I went to the The National Gallery in London. It would take 8 hours to look at every art piece there. I was there for 4 hours. An artist friend gave us a tour. Five things came of it:
1. I was very struck by the dyptichs and tryptichs. I got flashbacks of the tryptichs I did after my Morocco trip in 2nd year. I want to work on these again but inspired by the ones I have seen here. I took photos of a few art pieces that struck me this time.
2. I want to come again and do 2 things: photo every painting that has an awesome way of inserting artists signature and every painting that has a shoe I like.
3. Then I will experiment with how I want to sign my paintings.
4. Also, create a painting with all the shoes I like from the National Gallery in London so I can keep looking at them. Might be sellable work in this. This would be a cataloguing/archival painting.
5. I went to the shop. Saw all the art on things for sale. I want to do research and put my art on classy reliable things for Christmas fairs. Need time to think through what I would want to use.
I walked through Trafalgar Square where Extinction Rebellion campaigners were camping. There were police everywhere. It was exciting. The Welsh campaigners travelled back on the bus with us. They were ordinary people with a passion. The best banner was: TRUTH DEMANDS ACTION. Also, a poem and their logo: an hourglass in a circle to say time runs out in 2050. I saw placards in a real campaign. I thought about mine in the studio. It was an experience!
I went to the Portrait Gallery. It has portraits of important and famous people. For me the best was an LCD screen portrait (a thin flat panel that electronically displayed the portrait). It randomly changed psychedelic colours. It was really good. It was Dame Zaha Hadid by Michael Craig-Martin (2008). She is a 65 year old Iraqi architect who was made Dame by Elizabeth II for her services to architecture. Her quote is: there are 360 degrees so why stick to one!? I also went through the BP portrait award 2019. I didn’t like them.
Some of his other pieces online have inspired me to do pop art colours and black outlines with my paintbrush photos (from arty party 2) in acrylic paintings on board.
The next day I went to the Tate Britain. I was bowled over when face to face with Turners 1805 oil: The Shipwreck, and Constable’s 1803 painting: Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, and Hockneys 1964 Man in Shower in Beverley Hills….. All three huge but also impressive.
I got ideas and I was inspired by 9 smaller pieces I saw there:
Keith Vaughan Jumping figure 1987 oil on canvas. Light colour in dark space, abstract shape for my studio space photos
Ivon Hitchens Autumn Composition 1932. Mixed media painting idea for poem to collage to mask to painting.
Sophia Al Maria Beast Type Song 2019 video. Colour. Sound 38 minutes. Nice abstract 38 minute video idea for my final piece: colour sound script movement empty echo desolate space base on studio book about experience talk movement in my space
John Piper St Mary Le Port Bristol oil graphite. Use colour and shape to create studio space painting. Make it interesting like this with table chair walls light opening (window) and colour. How to make boring building painting interesting.
Prunella Clough Wire and Demolition 1982 oil.canvas. liked the wire sqiggle.
Paul Feiler Morvah 1958 oil on board. Impression of landscape.
Victor Pasmore Abstract in white grey ochre 1949 graphite paper. More mixed media idea for mixed media paintjng for poems.
Ben Nicholson August 1956 oil gesso graphite board. I like the tables against 2 colours.
Ben Nicholson Auberge Le La Sule 1932. Always wanting to do series of open window paintings. Here is another one. Research and collect them to get ideas and do mine from my studio space.
Ruth Newell 