Category Archives: Assignment 4

Tutor report: Assignment 4

Overall Comments

Hello Patricia, I’ve spent time reading through your blog in detail for this assignment feedback. I can see you have explored ideas and approaches suggested by the course and that you are constantly questioning and reflecting on your progress. I think you have made considerable progress in this section but also appreciate, from your log, that it is not necessarily the sort of progress you had hoped for. I will comment on your assignment piece and some of the individual pieces below, and will attempt to address some of the points you have raised.

Assignment potential (after Assignments 2 and 4)

I understand your aim is to go for the Painting Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, and providing you commit yourself to the course, I suggest that you are likely to be successful in the assessment.

Feedback on assignment 4. Landscape painting from mixed sources.

This assignment requires you to work on paper that is A3 or larger. Compose a landscape that includes 3 of the following 8 aspects of landscape.

Linear or aerial perspective
Sky and or water
Trees or rocks
Animals or human figures

Prep work.

You have explored several of the elements above in your prep work for this assignment. I was a little disappointed at first to think that you were going to do an assignment piece based on a photo and a mobile phone photo at that and in fact your final piece is based on the mobile phone photo. If working from photos, I would recommend you take several photos from different angles, using the benefit of the camera to quickly frame and explore different compositions. Also do close up photographs of different elements, textures, changing light and changing positions of people. You would take 30 or 40 photos of different aspects of this setting and then print several off, enlarged to work with, pin them up on your wall and use them and onsite sketches to work from. You may have done this and if you have I would recommend that you print off and put the photos and sketches in to your sketch book along with any notes , ready to submit for your final assessment at the end of the course.

I was relieved to read in your blog that you had already visited this garden and done sketch work there at an earlier date and that you also, after making a start on the prep work, revisited the location. This gave you an opportunity to explore several aspects in more detail such as the linear perspective, and to some degree, aerial perspective with your study of the daffodils in the foreground, and also the qualities and techniques involved in painting moving water. Whilst your onsite work afforded you the opportunity to consider executing the final scene from different angle you chose to stick with the initial composition for your final piece and this is a strong composition.

Interesting prep work pieces are P1080029, which shows an understanding of the structure of the piece and P1080051. This is the most fluid and painterly version of the piece. The way you have had the confidence to suggest rather than painstakingly render detail gives a lovely freshness to the sketch. The actual qualities of the water colour medium come through in the larger blocks of colour and the way the two people are just about recognizable is more intriguing than seeing two detailed and described figures. The use of pencil lines in the mid ground and in some of the foreground (this could have worked well on the individual leaves of the daffodils to create aerial perspective, ) and yet none in the background emphasizes to some extent the aerial perspective. In this piece ideas and lots of different elements are starting to come together. I am aware that you have had to overcome some of the difficulties associated with painting outside and appreciate that feeling uncomfortable is not entirely conducive to creativity! However, it looks like the pencil sketches must have taken a considerable amount of time and I think you would have benefited from doing quick watercolour sketches, on even a small scale, with a travel watercolour set. You do note that you feel work done onsite is more spontaneous and has a different quality to it. You are doing well at gradually building your confidence in this area.

Final painting

This is an accomplished piece in many ways Patricia. It’s a complex scene with several different factors to bring together to give a coherent whole and I feel you have done this successfully. Technically you have covered all of the requirements set out for this assignment to a good standard. What I feel it does lack is energy, emotion or atmosphere.

I looked back to the work of yours that I thought had a real atmosphere about it , the interior apartments, the basket chairs and the colour and tone work you did in part 2, in order to draw your attention to the difference between that work and your assignment 4 piece, and that is how I came across the gallery Terraces work .

Terrace view I, II, III, III sketch 2 – . This work is excellent. I am sorry to say I didn’t see this last time. I didn’t realise I needed to look at the gallery as well as the blog. So I apologise for that and also the fact that I made a comment in your sketch book section saying it’s hard to get an idea of your sketch book work, that is still true to some extent but this work fills in some of the gaps for me. (I am just wondering how we can be certain that the assessors see all of this work as they will have less time than I do to get an overview. I think it will be important to send all of this work in, in sketch books for assessment.) These are wonderful pieces. Most of the gallery work I have seen, but there are some real gems here that I have not. I have to be up front and say that obviously at this stage , there is also the matter of taste to consider. I love work that looks quite frail and at times vulnerable. That is a personal preference, but I think some of the Terrace (and trees in central park) work really has a special quality to it.

