Studio Work

Key points of my work:
texture - gloss, gloss mix with acrylic, filler, dragged paint, gestural marks
surfaces - mdf, aluminium, steel, different primers, acrylic, mirror, wall, canvas
colours - depth to the work, pink and purple happy colours, aesthetically pleasing
layers - acrylic, gloss, create depth and interest to work
tools - different mark making tools to cresate different results - dragging, gestural, drips, tape
work relies on being innovative, experimental and spontaneous. My works are not practices but neither are they preplanned or predetermined.

Liked working with processed film photographs. Never fully sure what the outcome would be. Something about the excitement of the wait to see the result. Partly out of my control. Spontaneity and initiative working from unknown outcomes. Also removes the use of modern technology.

Purchased 1.2x1.2m squares of 6mm MDF, 1x1m squares of aluminium sheet

2 coats of acrylic primer

Began by using a paint brush to apply blocks of colour to the surface. This was random and done with little thought. I did not like how this turned out so decided to try out a new technique. I am also interested in layering so this tied in.

I decided there were too many colours and appeared stripey so next I would use block colours 

I love the snake skin effect this technique gave

Like the way the layers are contrasting and each stroke stands out

After photographing this piece close up, I was much happier with the outcome. They resemble works by Gerhard Richter who I have been researching (can be found in Research File). I found working on a board primed in a colour made the colours which I applied a lot more vivid.

I stopped the work I was doing on the grey board and went back to my Research File to look for new ideas and inspiration. For some reason I was not enjoying or being satisfied with the mark-making I was doing so needed a fresh look.

I rediscovered an artist I was particularly inspired by last year, Peter Bonde.

I studied the way his marks were a lot more gestural and fluid than my original brushstrokes were.

I positioned both pieces so that I could work on them simultaneously and also decided to return to a more familiar colour scheme and work in a more free-flowing and gestural manner.

I began to realise I was taking even less care with each particular stroke. Working on two pieces at once definitely helped me to work quicker and less preciously. I was not worrying over how it would be perceived by an audience I was just making gestural marks. 

I plan to work in this fluid style over and over again, then choose my favourites which I would exhibit. 

The bare sections of the work contrast the brush marks. I like to leave parts of the background visible so the process of creating each piece is still evident. Layers are more obvious and gestures are enhanced.

I also like how Bonde contrasts his larger work to smaller, more detailed pieces. Similarly to how I displayed my photographs against my large metal piece at the end of last year. This is something I am interested in still pursuing and experimenting with.

I also worked a bit on my studio wall 

Amber needed a large wall to work on so I said she could work in my space while I wasn't there. I really like how her work looked layered over mine - layering is something I am going to experiment with. This has inspired us to possibly work collaboratively.

We worked on a collaborative exhibition last year and knew it may be something we wanted to do again. Last year we were both interested in painting the body but abstractly, this year we are both now looking at process.

This is how I laid out my studio space for the year 2 and 3 group crits. It was nice to view my work from a distance and through technology as it gives me a fresh perspective. I really like the simplicity of my metal piece - originally it was going to be a first layer but I am now considering leaving much of the surface bare. I also like the way the painted studio wall becomes a sort of background for the rest of the work. To begin with this was just some test work but am now going to try and incorporate the idea of painting straight onto the wall as part of my practice. 

Out of the two mirrors I bought, I successfully removed one from its frame but the second broke. This is quite frustrating, however I plan to fix it together to create a sort of painting/sculpture - this is something I may not have otherwise thought of.

I bought these plastic scrapers to test out as a different mark making tool.

I am also going to experiment with gloss paint as it has very different qualities to acrylic paint eg. consistency, drying time, and finish.

One of my original pieces with added gloss paint. I had an idea to, as I was painting the gloss, spin the piece around 180 degrees so the drips would go both ways. Drips have become one of the most fascinating things about painting for me. I like this piece both ways up, I find it interesting as you can present it either way and it gives a different story. Drips are seen as accidental and years ago would have been mopped up or covered with another layer of paint. They would have been seen as messy and unfinished, however these are now key elements of my work. The drips of gloss have a completely different effect to the drips of acrylic. The gloss is thick and prominet whereas the acrylic is thin and watery. The gloss drips are more effective, however the acrylic drips make a good effect in the background layer. 

