Ebony Jowitt, 301.

Painting Drawing and Printmaking 3rd year student at Plymouth College of Art.

[ebjow301]

Instructions.

Instructions for navigating my blog. 

On Tumblr, the posts are shown as the most recent post at the top, therefore to view the work from start to finish you will have to scroll to the bottom of the feed. 

Under my name you will see a horizontal list of headings, each of these heading will take you to a different page (titled).

Posts - This will most likely be the page that you are already on, this is a complete list of every single post that i have made. 

Assessment task 1 - Studio book and all other informative work, pretty much every single post can be seen under here.

Assessment task 2 - My proposal, statement of intent and revised statement of intent. 

Resolved work - In this area i have included any piece of work that i view as resolved from this module. 

Archive - This shows you a brief overview of every post.

To view the date of each post, click on the title of the post you wish to see, this will take you to a page with just the selected post, you much return back to the previous page to continue viewing the posts in order. 

[ebjow301]

Proposal.

Engrossed by the human form, my ideas around the body have shifted from my muse to my ‘medium’; using my body to illustrate the integral first steps of my paintings that are deeply informed from my work informed concept. I use paint as my final outcome to explore everyday routines, rituals and movement; this being the core context to the work. 

I am interested in movements, of all kinds, and how that can be depicted through art via the use of gesture within paint and how different paints and other household supplies can perform this. I explore my sense of self through my work and how this can be implemented into my paintings in reserved ways. I enjoy work that can be open to the interpretation of others with no clear meaning without explanation. 

My main aim within this module was to carry on the body of work that I had started in second year by continuing my exploration of Psychogeography. It felt right. I felt that I had finally found the subject for all of my work. My studies started with my immediate surroundings, focusing on specific sounds, objects, smells and movements which all carried through into the theme of routines and rituals and how they interacted.  

In my statement of intent I wrote how I intended to contrast last year's work by flipping the scenery, and after reading more into Psychogeography and its common referral to the ‘exploration of urban environments’, I started to base this module's work within the home.

Influenced by the layout of Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizios ‘Industrial Paintings’, I worked with rolls of paper to map movements around my home in a new way, physically. I focussed on the impressions made onto the paper as a result of direct contact; much like how Richard Long created ‘A Line Made by Walking’ 1967. I further accentuated these marks by applying layers of watercolour paint, charcoal and oil sticks.

To fully achieve a sense of self through my work, I changed my direction to my bedroom. 

Intrigued by the impressions left on paper, I tried this again only differently, now using my body as the instrument. I did not intend for these to be viewed as body prints, like Yves Kleins ‘Anthropometries’, but instead as still life movements; a photographed period of time. I wanted to play with the contrast between movement and static and how they can work together. I repeated this process by incorporating the prints into my everyday routines, looking at the fluid movement of standing and sitting to produce a print and drawing their titles out of the locations and times that they were made, linking everything back to their origin. I wanted everything to move fluidly, all pieces of work linking back to one another to show a clear path of where the work began. I progressed with all of these aspects to create my final body of work, using my prints to inform my painting. Working with polyfilla to accentuate depth and folds similar to the paper, I finished the work with two layers of satin varnish. This allowed enough shine for light to bounce off of the painting without a glare that would take away from the shadows and depth that I had worked to achieve.

I had stripped colour from my paintings at an early stage to rid the work of any colour induced connotations that people were drawing at. I reverted to white as a clean slate. This lack of colour became an issue when people started to view the work as a material based process. I needed to add a component to the work to create a shift that would allow for the marks upon the white to be more dramatic to the eye. I was drawn back to the research I had done on Robert Ryman and how he used the metal mounting brackets as a piece of his paintings. I aimed to work with this idea by applying slats of timber, sanded till smooth, and painted in my common choice of complementary colours, pink and turquoise. Working with the timber allowed me to see how one thing can affect the work. I painted the wood in strips, leaving some areas raw, so that each view-point allowed for different visibilities. I finished with a matte top coat to further contrast the glossy finish of my paintings. The wood was applied with half inserted screws. I want this to make the audience aware of the uncertainty that I had whilst applying this onto my paintings. Contrast was the main goal here and I am confident that I achieved it in all areas.