Terrace view ii sketch 2 and terrace view II both have depth of field, aerial and linear perspective, beautiful fluidity of the medium, and lots of expression in them, they are similar to the watercolour sketch for ass4 that I commented on above. They are in my opinion accomplished watercolours and your job now is to recognize that and when editing through your work to make sure you recognize the qualities. What are your thoughts about these paintings in particular?

When you look at them in comparison to your final Ass. 4 piece which qualities do you prefer or not?

Feedback on other work in this section .

1^st Ave sketch in felt pen, despite lack of varying pen thickness this is a great drawing. Life energy and a vibrancy to it.

View on 1^st ave, watercolour also a great painting with lots of energy.

Out of the two Brooklyn Bridges I prefer the less defined.

Think about why you are drawing these views. Is there anything in particular that draws you to them? Is it because they are more private and you are less likely to be disturbed and this in itself is an interesting parameter for where you find yourself. In terms of a context for your work, think about this aspect. You are on roofs, under bridges, there are no people visible. What does this say about you too, as a person and an artist.

The skies are beautifully simple and effective.

The clouds paintings are very good. They are all beautifully rendered and it’s hard to pick one above the others but 10 is particularly simple and effective. You don’t seem to have translated this same style or approach in to your sky dominated landscapes. I wonder what the reason for this was?

Painting water. 2 and 11 jump out at me. 2 because of its simplicity and the evidence of the brush strokes adds to the energy of the painting. 11 has a life to it and the moving water is captured again with energy, and this is a strong composition.

Overall your pencil sketch work needs to have a much wider range of tones in it. It is all the same tone and this then translates in to the final pieces if you work from sketches. I think you would still benefit from doing much quicker and more spontaneous sketches just to develop your vocabulary of mark making.

The final human figure in the landscape, the picnic painting is very strong. It’s a more detailed style than your most accomplished pieces before but in this one you have captured a quality of light that brings vibrancy to the painting and the content of the painting suggests a narrative of some sort. The earlier human figure sketches have an energy about them too, good work.

Strawberries 1, lovely composition, depth of colour, beautiful manipulation of the media, a frailty to the painting which all add to its overall impact.

Cuba sketches, less evocative when they get tighter.

Sketchbooks

See comments above. Regarding pencil drawings and sketch work evidence required for final submission.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

You have reflected well on your approach to watercolour painting in this entry. You are also starting to think about how you might develop your work after the course as well as considering how what you’d hoped to get from the course has matched up with reality and you are contemplating how the course might be falling short for you in this respect.

There is less research and reflection on individual artists in this section but you have approached this thorougly in previous sections. In part 4 you are more concerned with the idea of what is abstract and that is a very good line of research to develop. In terms of studying the painintg degree it may well be something that you contemplate time and again.

I notice you mention style and how to develop your style in your log and that you also feel restrained creatively at times by the project briefs. I can understand and empathise with this. The water colour course is conventional in its approach. Hopefully part five will allow you a little more creative freedom and I think you will find that if you continue with the degree level 2 painting courses also allow more freedom in this respect. I think you can also do a more experimental level one theory course which encompasses several of the arts ‘The Creative Arts Today’ as part of your painting degree. It is largely theory based but does allow for some development of contemporary knowledge which can feed in to your practical approach on later courses. Taking for example your approach to landscape painting, or painting outdoors. You could choose to paint specific sorts of landscapes because the appeal to you in a conceptual way, a political way, an emotional way or a way that comments on the society around you. Think about these isuues when you are feeling restrained and see if they can add more to the purpose of the work for you so that it’s not just going through the motions of techniques.

Suggested reading/viewing

I’m going to take onboard your learning log comments not to overload you with input. What I want to try and do here is give you references to two or three artists who’s work may broaden your experience of what an accomplished watercolour painting is allowed to look like. And I hope that by seeing their work you might feel more confident to develop your own work in a direction that I can see you already have ability. The artists’ whose work you admire doesn’t always match with what your own style might be so this is something to be aware of.

Here’s an interesting blog to sign up to and this post on watercolour is a good place to start. http://makingamark.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/exhibition-review-rws-contemporary-watercolour-2013.html

I notice the Christine Berrington piece may be of interest to you style wise. Her website is down at the moment but it may worth looking out for it. The work of hers that is available to see on line is illlusrartion based, which is very different from the onus of the Painting Degree, however from a watercolour point of view it is worth looking at her illustration work of trees and parks in order to get an idea of how she uses greens and intensity in the greens to capture depth of field. Other wise much of this work is a little too graphic for the purposes of fine art.

