My colour values system, as a means to apply subjective titles to these very formalist small abstract works on canvas (and now, an untested method of contextual research-in-reverse), has resulted in more virtual travels… this work is subsequently entitled Inca…
Inca 2010, intaglio collagraph print and painting on paper on canvas
My research led me to a site of significant archaeological interest, now known as The Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu (or ‘old peak’). Although it is estimated that the site at Machu Picchu was first constructed around 1450, after the rise and fall of the Inca empire (and the subsequent pillaging and vandalism) it was only formally re-discovered as an ancient site in 1911, by the Yale historian Hiram Bingham.
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Here is everyone’s favourite tv traveller, Michael Palin, visiting this sacred site… Palin refutes claims that his many years of travelling the globe for tv purposes impacts on the green campaigns of various eco-groups, in that he conversely encourages the would-be-traveller to stay at home and watch from the comfort of the sofa instead… with a nice mug of hot chocolate made with Peruvian cocoa, no doubt…
As I was looking for something in my filing cabinet, I came across an old paint chart, produced by none other than the Tate corporation (in conjunction with B&Q in 2003), which features four series of interior paint colours inspired by the four Tates: Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. Some interesting colours include Skylon (a mossy yellow-green), Fruit (a burgundy-brown), Crustacean and Shamrock. (read my previous posts on painting by numbers and colour values).
[Tate - paint colour chart]
The canvas rolls and stretchers which I acquired a while back have an interesting and connected back story. The canvas rolls and stretchers were from a friend of a friend who had, strangely enough, previously supplied the Tate Modern with none other than a paint by numbers canvas art – but were called ’self-assembly painting kits’ (perhaps paint by numbers is trademarked).
The venture sadly folded, thus a great quantity of canvas, stretchers and acrylic paint were going free to needy artists. I was very glad of the canvas and stretchers, but with one problem, the acrylic colours were not good… including a lurid turquoise (which Pantone is championing as the colour for 2010), fuschia pink and an acidic skittles orange – so I promptly donated all the 10 litre paint tubs to the art department.
[Tate - DIY canvas]
Some, but not all, of the rolls of primed canvas had been pre-printed with two linear designs, Bouquet (seen right), which has more than a passing resemblance to Andy Warhol’s flowers, and Wave (left), owing something in style to the work of Bridget Riley – two artists, who, quite differently, took a very systematic approach to painting.
Andy Warhol, flowers 1970
In flowers, Warhol continued to embrace the art of the mundane in the repeated image, with deliberate mis-registrations of silkscreened colour – the image is made more saccharine and artificial (in its subject) and yet it is visually tantalising in the infinite number of variables – no two paintings are the same from this art factory. Apparently, Warhol was sued for using this appropriated photograph in his work.
Bridget Riley, Intake 1964
(deliberately muted here, for easier visual analysis)
Riley approached her paintings with a mathematical accuracy, many planned on graph paper beforehand – watch this film clip on youtube of a young Bridget Riley talking about her work.
I love and loathe Riley. I love the craft, the process, the precision, the perfection of colour (or tonal monochrome); I loathe the unsettling optics, pulsating rhythms that seductively draw you in only to mess with your mind – there can be no love with a Riley, it’s a battle of minds – the painting always wins.
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So, to round off painting by numbers – I can still recall the slightly exotic, oily aroma of tiny paint vials (was it enamel or real oil paint) and the cheap plastic brushes (the original kits, if unused and unopened, are highly collectable by the way)…
And a quick browse of any Tate gift shop quickly tells you that Tate as a brand is all consuming and all consumed – even I have a Tate t-shirt (the miniature one), a Tate sketchbook, a Tate pencil and a Tate sharpener. In fact, Tate now have an art on demand service – select an image from their digital archive and have it printed in a range of sizes on paper or canvas… now, a framed Monet (prounounced Mon-nay) is just perfect for the bedroom… but first you will need to re paint the walls…
I was delighted to read today that one winner of my recent Art Giveaway square collage postcards has very generously blogged about my artwork in his own art and drawing blog – I do not feel worthy of such praise, but the kindness of his acknowledgement is most flattering. I urge anyone passing by to read his blog for the wealth of art-historical references and for the attention given to the process of drawing as both creative practice and theoretical discourse.
collage postcards, 2009
On another note, here is another of my intaglio collagraphs on canvas, titled according to my colour value rules (although i decided to add the ‘red’ afterwards).
havana [red], intaglio collagraph on canvas, 5″ x 5″ x 1.5″
I was inspired to pay a short visit to the website flickr to view some photographs of the crumbling decay of the city of havana – a place that I can only dream of visiting – but another example of how some rules of chance can lead us to see new things.
Lastly, I am endeavouring to be more rigorous with using the appropriate capitalisation and punctuation from now on…
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Edit: If you want to support, through charitable gift aid, the first aid and recovery effort after the shocking devastation and loss of lives in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, please see this page on the BBC news website for ways to donate…
