New work

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I've just finished a new piece this evening, I've changed things up a bit, and really like the end result. This is the first piece, apart from some preliminary work, where I've intentionally damaged my canvas, not allowed it to happen naturally. I'm really pleased with the results of this, as they're much more violent and visible than the natural results. I enjoyed using natural weathering, and I'm certainly not ruling it out as something to use in the future, but for now I think that this method is more suitable for my aims. Added to that, throwing, kicking, and scraping a canvas along the ground is a good stress reliever!

With this piece I've also brought in drips of ink, which started as just a new way of adding layering, but I feel it's also reflective of the hanging threads I always incorporate, so I think it really works with the piece as a whole. the piece has ended up being quite dark due to the use of black ink and grey paint, but I think this won't always be the case when other colours are used. I'd definitely like to continue using ink drips in future work.

Using embroidery as a means of repair, as well as for decorative purposes was also successful. As the idea behind damaging the canvas was as an analogy for being damaged and affected by life experience, I feel that the repair stitching almost acts as a symbol for hope - if things are damaged there are still ways to fix them. As there's more going on in this piece in terms of the physical effect on the canvas, and the use of ink, I decided to keep the embroidery much more simple and low-key than it has been previously. I think using the intricate style I've used previously may overload the canvas.

I'm really excited about this piece, and feel a new wave of motivation. I'm really keen to experiment more with these new ideas, and build up my body of work on this theme. I'd also like to go back to painting portraits of others, as I'm a bit bored of using images of myself now. Really looking forward to choosing some new subjects and getting on with some more work!