Another interesting take on watercolour from last century.

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/moynihan-dead-tree-at-nigadoo-lake-t06840

Also have a look at the work of Naiza Khan. For the style as much as the political content as I know you have touched briefly on this in your last log (politics ) and it doesn’t play a part as such in your own work.

http://www.naizakhan.com/gallery/shifting-ground/#!prettyPhoto[shifting-ground]/5/

You are signed up for the painting degree and whilst much of this level one course is about introducing you to some of the basic techniques in watercolour, you are also at a stage now where it would be good to start thinking about the content and context of your work as well as the style. Your uniqueness will come from a combination of content context and style. It can take a very long time to develop your own style but being aware of the changes in your work is a good starting point on the journey.

Pointers for the next assignment.

Reflect on the different approaches you have taken to watercolour over the course so far and consider which you feel most comfortable with.
In your log and sketch book start to consider context in your work and how you approach the set projects in a way that is personal to you.
Develop pencil sketch work tonally (think back to the drawing exercises in drawing 1, and the left hand work etc too) and consider how using that as prep work translates in to your painting style.
On this final section be brave, make mistakes, push yourself and have fun.

Assignment 4: Landscape painting

I had considered going outside to find a nice motif for the assignment… but again reverted to photos, for practical reasons: Availability, the possibility to plan my painting and study times – and not being subjected to weather hazards. Summer in New York is typically hot and muggy and it’s not very pleasant to stay outside.

So I went through my photos and found one which I made this spring, using a mobile phone. It depicts the midtown mini-park associated to a synagoge. It’s close to my workplace and I sometimes go there for lunch. It features a high, terrassed waterfall, a magnolia tree, walls covered with ivy, and flower plants changing in the seasons. I found this photo to be a little gem because of the young couple sitting by the water, giving the scene something very lively.

The scene comprised several of the features we were supposed to include in the assignment: Human figures, trees, rocks, water, and linear perspective. So I decided to have a go.

The couple

The first element I studied was the couple, using pencil in my sketchbook. The first attempt was a little smallish, the second try below the first worked out better. I found it difficult to capture the essential marks in the face of the young man, but was surprised that I managed to convey the asian character of the girl by the form of her cheeks.

I used an enlarged view of the photo and drew right off the computer screen

The greenery

The second element I liked a lot were the yellow daffodils to the lower left. I saw them as contoured blue-green leaf shapes with curly yellow flower buds in between, before a darker background from the shady root area of other plants. I found this visual pattern quite typical and studied it using coloured pencils and wash.

I also studied the magnolia which was just beginning to flower, with thin green and large white flower buds. The challenge here was the light stem before the dark background, and keeping some white for the flowers when darkening the tones.

I realized that I had to practice in watercolour as well, to tackle the problems with that medium too. So I made a third close up, choosing the dark green conifer on the mid-ground roof top. I included the surrounding buildings as context. I liked this one because I felt that my use of the brush, laid flat to the side, began to work for the depiction of the plant. I liked how the lighter and darker green tones worked together within the branches. I also liked the quality of the washes I produced for the surrounding buildings and walls.

Sketching the waterfall

I found the waterfall the most difficult and challenging element of the scene. I had made a first drawing of this waterfall about 8 months ago, on location, while working on part 3 (painting outside, http://ocawatercolour1.patricia-karsten.de/?p=741). The waterfall is quite fascinating to watch, with the water falling down over the stones which form little terrasses. The water masses also make an incredible noise.

I had the idea of using wax or oil pastels as a resist to reserve white space for the foam on the water, and tried this out in the A4 watercolour sketchbook. The wax crayons were too thin to work as a resist, so I added a layer of oil pastels before applying more paint. The effect was not as clear as I intended and I wasn’t sure whether I’d want to use this technique for the final painting.

I decided to make some more pencil drawings to study the tonal values of the rocks and the falling water, and went on location several times over the next days. The two portrait format drawings were made on location, the landscape format was worked out from a section of my selected photo.

These drawings are more refined than the earlier one in black ball pen, including more tonal variation but lacking a bit of contrast. I was focusing on depicting the moving water and think the drawings made on location better capture the water’s energy and flow.

