Main Final Pieces
This page shows the better of my large final pieces. I chose to focus on experimenting and playing with oil paints on a larger scale over sketch book as I felt freest to develop ideas and put them into action. Most of these pieces were in themselves testers, but based around other concepts of techniques I had or played with (that you can see on my experiment page).
The first canvas ad the portrait that is half blue we're individual pieces themselves however all of other works we're created in a series ranging from 3-4 pieces.
I have included large images of the final piece as well as close up of textures and images of the works in developmental stages.
First Oil Painting Psychosis
After being diagnosed with psychosis and leaving my course I had a break from the making any art and it felt very daunting. The first painting I did self-led with oils is the one shown on the right. I was in an episode at the time and its interesting to look back on this piece as it was a direct reflection of my emotional and mind state.
I decided to start working I guess where I left of at my a-levels as I felt that the best way to progress from some form of familiarity. The main difference being medium-using and learning how to work with Oil Paints. It wasn’t till a few paintings later once I felt I had more of a handle over how they worked that I started to push back in with more abstract techniques.
My work has always been inherently semi-abstract and its something I feel strongly about. I would like my brush be a way of expression rather than perfection in a way of staying true to the image rather than the feeling.
April 2021 - just over a 30 x 40" canvas
Best of a series of three
Over this set of three paintings I started to feel I had more of an understanding in how the oil paint moves and reacts as and started to make more sense to me. I felt a massive shift in my understanding between the previous pink and blue pieces and these three.
This was by far the best of the three. I love how I have used my brush strokes to create this sharp edge of shading on the nipple and the ribs. The background of red clothe started to flow and my use of highlights and lowlights bring it more to life. The tones and shades I used were not to right even if still partly unrealistic it is not as harsh as the other pieces. I feel the subject matter is less dark than the others and there is more beauty in this work. At the time, with the skill level I was working with I could not get the face right, this I do think lets the piece down however, I an still very pleased with overall outcome.
October 2022 - 30 x 40" canvases
Committing to Colour
These three paintings as finished works very much came out of nowhere and far exceeded what I thought was going to happen when I started each one. It felt like something had started to click with what I was doing and the direction I was going in seem clearer. I learnt from each individual painting about what brush stroke/technique suited and I adapted this knowledge into each one. Starting these canvases, I took from the experiments that I needed to make sure I had some sort of rough colour/background going on, I used a roller with thicker paint to create a pattern, I also tied colour’s from the previous piece into the next one. By the third piece I realised I preferred the open way of using paint with background creating lots more space for the underneath to show through and be part of the portrait itself. After the first painting I learnt about looking at bright/mixed colour’s for 10secs a day can help fight depression and so in the second and third I decided to commit to this and became more comfortable pushing the boundaries of what colour’s I could use and how they worked together. It also represented and took on different traits of how my psychosis felt, the stages I felt and went through, and it became a holistic healing experience emotionally.
April - June 2023 30 x 40" Canvases
I really wanted to keep this piece simple, with softer smoother more blended brushstrokes with the paint. I felt my favourite of the two zesti pieces was the one with less elements going on. I wanted to try and work with a similar colour palette to the blue on the previous page but refine the tones and shades used to something that I felt was more cohesive and calmer. I wanted to make sure the background, and the left side of the face was more muted in contrast to the strong bright blue lighting, wile still trying to tie those blues into the background. I was not wholly happy with the quality of paint/brush work when it came to the mouth/lips, I feel they are underdeveloped to maybe how other parts of the painting look, they stand out to me in a way of not correlating with the rest of the style of the painting.
Tilly - Working background into a portrait
October 2023 30 x 40" Canvas
Combining ideas
These pieces were very much an accumulation and a refinement of everything I had explored over the last few years. (Abstract messy background, oil painted figure, unrealistic colour’s) I knew taking layers of paint with wire wool and white spirit worked so I re-introduced that to these works.They had a very different reaction with oils compared to acrylics, but I learnt as I went. I also wanted to include zesti marks, this was mainly in the background. I focused on expressive charcoal/oil pastel lines as one the last things to help accentuate and highlight areas. Adding the lines came from wanting to preserve some of the gold base canvas, I used masking tape to do this. These gold lines and the bold black over the top helped frame and center the image. Guiding the eye, helping bring movement and depth into the canvas.
2 more out of this 4 piece set
October 2024 - Feburary 2025 30 x 40" Canvases
Un-Finished Final pieces
Last looked at July 2025
With the previous pieces the whole background was very messy and abstract. I wanted to refine this, so it was less overwhelming/less busy. I spent some time mapping out where the lines were going to fit best. I wanted the lines to help section areas as markers for the plainer parts of paint to help create balance and to act into more opposition with the abstract paint areas.
I came to a stand still with these paintings as I wasn’t happy with how the faces looked but couldn't work out where to go next. I was very happy overall with the imagery, but I knew the actual portraits we’re not correct.
I could not find a way to make the faces work with me eye, and I so have not revisited them. I was afraid of over working them to a point of no return which is not something I generally have. I did not want to lose the sections I did like. There are multiple areas I was happy with when it came to the interaction with the background.
I think ultimately it might be a perspective and angle issue in how I was using the paint. I did not feel comfortable with continuing as I was in this push pull over needing to work into a lot of areas but not wanting to lose the spaces I had already created. So I came to a stand still.
