Patrick Caulfield research

I put off doing this for a long time because I did not really know what was expected of me. Should I write a biography of Patrick Caulfield? If so, what is to stop me just copying and pasting from Wikepedia? I then started to think why he was recommended for research and thought the best thing was to write about that. It is all about positive and negative space and so for me, what is most important is that he gives the, so called, negative space equal importance in his paintings. He is a figurative painter, that is, he chooses objects which exist, and then portrays them by simplifying and putting them into a different space.

Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005)  
Black and White Cafe (screenprint)
Imperial College Healthcare Charity Art Collection, London
Available from http://private.bridgemaneducation.com
accessed on May 2nd. 2012

Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005)
Lantern (screenprint)
Imperial College Healthcare Charity Art Collection,London
Available from http://private.bridgemaneducation.com
accessed on May 2nd. 2012

Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005)
Bathroom Mirror (1967) (Screenprint)Croydon Art Collection, Museum of Croydon. UK
Available from http://private.bridgemaneducation.com
accessed on May 2nd. 2012

These screenprints show how he used realistic objects, sometimes putting a black line around and the composition, to me, puts the space around the objects as equal  importance to the objects.

The Bathroom Mirror is fascinating to me as it depicts the reflection in the mirror of bathroom tiles, gives a hint of perspective and is left simply leaving the rest to the viewer's imagination.

Enlarging an image

What I learnt from this exercise was that it was easy enough to draw the image from the grid but my original sketch was so rough and out of proportion that these mistakes showed up even more when it was enlarged. This is why I did not finished the drawing. It was too inaccurate.
What I could perhaps get away with in a sketch, could not work when enlarged.

Thought for the day

Today the book, Drawing Projects by Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, arrived. I wish I had read this months ago. I was struggling to read Drawing Now Eight Propositions and could not get my head around the concept that drawing was a noun. This, for me, set the tone for the whole book which seemed to be so intellectual that I could not appreciate the content. To call drawing a noun needs to be justified, argued and presented which it was not.

Drawing Projects, however, is going to change the way I draw and see. It is stimulating, helpful, imaginative and invaluable. 

Nevertheless, what I have produce so far is where I am now. Change is what I want and that can only be seen from a given place and so, much as I want to start every exercise again, I am sending in what I have done so far.

Assignment 1

I could do this assignment over and over again because I am not satisfied with what I have done.
The natural objects were, for me, the most difficult and I would like to work more on texture and how to incorporate it into the structure of objects.

I also find that my drawings are stiff and too contrived and would love to have more fluency and life about them. There is little spontaneity about them.
Possibly, in time, with a lot more experimenting and inventiveness, I might loosen up more. I feel that the mark making is really important for me, and using different media. It is all very new and it will probably take months to get used to.
I considered asking for an extension for the deadline but then thought that I could put it off for ever and had to send where I am now rather than where I want to be.

It was difficult to decide which natural objects drawing to put in for the final assignment. I prefer the still life without the pineapple as it seems to be more spontaneous but in the end my decision was based on the effort in trying to put it all together which shows more of the struggle.


























The two drawings both lack drama. They both look rather insipid and colourless and that might be to do with the choice of objects or it could be my caution in drawing.
I think the composition works but it is still rather academic rather than emotional.
On the whole, I think I have a long way to go before producing anything with real content.

The pursuit of excellence

This is something that I have been considering for many years and is sparked off today by going to see Cirque du Soleil yesterday. Together with seeing the Edvard Munch exhibition last Saturday, it has made me realise again how the connection is between performer and audience is like the object and it's shadow. Without an audience the performance loses it's connection with people. Without people seeing what artists produce is like working in the dark.

What has prompted this is seeing how much the audience last night were so enthralled by the skill, bravery, colour and theatricality of the performance and came out with their spirits lifted. The years of practise and dedication to pursuing a skill, the performers pushing their bodies to their limit applies to people who give their lives to this pursuit of excellence.
What is does for the viewer is to realise what is possible; it opens the eyes and ears to people. When the senses are opened it is similar to cleaning the windows. Everything looks brighter.

When playing in an orchestra I am so aware of how much every musician is in the present, putting all the practice and skill into the performance. At every moment, nothing else matters. This is what comes across to the audience and makes that connection between performer and viewer.

While I was at the Edvard Munch exhibition in Edinburgh I was aware, after some time, that I was beginning to feel the energy of this man who had put his life into his work. The sadness, despair, loneliness and pain of existence. I could identify with it all. What lifted it from being a depressing experience was the skill and passion of his commitment to producing works that conveyed this. Seeing how he worked over months and years to get the lithographs to is liking was uplifting. The delicacy of his drawing showed his feelings towards his subjects.

Coming out of the gallery I felt as though something had been added to my life. I saw the richness of pain and suffering and how it could be transformed into works of art that communicated this to the audience. The drawings had such sensitivity and beauty that lifted the spirit in spite of the subject matter.

Oil pastels again plus a few sketches

After struggling to enjoy oil pastels I decided to invest in some better quality ones.
What a difference! I am now hooked. Yet again I learn that it is really important to go for the best quality.
There is no scratchy feel to them, the colours are magnificent and such a pleasure to use.

Sennelier oil pastels

Thank you to my tutor for commenting on my original dislike of them and so persuading me to persevere.



These are a few sketches from my daily sketchbook. I am now aware that most of them are done in pencil and not nearly enough variety in marks, different media and, again, not enough experimenting and not enough note taking around the edges.

Strengths and weakness

What I am learning so far is that I am impatient to get on with the drawing, very lazy at writing up the research that I am doing and completely disorganised about structuring my work.
I need to write in the check and log more systematically, do the exercises more thoroughly and spend more time finishing things.
My strength is that that I am doing it regularly, keeping a sketch book going and persevering with things I would not normally do. ie. oil pastels, texture, research and technology.
I also realise that I do everything in the wrong order. I seem to skip from one thing to another and then back again in spite of every intention to go systematically through the material.