It may have to do with the different size dimensions – working in front of the real, large-sized object versus working from a small computer screen. But it may also be due to the richer sensual impact on location – looking at a real, three-dimensional moving object is different from looking at a two-dimensional photo snapshot.

On a third occasion, I made a watercolour sketch of the waterfall on location. The format is roughly A3 (34 x 24 cm). It was a novel experience – having my watercolour box and a glass of water with me, and painting in public. But the little park is quite protected and it was early evening so less people around, and I managed to concentrate and not feel overly self-conscious. I quite like the result, as it’s light and fresh.

Tackling the entire scene

After having studied the main elements by themselves, I wanted to see how the entire composition would work together. I knew I’d have to work quite large to have the space for details. The first attempt was roughly A3 size (38 x 28 cm). I used watersoluble wax crayons, a box of 12, which is actually a nice medium because it permits to start with a drawing and then work over with water to achieve denser colours, as in a watercolour painting.

A difficulty is the restricted palette and that using black to darken the values smudges all colours, even if applied only in traces. So I used purple and brown for the darker tones and was very reluctant to work towards the muted colours of my photo source. As a result this piece has a slightly psychedelic colouring.

But I liked how the elements came together on the page and decided to begin with the final piece. I chose the largest format I have – 60 x 45 cm (18 x 24 inches watercolour pad), and made a fairly detailed pencil drawing, trying to get the linear perspective right and the shapes and lines of various elements. I made a break before proceeding to painting with watercolours due to other commitments.

To loosen up a bit, I wanted to make a quick watercolour sketch in large format before tackling the final painting. Inspired from a technique used in the Summer Painting Workshop at the Brooklyn Museum, I chose a charcoal pencil to draw some outlines, then applied generous washes for the main elements of the painting. I tried to work out the greenery and the water without getting too much into detail work.

I wasn’t really satisfied with how I depicted the plants in the foreground. I felt that I had made too many brush strokes, rather than setting those significant ones for the shapes that defined the contours of the daffodil leaves. But overall I fairly liked the approach and the resulting painting.

The final piece: Townscape with waterfall

Then finally I got to the large painting. I worked approximately 8 hours on this one. I tried hard to get the tonal values right without painting too many layers. Already by its size, I find the painting quite impressive (60 x 45 cm). I have somewhat mixed feelings with this painting. On the one hand, I realize that I made quite some technical progress, for example in the depiction of plants. On the other hand, I think there is not enough room for the fluency and chance effects of watercolour as a medium. But I managed to retain some transparency and I won’t work over it any further. May future pieces bring more progress!

Assessment of my learning (Guided reflections)

Looking at my work for Part 3 (Painting outside) and Part 4 (Landscape painting), I feel I’ve come quite a long way. I feel more confident with the medium and made technical progress in many ways. Deliberate study of landscape elements in part 4 permitted to focus on particular difficulties and I think the effect is visible.

I think my biggest step forward occurred while painting skies and clouds. I had a real lightbulb moment in the final sky dominated landscape – an entirely different approach, loose, with much water and liberally mixing in pigment and letting the medium do the work. I wasn’t able to repeat this for the assignment piece. I tried to in the large preparatory watercolour painting, but I guess in the final piece, the composition I chose seduced me to work more tightly and focused on detail.

Working on the assignment was also satisfying because I felt that I developed a systematic approach with the preparatory studies, without exhausting my energy and motivation for the topic. I found this mildly surprising and it may have to do with the availability of the real thing, beyond the selected photo source. I think the excursions to the waterfall and making sketches and a watercolour on location greatly helped with keeping up the flow.

I think the waterfall was the most difficult element and it did not turn out quite as I had imagined, but nevertheless I think it is recognizable and somehow corresponds well in style with the rest of the painting. The greatest achievement for me personally is how I painted the daffodils and the other greenery. There are different green tones, the shapes of the flowers are nicely “accidental”, and there is a silhouette of daffodil leaves behind a darker background, just as I wanted it. The plant to the right in the foreground also turned out nicely, with some characteristic leaves and dark negative space in between.

Linear perspective is quite prominent in the composition due to the buildings in the background and the ‘built environment’ nature of the scene, and I think I got this mostly correct. I considered using a ruler to obtain real straight lines, but decided against it with the rationale of training my eye and hand on this. There are many painterly details which I wouldn’t have seen or wouldn’t have been able to depict before part 4 – like the trunks and branches of the magnolia which alternate from light before dark and dark before light background. So overall, I’m aware I made quite a step forward technically.

