Ideas and Michael Borremans work

Previously before this project I have always painting animal portraits and even though I have decided to not only give myself a challenge of painting a person (which is completely different from painting an animal which I find a lot easier) I also want to keep an element of my original studies this year with animals but I want to now start thinking a lot more about their meaning and what they portray before painting an image of them. So I began to think about my project idea and how do I want to portray my feelings to the viewer? My original ideas were of porcilin doll faces with cracks on them with something hidden under the surface, vomiting demons from the mouth, showing emotions of fighting with ones self, face being taken over by deformity or scales and a serpant being the symbol of a devil,  but I began to realise that my ideas where too obvious and I was very littoral with what I was trying to express. I have had a brief look at Michael Borreman's 'Eating the Beard' as it wasnt availiable in the liberary so I now have it on order, but for the meanwhile I have been looking at his work on Zeno X Gallery and I have realised that subility and suggestion is so much more powerful to create something with a lot of meaning and the title of the piece has a large role to play as I found myself questioning his work and looking into it deeper rather than having the image telling me everything.

MICHAËL BORREMANS ° 1963, Geraardsbergen (Belgium) Lives and works in Gent (Belgium)

	Dominance 2011 105 x 80 cm oil on canvas
	The Loan 2011 310 x 205 cm oil on canvas
	ZENO X GALLERY Eating the Beard October 22 - November 27, 2010 virtual visit
	The Pendant 2009 60 x 40 cm oil on canvas
	The Case 2009 50 x 42 cm oil on canvas
	Taking Turns 2009 dimensions variable 35 mm film, 8 min. 35 sec., continuous loop
	Automat (I) 2008 80 x 60 cm oil on canvas
	Sleeper 2008 40 x 50 cm oil on canvas
	The Gift 2008 36 x 30 cm oil on canvas
	ZENO X GALLERY Painted Fruit April 26 - May 31, 2008 virtual visit
	Crazy Fingers 2007 24 x 18 cm oil on cardboard, varnish
	The Same Fool 2007 21,8 x 29 cm oil on wood, varnish
	The Painting 2006 40 x 50 cm oil on canvas
	Thunder 2006 36 x 34,5 cm oil on canvas
	The Filling 2005 33 x 28,4 cm pencil, watercolor and gouache on paper
	The House of Opportunity - Voodoo! 2005 17,3 x 23,3 cm pencil and watercolour on cardboard
	Square of Despair 2005 24,6 x 35,6 cm pencil on cardboard
	First Design for a Square of Despair 2005 29,7 x 21 cm pencil and gouache on paper
	Blue 2005 31 x 49 cm oil on canvas
	The Skirt 2005 70 x 60 cm oil on canvas
	A2 2004 40 x 35 cm oil on canvas
	ZENO X STORAGE Fisherman's Luck March 27 - May 1, 2004 virtual visit
	In the Louvre - The House of Opportunity 2003 26,6 x 27,6 cm pencil, watercolor and white ink on paper
	A Mae West Experience 2002 16,3 x 20,3 cm pencil, watercolor and white ink on paper
	The (Courmajeur) Conducinator 2002 16,7 x 24,1 cm pencil, watercolor and white ink on cardboard
	The Journey 2002 17,0 x 24,7 cm pencil, watercolor, white and black ink, varnish on book cover
	Trickland 2002 38 x 55 cm oil on canvas
	The German 2002 50 x 42 cm oil on canvas
	The German (part two) 2002 24,8 x 31 cm pencil, watercolor, white and black ink, mica foil and transparent tape on cardboard
	Drawing 2002 16 x 10,5 cm pencil, watercolor and white ink on cardboard
	ZENO X GALLERY Young and Innocent January 25 - March 2, 2002 virtual visit
	The Table 2001 50 x 65 cm oil on canvas
	The Preservation 2001 70 x 60 cm oil on canvas
	The Examination 2001 50 x 65 cm oil on canvas
	The Pupils 2001 70 x 60 cm oil on canvas
	Slight Modifications 2001 34,9 x 54 cm pencil, watercolor, white ink and ballpoint on paper
	Canardines 2001 22,8 x 53,4 cm pencil, watercolor, white ink and ballpoint on paper
	Manufacturers of Constellation 2001 24,5 x 30,4 cm pencil, watercolor and white ink on paper
	The Swimming Pool 2001 34 x 28,2 cm pencil, watercolor and white ink on cardboard
	The Constellation 2000 100 x 120 cm oil on canvas

I am fascinated how Borremans use of imagery is not only interesting but the piece becomes so much more interesting when I read the name of the piece because sometimes I have realisation with what the piece is about for example with his piece 'The Preservation', whereas his piece 'Sleeper' it makes me have a million questions and find myself studying every detail of the painting questioning its layout and meaning as I find it could mean so many things. What I also enjoy about Borremans work is the talent and skill behind his paint work and how beautifully and carefully it is painting and it really is a skill I admire and strive the become a similar artist.

