Clutter – work in progress – 14 September 2018

The painter Alex Katz talks of paintings having their own internal energy. Imi Knoebel refers to works having (or lacking) integrity. Somewhere along the way I was taught good painting has it’s own internal logic.

As Clutter develops I’m increasingly aware of this logic. The various angles created by the forms combine with the direction of the brush marks to build the work’s structure. I’m not thinking about composition per se but how these forms interrelate.

Colour relationships play their part too. I’m particularly liking the lilac and green at the centre top of the work. The black is mostly working but not yet with the right hand side of the painting. There’s more to be done (on the right hand side) and I’m wary of losing the subtlety of the existing paintwork.

Along with structure and palette, the speed, turn and scale of brush marks, the paint texture – rough or smooth, wet or dry, flat or scumbled – all contribute to the internal logic of a work. The challenge in painting is to combine these (and other elements) to create a coherent gestalt.

Work in progress
Monday evening 10 September 2018

I’m really enjoying the loose painting in the top right hand quadrant of the work and want it to remain for as long as possible. In the middle I imagine the forms becoming more clearly defined, though as ever, this may change completely once my brush hits the canvas.

Beginning to think of titles – Your future our clutter seems a good place to start, or maybe just Clutter.

And if you were wondering, this is what the painting looked like earlier in the day.

Two small works in progress, 2018

I started a couple of small (8 × 10” / 203 × 254mm) pieces this week. Yesterday, I wasn’t too sure about them. They felt garish and somewhat unstable, though of course are still works in progress.

This morning however I’m feeling quite differently about them. I’m enjoying the rapid development possible in works this size and am remembering how losing my initial marks is necessary to find a resolution for the painting. There’s something quite manageable in working at this size and I’m very tempted to go out and buy half a dozen of these small canvases to see happens.

I’ve also been thinking back to my One for you, one for me project from 2010 – yes, it was that long ago – and am wondering if there’s a way to run an updated version of it. If there is, you’ll be the first to know.

Works in progress during my project One for you, one for me, 2010.

The grid like form was quite unexpected. It started as a group of vertical stripes, and not working, they quickly turned into a grid. I can easily imagine using this form in other works, though only time will tell.

The cyan blue is just the colour I was aiming for while the orange triangle (which feels more congruent in the photo than it does in the flesh) isn’t quite working for me. It may need to become heavier and dirtier with less contrast, or perhaps be erased all together.

For now it’s time to sit and look at the work a little longer, knowing it still has a way to go, before turning it to the wall for a few days so I can return with fresh eyes.

Working this week I’ve been reminded of how different the process of making these new paintings is to the way I make my hard edge paintings.

For the later the final form is known even if final colour choices are not. In these new paintings I start with no such knowledge. Forms are found, constructed, and erased during the making of the work. Decisions about composition, balance, and colour are made on the fly. When there is forethought and planning, this is often abandoned as soon as the brush hits the canvas.

It’s a challenging way of working, with plenty of room for doubt, yet experience tells me to hold my nerve, to sit with the unknown, to be ok with feeling uncomfortable, frustrated and uncertain. Trust the process – keep painting, remember to step away when needed and make sure to return the next day – and all will be ok.