This module enlightened me to how important the concept of my work had started to become, with the paintings and the concept working together to support and inform one another in a way that could not be achieved alone. Reading Sol Lewitts ‘Paragraphs on Conceptual Art’, 1967, helped me confirm this. I feel confident progressing in this direction and aim to expand my knowledge on the topic to inform my work.  

‘When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art. (Sol Lewitt, "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art", 1967).

To push my ideas to their limits, I will be continuing these concepts until they are exhausted. I want to explore colour and the contrast that can be achieved between them within my paintings and how this can promote aspects of the work whilst creating a greater sense of balance. I want to look deeper into common art supplies in combination with household mediums. I aim to continue my study of movement and self by using my drawings to inform my paintings, working on a larger scale so that I can fully body the gesture and movement of a piece of work. I will experiment more with the relationship between pieces, how they can interact with one another via common aspects that travel through each piece of work. This will be one of my main focal points for my degree show. 

I look forward to being able to incorporate my ideas from my dissertation into my studio practice, blending together my work from the indoors and outdoors, which is something I had to steer away from this time around and I look forward to the direction this may take me. 

My next step is to enter my work in the correct exhibitions to help myself be seen.

[ebjow301]

Evaluation.

At the very beginning of this project, I had envisioned my work as being a carry on from second year by exploring the same ideas just in different ways, I had left my work at a finished stage but with much more to learn. At the very end of year two, I had started to touch upon Psychogeography, I wasn't aware that the work I had been producing fit perfectly into this topic, so this is where I picked up for 301. 

I got off to quite a rocky start, I didn't really know the direction that I wanted to head in, only the topic that I had in mind. Combine this with the Covid-19 situation that carried on roaring. I found it a real struggle for the first couple of weeks due to the uncertainty of the circumstances. As the second lockdown was announced, I decided to pack up my things and more away from Plymouth and back home to Barnsley with the hopes of being able to return in the following month. Being back home finally gave me some reassurance and I felt much more comfortable to be able to dive into my studies. I started out by learning the basics on Psychogeography, which mentioned that this was normally practiced outside in open areas, which I think is where the challenge began. From here on out, I decided that I was going to begin my project based upon my movements made within the home, this allowed me to contrast my previous work where I studied my movements made outside of the house. Lockdown helped me in this scenario as I wasn't travelling outside as much, especially now that the weather was dropping cooler. 

I had to gather up new materials, having left all of my own in Plymouth, so I went and bought all of what I was imagining I would be using; charcoal, chalk, acrylic paint, watercolour paints, oil paints, wood and canvas. 

Right now my key focus for the work was Psychogeography, but I was also looking into my immediate surroundings; noise, light and key items that were around me on the daily. Along with the routines and rituals that I did within my everyday life which incorporated into the movements that I was making. 

Life drawing sessions were important to me at this stage as they were the only things keeping me motivated to carry on being creative. I started to take inspiration from my life drawing studies, in particular the quick studies where my work was much more fluid and instinctual. I carried this on within every session and worked on this aspect more by focusing on line, I started making fluid coloured ground to work upon to see how they would look with work layered upon them which is where my first influence for my 301 specific project started. After exploring a great list of artists to help me along the way, I was super inspired by the works of both Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio and Richard Long, two very different artists that I drew ideas from in different ways. I was in awe at Pinot-Gallizios ‘Industrial Paintings’ where he worked on large scrolls with a combination of hand drawn and machine drawn marks in a variety of different materials. As a result, I ordered myself some rolls of paper. I stuck these down to the carpet in areas that were the most travelled within my home; the front room and the top of the stairs. Keeping these down for a few days, the paper slowly became work and marked as more and more paths were being walked upon them - much like how Richard Long religiously walked upon strips of grass to compress it. Once complete, I hung these up outside to allow the sunshine to shine upon it which highlighted the most marked areas of the work. I began to work upon this watercolour paints, charcoal and oil sticks building up layers of my mediums to identify and enhance these areas, this created a whirlwind of lines and paths crossing one another. The outcome was very much like the contours shown on maps to show the reader the height of certain areas. 

I became engrossed with the idea of depth and studied different ways of how I could apply this into my work. I experimented with clay, layers of emulsion, textured paint and ultimately polyfilla working mainly with items found within the home. This integrated into my ideas of the work itself being home orientated. Polyfilla became my final medium and was the most effective for what I was trying to show.