After becoming so inspired by Borreman and his use of layout, suggestion and titles of paintings I began thinking of more less litural ideas to be able to express myself, and I remember seeing Borreman's 'Girl with feathers' in his book 'Eating the beard' 

I found that I really connected with this image, and his use of faint lines fadeing were very similar to Holbeins that I had been previously been looking at so I found that the two artists from very different times linked really well together. Borremans use of feathers in his painting made me question the meaning of it a lot and I found I couldn't quite figure it, I saw the feathers which I know a bird is a symbol of freedom but did the feathers mean that the bird had gone and that's why the girl was sad? These were my interpretations of the painting.

So with this inspiration I already knew I wanted to paint someone female as my condition is linked to that as it is very rare for men to get it. My idea is to paint a woman with birds in her hair, but the birds cannot fly away from her because they arn't free and are bound to the woman, which is symbolising that it is actually the woman that is trapped within her own head therefore that is why the birds are specifically placed there but I also what the woman to look normal as in a way I do on the outside but on the inside my feelings are completely different.

So with this idea I had a few things to think about, who did I want to paint, how would they be posed, how would the image be composed and did I want every feature to be symbolic

• I want to find a woman I don't know which I have no physical or emotional connection with, the reason for this is because when I am getting anxious or down I tend to turn into a person I don't really know and turn the opposite and loose a lot of confidence
• I want her to be looking down and the reason for this is because I don't want her to be looking at her viewer because a classic example of when people are lieing you generally cannot look them in the eye and I want the view to be symbolic of lieing as on the outside she is looking completely the opposite of what she feels inside and I tend to tell people a lot of the time I am ok when in fact it is completely the opposite and I lie to them telling them what I want them to hear.
• I want to keep the layout very simplistic similar to Holbein's chalk drawings and Borreman's 'Girl with feathers' or 'Sleeper', I want my main focus to be what is in front of the viewer and to have a plain browned background.

The bird in the hair is probably one of the most important aspects of the painting, as that is what is confining her, as I don't want to do demons or serpants or use something as littural I thought what is the complete opposite of that, as I tend the feel imprisoned a lot and the opposite of that is freedom and the bird symbolises freedom, so I thought if I bound the bird it symbolise imprisionment. I began to look on how to bind a bird and I didn't want to get ropes and confine the bird like that as again I was becoming too obvious and littural again, so I have began thinking of things that could be more subtle such as clipping the birds wings, a very minor detail that the viewer would have to look at the painting more carefully at, I am still debating on tieing the birds mouth so the bird cannot sing or speak as a small ribbon tieing the beak may be slightly too obvious but may also be a bit more explanitory, but I am still undecided at this current moment in time. But the main thing that the bird is going to be bound to is the woman.

I now have a few ideas on how I want to display the bird and the woman, do I want the completly visiable or not? When seeing the exhibition of Raqib Shaw's work he explained he put gems on the aspects of the painting that had importance, I find this to be a really interesting idea that I would also like to use in my paint work but not with gems and use something different, maybe a colour, a technique or maybe a different medium or material. These are all ideas that keep cropping up and I find them so exciting the possibilities of so many ideas and suggestions.

I have also been thinking I can't just have any bird and I wanted to specifically pick one out, after some research on the meanings and symbols of the different birds I think I have come across the right one for my subject matter, the nightingale.

Nightingale

Connotes

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Good Omen

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Cry for help from a poor soul from purgatory

Everyone is awake that the nightingale's song refers to love and longing, what it could also mean is a sign or warning of an impending death. With its natural ability to sing, it symbolizes a creative individual who is unearthing his/her potential. It could also refer to someone who has taken up the responsibility to bring about a transformation or reformation.

(the meaning for purgatory is below)

Noun (in Roman Catholic doctrine) A place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going...

Adjective Having the quality of cleansing or purifying. I have highlighted in blue the words from the meaning of the nightingale which I think give this bird the most importance in relevance to myself. Firstly the idea  connotes of the bird being a 'good omen' I feel I relate to because I am still a good person and the connote of 'cry for help' is what I am trying to do with the painting but also the word 'purgatory' I also feel that some of the thoughts I have are bad and wanting to also cleanse myself from them to be able to reform into who I felt I was before a person who was always happy and smiling and I find it very difficult to get over my anxiety at times.