Ashley's Art

Ashley Brown • 18 • fine art • drawing and contemporary practice 

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Wall Painting

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Figures in a room

‘Reclamation’

Oil on board

2021

My painting is all about reclaiming my body after being sexually assaulted. After the assault about a year and a half ago I didn’t feel comfortable within my own body, I felt dirty. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a body that had had x done to it, a body that was assaulted. I could not look at my naked body and see it for what it was, I was not able to separate the assault from my body. However lately I am starting to be able to reclaim my body. I can look at my naked body in the mirror and not feel uncomfortable. I am starting to see my body for what it is and not for what has happened to it. My painting is about that reclamation and about feeling more comfortable with being vulnerable.

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Tape drawing

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Colour creation

For this exercise we had to create our own colours. I have always had a very strong connection to the moon, so I wanted to take inspiration from that. I examined a photograph I had taken of the moon through a telescope and looked at the tones present. I named my colour 'Rhiannon'. Rhiannon is the Celtic goddess of the moon and is often associated with horses. I have also always had a connection with horses, and spend time with them at least once a week. I have always found horses to be very therapeutic to me. I also often 'sit with the moon' at night for an hour or so. I lie down and stare at the moon and ground myself. This is why I found the name 'Rhiannon' to be perfect. In the top right photo I tested my colour, using black and white to lighten and darken. I also used different amounts of the colours within my colour to lighten and darken and create variations.

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Colour study of a printed or digital photograph (gouache)

For this exercise I used 3 colours that I mixed. I used a mix of cerulean blue and Prussian blue for the first colour, a mix of white and yellow ochre for my second colour and for my third colour I used a mix of white, yellow ochre and burnt sienna. To create a variation I mixed my three colours and used different amounts of water. For the background (the trees) I mixed my first and third listed colours and with enough water it produced a beautiful green, perfect for what I was painting. I found this fascinating.

I decided not to sketch my picture with pencil first and rather sketch with the paint. I am finding that this technique is beneficial to me as it has helped prevent me from overthinking as much as I usually would. It is bringing out my intuition, which is something I am enjoying.

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Study of a candlestick. For this study I used only one colour (burnt sienna) as well as black and white.

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Complimentary study of a chair

For this study I worked with the complimentary colours, yellow and purple. I enjoyed seeing how the purple and yellow worked in relation to one another and the colours that came up when the two colours were mixed and black and white were introduced.

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Self portraits

Gouache

2021

For this exercise I used 2 muted colors, I decreased the saturation by adding white and black.

I worked off of looking at myself in the mirror. I struggled to create a likeness and with proportions. Overall I am quite happy with the result. It was a good challenge for me.

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Red oxide studies

I mixed a variety of colours to make a range of red oxide shades. I used yellow (bottom left), with different amounts of water until opaque. The contrast between the red oxide shade and the yellow

In the image on the bottom left, the green background brightens the colour slightly because they are complementary colours. The blue dulls the red oxide slightly. The black of course emphasises the red oxide.

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Vulnerability

Charcoal on paper

2021

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"If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."

-Vincent van Gogh

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Collage.

Collaboration with Kerri Liebowitz, Owethu Malusi and Precious Tshitangano.

Mixed media

2021.

For this piece, we combined our body studies to create a figure.

My studies focused on unusual media and making my own paints using things such as egg yolk, cinnamon, coffee, flaxseed oil etc. instead of drawing skills. Although I would have liked to have drawn better suited to my abilities, myself and the girls are highly chuffed with the final product. . It was so much fun to work with such lovely ladies xxx

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Body studies.

These body studies were challenging in the best way. I used gouache paint. The first study (top right) was done in two minutes. We were given two minutes to capture gestural lines and form. In the second study (bottom left), we were again given two minutes but advised to use a bigger paintbrush which I found to make a good difference. For the third study (bottom right) we were given 10 min and advised to look at tones, light and dark.

These exercises taught me a lot. When I make art, I often take time to judge what I am doing harshly and overthink. I often become in a way obsessed with an image in my head of what the final product should look like. With this exercise, I had no time to judge or overthink or think about what the study should look like in the end. It showed me how much I can actually achieve and enjoy the painting process.

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Chromatic Scales

This exercise included creating a neutral (only using black and white), a warm (using a colour of choice to warm the scale), and a cool (using a colour of choice to cool the scale) grey chromatic scale.

I also made an attempt to lighten and darken colours by using other colours, not black or white.

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Two masked hunters- Asadjan- oua- Mellen (central Tassili, southeast Algeria)

KwaZulu-Natal

Malawi

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Blind drawings

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Experimenting with guouash