scratch and smoke

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8.

These are scanned A4 watercolour smoke drawings.
Starting point to my project.
Following summer work developing ideas and works for a residency at All Saints Church, Clifton.

THe use of incense in the church, spirtual connotations of transformation and the movement embodied in smoke and incense interested me.

Looking at these now and photos I took of the interior of the church I can see how these link in also to soot marks above the heaters in the church.

Traces of things no longer there.

I like the subtlety of the marks

Using the candle to paint like a brush was a technique that was initially tricky to master.
It had to be done outside. 
I soon learnt to use a face mask!
Tilting the paper at 45 degrees to the upright candle flame produced the right amount of carbon residue that would mark up the paper.

Marks like feather were produced by carefully moving the candle in brush stroke like manner against the paper.


The feathers seem the most obvious reference marks.

After a tutorial discussing these, it's become apparent, that they have a photographic type quality, I think the shape of the paper, aswell as the depth of the black references this.

THis isn't so surprising given I've always been drawn to black and white photos from the past, whether Ansel Adams and Sally Mann 
one a landscape photographer whose breadth of tones and scale amaze me, the other a contemporary photographer who usually uses human subjects as her focus.

Moving forwards I need to decide where to go with these.

My favourite piece remains no. 8, I love the depth and vertiginous sensation of this. I didn't recognise a possible suggestion of a face in the ring, which is entirely accidental. I'm not sure I like this as it detracts from the more stark abstract qualities to the piece.


numbers 1-3 were more like a graphic design and could see how they were referencing Emma McNally's large scale more intricate and intriguing works in graphite.