Canvas

I have decided I wanted to make a canvas for my work to be displayed on as I have previously used wood and a browned surface but because not only am I having an experience I am new to in my normal life I thought why not do the same with my art work and throw myself in the unknown materials, so for the first time I wanted to make a half chalk gesso ground properly and there are a few reasons for this, firstly I like a smooth surface to work on hence why I like usually to work on the wood rather than rabbit primed canvas, but a lot of the time I like the features of the wood in contrast to my paintings and I did not want this effect for the specific project I have given myself and didn't want the background to be part of the focus of the piece but I still wanted that browned effect without having to use paint to do so.

I have previously used a whiting chalk ground where I added hardly any linseed and hardly any layers and had found it soaked up a lot of my paint but at the time worked well with the waterfall features I had created.  But at that point I was guessing and trying materials. This time I got some advice of other students that have previously used it, after stretching my canvas's I applyed 2 layers of rabbit skin glue and the made up my half gesso ground and kept applying slowly as advised. However I came across a hurdle where I had appyed my ground too thickly and the corners had began to crack, I found advice off a tutor where I sanded back my canvas and and re- applyed to create my smooth surface again. I then realised after the previous mistake I had made that I actually liked the effect of the surface cracking mainly because of the unexpectency but also the reason it had happened and that was because of the strain being appyled to the canvas being pulled too taught creating stretch marks which was so exciting because unexpectiantly without realising my canvas had actually given me something that relates to the image that was going to be painted on the, the strains the anxiety and depression have on me mentally can be overpowering and tireing. Not only that stretch marks are also something that unfortunately a lot of women get more than men do as they change shape through their teenage years. Its so exciting it has so many links!! So at this point I was sanding my canvases back like crazy to try and find the stretch marks I had tried to cover up, when I sanded it far enough back I again started to apply thick layers of half chalk gesso to the canvas to try and make the marks bigger, when I was happy with it I sanded the canvas to try and make scuffed marks on the surface but after applying another 2 layers of rabbit skin the effects of the scuffed surface were less obvious which I think now suites it better. I applyed the 2 rabbit skin layers to be able to stop the chalk soaking up my paint too much this time.

I liked the effects of the stretch marks in the corners but I felt it needed a bit more to it so I hit the canvases from behind with my fist creating cracks in the surface and pushing them outwards with my fingers guiding where the cracks lead to. I found with the stretch marks and cracks it really help enable the suggestion of strains and how things crumble in my everyday life and I was able to do that without even getting my paint brush out and even the primer of the canvas has suggestion and a purpose to my painting.

Here I have circled in Red the stretch marks made by the canvas being too taught and created by strain from the gesso ground and I have circled in Green the marks made by myself and directing the cracks along the canvas surface.

I have drawn out the idea of the image I want to present, I wanted a simplistic but pretty looking woman looking down with not too much emotion on her face.

I decided to put two birds in her hair as originally I was going to have one but compositionally when I drew it out I decided that 2 looked better, I also wanted them having different stances, originally I drew out the nightingale on the right first where it is quite closely embedded to her head which is very still but is purposefully uncomfortably positioned but the second one I drew out I wanted to be able to show more of the feathers clipped when I painted it  and have it longingly looking outwards towards freedom getting itself ready to fly free.

Below is a video of how I created the cracks and the starting of painting onto a new primer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moKJDE0Z3xc&feature=youtu.be

I think it has been a good practice to see how the paintings and canvases are developed  as sometimes there is a lot more work put into them than initially realised.