My proposal

Holly Riding 

 Fine Art 

Final project proposal

Experimental Portraiture

Review

The skills, techniques and processes I have learnt and used in units 5 and 6 will show in my FMP. Working on projects earlier in the course provided me with a variety of techniques such as using line and mark making, using tone, observing, painting and drawing mainly from installations made from junk. I also constructed an assemblage box, and from this produced a piece using colours based on a limited palette. Experimenting with grids, layers and reflections played a huge part in my work, and as my ideas have progressed, will continue as I carry on towards my FMP.

My project will build on the strengths of my earlier work particularly in the use of colours, layers, surfaces and composition.

Ideas and Concepts

My next step and aim is to explore the theme of portraiture, in doing so I will emphasis the colour, surface and mark-making qualities within the images, and push the work towards producing abstract paintings. One idea I have is to produce and display canvas’s that investigate the boundaries between figurative and abstract art. This will develop in my work as I will create a body of work based around portraiture and colour, using classmates and family as subjects to provide a starting point. I am interested in a wide range of artists and want to experiment with a number of alternative approaches to portraiture.

Contextual Research

The contextual research will help my understanding of the issues I am dealing with and can influence my own pieces. The work of relevant artists can give me a boost, well known artists such as Gerhardt Ritcher, Lucian Freud, Willem De Kooning and Jenny Saville, can suggest ideas and approaches. Individuals that work with not only colour or portraiture but who show expressive abstract qualities in their work are particularly relevant to me. I recently went on a week long study visit to London which has helped me identify relevant artists, and in addition to using the internet and library to find out about other artists I will also use local galleries, as I now realise that paintings are often very different seen in real life to how they look in a book or on a computer screen.

Techniques and Presentation

The primary research I shall undertake will include a series of observational drawings, photographs, and studies of family and friends. This will be providing me with the chance of experimenting in paint with colour, surface and layering, improving and developing my painting style. The methods I can use to create and compose work will be presented in my sketchbook, on a blog, or a journal, and by doing so will show the audience the variety of my thought processes and be able to evaluate my work as I go along. Using collage I can create a raised, textured surface, this can add a further quality to my work. I will be able to present or display my final pieces in the exhibition, either as a series or sequence of inter-related small images or a large scale painting.

Evaluation and Progression

For my evaluation I will gather feedback and helpful information that is given to me, this will not only come from my tutors but also my family and friends. The comments they have to share will help me; feedback that I shall take on board will hopefully identify the strengths and weaknesses of my work. Finally when I put up my exhibition I will also compare my work back against the work of the artists that have influenced me, to see whether I have succeeded in developing work that has some of the qualities of their work.