Studio Work 19th October

A good amount of time in the studio which is somewhat of a rarity these days as external commitments have priority.  

I worked sitting on floor direct onto a big 'plate' which was not such a good idea as full of aches and pains the following few days.  The first image was made referencing a sketch I had made which on reflection was not a good idea as I felt the image was too prescriptive, rigid with hard edges, lacked any mystery - pretty picture, lacked spontaneity.  Positive comments are quality and variety of marks which were made using various 'tools' for moving the ink around and good contrast of lights and darks. I feel that the 'Eastern aesthetic' is not so well represented here.

The image below I worked direct onto white cartridge paper with ink with much the same outcome as one above. The small single spiral on the trunk of the tree is a celtic symbol. (This perhaps needs to be made using a broader line).

Single Spiral - The single spiral is one of the most common symbols of the Celtic culture. The spiral was actually the figure that had the spiral folds of the same line. This symbol stood for the radiation of ethereal energy. There are however many different meanings of the single spiral. Some of the most prominent ones are, birth, growth and death, or expansion of the consciousness, its perseverance and knowledge.

The third image was very spontaneous. Experimenting with a few washes and strong marks using water based ink on paper which I then worked over using oil based ink . The initial ground was rather dark so end result lacked contrast. - could work back into to lighten area beyond the trees to give more perspective and indicate light beyond the branches- some light coming through on the right hand side of the image.  Figuratively it presents a wood of trees stripped of their leaves which now lie in a dense carpet on the ground below.

Residue marks on plate of first image evoked a much stronger response for me, much more atmospheric and mysterious narrative with the form of the tree being shrouded in mist.  An additional small plate was inked up and marks extended in various areas.  The following five images are photographs of the plate.

Final two images are photographs taken during cleaning up of plate and working back into residue oil. Simple vertical wiping of plate and then quick mark making using finger to remove ink which produced a simple atmospheric image.  

The residue marks I feel reflect more of a cross cultural aesthetic.