McLean Museum & Art Gallery - Artist in Residence Journal
Archive 5
- 9 February 2008
- I use mainly Adobe Photoshop to create my montages. There are perhaps two types of Photoshop user. The first uses the program as a way of enhancing a photograph or illustration. Here the software plays an important part in modifying the image but is by no means the end all and be all of the process. Then there is the user who relies on Photoshop to create pieces of art which can ooze with all sorts of digital strokes and other-worldly touches.
- My montage work falls firmly into the latter category. My love affair with Photoshop began even before I started to study it more seriously at college. My experience at college merely confirmed this was the creative path to follow and I embarked on the steep learning curve that embracing this software entails. Nowadays I also dabble in Corel Painter which I find compliments my work in Photoshop.
- I am keen to gain knowledge and inspiration from a wide variety of sources and feel that it is valuable to have interests that span beyond the art world. I believe in order to create a successful piece the artist has to be well informed about the subject of the work. It is a case of the more you know and the broader your experience the more you have to draw ideas and inspiration from.
- 25 February 2008
- The residency will culminate in an exhibition of the works produced including some of the montages. The feed-back I have had from previous exhibitions is that my work should be viewed at a much larger size and therefore part of the residency will be investigating methods of producing and exhibiting large artwork.
- Nowadays there is a huge variety of modern media to choose from – all the way from stretched canvas prints to the more exotic acrylic sandwich blocks that provide such a spectacular finish to your artwork. The reflection from the highly polished edges creates an illusion, giving your print a contemporary three dimensional effect.
- You can also add extra depth and dimension to your artwork by having your chosen print media - canvas, or traditional paper prints - mounted onto MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) blocks. The prints are first laminated and then vacuum-sealed onto the blocks using dry mount tissue. The edge of the block is bevelled at 45 degrees and you have the option of having the sides painted matte black, white emulsion or left as natural MDF.
- With canvas prints the artwork is applied by first heat-sealing it for ultimate protection and then mounted onto the MDF block using dry mount tissue. The canvas print is wrapped around the block so that the sides of the block become an integral part of the picture.
- I have decided to investigate first the possibilities of the stretched canvas print and I have ordered a fairly modestly sized 50cm x 75cm sample. The print will be on premium quality canvas using inks which are light fast and further protected against fading by the application of two coats of liquid laminate. This not only protects against light and atmospheric damage but also renders the surface of the canvas water and scratch resistant. The work I have chosen to be printed on the sample canvas is entitled Millyra and the Cockerell’s Tale and is the work that appears as the background to this page of the website.
- 29 February2008
- I am very much into the swing of things now and have produced several works that are available to view on the gallery.
- The work flow is now down to a fine art – very necessary if I am to cope with the large number of images that have to be processed and catalogued. I am pleased that the pieces I have created so far during the residency are refreshingly different from my previous work. Working with the objects from the Museum African Collection have inspired me to use a much brighter palette than my usual and I have found this a surprisingly easy change to make. I am not sure if these bright colours have associations in African culture and I hope to do a bit more research on this soon.