I decided to start my huge board with a layer of acrylic paint. I set myself a time limit of 20 minutes to complete this layer. This was inspired by the advice Simon had given me to try rules within my work. I found the time limit meant I wasn't precious about my marks and I ended up not thinking too much about what I was doing. I just enjoyed what I was doing and went with what felt right. 

I did a big splatter down the middle of the studio, catching all three pieces of work. I like the idea that they are all connected in a way, even when they are displayed apart. 

I tried mixing gloss and acrylic on the sheet of aluminium. I love the marbled effect it gave as the gloss dried much slower than the acrylic. The matt-ness of the acrylic with the smoothness of the gloss left a really satisfying feel.

I put up some images of other artists work to inspire my creativity. These artists include Ian Davenport, Alexis Harding and Richter, as well as Jason Martin, Angela de la Cruz and Jackson Pollock.

This is the piece of mirror I plan to work on next.

Craig was looking round the studios and mentioned artist Sabine Tress to me as I was working. I quickly googled her work and found she worked in a very similar style to me. 

I have the frames left over from where the mirrors were removed, I am not sure what to do with them yet. 

Following my tutorial with Craig:

These were two areas of the painting that Craig thought worked best. Larger brush marks and areas of paint. Little cluster of three marks of gloss paint. Drips created by gloss paint are very different to drips made by acrylic. Thicker, more impact

Going to try working on a smaller scale - primed two A4 boards white and grey. Craig's advice was to work smaller but using the same marks as I am making on my larger pieces. I thought it would be an interesting idea to blutac the smaller boards to the big board I am working on to create an interruption as well as encouraging me to continue making the same marks as before. 

I worked onto the white board first. I was definitely too precious about the marks I was making. I found it really difficult to continue making the same marks as before. I didn't like the marks I was making so kept adding to the piece, this only made the piece worse.

I then started working on the grey board. After working on the white board I knew I needed to be less precious and make less marks. I took a step back and looked at the whole board and considered the marks I would make if I were working on the entire thing. I then began with thick long brushstrokes, working on the whole piece, not just the area surrounding the A4 board. This worked much better. Still not quite what I was hoping but a good start.

Individual pieces and the interruptions they created:

Added texture on the big piece:

Mixing the gloss and acrylic again made a rippling effect

Liked the patterns the dried paint had created on my palette. Inspiration for future work?

Amber's work for the exhibition:

I enjoy experimenting with surface, this work on mirror I feel works really well. You can't tell from all angles that it is a mirror, this has often resulted in people being more impresed when they realise its a mirror. I like the use of mirror as it brings an extra dimension into the work. There is depth to it from the reflections. 

1.2x1.2m 12mm thick chipboard

small squares of shrink plastic

1mx0.5m acrylic sheet

I collected together some different surfaces to start workng on. I often find if I am struglling with ideas I find a new surface which results in giving me new ideas. I also like to change up the texture of paint I am using.

I started priming the chipboard white by accident as I had the idea of priming it transparent with part PVA and part water. I continued to prime with the glue anyway, this could create interesting texture.

Try taking photos of work with film camera then printing and working over - photography is a layer

I really enjoyed working on the metal as it was shiny and the paint applied smoothly, the contrast between the matte texture of the paint and the shiny surface is nice, and as you move around the work the colour of the metal changes slightly due to what it is reflecting, however the colour of the paint does not change which creates an interesting imbalance.

I intend to rust this piece. I visited the 3D workshop to find out how to do this. They showed me a few different ways to do this, to give the best effect I have decided to leave it outside and let it rust naturally as this will give the most random and interesting effect. There were other, quicker ways to rust the work however these ended up looking too forced and planned which I do not think would work well with the style of my painting. 

I didn't like this piece until I removed the sticky backing. The white was too harsh against the bold colours I had used, however now there is so much depth to the work due to the different paintings behind the work coming through. 

Experimented with layering, interesting but how would I fasten/hang this? - something to consider

We built canvas frames in the 3D workshop, this was interesting to learn for making huge pieces of work which I am interested in doing in the futrure. 

