ONLINE ART COURSE – THE LANDSCAPE CHALLENGE PART 1
Plans, and the initial stages
We are approaching the end of the landscapes module on the course, and the current project is the self-directed challenge. We are to create a landscape using at least two different media, from one of the reference photos provided, or from one of our own choice.
My landscape choice
Several years ago I took this photo in the gardens of Dartington Hall, one of my favourite places in all the world.
The reasons for my choice
Some of my happiest times have been spent in this idyllic location. For many years I attended the International Summer School of Music here, originally for several years with Dad, and then on my own. Dad loved the place as I do, particularly for its musical associations, and Mum loved it because she used to take part in the annual bird surveys run in the gardens by the then Warden of Dartmoor National Park. Both my parents’ ashes are scattered at the top end of the estate, a place they both loved so much.
I seemed appropriate for me to choose this venue for my landscape challenge. I have a lot of photos of the gardens, and of the Great Hall, and eventually narrowed the choice down to this one. The sculpture on the right is called “Jacob’s Pillow.” There is an attractive stone seat just out of shot to the right. The path winds down to the Tilt Yard, just off-shot to the left, behind the trees. The clipped yew trees are known as the Twelve Apostles, and to their right is a path running along beside the herbaceous border backed by the stone wall. The gardens are heavenly, and so full of variety and surprises. I have been visiting this place all my life, and it was full of adventure for a small child.
My plans for a special project
Since this is to be a mixed media piece, and the instructions are minimal (Phil, the teacher, says that we are now at the stage in the course where he can leave us a lot more to our own devices), and because I love interactive art and the use of many and varied materials, I immediately made plans for something a bit different from a conventional picture.
An idea from my “Mamhead Memories” album
This album was featured in my old blog, but you can see all the photos here on Flickr. One feature which appeared several times in the book was a manipulated photo with a vellum overlay, on which I had traced what was underneath, and added Zentangle or other embellishment, thus creating a composite page consisting of two separate elements. Both of these could stand alone, but each enhanced the other. I think I am right in saying that this is my own original idea because I’ve never seen anyone else do this.
Here is one example from the album.
Translating this idea to my current project
Of course, I would not be using a photograph for the main picture in this case, but a drawing or painting I had created myself. I am planning to do some sort of pen and watercolour, but I may also add some coloured pencil. As we have been given free rein on this one, it occurred to me that there was no necessity to be photo-realistic and choose colours closely resembling the original. I could go wild if I wanted! (It’s much harder to choose when there are so many possibilities…) The vellum tracing would probably be embellished with Zentangle, and I am definitely planning to introduce some gold into this picture, and maybe some other mixed media techniques such as stencilling… ideas keep rolling around in my head!
Hingeing the vellum
This was a conundrum exercising my mind a bit. How to attach one edge in a way that was not distracting or unsightly? Vellum is notoriously difficult to attach without the attachment being visible. I thought of washi tape (too visible, too distracting); folding the vellum around the edge of the painting (it would cover up the border), machine stitching – this remains a possibility as it would introduce another material and could be quite interesting. I would first stitch around the three unattached sides, and then for the final side, stitch through the vellum and the painting. Eventually I came round to the idea of cutting a slit in the painting just inside the border, and tucking the folded tab of the vellum through the slit, and glueing it on the back.
Choosing the materials
Because of the way I work, I cannot decide ahead of time absolutely everything I am going to need. My projects tend to develop as I work on them. However, I can make plans for the initial stages.
New paints
I have just bought some exciting new watercolours, and I shall do a separate post about those. They are the Art Nouveau set, and Graphite Colours, both from Kuretake. I have already started using the Graphites in this project, and it remains to be seen whether I shall transition to the Art Nouveau for the main picture, or even use something else entirely.
Paper
I am working on a page in my normal art course sketchbook. This is basic drawing paper and not watercolour paper. It does seem to hold up pretty well to washes, though, so I think I shall be OK. I have a pack of A4 vellum paper in the studio (I can’t remember the weight of it) and I think this will do well for the overlay layer.
Other possible materials
Ink pens, gold paint or Posca marker, possibly Tombow Dual Brush Markers… Possibly even some collage.
The border
This is now complete.
I wanted to add some small drawings of various interesting elements to be found around the estate. I went through my photos, and made a page in my Rhodia designs and patterns book. I used these, and more besides.
Beginning the border
The effect I wanted to produce was rounded rectangular and square stones, on which would be the small drawings. This would produce a soft, organic feel. I drew this out in pencil first.
The drawings more or less alternate with smaller “stones” with no embellishment, which would be filled in later.
Inking the drawings
When I first began this, working with a fine dark sepia ink pen, I thought the outlines would be too harsh. I had not originally intended colouring these shapes in, but only painting on the little drawings, but in the end I took the plunge and splashed on quite a bit of the paint, adding layers, and also spattering it with water to produce the varied texture I was after. This whole border was painted using the new Kuretake Graphite Colours. I shall be reviewing these new paints in due course so I won’t go into a lot of detail here.
This has turned out even better than I expected! Those paints are an absolute dream… The border has a sense of cohesion both with the shapes and the colours, and superficially the little drawings look merely like some added texture, but if you zoom in, you can go around the border and identify every one of them, if you are familiar with the place.
Here are some detail shots.
I am particularly thrilled with the little blue spacer stones, and how the paint has reacted with water and being gently dabbed off. I have managed to introduce some shadow, to make the stones look more three-dimensional, too.
Watch this space for further progress on this exciting project.
