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

                            

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

Spacial division & colour placement

The beat goes on towards simplification  

The work goes on and hopefully continues to evolve in keeping with the initial idea = Still starting from an unknown standpoint and believing that it is important that I respond to the first gesture/ colour that is applied to the surface.
 Naturally, there is an element of sub-conscious decision making taking place and I recognise this, but it is only in reflection that I understand the image and its direction. I am aware that this approach is the antithesis of theme driven works, but it forces me into a place where I have to have an open dialogue and keeps me genuinely engaged in problem solving. I am excited by the relationship between one form/ colour to another, that point where the two meet and importantly, the line in- between. I am excited by the thinness of the paint and the magic that happens when one layer is applied next to another. I am excited by watching the paint dry!

So, the next image is one that completely dictated its every move and is titled 'Homage to BN' 

Oil on ply (off cut)                                                    Homage to BN          

                                                                           

There was never any intent to make an image that referenced Nicholson but it became apparent that the way the space was being divided that a subliminal referencing was taking place. I understood that it was a response to his 'relief' paintings.
In contrast the next image (painted at the same time) has different sensibility and makes a nod towards Braque but I have only just realised that. 

Oil on ply (off cut)                                                           GB Notation    

I have revisited a couple of images for a number of different reasons, principally that the image is statement but only at at certain point in time and that what it may say is in need of 
new thread. With this in mind 'Papal Resignation' has become 'Fall from Grace' (pun intentional) and 'Nordine's Medley' has become a 'Nordine Mash Up'

Oil on canvas                                                                    Fall from Grace

Oil on canvas                                                                     Nordine Mash Up

The latest works continue the exploration of medical slides and sections of the epidermis, again not in a deliberately conscious way but in a serendipitous act of discovery. I am always amazed by what takes place, how the process evolves and demands engagement from the outset. 

Action and Consequences. 
Internal Voice. 
External Vision.

Oil on canvas                                                                                       1 in 6

'1 in 6' is one of seven images that are on the go. They are very much about stripping it back to basics - how the space is divided and colour relationships. It is about the interaction and physical presence - they are not about, instant gratification and they are about, the subtle nuances that reveal themselves when viewed face to face. 'Mutation' is another from the series.

Oil on canvas                                                                           Mutation

In thinking about recent developments the images are becoming more simple and present new conundrums - the first of which is to be brave enough to leave well alone!

" it was not what we found but the journey itself" (anon)

 New Explorations

This is very much a journey where I see myself as a cartographer responding to the many pathways that suggest themselves, the terrain is constantly shifting as I deliberately change the point from which I have started off from. This journey is very much about discovery of material & process, how one thing informs another, where an arbitrary placement of shape/ colour forces the reassessment of what I think I already know.

The latest works I have discovered are, 'Epidermis' related, imaginary cross sections.

Jag 1

Jag 2

Jag 3

 The Jag series imagine the parting of these layers as the needle is inserted. Domestic scale this time : 46cm x 31cm. As is usual, these three images were started at the same time in order to maintain an open ended dialogue and to allow for comparison/ reflection/ discovery and personal map making. I understand that part of it is due to my printmaking background and working in multiples. Akin to prints hanging from a ball rack.

 The images below show other works in progress.

Cut

Implant

Schematic

Hydration

Arterial Shunt

As the project continues, so my understanding of how little I know begins to grow!

I need to learn more about the act of painting, about my relationship to it and immerse myself further into its vortex.  There are definitely glimpses of understanding but ...

those words of T.S Eliot keep coming back! 

'Cut' 60cm x 60cm, 'Implant' 60cm x 60cm, 'Schematic' 50cm x 70cm, 'Hydration' 70cm x 50cm, 'Arterial Shunt' 64cm x 76cm - all images water & oil based pigment on canvas.

Random Act? Serendipity?

Purpose? Why?  What for? 

These questions  are consistently part of my ever evolving terrain and are without doubt, difficult. The difficulty lies in being able to maintain an open mind in the initial phase of the images development. It is important that a dialogue takes place and that this dialogue only takes place on the canvas. I want the unexpected to happen and to have to engage in a process led journey that allows for the unknown, to ask questions that are about colour, translucency and division of space; that by default throw up new questions that invariably result in uncomfortable revelations about shortcomings and the inevitable, 'what's the point of it all?'  I need to find these things out so that I am certain, the voice is mine. 

Papal Resignation

As is the norm, all paintings start with a colour and a gesture, neither being considered prior to the start and the final orientation is not necessarily how it began. It is quite normal for the painting to appear to suggest a working layout, only for this to change and it may occur more than once in its development. Invariably it is late in the painting's journey that I begin to understand what it is about and eventually work within the confines of its working title. 
Naturally this way of working is full of dilemmas, not least the 'Theme' one. It is important that they do not follow a set path, that the approach to each image is different to the last one, that I remain outside my comfort zone. Why? Because I want the unexpected, I savour the absorption of an open ended dialogue and most of all, I learn.

