Painting and drawing from the other side
From the other side?
My studio work which is based on landscapes in my most recent pieces have been revolved around
black and white paintings. My practice has been based on looking at my work from another point of
view. One of my first examples Dryden Goodwin. Dryden Goodwin but he is a drawer not a painter?
When I say looking onto the other side of things it relates to space and the artist’s way of thinking and
how these artists think has influenced me during my studio practice. Peter Doigs and David hockneys
abilities of using their work to engage with the audience has been an influence.
Dryden Goodwin has played a huge part in my journey within developing my practice. His work is
very sketchy as I see a lot of similarities in not so much our work but the way we work. Dryden
Goodwin is an English born artist from Bournemouth and born in 1971. He has been known to work
in a combination of things such as drawings, film, photography and even screen based installations.
What I found fascinating about his drawings are the fact that they are not your typical traditional
drawings in terms of the way he explores his work and the amount of depth he explores into them. We
are similar in terms of the way we think and more of the process of our ideas and not always just the
final outcome. In my practice my focus use to always be on just the final outcome but Dryden
Goodwin’s way of thinking helped me to see art on the other side. This also means the scale of work
as well. To me Dryden Goodwin’s work is based around small scale work but what I find intriguing is
how much detail he can fit into such small scale. His work is themed on 3D face drawings and mine is
landscapes. Although our themes of work are different. My thoughts were if it works with
figures/faces why it cannot work with landscapes. This is an example of looking on the other side
because most people would think about scaling up the work where as I did the opposite and try to
scale down my work. His thought process can change in his work which shows. This was mentioned
in an interview also with Jack Southern. “Jack Southern – As well as an emotional charge, I feel the
kind of marks in the drawings show the evidence of a changing thought process”. “Dryden Goodwin –
Yes I think you are right; the marks represent the building of the drawing. And I think some of the
marks here, as well as in other drawings, as you mention, are the thinking process made evident, and I
like that”. This to me indicates that Dryden Goodwin means that the mind processes what the eyes
see. I felt it was a challenge for me personally scaling my work down to small scale as this also
required knowing when to say you have worked on a certain piece for a certain amount of time. To
me this indicates I am much more confident in what I am doing and I feel the fact I haven’t over
worked my pieces shows just that.
Here is an example of one of Dryden Goodwin’s linear
pieces which in fact were used for the Jubilee line
underground in London. The drawings are in fact of
drawings of the members of staff that work there. He
produced 60 drawings in total catching the staff drawn at
different moments. He also had made some films with
them along the way. This was to see how far he could
extend the limits of portraiture as he is known for
combining his drawings with sound. This to me shows he
has different dimensions to his work without turning his
back on his unique style of work.
His work possesses similarities to my work, maybe not so
much the theme but more for our eye for detail in
whatever we happen to be working on. My work in
particular has always has been based on detail. Dryden
Goodwin’s work shown in his lecture that we had this
year gave me the inspiration to try and work on a
smaller scale. As shown below my challenge was to
see how much detail I can use onto a small scale. This
goes back to looking on the other side of art because
people may just assume more often than not that I may
just keep going onto bigger scale where I more or less
did the opposite to this. I would say the only small
differences to mine and Dryden Goodwin’s work
would of course being the theme but also his work is a
lot more sketchy then mine although mine is a little at
times however. Here is an example of one of my pieces where I had taken some inspiration from his
work and incorporated into my own in terms of the scale size of the work I have been making. This in
my opinion is a fine example of my theme art on the other side in terms of looking at things in a
different way as most people would more than likely go larger scale where as I wanted to do
something a little different, this does not however mean I had ruled out ever trying to make large scale
work. As you can also see the likenesses in terms of me going down the black and white route in
terms of colour. Black and white in my opinion has certain effects that may be your regular bright
colours might do. One very important feature of Dryden Goodwin’s work and the way he works is
that he is very interested in time
Overall both of our works have differences and similarities. Mainly the similarities are both to do
with the scale and size of our work. This is a great example of what I look at in artists. It is the little
details, the scale size for example. In my opinion it IS the little details that really stand out for me.
This scale size he works with and the detail that is included is a unique talent which I admire very
much.
