also want to work on a larger scale as I’m so used to working on pieces that I can fit on my desk, this will definitely be out of my comfort zone and a test on how to create the right proportions in faces.
UPDATE** I will be making use as best I can of my studio space by creating 12 canvases while trying to keep costs down, I will first sketch/draw out the basis of an image in pencil and once I'm happy with the image I will use a projector to transfer my images onto each canvas - this will save me a bit of time and I can use my sketchbook image which I will hang underneath each canvas, this will give me my reference and ease of access for painting.
3. What do you need to do to help achieve your personal project? For example: what areas of research are needed to support your project/ How will you expand your knowledge of the context you are working in? What skills do you need to acquire?
I need to research a good range of mixed media artists to learn and draw inspiration from their techniques while developing my own style, I need to be able to build on my lack of confidence when it comes to my creative side, this plan I will use as a reminder that I need to learn to let go more and learn from mistakes.
I need to look into different surfaces for reasons such as priming, lasting potential, what mediums they will handle and which they won’t, what mediums work well together and which ones don’t.
With this project I am aiming to keep a sketchbook of ideas so I test out which pieces I like and which I can rule out or expand on to make better, a bit like a swatch book if you will.
UPDATE*** I need to look at and narrow down what I want to portray in the images I decide to create, so I am not left with just too broad a range to work with, this will help stop the confusion I feel when I begin a new project, I will be looking at the colours, traits (positive and negative) and images associated with each sign and I will make myself a chart so I can keep track of which signs I am working on and what I want to add to each piece.
4. Personal development goals. This could be particular skills that you would like to develop e.g. the ability to write about your own work with greater clarity. It might be to investigate volunteering or placement opportunities related to your career ambitions; it might be a technical skill or to develop ways with your tutor to increase confidence when speaking about your work in a group situation.
There are quite a few skills I would like to work on, particularly the ability to write and talk about my work in a way that would help me to develop a better following for my artwork, especially where social media is concerned as I feel this is a good area to showcase my work with the current situation in the world, In my head I know why or why not I like a piece of work but find it difficult to articulate the reason.
If I’m honest I do hope I will be able one day to have my own studio to work in, but self-doubt is a major factor as to whether I will be good enough to showcase my work at all, it would be nice to see from a different perspective how the art world functions in galleries and how other artists study and develop their own practice. I decided a long time ago I would go into teaching for a stable income and to help others grow, but the lack of belief in myself is the big factor as said before, so I would be interested in finding placements in various art settings to help me understand why I feel so uneasy about being an artist.
5. Personal Evaluation – To what extent have you achieved or developed the goals set out in sections 1 and 2?
10-01-2021: Looking at my finished pieces I have to say I didn't do as well as I had hoped I would, I do think the Covid scenario has definitely not helped, being in lockdown and the feelings of isolation, but I have managed to get 3 pieces finished from the comfort of my own home, I never really got to use enough of my studio space to work in so I found myself limited to how much I could work on.
I changed my original plan from adding wasted materials to create mixed media pieces to using a range of traditional mediums to create more traditional looking pieces, I used the graphite, and acrylic paints and I decided to branch out into oil paints.
The detail I was able to create with the oils has made me rethink about the direction I wish to go with my work.
My only issue with using oils is the waiting time for drying, I was able to add a few highlights and shadows that I am happy with, but due to the space and temperature of my work space it took over a week to dry.
The other issue is that I have been unable to photograph my pieces as well as I would have been able to had I had access to my studio at University, due to the lack of access I have been unable to see how my work would look in a gallery setting, so I have made a mock up of how I think it would look and feel if covid hadn't taken over.
Overall I am happy with the progress, it has helped me develop a style I am comfortable with and helped me realise which route I wish to further develop my practice and astrology body of work in the future.
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