Division Nö3

Deluge

Elysian Fields

Elysian Fields is a prime example of this serendipitous approach, the painting did not reveal itself until the two red circles were put in to act as a balance to the red above and then it became apparent; the circles became poppies, the dripping paint suggestive of a meadow and at this point I knew what the painting was about. Elysian Fields are the home of the dead judged worthy (Virgil) and (Homer)  a beautiful meadow where those favoured by Zeus enjoy perfect happiness. Naturally there are also the connections to made with Fields of Flanders.

NEW THOUGHTS

SEARCHING FOR AN ANSWER TO UNKNOWN QUESTIONS

It's funny how something so simple can produce what appears to be such conflicting proposals but by default it is the only outcome to a naturally ambiguous quest that I have embarked upon.  What exactly am I attempting to do? Well, at the end of the day I am trying to produce imagery that is my response to my concerns at a particular moment in time but without that dreadful word, my "style." If there is one word that really gets my goat (?) It is hearing that expression used in the context - 'I am trying out a new style,' 'What style are you using?' - STYLE???????? Like it is a fashion accessory, something to change because, Blue, is the new Black! Style over Substance?

An Artist's raison d'être is to express an internal voice, their internal voice. It is this quest to expunge these concerns that creates their, “Style.” It is a naturally evolving phenomena that is a by product of a lifetime’s concerns. Lucien Freud, Rothko et al. produced what they did because they were searching, searching to express an answer to an internal concern. What we witness in each painting is just that, ‘at this point in time I am concerned with this’ and, ‘I am attempting to resolve these concerns’ whether that is about the form or the material itself.

Rant over.

Anyway, here is some new work that has caused me many moments of self doubt and continue to do so.

    So, what are my concerns in these latest pieces? Cells, Shadows, Divisions and Chance.

The reality is that there are a multitude of elements whirling around in the vortex of my mind, a continuous mishmash that is in a constant state of flux - one minute this, the next minute, that. For example, the painting below, 'Opposing Emergence' started out with a concern about the shadow and subsequent light cast onto the wall by the pots and pans hanging up in the kitchen. 

Opposing Emergence                                                                   3ft x 2ft

As the painting developed it began to suggest the direction it needed to take, the shadow was the catalyst but as the paint went on and thoughts were processed the concerns changed. In the end it became about the tension created by two forces and by default the line they created. 

The next image, 'Creationist Conjecture Nø 0' is the result of a random act and the division of space and a need for order, uncontrolled order - painting as an oxymoron?

Creationist Conjecture Nō 0                                                     3ft x 2ft

The next painting, 'Meus painting morbus procui quinquaginta' is taken from a fascination with medical slides and the wondrous images that they make and this is my translation.

Meus painting morbus procul quinquaginta                             3ft x 2ft

The last painting, ' Solstice' is as a direct consequence of the light hitting the canvas on the studio floor whilst it was drying out after being sized and it dictated the first move.

                    Solstice                                                                                                4ft x 4ft

"It was not what we found but the journey itself"  anon 

New works & the nagging demons of doubt

Lessons learnt & the road ahead

Without doubt this has been a very challenging and informative period; informative  both in terms of material handling and my own inner voices questioning the direction that the work is taking.  I know the direction I don't want it to take, saying that, I might just take it along that road to see what happens, you never know.   It is important on entering the studio to go in with a gut reaction to the results from the previous day-  Did I really say that? Did I really say that!?

 Along with the inevitable internal struggle/ conflict the weather has impacted on the work, the light has been too dull and despite my preference for taking the work outside to work on, it has been too wet!!  It would be fair to say that there have been periods of sheer frustration caused by this mix of desire to restate a point in a painting and the weather making this nigh on impossible. Arghh!!!!!

As before, I have had a number of canvasses on the go at the same time and they all have had differing amounts of time invested, one painting may well have minimal editing and another may be reworked numerous times, all of this is governed by that initial opening of the studio door. The previous days work may well have resulted in a, 'Ahh, yes that's it' moment, only for it to be reworked later in the day as it catches the corner of my eye and demands for something else to be said. Of course, this also leads to the, 'shit,shit,shit' phase, 'why, why could I not leave it alone?' and then the realisation that if it had been left alone it still would be there, nipping away.

 The painting below 'La Plage' is an example of multiple re-editing. 

                                                                                    

La plage

 The next painting 'Last Rites' is an example of minimal editing. 

Last Rites

 There is always that stage in a painting's development where the initial marks may imbue the surface with a quality that makes it difficult to restate your opinion and it is this very moment that many artists battle with and it can be the most informative one. You learn about your own shortcomings, and that in itself can be unsettling, there is a moment where you must put your hand up and admit; admit that you out of your comfort zone, admit that you would rather not confront what is staring you in the face and admit that you doubt your own artistic merits.  It's the nagging demons of doubt!  In this regard, there is an inevitable schizophrenic space that the artist occupies because along with the doubt there is the opposite position. This is the 'I really have something to say and I know that what I have got to say is important.'  It is a tightrope, can I get to the other side before I fall off?

                                                                      Fall of Icarus   

Encroachment of Inevitability




Nordine's Medley

Time to return to Ken who is always insightful when it comes to colour.