Reflection

I began this project by going to the national gallery and looking at the artworks suggested by the course. I really immersed myself in a deeper way that I had never done before. Even after visiting the National many times, something changed this time and I was interested in the stories behind the paintings and slightly in awe of the skill they take. Pantings that stuck out to me were renaissance scenes of women, Van Gogh's Crabs and George Bellows 'Men of the Docks' .

Simultaneously I had been doing a lot of life drawing which inspired me to start painting the female figure. I took inspiration from Renoir's 'Nymph by a Stream' taking his subjects and painting it in light pastel colours which I associate with femininity. I developed my life drawings into quick oil pastel sketches which I am thinking about taking them further using printing as a medium. I have recently found the artist Lisa Brice who I'm inspired by her bold colours and graphicy lines where she often depict the female figure. I am excited to see where she takes me.

I also started looking at the artist Kate Donachie, after painting a blue portrait of a woman inspired by last terms project (it was a still from the film Mulholland Drive). After a tutor saying this painting reminded them of this artist I decided to look at her works and from this I did a transcription of one of her paintings. I love the watery blurred brush mark effect she creates painting mostly in blue-ish green purple colours. I find myself returning to the colour blue when painting I'm not sure why it has always been my favourite colour though and in the blue portrait I think its significance is strong as it creates a thoughtful and melancholy atmosphere, almost like the subject in the portrait is feeling 'blue'.

I have also been playing with fun and playful abstract shaped of wiggles and lines I'm not sure where this is going but I hope to incorporate these lines into my figurative paintings

national gallery

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