Drawing/Painting/Sculpture/ Photography
So here is a peak(e) of some of my works over the past three weeks!
Starting with the architectural drawings:
These drawing/collages take influence from both the architecture and botanical gardens within the 2,000 acres of land at Dumfries House. Through geometric shapes, structural compositions and rococo floral stencilling, the drawings depict both the modern Minimalist architecture, luxurious aesthetics, nature inspired forms and Art Nouveau influences of Thomas Chippendale furniture. Some of the structural components echo the interior beauty of the exposed wooden beams and stone walls of what was the laundry house (now the Prince’s Drawing School Dimplex Studio) for the Bute family at Dumfries house in 1760, reflecting both a comfort, domesticity and certainly what felt like a safe retreat from the winter cold.
These drawings (above), however, were more of an output for me. From being very clinical and precise with my drawing, I went out in search for some twigs and sticks from the woods to freely engage with some observational drawings. These were three separate views seen from my studio space and although they weren't incredibly successful, they are much more intimate. They described a shift in my approach and thinking, almost as if they loosened up my creativity ready for something new. I was, of course, compelled to add my geometric influences and interference mediums.
As previously mentioned in my last posts, I took to the woods in search for my canvas and took refuge in my studio to de-bug and dry out these discarded logs and Scottish pine. The colour and tones from the drawings were abstracted from the paper and into the inside surface of the bark. Here's a few images of the studio and a little visual insight of how my ideas developed.
Going further, sculpture became a more obvious medium to work with, experimenting with different perspective and assembling different forms. Similar to mapping out and reconfiguring the compositions of a painting, I used photography as my tool to freeze my formation and capture the transitioning from architectural structures in the studio to more natural and organic interventions in the woodland.
Here are a few of my favourite interventions made around Dumfries House grounds. Most of these experiments were greeted by pure serendipity, capturing these images at a precise moment when the sun was particularly low causing violet exposure to certain photographs. These colours reflected back to the original pink and purples seen in the drawings and wood paintings. It felt like I had come full circle.
One work  becomes the tool for the making of the next; every work comes out the last; every new discovery falls from a residue of repetition and every work can be seen as an index of another.
