I’ve used some days this week to get out work I did before university. It is important for writing my dissertation that I look back at the entirety of my artistic career in order to gain a bit of perspective and also see where current themes and ideas may have had their origins. My work in the 2015 – 17 period was primarily drawing and painting was a lesser developed discipline for me. I could tell that I painting was to be my main discipline in the future but it took a number of years for my knowledge of painting, specifically with oils, to catch up with my imagination. I still haven’t been fully able to marry up my imagination with what I can paint, but at the same time I hope that never happens. As my paintings progress, so does my imagination. In the lead up to university I drifted slightly away from my personal interests with art. Instead I focussed on drawing skills, learning techniques, and incasing my general knowledge of art practice as well as art history. It wasn’t until midway in my degree that I allowed myself to return to my idiosyncratic flow of creativity.
After looking at old colourful drawings I felt inspired to pick up a brush again and return once again to drawing but this time it will be with paint but this time I will have a lot more experience and confidence to carry my through. In the past I remember dreaming of painting large versions of my colourful drawings. My first attempt at this resulted in near instant failure. I had attempted to literally transpose one of my favourite pen drawings onto a canvas over twice the size. In just a few sessions I realised a few things. One was that for me there was absolutely no point in doing this chore – the image already existed and it served no purpose to replicate it in paint. What I really wanted to do is paint with the same gestural subconscious flow as I could with pens. Every aspect of my knowledge of paint was inadequate so I soon gave, instead I planned to return when I had a better grasp of painting.
I hope in this work that I shall pool together some of my knowledge of architectural design and my knowledge of the more expressive arts. Using this three-dimensional grid I intend to use this as a method for my imagination entering the image with ease. I imagine this painting will end up somewhat illustrative. Initially what drew me to large scale drawings was about how much I could put into the image. I often used Sharpies which don’t have a particularly fine point but their bulkiness was appealing to the way I draw. Detail has always been an obsession of mine and the most logical way to gain detail was to increase scale. As I have increased my knowledge of 2D image making I have realised this is not absolutely necessary. I have achieved more detail on an even smaller scale now.
In the past I was interested in, but never quite managed, to complete a drawing that has multiple levels to it. More than one view point, not just in subject but in the physical sense. I was, and still am, fascinated by the zooming effect that approaching a painting has. In essence the viewer, depending on how far away they are to the image, have different things revealed to them – just as one might in a landscape.
Imagine walking through the countryside along a narrow hedge-walled path that opens up to a dazzling vista which, after your eyes have adjusted, begins to reveal specific details such as the wind ruffling the long grass in waves, birds swooping over fresh born lambs. Gorse firing seeds accenting the static in the trees. Fresh scents caught in the winds take momentary rest on your senses before passing on. It is at this point you realise you have been standing in a massive fresh cow pat. I wish this was just a poetic story but this is an example of a walk I took near my home in North Wales in 2018.
jonathanretallick.art 