I didn't spend as much time on it this week as I have been in past weeks, although ironically it's seen one of the most drastic changes this week since I started colour-blocking.
(Begin long explanation of this week's process and rationalisation, but there are more images at the bottom so be sure to keep scrolling)
I felt though, that although I want to continue to work on this and eventually finish it, I needed to start on something else, as well. I started out not being sure what I wanted to do, but I figured canvas boards would be a good ground for something. I rather arbitrarily chose the 12x12 size and while I was standing in line to pay for them, I thought, wait a minute, let's see if they have any scrapbook paper that looks like fabric. Conveniently, scrapbook paper is also 12x12. I suppose I was thinking back slightly to Charming Baker's patterned paintings when I thought about painting or drawing on top of patterned scrapbook paper. I figured I might do portraits, but I still wasn't quite sure why or how. Then I started to think about why I might have chosen the subject matter that I did for my painting. Once I decided that my figure's whole dress would be my tartan, I realised that the figure herself says something about the fabric, gives it an added layer of personality, and vice versa.
I figured out (and this should have been more obvious to me than it was, perhaps) that the idea of patterns and textiles is interesting to me because it says something about the time period during which it was designed, the person who designed it, the person who is attracted to it, and the person who wears it. The tartan was really important to me not only because I am attracted to it aesthetically, but obviously because it's very personal and has a great deal of historical significance.
I am attracted to other textiles mostly only on an aesthetic basis (although I do tend to like a lot of antiquated patterns, perhaps because of the romanticism of the time periods during which they were designed), but I also have an interest in people. I think this whole interest in textiles in general was mainly brought on by finally becoming aware (towards the end of last semester and subsequently over the summer) of the textile design process and the people who design them. Prior to that point, they were sort of another one of those things out in your world that just exists--one of those things that you don't think about, like it doesn't even occur to you that someone had to design and fabricate this object that you interact with on, probably, a semi-regular basis. So I think I not only became visually interested in the textiles, but also more interested in the kinds of people who might interact with them. Call it an archaeological instinct, at least that's where I assume this drive is coming from for me.
So here's what I'm doing now. I've made one this week, because it's more time consuming than I thought it would be. Well actually I'm still not done with the first one, I think, because I'm still interested in painting. But anyway, I'm basically drawing portraits onto these sheets of scrapbook paper (which I then intend to selectively fill with paint), and affixing the scrapbook paper to the canvas boards so that they become more of a tangible object. The portraits themselves are responsive to the actual patterns--my guess at the time period, the dress of that time period, the social class that might wear garments made from these prints, their demeanor and their clothing. I thought about researching this a little more, but I think I might like the romantic element of supposition rather than visual fact supported by researched evidence. The only references I'm really using at this point are for poses (so no Frankensteins this time, because I actually found the posing reference I was looking for last time!).
I have two more planned right now and two more panels after that. I think they're all going to be women. I prefer to paint and draw women, I think, partially because the female figure is more understandable and more practised for me personally, and partially because I identify better emotionally as a viewer with a female figure.
I actually drew the first one straight on, but I've noticed that I typically prefer poses in which the woman's face is not entirely visible, usually because it is turned away from the viewer. This is because I enjoy the romanticism of anonymity. The figure in my painting, for example. You can't see her face very well, so you can't tell exactly what she looks like or who she is. There is no chance of recognising her. She's anonymous. But by her setting, her clothing, her poise and demeanor, and by what she's doing, and even the vantage point from which she is painted, you can still tell a lot about her. Again, sort of an archaeological point of view. Even though I drew the first patterned panel with her face visible, I feel that she's still anonymous enough that for me, it works. I might try to continue this with the rest of them, since this time it's more about the pattern itself than it is in the painting.
I originally drew this figure on a plain sheet of paper because I'm very sketchy when I draw, and I thought I would want clean lines. I outlined my drawing in pen and then started to erase the right hand and instantly regretted it, and even went back and drew some of the lines back in with pencil. I ended up tracing the original drawing onto the patterned paper, intentionally drawing just as sketchy lines before outlining in pen again. To emphasise the pattern of the paper within the confines of her dress, I outlined the shapes with silver leaf, although I'm not sure whether or not I regret that decision. The next step for this, I think, is to paint her skin, hair, and the other fabric in the bodice of her dress. I want to leave the pattern the way it is in the main part of her dress. I might thicken up the outer lines of her outline just to help her stand out a little bit better, although I think some solid areas of colour will make a big difference.
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