Throughout this experimental period, I began to completely eliminate colour from my work. I initially started with my common colour way of white, pink and black but felt that people were drawing connection to the colours which isn't what I intended. Working with white, as Robert Rauschenberg has stated, allowed for the work to be viewed as a blank canvas. I was really happy with the work that I had just produced and had envisioned placing more paper down around the home, but the one issue that I was having was embodying a sense of self within my work. Living at home, I had three people walking upon the paper, along with two dogs, I thought about putting the paper just in my bedroom but this still wouldn't be just my own marks. I was thinking ahead to how this piece could be displayed within my room and strung up onto my bed, which is when I moved to printing my body onto the paper instead. This one print changed many aspects of my work. I started to move away from mapping my movements made around my home and was focusing on areas that I would commonly visit; my bed, the sofa and my studio chair. These became my focal point and I started to map my bodily movement via the use of my body being printed, now looking more at one fluid movement captured in time. I created multiple of these prints in all of the areas stated and experimented with the comparison between prints made into the same space as there were clear similarities between these, and also with printing multiple times onto the paper over and over again. I integrated this into my everyday routine taking the prints as I got into bed at night, as I sat on the sofa for my morning coffee and when I moved into my studio to begin a day of work. 

I loved the prints alone and they looked amazing when strung out onto the washing line outside as the bright light enhanced all of the creases that my body has imprinted into the paper. But I knew that I wouldn't be happy until I had worked out a way to carry this along into paint. Polyfilla became my new best friend and was the perfect medium to achieve all of the depth that I wanted into my work. I used a wallpaper scraped to apply my polyfilla in straight lines along with drag out the filler to create smooth connections to the wooden grounds. 

Coming full circle, I started to incorporate my first pieces of work into my resolved pieces by tearing and sticking the paper onto the ground of the work using layers of paint and duct tape. I wanted these to be ever so slightly visible when the work was done to show the progression that I have made throughout the module. 

At the time when I thought that all of my work was complete, I had my final crit and was given some constructive criticism from my tutor. Some of white I took on board and others that would have completely disregarded the concept behind the work that I have worked upon throughout this module. The main two being an exploration of other paints and colour, and also to apply something to the paintings that would contrast them to allow there to be balance. I didn't want to explore other types of paints as the household paints were all a part of the concept in the works foundations, was comfortable knowing that emulsion paint changes and fades over time and that is simple part of the art works progression, I also didn't feel that the exploration of different shades of white would support my work in any way at this time as I am not material based, I also didn't have time on my side. However I was willing to attempt to work something into my painting to accentuate what was already there. We spoke of colour and differing textures within the crit, maybe something like another panel to go alongside it. 

I collected my ideas for a little while and decided that I wanted this ‘thing’ to be a part of the actual work and to link in with the idea that I have created. I bought myself some timber and sanded this down until completely smooth, working onto the wood in acrylic paint. The hardest part here was adding colour again, I wanted something that was going to pop off of the painting which, luckily for me, was white so anything goes. Working with the theme of self, I went with what felt right for me and painted the wood in the complementaries pink and turquoise. I combined this with fragments of colour, negative areas, sharp lines and a matte finish, all of which contrasted the work that it was to sit upon. I applied the wood to the painting in areas that I felt were clear paths within the work I had already made, I did this using a drill and screws. Due to the texture of the polyfilla, it allowed for a gap between the ground and the timber which I really liked, it added a completely different side profile to the work. I left the screws slightly protruding from the work as I felt that this signified the difficulty that I had coming to terms with adding something new into work that I had previously considered finished. I view the wood as myself making the print onto the paper which was the start of this work. 

I feel that I have made some very important steps within this module to help me excel as an artist, and also within my next studio practice module. My work took lots of turns but I feel that I have led a clear path and thoughts to show where/what all of my ideas evolved from. I have left this body of work as resolved, but also at a stage where I still have plenty more things to explore. I am feeling very comfortable with the decisions that I have made throughout. 

[ebjow301]

‘Bed, Repeat.’//‘Bed, 20:42pm.’.

