I'm not sure if other artists do this but...I (mostly) only name my paintings if they're going into a show! Unfortunately naming my work comes last, its a bit of an afterthought with some. I have used song lyrics, a poem, a feeling, something from a film, inspiration from a gallery or other place I have visited as my chosen name. I don't keep lists, (I now think I should), but I have an envelope of text I have cut out of an old book. I started cutting out the text and using it with a finished painting to create the narrative and its name. I still have lots of the cut-outs as they seemed too good not to use one day. However, my work is process-led, I have never chosen a cut-out sentence and made a piece of work to fit. Often, 'my practice pieces' come out as the best ones. The approach to my work and the process means I can't replicate the marks exactly.
Copying my practice piece tends to lose its 'essence'; it becomes stiff and flat. These practice pieces are usually in my sketchbook and that's where they stay. It becomes a library of time and skill development. However, recently I have been sharing these on my Instagram account. I have been naming my sketchbook work after the place of inspiration. The painting 'December Morning, Tehidy' was painted from a photograph I took one morning of a vivid sunrise through the bare-branched trees. The piece, 'Over the Hedgerow' is a viewpoint I often stop at on my countryside walk, over the hedgerow I often see a rabbit in the field and lots of wildlife around the Cornish hedge where I stand. Both of these are still in my sketchbook. See more of my images with narrative on the Krowji Residency page
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Happy New Year and happy new decade! I thought I would do a roundup of 2019 and what is instore for 2020 post. I don’t generally do resolutions as such but last year one of my goals was to be more active with my creativity. I didn’t have a clear set plan of what I was going to do or a timescale which sounds really rubbish, in fact I was very vague because my art has to fit around my job and family. I felt if I was too rigid and things didn’t go to plan I would feel too defeated. However I had some great successes last year and a few low lights but that’s to be expected, as they say; a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. I think it’s important to acknowledge what didn’t work rather than erase those bits and paint a ‘perfect picture’ for the world. I wrote about it here in my post 'How to deal with rejection as a creative practitioner'. In 2019 I was lucky to have 5 exhibitions in Cornwall;
When I went back to college I remember being nervous and telling myself several times I wasn’t good enough so to have exhibited and sold my work at Tate St Ives and Tate Modern were definite career highlights and experiences in 2019. The paintings I submitted for both Tate exhibitions were painted as part of a mentorship I did, one sold at the private view and the other about a week later! ‘From Trevalgon with Lanyon’ shown at Tate St Ives I had to take my artwork to London so I spent a few days there and also enjoyed the Olafur Eliasson exhibition, a few days is never enough though. I love London as it just opens my mind to more artists and I always come home with lots of new ideas. In February, many months before the exhibition at Tate Modern I went to see the Don McCullin photography exhibition at Tate Britain. This exhibition will be at Tate Liverpool 5th February – 6th May 2020. I know Cornwall has so many artists and galleries but it’s nice to get away from seascape themed artwork and look at different perspectives. So what’s the plan for 2020? I made a list a few days ago;
Are you stuck with your creative work? Do you need to finish a piece or tie up loose ends and want to try something new? Try these tips with visual examples. Feel free to print this list and use them as prompts to help, I have also made this information into an infographic at the bottom of the page.
Summer holidays are right around the corner! whether you’re a stay at home parent, working parent, have a holiday away booked or a couple of day trips, I think a lot of parents’ question how they are going to entertain their children for 6 whole weeks of the summer holidays, I know I do!
Whilst I will be juggling work with the kids being off there will be little time to be in the studio to paint but I can still be creative in other ways. I have been thinking of some creative activities that you can do with children (suitable for most ages and with supervision) to pass the time and make some summer holiday memories. Whatever your plans are we all hope for sunny days where we can be outside but some of these activities are ideal for indoors or you can pop on the wellies and raincoat if you don’t mind the elements.
Using a solution focused approach is a way of using different perspectives to resolve a specific situation or problem. College brief, university assignment, creative proposal… this list of prompts and questions may help you to resolve that project that you have become stuck with.
· What if we try……? · Are there any other ways at looking at this? · We could also……. · Brainstorm ideas · Put the work up on the wall, take a step back, have a tea break, look with fresh eyes · Let’s look at the options, what’s the best possible option I am likely to achieve? · Have I missed anything · Can I make this work? Is it realistic? · What could I adapt? · Who else would know about this? Do I know anyone who has experience with this? · Define the problem: what is the real issue? · Desired outcome: what do I want? · If I follow through with this option how will I feel? · What is my final decision? · Steps: what must I do? When? Where? With whom? · Obstacles: what might get in the way and how will I deal with these? · Evaluation: did it work? What would I do differently next time? Printing this out and keeping it in your sketchbook or paperwork might be useful for future projects. |
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