Dryden Goodwin’s work was on show at the London
underground. The drawings that were on show were of
the staff that work there. His work at this point in the
way they were presented started to make me think more
about how I could present my own work which I felt was
important. This also show his work he has in a way
contributed to the community as it was very much part of
the underground.
Peter Doig is another artist that has had an influence on my work and has helped me look at my work
from various points of view. He is a Scottish painter born in 1957 who is renowned for his figurative
paintings and also his landscape paintings. With his figurative paintings he is interested in the fact the
outfit represents a time and moment. I found this from a book which featured an interview he had with
Kitty Scott. Doig said “I guess I am more interested in painting costume – and attitude as projected by
an individual’s clothing – than flesh. I was conscious of this when working on Gasthof zur
Muldentalsperre. Even in Blotter the figure is wearing a very specific outfit. It represents a very
specific outfit. It represents a time and moment. He is wearing what we use to call a moon jacket –
this was just post space age. Funny thing back. It is enjoyable to…” Doig is another painter who like
me has a good eye for detail in his work. He was nominated for the Turner prize in 1994 which
happens to be the same year he received the prix Elliette Von Karajan. Years later he was awarded
with Wolfgang Hahn prize of the society for modern art. Most of Doigs childhood was spent in
Canada and also partly in Trinidad. In 2002 he returned to the island to work so this to me suggests
his work could be about remembrance of his youth or it may tempt up to think this. He has exhibited
solo exhibitions at galleries such as The Tate Britain for example which was back in 2008. Onwards
touring to Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville se Paris and also Schirn Kunsthalle which was based in
Frankfurt in Germany. He has also used photography for some of his work which is a significant
similarity to mine as that is how my work took shape based from the beginning on photos. I had taken
the photos from my summer project when I was in the Scottish Highlands as my theme was
landscapes and capturing the scenery at certain
moments.
Here is One of Doigs landscapes called Bobs
House which I would consider a favourite of mine.
It’s a favourite of mine because not only the
similarities but the differences of our work as well.
To me what I like about this piece is the subtlety it
possesses. It also shows this in terms of the colours
that have been used. Also this could say about
what he made of the surroundings during his
childhood years as well through colour. Although
he has used different colours to what I have I do
think there are similarities in the way we paint.
This is because I have been working on landscapes
also and the feel the types of scenery we paint form
are similar types. Our scenery types seem to have a
peace and subtle look to them. My opinion looking
at this is that I thought straight away it may have
been near where he lived in Canada as his work
seems to stem from his remembrance from his past
when he was younger.
One of my own pieces which I produced earlier has
similarities to Peter Doigs painting Bobs House.
The similarities I feel are about the atmosphere that
has been created in both pieces and the calmness
that they both possess. One of the pieces I created
was a scene from the Scottish highlands. I used acrylic paints in mine as does Peter Doig. At this point
after I had painted this piece that I started to hear more about Peter Doig and how he uses his work to
make people think about their own work and look at other points of view. This has certainly
influenced me to look at art work in different ways and being more open mined in what I happen to be
working on. This just goes to show that you can learn just as much from the differences to your work
and an artist’s piece just as much as the similarities. Sometimes even more.
The artists I have been looking at have been very specific to my practice and have been a great
influence in how I look at things. When I say specific I mean in terms of how they are on point with
what I am doing as if I looked at certain other artists I could take me in a completely other direction.
Trying different directions is not a bad thing but it is easy to get put off track with what you happen to
be working towards especially if you are wanting your work practice to go in a certain direction that
is.
Last but not least my other artist I had researched was of course David Hockney with the obvious
similarities of us having drawing and painting as our strength. David Hockney was born on July 9th
1937 in the city of Bradford. His parents were Laura and Kenneth Hockney. Hockney was the 4th out
of 5 children. He is widely known for his contribution to the pop art movement in the 1960s. He is
also very much considered the most successful British artist in the 20th century.
