Material Object Page
For my material project I produced two mixed media paintings. Inspired by Alfred Conteh’s work, I used a range of materials for my pieces including oil paint, acrylic paint and ink. Prior to this assignment I had never worked with oil paints before. It was so interesting learning how to work with the medium and how it interacted with the acrylic paint and ink. There was a lot of trial and error with my work and what I found worked best was when I worked in layers, allowing each layer to fully dry before I applied the next. I decided to create two paintings for this assignment as I wanted to represent two different emotions, and I thought that would be best achieved in two separate canvases.
For my first portrait, I found an image online of an African American woman and painted her in black and white. Similar to Alfred Conteh’s work I created a close-up portrait and had the figure look directly at the viewer. In all of Alfred Conteh’s work, the figures look at the viewer in an almost confrontational way. Their gaze invites us into the painting and allows us to connect with the portrait on a more personal level. I really enjoyed creating this piece and learnt many things in the process, such as creating an interesting composition and how different materials react with one another. One issue I had with my first painting was getting the correct proportions. I began by sketching my portrait with a standard pencil, but it became one huge mess as my proportions were all wrong. Every time I tried to erase the pencil from the canvas, the graphite only created thick smudge marks instead of disappearing. To overcome this issue, I researched different oil painting techniques. I found a technique where you begin by applying a thin layer a of oil paint and linseed oil to the canvas. Then, taking a paper towel, you wipe away sections of the paint. This technique gave me the freedom to push around the paint and get the foundation of my portrait correct, before I then went over and added more detail.
For my second painting I wanted to experiment more with layering, as this is something Alfred Conteh really incorporates within his work. For my composition I wanted to represent an image of suffering. We always try to put on a brave face, even when we are broken inside. I painted a man screaming out for help, in order to represent his pain. I began by working with acrylic paint, and sketched out the basic foundation of the portrait. I then went over the acrylic paint with an oil-based glaze. I didn’t want my foundational sketch to disappear, and so I used a gaze to allow the underlying sketch to remain visible. To build upon my original sketch, I used ink and oil pastel to create more depth and dimension to my work. It was interesting the way the ink reacted with the oil pastel. The two mediums didn’t mix and so when I applied ink over the pastel, it quickly ran to a different section of the canvas and created some unexpected interesting marks and textures.
Overall, I am really pleased with the way my two paintings turned out. I am not a painter and so I was faced with many challenges throughout the process, but it was interesting learning ways to adapt and overcome these challenges.