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.

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.