I wanted to explore this Exercise in more than one direction. The idea of using paint as a mirror or reflective surface was one topic. The second was the use of a mirror to construct a composition and the third was to incorporate reflections into a painted study.
Experimental paintings, the two paintings below were produced simultaneously. Working from light to dark using thin washes of water soluble oil paint, Jackson Aqua oil, I built up the two paintings. There was very little preconceived notions other than in one I would use fluid movements and in the other I would restrict myself to straight lines.
Both of these paintings are fairly small scale 21 x 29.7cm. In the first I feel that I went one step too far and lost the translucent quality that I had built up. The addition of the dark, heavily oiled paint was an attempt to rescue the work. It reflects the light. I’m not sure it entirely works. The second painting ended up being more about the light and dark rather than reflections. It reminds me of the thick glass skylights that are found on city streets, but with colour.
Whilst completing the paintings above I remembered some painting trials that I completed earlier in the course. These were not enacted with any preconceived idea but they did now have a link to the challenges of this exercise. The four paintings were constructed using a thin, nearly wash like paint. Allowing the paint to be absorbed into the paper and using different ways of spreading the paint the resultant four paintings contrast with each other. There is a symmetry to them. Returning to the previous exercise of storyboard, the paintings could a series, the evolving of shape from a gaseous mix.
Following these painting experiments I turned to a more considered approach to the task. I set up a mirror in my studio and proceeded to make a number of sketches looing into and around the mirror. The aim was to make a pictorial study of my surroundings whilst working. It was whilst performing these sketches that I decided that I would try to produce a self portrait using the mirror to provide the setting. The last of the sketches below became the main idea for the composition.
The other topic that I wanted to explore as part of this exercise was to look at reflections in the landscape. This is something that has been an interest for me for sometime and as mentioned in Blog 1, on this exercise, it may become the topic for my parallel project. I reviewed the photographs I had, see blog 1, and choose two to make preliminary sketches .
This point was the end of sketch and experimental stage at I now looked to produce some paintings which explored the topic of mirrors and reflections. The results of which can be seen in the third blog on this exercise.
Mark Taylor 'Studio Practice' 