Here is in fact a very important piece which was very influential to me in different ways in both
similarities and the differences. If feel this is a great example of looking at paintings in different ways
in particular on the subject of space. With my own practice in particular I have been exploring about
what you can see right in front of you to what you can see ahead of you into the distance. This is one
of his most famous pieces known as The Bigger picture which has differences and similarities to some
of my own work which has interested me. The colours that have been used create a quiet and peaceful
atmosphere. This is also a good representation of a similarities me and David Hockney have, this
regards to looking at types of scale size to work on. The differences I do find fascinating as Hockney
has this one split into sections however there is a subtlety about this which I like very much. When I
look at this image I wonder where the path leads to, is it something good or something bad? What is
left and right? how does that play a part in this journey. Interesting that what appears to look like a
river or stream ahead which is a contributing factor to why this piece draws the audience to looking
ahead into the distance. The scale size of piece says a lot about the significance of this piece and the
type of painter David Hockney is. To me this suggests he likes the audience to engage within his work
and draws you to look in a certain area which I admire about this piece. What I like about pieces like
these are that they almost in a sense have an identity and also a style that is unique which in my
opinion Hockney himself has made his own. Hockney has a similarity to me in a sense of over
thinking about what we happen to be working on. This quote in my opinion suggests that, “Drawing is
rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make”. In my
opinion this shows he does at time think
about a lot in what he happens to be paining.
This is like me as I am always overt thinking
things more often than not, and I am always
trying to improve by not reverting to do this
as much as I use to.
Here is an example of one of pieces
relating to landscapes. Although since this
piece I have moved on from colour and now
working with black and white this has been
pivotal to my development within my studio
practice. This piece was the scale size A4 at
the most. Although the scenery types are
different the subject of space comes to the
fold. This goes back to seeing what is in front of you to what you can see ahead of you. I would say
also is that Hockney is drawn to a certain area in his own paintings for he once said “ what I didn’t
know was that I was deeply attracted to large spaces” he could well be trying to express this through
his paintings. This is something I admire. If there was one thing I would improve about my own work
would be to be more expressive in what I happen to be paining within my studio practice. My piece
was also relating to landscapes but I was at this point trying out different types of scenery. One
noticeable difference between mine and Hockneys work including these two pieces, are that I would
say most of mine have that more murky look but in a subtle way. With this piece it is almost as if the
viewer of the piece is in the light looking ahead into the distance where it is dark but something light
standing out from the darkness. I admire the way Hockneys has a style in his paintings that draws to
engage with the painting to nearly the point there in a world of their own. This is especially as no
matter how or which area you look at in any way shape or form you will always more often than not
be drawn to the same area of the painting itself. Looking at Hockneys work and my own it has helped
me a lot to look at artists work and my own from another point of view and going into more depth into
whatever I happen to be maybe observing. Not only has this helped to understand artists piece and has
made me think a lot more about my own work and the way others may see it.
During the course of my studio practice while researching Dryden Goodwin, Peter Doig and David
Hockney, I have learnt a lot about my own work during the process. Painting and drawing from the
other side is something which links to looking paintings and drawings etc in different ways. For
example looking at what is in front of you to what you can see into the distance when looking at a
piece. These artist in particular have helped me to look more in depth into my own studio practice.
Dryden’s Goodwin’s work I researched into since I attended a lecture from earlier in the year. His
work influenced me more on the types of scale I should consider, since this I have gone forward in my
development and began to experiment in more variety of scale sizes as well as different materials.
Another example of looking at painting and drawing form the other side is seeing what paint does on
materials rather then what I shows. All of these artist all link in a sense of going into depth of looking
at a piece of art in real depth. Been drawn to a certain part of a piece in an art piece is the sort of art I
like. The word space really comes into the forum as when you look at space you looking at directing
of maybe where the painting my take you or even all sorts of directions. It more often than not keeps
the audience in suspense of where the painting is going and where does this path take me, this
occurred to me in Hockneys piece, meaning what is left or what is on the right. Will the path lead to
something good or something bad? My point is that these artists have helped broadened my horizons
more and helped me to thinking about my own work in different ways. Dryden Goodwin’s work to
me has helped in a sense of how important the scale size can be and helped me to think about that
more and the way I present my own work. This to me all relates to space but looking at it from the
other side of things. In my opinion I don’t think most people would go down in the scale of work. All
in all I have came to an understanding of how influential an artist’s way of thinking can really
influence others.
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