Texture trial and error - Papier-mâché

So before I started doing proper paintings myself, I already knew I had a preference for textured art and was also interested in mixed mixture. At the time I didn't know much about the 'proper' materials to use, so I experimented. As I child, any time I wanted to create anything that was three dimensional I used papier-mâché. I think many of my peers did the same thing, since we didn't have Playstations and Facebook to bide our time with. I tried a lot of different papier-mâché methods, the old fashioned flour and water mixture, wallpaper paste, PVA glue and water, tissue paper, toilet paper, newspaper. Papier-mâché was definitely a cost-effective method, I managed to cover a rather large canvas for only the price of some tissue paper and a bottle of glue. It's also a fairly flexible medium, different types of paper resulted in varying types of texture and the tissue could be applied in as many layers as required. 

Mystical Dragonflies - One of my largest paintings, texturised with papier-mâché.

I found a few problems though. It was INCREDIBLY time consuming. I sat on the floor for hours and hours until my joints made me feel about 103 and was dismayed to find I'd only done a third! I persevered however, as I was pleased with the effect, and tried it on several more paintings, using combinations of different paper and glue methods. 


However, I discovered more disadvantages to this method. It turned out to be quite difficult to paint properly on the dried paper/glue mixture. A lot of the paint was absorbed by the paper, which created a bleed effect in some cases, and also used copious amounts of paint to get a decent coverage. Again this caused the process to become longer as every part I painted took longer. There was also crevices created by the dried paper which needed to be painted inside to avoid any visible patches. Even when the papier-mâché had fully dried and been painted and varnished, it did not form a solid structure. The paper peaks were quite flexible and could be easily crushed out of shape. Although I don't expect my paintings to be able to hold up to the strains of being used as a coffee table or aerobic step, I didn't want to risk that my designs could be so easily damaged.


And so.. considering all these elements... my search continued!

Starry, starry night

My post about Van Gogh yesterday left me with the song 'Vincent' playing over and over in my mind. It really is a beautifully written song and one verse in particular always strikes me as being so poignant.


"And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do--
But I could've told you, Vincent:
This world was never meant
For one as beautiful as you."

Texture!

Texture texture texture. Probably one of the most important aspects of my paintings is texture. In college and university when studying historical artwork I was always more intrigued by the likes of Claude Monet and Van Gogh. Their use of brushstrokes and paint created the feel and depth of texture, that brought their paintings out into a new dimension. Below are two of my favourite works by these art goliaths. I love them because alongside the beautiful use of colour and technique, the texture created by the thick paint, really draws you into the painting. You almost feel as though you could reach out and touch the water lilies or feel the bright starlight shining on your face. 

Monet's famous Water Lillies - The texture of the paint helps to create such a vibrant feel of movement and life.

Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone - This is a stunning piece which is made so atmospheric by the use of  heavy
textured paint, as well as colour and shadow.

A hello post!

Just to get the ball rolling on this new blog. I'm mainly going to be babbling on about my art, my influences and inspirations, but also other things that may or may not be entirely related! I hope you will find something to learn or at least enjoy. Here's to some happy blogging!