Whilst I just love to go into my studio and just paint madly, I have spent the last couple of years really getting underneath the hood and learning the basics. I have done some fabulous courses and I have at least two more planned for this year!
At the moment I am just finishing off a course I had to pause last autumn when I didn’t have a studio – a Composition course from Sally Hirst.
There are many aspects to good composition, and I was only aware of a few of them. This week I have been playing with texture, pattern and gradient. It is extremely interesting to pare down my experiments to monochrome as I usually work with so much colour, but I like it! (And of course, simplification is another element of good composition!).
These studies have been made using inks and acrylics. Starting with random marks made with several items and then my favorite ones chosen. Making studies in this way natually adds texture and I am a huge fan of this in my work. I love making loads of textured layers and I really love looking sideways at one of my paintings and seeing all the texture that you have to get close up to notice. Texture can come from brush strokes or actual 3D thick paint and collage etc.
Next I have added some collaged gradients to some of the plainer pieces that needed something extra. Not sure about all of them (mixing ink and acrylic doesn’t always ‘gel’).
Lastly I have added pattern and repetition to some of these. I use stencils and pattern making materials a great deal to add interest to my layers already but it was an interesting study to bring them to the fore here. Can you spot the silicone pan trivet and the bubble wrap?! Two of my favorites!!
Such fun this week and lots learned!
Ailsa Brims Art 