26 Apr Red Coat – 29th April
Painting after second layer of acrylic 28th April
The painting is not complete but my questions are:
Which format best conveys the intention of the subject matter.
Does the photo create doubt? Like it was a chance out-take.
How does each format change the narrative in your opinion?
Notes taken from last nights Crit. Many thanks to Elena, B, Bob, (Sally) and Les for identifying lots of valuable and interesting emotional connections, things to reflect and mull upon.
The photo and painting are different. The intention was to explore responses to identity and ritual via the red coat. The painting expresses more vulnerability. It has opened a space for myth. The coat as a portal, its transformative nature. Symbolism – the number 8/Ariadne/Red Thread/Labyrinth. A deeper layer of intention, the notion that I am ‘protecting the child’ – the shadow of my past child? Trees as a metaphor for place. A photo translated into a painting using emotion. The hand as a centre point (certainly in the ritual of making). The trapped and entangled branches of the composition. How could companion pieces or additional paintings open up a dialogue between themselves? Could they be linked by the red thread. The tenderness in the small hand, the splay of the fingers – how they have woven the thread through and from me.
So – I intend to complete the painting maybe using oil glazes to push and pull the surface more. Post to follow. I am thinking about a sketch with watercolours of the coat as a preliminary study and a study of a red ball of yarn. I can then play with the three and see how they talk to each other.