At the moment I am using this piece as a backboard for other works. I like the effect it is starting to have and want to continue this over the course of the year until it is full of mistakes and unwanted marks. In some ways this is an anti-painting. 

I have continued to experiment with the idea of layering. The texture of the aluminium is interesting against other surfaces. 

I really did not like how this piece was looking, following ideas discussing in the painting crit, I have decided to get this 8ft piece cut up. There were suggestions for me to leave it for a while and come back to it, or work on small sections at a time, however my favourite idea was to cut it up into smaller pieces to continue working on it. I extended this idea to cutting it into interesting shapes, I hope to layer these over other pieces to create interesting layers and depth to the work.

I feel these pieces work so much better now that they have been cut into interesting shapes. For images of each individual piece see www.elliebrine.com

This is so far my favourite piece I have created. There is so much depth to it (created by the deep purples contrasted to the white gloss paint), and texture within it (dragging the paint creates a snake skin effect, contrasted to the shiny thick drips). The spray paint added a final touch of depth and interest. It is an unusual and contemporary thing to see within painting, making this piece fresh and exciting.

Liked the way these pieces were exhibited next to each other - like my circle and cut up pieces.

I bought some canvases in various shapes and sizes so I could start experimenting with different sized pieces. I have always worked big and wanted to try out working small. I am hoping this will teach me new things for when I go back to working big. 

Consciously using the colour wheel to create contrast in my work.

This piece I initially primed pink with the intention of painting over it with only greyscale, however started this then decided it needed other colours to really work. This became my most messy (in a good way) piece of work. (See pictures on elliebrine.com) I used tape to create extra texture and interest to the work. 

I have decided to name each piece after their physical properties. My work is about the process of creating a painting so it only seemed right for my pieces to be named after their physicality. No hidden messages or ideas. eg. circle, grey primed, aluminium sheet.

My work has been exploring paint through painting. I have always enjoyed painting with acrylics and the characteristics it holds. Over the past two years I had been trying to bring a more abstract style into my work, but finally this year I think I have found myself as an artist. I have let go of all worries and explored and been experimental. I have tried not to consider the outcomes or opinions on the final piece by others. My work is about the process of the works creation, I have learnt a lot about process this unit through my own experimentation, but also through research. Artists from Jackson Pollock to Jason Martin have helped me in my development as a modern artist. 

I try out different surfaces, colours, paints and tools. Mixing things up always keeps my work fresh and exciting. Each piece is very unique due to the different process each one took. When stuck for ideas I look to a new surface or new type of paint. I like to work in layers as this allows me to create a depth to my work. I like to start with gestural marks as these are suggestive of movement and the process in which they were painted (large gestural arm movements with a large paint brush) I also sometimes create layers with dragging the paint in a Richter-esque style. This creates a different texture within the work, in contrast to the gestural marks. Drips are a favourite of mine, there connotations with being mistakes and errors is why I find it so interesting to put them at the very front of the importance to my work. 

I enjoy working with pinks and purples, they are positive colours and give off feelings of happiness and spirituality as well as energy, depending on which shade you use. I find it easiest to create interesting images with these colours. No matter the process I used I always find the work aesthetically pleasing. People often find it weird that I work with the same colour palette, however my work is about paint and process, not necessarily about the colour of the paint I am using. Using these colours can be argued is a confort zone of mine, but it allows me to explore paint without being conciously worrying about colour. Picking colour is something that I feel good at and I know what I am conciously doing, however the outcome is always new and spontaneous. If I were to not conciously control the colours I am using I feel the work would not have the same impact it does at the moment. Taking myself out of my comfort zone is something I will possibly try, however when I have experimented with this it has not gone too well (grey primed, tried working with blues - didn't like it.  Pink primed, tried only working monchrome - didn't like it. Tried working very small on my 8ft piece - didn't like the outcome either.) My work isn't about the unknown, but the exploration and a somewhat journey. I feel as I make more and more work I begin to learn more about paint. I feel there will become a time where I have explored every paint on every surface in every way and then my practice will either end or be complete.