A look at the two paintings alongside one another. I feel tat these two paintings definitely interact with one another when places side by side, this is accentuated by the colour involvement. I purposely put each snippet of colour on the same sides of each piece. 

[ebjow301]

Mini Exhibition.

Prior to all of the recent new work that i have been doing, i mentioned that i was going to picture all of the work together outside so that my paintings could be seen from both sides. However now that the work has taken on another form i am not going to do that as i have quite a variety of work in there now, where as before at least everything was of the colour for a more scenic view. I just don’t think that this will be a relevant step for m to try and push in. I will however take some photos of my most recent pieces of work together; ‘Bed, Repeat.’ and ‘Bed, 20:42pm.’. 

[ebjow301]

Finished; ‘Bed, 20:42pm.’.

‘Bed, 20:42pm.’ now complete. 

I have uploaded photos from all angles of the work, along with an aerial view, so that the different aspects that i have incorporated into the wood are visible. For this piece i had to use longer screws due to the dimension of the polyfilla that sat between the ground and the timber wood. I didn’t have any longer screws in silver like the previous piece, so i ended up having to use black screws instead, but this wasn’t too much of an issue. Prior to adding my screws, i used a fine wood drill attachment, that was smaller than my screws width, to drill holed into the timber. This ensured a nice clean finish the the wood as it would have most likely splintered without this step. Then i could apply my screws. I had arranged them in a way that i felt sat right with the weight of the work, i wasn’t interested in them being in a straight line. I screwed all three in half way to start with just so that everything was held in the correct place, but then i started looking at the work as it was with these protruding screws and i really liked it. It also allowed for a view point between the polyfilla and timber that reflected the texture that i had achieved. I would say that these half inserted screws would relate to the anxiety that i have had about adding this extra body onto my painting, but it was also a necessary step to take in order to help me become less protective of my work when it comes to alterations. 

All in all, im really pleased with the final piece of work that i have created. I feel that i have listened to what everyone had to say to me and took on board the criticism/improvements that i have received and worked with them in my own way to try and maintain a sense of balance in my work. But i am also leaving the work in a comfortable place where i am pleased with my resolved work but still feel that there is more to explore for me. 

[ebjow301]

Chosen Position.

This is the final composition that i opted to go for. 

Unlike the first piece of wood, i left this piece bigger than the painting below it. Looking at the first piece of wood that i installed, the angles application started to look like a plank of wood used to block something, so i tried to embrace that in this piece by allowing the wood to flow over instead of trimming the piece down. Other than this, all aspects of the wood were the same, including the finish. I think this has definitely enlightened me to new ideas for my work within the next studio practice module, as i definitely want to explore this in a different way. 

I opted for this position on the wood as i was looking for a path for the wood like what happened with the first piece. My main thing in mind here was that i didn’t want the wood to cover too much of the ground that i had worked on, especially the duct tape as there aren’t that many pieces on there. This piece had quite an empty area that i wanted to ensure was kept free as it had a contrast to the more textured areas and helped achieve a sense of balance. 

[ebjow301]

2nd Wood Installation.

When i bought the piece of timber, i thought that i had only bought enough for the largest painting of mine, ‘Bed, Repeat.’, however the wood company gave me a little extra. As a result, i have enough wood to apply to one of my square paintings. I have opted to do this onto the thicker piece of wood as the other piece is only a few millimetres thick which wont be enough to hold down some wood and screws. I worked onto this cut of timber at the same time as i did the first one to ensure that all of my acrylic paint colours were the same, as i was mixing these myself. At this point in time i wasn’t sure if i was going to use this piece of wood but it wasn’t putting me out of my way by prepping the wood just in case. 

Having now completed the first, im feeling pretty confident with the overall appearance and the contrast that the timber gives the work. Honestly im still not fully certain if this is something i would repeat but i have took on board what was said to me. I aim to progress this work into my next studio practice module so i will be ensuring that i explore my application of contrast in other ways be it by colour or not. Despite this, I do feel good having pushed myself to do something that i otherwise wouldn’t have, i feel that its taught me a lot and has allowed me to see my work from different view points which is why it is good to receive feedback from others. 

With my second piece in mind, here are a few different compositions that i have experimented with at the end of today. I see this as being in connection to the first piece, not to be viewed as a pair but definitely a series, so i do want to take care in where the wood is applied so that it is different to the first. 

