Thursday 26 December 2013

Expressing, responding & unexpected findings

Etching - new beginnings at  Edinburgh Printmakers 

The images that follow are the latest outpouring from the extremely limited time that I have at EP, every fortnight is so ... it's great that I am there in the first place - but - so - frustrating. I have 4hrs to do it all, I know when it's time to run and catch the train that I have been working. 

By default printmaking is time consuming, preparation of plates ( degreasing, grounds), biting  in acid (this is very different to nitric - a lot slower, not as visible etc...), soaking paper, laying out inking area, wiping down, printing and cleaning up! ( using veg oil is very new to me and requires adjustment timing wise). Oh, how I want more time!!!!

It has been an eye opener, having spent years running a traditional printmaking workshop everything is familiar and yet, different?  Learning new methods of applying grounds and how they are removed ( not easily and involves a lot more elbow grease), aquatint - again different, it's an acrylic spray which is fine but takes getting used to ( I knew the traditional resin powder aquatint box so well, how many cranks of the handle for what type of dusting etc..) As already mentioned the acid is the main steep learning curve, with nitric I could read the bite, I could gauge it's effect on the plate without use of a clock - using copper sulphate is very different, the action is much slower and for a really deep bite the plate needs to be upside down due to residue inhibiting the bite. It's been an education. I have not formulated an opinion as yet, it's too early and I remember what it was like when we changed over to water based screen inks, it takes time to adjust. 

The upshot of it all is what I thought I would achieve and how much in the time allowed is being reviewed. As previously mentioned the idea is to make imagery that is a response and not to produce ( certainly not at this stage) an edition, all imagery forms part of a documentation - warts and all - I strongly believe that if I am to 'create' then it needs to be an open ended journey, once the barriers are in place then the 'titivating' begins.

















 















 I am looking forward to getting back after the imposed christmas break  - roll on the 10th Jan 2014!




Tuesday 19 November 2013

Revision & Visual Perception

Demanding Paintings and Printmaking time at Edinburgh Printmakers

It's a strange affair, the idea that we are continually in a state of flux and that as artists we invariably trap segments of time onto a canvas, needing to learn just how much to put into stasis and at the same time, trying to understand how much should change. So difficult, yet so vitally important.  I endeavour to follow this train of thought but naturally need reminding of it, otherwise I know that the end result is very much 'on the surface' and is not about the ethos of this journey. These paintings demanded more, causing the inevitable ... see above!


Resolution Nō2

In Conflict 

Changes can appear to be minimal in the case of 'In Conflict', a subtle adjustment but a necessary change nonetheless. In contrast 'Perpetual Regeneration' demanded bigger changes ...



                                  

                                  

Perpetual Regeneration

Printmaking -- so good to be in a proper printmaking studio again, it's been so long. The space, the layout, the process, the Rochat press - (there's something wonderfully transcendental when you are turning the flywheel) - it's great to be starting on Printing the Innate. The series will be titled 'Visual Perception' and at present I envisaged it as an on going set of images where the traditional edition is not the goal, each image will be a record of the journey. This is the start.











Monday 14 October 2013

A Need for Colour 

& Printing the Innate

The quest continues, the colour relationships become more informative, subtle nuances that speak to me and demand that I listen. The importance of a line and the apparent pull of two colours on one another becomes fascinating and frustratingly, highly elusive. There is a magic in all of this, I can almost touch it but just as I nearly have it in my grasp, it moves away, a tiny segment presents itself on the canvas demanding attention and I feel duty bound to respond. Joy, Pain, Elation and Despair - it's all there, it's a roller-coaster ride and a very steep learning curve. I do know that in order to move the imagery forward, sometimes it needs to go wrong, when this happens you are forced to reassess and to learn to trust your instincts. 
With this in mind, a new group of images have begun.


Highly organised working space

Starter for Six

Images begin to suggest themselves.

Changes emerge.






Everything is in a state of flux, what I have to say and how it's said is not fixed and should not be fixed.



This is naturally difficult and open to failure.
 
I recently saw the Prints of Wilhelmina Barns Graham which was a real uplift, her use of colour and gesture resonated with me and Lynne Green who has written a number of books about WBG gave a very insightful talk. Another uplift came after Lynne Green had seen my work and made some favourable comments. All this came at the right time, sometimes it can be difficult to sustain belief/ energy when immediate references are not always there, this is particularly true when not working in a collective studio environment.
As usual the following images are open to reworking but at this moment ...







stage 10
stage 12



And finally - Printing the Innate. I have been fortunate to have received funding to embark on a series of etchings at Edinburgh Printmakers.  In my application I asked for the opportunity to fully immerse myself in a period of research into the potential that the ‘process’ of Etching offers. By default Etching is process dependent, from plate preparation to final printing, including the stages in- between and believe that a minimum of 10 sessions is needed in order to allow me to explore the ‘magic’ that can occur. I can't wait!

Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards: South of Scotland 2013
in partnership with Creative Scotland





                            

Thursday 22 August 2013

Questions, proposals & painting the innate ... 

subliminal references & cognitive reflection

Its over a year since I embarked on this journey and it has certainly been an enlightening, enriching and a productive passage of time; productive mentally & physically, where there is a need to create and a need to reflect, internally and externally. I know that I need to make work but in trying to create from a completely unknown starting point makes for very topsy turvy internal voyages of discovery and the realisation of the continuous quest for bringing together a multitude of elements together at the same time, where all of these separate elements are perfectly aligned : me, colour, mark, speed, weight, opacity, translucency, dilution, contrast etc... so many etcs.... is difficult.

studio 18 Aug

There is no doubt that the funding I received allowed for a freedom in approach and this brought about changes that are still being measured. It has enabled me to reconnect with myself and my values that had possibly been eroded over time. Naturally this can make for an uncomfortable experience. It is not always easy to put your hand up and say, ' somewhere, somehow I got lost and I don't really want to admit to that because if I do a whole lot of other stuff will present itself and demand my attention and ...'  
Traps, pitfalls, comfy slippers, whatever analogy you want to use, as visual practitioners we can lose sight of the bigger picture - pun intended.  It's never too late though to revisit your core values and realise that you may have strayed off course, unintentionally, but off course nonetheless. Just because you think you can paint & draw does not make you an artist. What does? Well ... without artists there would be no answers because there would be, no questions. 

So, the work, well it has become more stripped back. I have tried to push the simplicity as mentioned in a previous post, pursue the exploration of colour relationships and division of space.
The exploration of the idea of imagined medical cross sectional slides continues - not intentional from the outset but realised on reflection.


Apoptosis                                                87cm x 55cm




Resistance
                                                   87cm x 55cm




 
Lesion      
                                                               108cm x 100cm
There are two examples of the next image because as mentioned in a previous post it is difficult to photograph images that have both gloss & matt on the surface without losing its impact that can only be sensed in situ via movement of the viewer and light on the surface.



Non Sequential Division    
                                                144cm x 114cm







Remission  
                                                         70cm x 48cm



Internal Assault  
                                                           88cm x 70cm




The Moment of My Conception    
                                         145cm x 118cm

Finally, website is live but still in the process of being populated - niallcampbell.info