Creatively, it’s a different story. I feel quite restricted from an overly prescriptive course concept. Working full time, I have extremely few time available for painting, and this is filled up with guided exercises. To develop creatively, I’d need more freedom to explore my own topics and paint what I’m interested in or deem necessary for technical reasons. So in this creative aspect I only see minimal progress. I do take my freedom in choice of medium for the preparatory studies. But I don’t feel that the course concept helps me much in finding my own voice. I rather feel distracted and hindered from developing my own interests because of the sheer amount of exercises, research points and tutor suggestions. I do appreciate creative input, but in my case, less would be more.

Ideas and plans for future development

I’m not sure about my future development with watercolours. I see the danger that with the course ending, I won’t get back to the medium because it still isn’t anchored in my creative aspirations. I do like other people’s and artist’s watercolours, but I struggle seeing my own as valuable and important for me personally. It may have to do with the enforcement of certain topics to make student work comparable and easier to assess.

Despite this, I feel that abandoning watercolours would be a real pity so maybe this aspect of developing my own interests should be the most important thing to focus on in the final part of the course: Finding my own, personal approach and beginning to use the medium creatively to express something personally meaningful, rather than focusing on the technical aspects of project exercises.

During parts 3 and 4, again and again I came across the watercolours by Winslow Homer which has become a favourite painter. I admire the freshness, clarity and simplicity of his watercolours, and achieving this has become a practical goal in my own paintings. I know I’m still far away from this but it’s good to see paintings that work for me – this helps a bit to sustain while struggling with the difficulties of the medium.

During part 3, I brought up the topic of abstraction on several occasions in the reflections on my paintings, in particular when I struggled with detail and over-attachment to realistic depiction. Tutor feedback on assignment 3 included some pointers to abstract artists and the suggestion to do multiple versions of the exercises, trying out different approaches. Somehow I had lost track of the topic until re-reading the feedback while working on assignment 4. So I took the time for some research on the suggested artist. What struck me most was the feeling that I had a completely different concept of abstraction compared to those artists.

Common understanding seems to focus on artwork with geometrical shapes and colouring without recognizable reference to actual objects of the real world. By contrast, I had in mind the process of abstracting from knowledge about the objects towards ‘painting what I see, not what I know’. To me, this means an improved visual analysis. For example, when I paint a chair, trying to capture the shapes distorted by perspective and the colours changing according to light and adjacent colours, rather than depicting an idealized version of the chair with plain angles and singular colour everywhere. I’ve followed up the suggested artists and wrote a blog article (http://ocawatercolour1.patricia-karsten.de/?p=1548) about abstraction and what it means to me.

Another topic that came up in tutor feedback on assignment 3 was the question about the influence of the societal and political context on my paintings. I must admit that I am a very unpolitical person and tend not to engage in political topics. Likewise, I wouldn’t want to make art to exert political influence or put the finger on societal problems. But I’m quite conscious that there is a great luxury in having the kind of secure and quiet life that there’s room for making art just out of pleasure, compared to many people living in different circumstances. A motivation beyond this relates to my background in psychology and the idea of using art as self-expression in psychological therapy. I’m actually more interested in the psychological than the technical or political aspects of art, and am often fascinated about an artist’s personality when it shines through his or her style.

One example that comes to mind is Egon Schiele, whose style runs through all his motifs, people as well as objects. I don’t think this influences me to attempt drawing or painting in a similar style, but it makes me think about what might become my own personal style some day, something recognizable like the human handwriting or the voice of a person. And so this is a full circle, I’m about to search for my own voice, in art.

More artists: Abstract paintings

Working on the Part 4 Assignment piece confronted me again with the topic of abstraction. Getting back to my tutor’s feedback on assignment 3, I took the opportunity to look at the abstract painters suggested and reflect about the meaning of ‘abstract’.

Contemporary: Tomma Abts, Tauba Auerbach

I’m not particularly into this kind of painting. It is decorative but doesn’t talk to me.