It was at this point that i realised i had the painting the wrong way up, so the below images are some compositions of the painting the correct way. 

[ebjow301]

‘Bed, Repeat.’

Finalised images of ‘Bed, Repeat.’.

[ebjow301]

Application.

Having chose where i want the piece of wood to sit on my painting, i have opted to use screws instead of nails. This allowed me to stick with my household theme by using items that i already had readily available to me in my home. I am also unsure as to whether nails would have gone through the timber easily enough for myself to do. 

I considered screwing the wood onto the white through the back of the painting so that the screws weren’t visible, but i wanted to work with this as an aspect of my work, viewing the nails as a means of application. Much like how Robert Ryman Views the metal brackets on his paintings as an aspect of the work itself. 

[ebjow301]

Composition.

Options for the placement of the timber upon the white painting.

Originally i was pretty certain that i wanted the piece of wood to stand portrait and at a direct right angle on the white. However having viewed the diagonal composition, pictured second to last, I feel that it just works. It manages to fit in with the actual flow of the work without covering too much of the details i have created, its like a path has already been made for it. But does this take away from the piece of wood as an aspect of the work and make it seem more just like a plank of wood that has been boxed across the work like how doors are sealed in horror films. 

I think im just going to have to go with the flow here and see what i decide at the time of application. 

[ebjow301]

Varnish.

To finish off this wood i have opted to apply a layer of matte varnish to further contrast the difference between this piece and the white. To keep the naturalistic aspect of the wood, i have opted not to apply varnish to any of the exposed wooden areas to keep another texture and material within the work. Once dry i will be applying this onto the white painting to make them one. 

[ebjow301]

Preview, ‘Bed Repeat.’

A look at the piece of timber up against the white at the end of todays work. I went ahead and added a band of colour through the pink and im happy with how this works at cutting up the colour along with drawing you to look at both sides of the wood. I also see this as working in the same way as the raw strip of wood that i have left negative. Feeling very positive about this piece of work and very happy with my choice of wood cut. Im going to experiment further with placement tomorrow along with how i will finish the piece. I have purchased some matte varnish that i want to use for the piece of wood to add further contrast between the wood and the white painting which is finished in a glossy varnish. When i do this i want to leave the exposed wooden areas blanc so that they area completely untouched and natural. It is crazy how much this one aspect has changed the final piece of my work, i just worry that i have strayed away from what i originally had in mind. 

[ebjow301]

Band of colour.

[ebjow301]

Pink and Blue.

Here is a better look at the blue now that it has been applied to the timber. Very pleased with the choice that i have made. This colour will be applied only to one side of the wood so that the other can remain clean. I think i will also introduce one band of colour around the main body too so that the colour is visible from all angles. 

[ebjow301]

Colour Test.

Im feeling really confident with this introduction of colour right now which i am really surprised with as i was so confident that the work was done. I have decided to go ahead and work with my usual colours by now introducing my usual complementary colours; pink and turquoise. Prior to painting, i did a quick mix up on some colour, using acrylic paint mixed with emulsion, just working with different hues of the colour so that i could decide which worked the best with the pink. I wanted the two colours to bounce off of one another much like how complementary colours should. 

After reviewing, i decided that the far left colour works the best, the colours do look a little duller now that it is dark but i will show them in full light tomorrow. 

[ebjow301]

Wood, Preview.

Really quite excited with how this is looking now and i m so pleased with the masked off areas, the masking tape left such a clean line. This revealed area plays with another aspect of contrast between the work and the wood working with both different materials and textures. Right now i am feeling comfortable working with the timber. When i think to the plywood, i just don’t see that i will be able to play with these same areas of contrast, especially not the edges. I can of course paint the piece just as i have with this, but being a piece of work to stand with the white will mean that the edges wont be as visible as they are here. I think it is the layering and the pink, upon wood, upon white that is causing such a clan clash of materials and colour. 

I am seeing this piece of wood as being either nailed or screwed onto the white painting below. I want these screws to be left visible and be a part of the work as they will be the key connection. The material keeping everything together. As i said, i want these colours to be as snippet of me, and to take this further you could view the wood as myself. Just like the connection that my body had with the paper as i made my initial prints that all of these painting are reflected from.