This post has been published later than I would have liked. For weeks now I have been struggling with technology after accidentally breaking my laptop screen. Having also had issues with my phone for some time now I haven’t been able to write much. Since a family member has ever-so-kindly supported me with the purchase of a new laptop, I can again formally communicate!
Recently I’ve been preparing for an exhibition in Oriel Canfas, Aberteifi (Cardigan) It will be my first solo show. The exhibition is planned for December although it could well be cancelled if another lockdown occurs. There have already been a number of hurdles I’ve had to jump over and I’m sure there will be many more.
After visiting the gallery several times I took measurements of the walls in which my exhibition will be hung. The space is a painted a neutral grey, quite unusual but complimentary to my paintings. One 8 x 4 foot panel separates the room from the rest of the gallery – this wall demands decent sized paintings on each side. I chose a 120 x 85 cm thin edge stretcher and set about stretching and priming this large surface. (The largest painting I’ve done this year is only 30x30cm!). It was hard work as I am a slight perfectionist when it comes to canvas prep. Once I had perfectly stapled the canvas to a drum-tight finish I applied the first few layers of gesso. Once these layers had dried I thought ahead to what frame I would use for it. As I played around with different mouldings and tray frames I realised something horrid! The canvas was off-square… This makes it incredibly difficult to frame.
I had a few options at this stage but I concluded with removing the canvas from the stretcher and re-stretching after correcting the squareness. Unfortunately the canvas wasn’t playing nicely and I ended up scrapping the whole piece to start again! This false start allowed me to reevaluate my choices for the show and so I changed path and decided to stretch two 60 x 90 cm thick-edge canvases instead. The thick edge works nicely with the frame I have in mind of them. This time I am making a considerable amount of effort to maintain squared corners!
My plan at the moment is to have a number of larger works on canvas, accompanied by some smaller sketches on board. Canvas is always my preference but preparation takes a considerable amount of time in comparison. I use my sketches to further explore ideas after initial drawings with graphite on paper are made. For this solo show I am exploring my birth-land of North Wales and more specifically rediscovering the artistic haunts I had before going to university. While some of my peers might have been completing their art foundation course or working on their final projects for A-level art, I was sitting in fields thick with the aromas of cow manure or sitting on freezing cold rocks by the Menai Straits attempting to capture the ephemeral qualities of the bridge’s lights on the water.
jonathanretallick.art 