Tauba Auerbach (England, Contemp.) http://taubaauerbach.com/works.php

Tomma Abts (England, Contemp.) http://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/tomma-abts/

20th Century: Kandinsky, Miro, O’Keeffe, Martin

Wassily Kandinski (Russian, 1866 – 1944)

I remembered the very graphical and geometrical, colourful works by Kandinsky from other occasions, but don’t like the geometrical style. But my taste seems to have changed with age, because I remember that in my twenties I was quite fond of playing with shapes and colours in similar ways. While researching, I was surprised to find paintings with more realistic forms that referred to real objects, as for example in the landscape below, which I actually like for its expressive colours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
http://www.wassilykandinsky.net

Joan Miro (Spanish/Catalan, 1893-1983)

Miro was also known to me and I can’t say anything else but that I like the colourful and playful paintings, of which I’m including two typical examples. About two years ago I experimented with printmaking and watercolour layers using the ‘Wall for David Fernandez Miró’ as a starting point. I loved the various shades of blue background tiles and the black linework and abstract creature shapes on top of it.

Dominant blue tone: Woman in front of the sun, 1950
Earth tones: Constellation Awakening at Dawn, 1941

Ceramics: The Wall for David Fernández Miró, 1983
http://catalogue.successiomiro.com/catalogues/ceramics/mur-pour-david-fernandez-miro-1983-436.html

Georgia O’Keeffe (North American, 1887 – 1986)

I had come across Georgia O’Keeffe last year in November, when I had been deliberately researching American painters for the drawing course. I have also been to an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, ‘American Legens: From Calder to O’Keeffe’ where some of her colourful floral works were shown.

I am quite fascinated by her work, but with few exceptions don’t think they are abstract in the same sense as the geometrical works by Kandinsky or Miro. I rather see them as based on observation of natural shapes and reduction to basic forms. As an example, I’m including one of the more abstract ones (compared to her floral or landscape paintings).

Blue and green music, 1919-21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_and_Green_Music

Agnes Martin (Canadian-American, 1912 – 2004)

I have never heard of Agnes Martin before. Her works seem to be mostly in soft colours, creating fabric-like patterns. I find them aesthetically pleasing, but cannot relate personally to this style.

The islands, undated: Presentation of works online at Pace Gallery http://www.pacegallery.com/artists/290/agnes-martin
Untitled, 2001 (blue stripes): from http://drawingroomlondon.blogspot.com/2010/05/agnes-martin-at-timothy-taylor-gallery.html

A different concept of abstraction?

I was quite stunned when I followed up the suggestions from tutor feedback. At first sight, they had nothing to do with what I had in mind when stating that I’d like to develop towards abstraction. I wouldn’t count these artists among my favourit painters, although I’m generally fond of abstract paintings, maybe even more than realistic paintings. I began to analyse what may have been the reason for the apparent contradiction.

Firstly, it may have been the choice of artists. When I think of abstract paintings, I think of Picasso, Richter, de Kooning, but also Cézanne or other painters whose style is very different from the geometrical style of Kandinsky or Miro. It is abstract, but still there’s much reference to real world objects (Picasso, Cézanne), or the abstraction is very organic and open, almost like withered by nature (de Kooning).

Then I realized how difficult it is to actually define the meaning of ‘abstract art’. The easy way would be something like ‘no real object recognizable’, but this would exclude many paintings I’d consider abstract, and it wouldn’t even be a clear demarcation. For example, Georgia O’Keeffe depicted organic forms of flowers in a way that changed them to something very abstract. I see much realism and observational skills in these paintings, so according to the simple definition, they wouldn’t be abstract. Or what about Picasso whose abstract women have their eyes and noses at unusual places and still remain recognizable and convey emotion.

It occurred to me that what I had been referring to was something dfferent: The process of abstraction during work on a drawing or painting. At the heart of my struggle was the inability to depict the objects as I saw them, because I wasn’t able to properly analyse what I saw, or maybe I didn’t even see properly (due to far-sightedness), or maybe it was also the technical problem of transferring to paper what I actually saw. I remember this vividly as it happened while I was working on the assignment 3 watercolour (The Cloisters, an ancient building surrounded by trees and with a group of trees in the foreground).

My idea of developing towards abstraction was not to abandon realistic depiction in favour of a focus on geometrical shapes and colour. Or maybe yes it was, exactly this, but in a style quite different from late Kandinsky, Miro or Mondrian. I would like to simplify and ‘paint what I see, not what I know’ about the objects. How this relates to watercolour is still a different question. So actually I’m more confused than ever by the various meanings of the terms ‘Abstraction’ and ‘Abstract Art’. What remains is that I would like to improve on observational and technical skills, and I hope that with more practice, I’ll also develop a style that suits me. I’m definitely not into photorealism, but I can’t say what I’m actually aiming at, maybe I will only recognize little steps towards the direction that ‘feels right’ for me.