Artist in Residence at Truro High School for Girls
Artist Gallery Residency
For the last fortnight I was delighted to take up residence in the gallery at Truro High School for Girls .
A lovely warm welcome was waiting for me over the last two weeks and it’s been a really varied experience to be in an educational setting and to take part in bringing abstraction and colour in contemporary art practice to these young people and seeing the different ways in which they can engage with it as a part of their academic syllabus.
I took over a selection of recent works, pieces in 3D large scale works ad one or two older pieces to demonstrate how artwork practice can evolve and to show the different lines of enquiry that can emerge from an experimental approach to painting.
Truro High is really well equipped with a gallery to be able to run shows for the pupils and visiting artists and I had the freedom to start on new work whilst occupying the gallery which added depth and richness to the ways the pupils can see the work and understand the processes.
Different talking points around abstraction
Together with year 9 we discussed a range of influences and concepts that go into my work and where those fit culturally. We explored ways in which other current artists use similar themes to mine ad how that sits within the context of modern art history.
I demonstrated how colour can reflect or create an emotion, and also how punk culture has used disruptive colour.
Also we had a look at balancing colour palettes with bold and energetic colour by adding softer tones, described the process painting techniques that painters such as Ian Davenport and Jackson Pollock utilised and how those have informed the materiality of my works. We covered how being precise about colour like Bridget Riley can be really important and about how slow processes lead to carefully decided actions, and how taking risks helps to find success.
Creating new pieces in week one
Week one of the residency gave me the opportunity to break away from thinking about existing works that have been lingering and to move on and cover some new ground. I don’t think I would have otherwise carved out the space so this has been a great nudge to make a start! Here’s what I did:
- Started smaller pieces on canvas and perspex
- Stretched some big canvases
- Paint fluid forms built in layers with more delicate colour palettes
- A couple of other completely different perspex experiments
- Some planning for a future project
- Coordinated some pieces on site that were chosen in advance for the properties that I wanted to talk to the pupils about
It was clear by the end of week one that the change of location and the feel of the place has put me into a different mindset and has stimulated some altered visual results both in terms of colour and form and relaxing the geometrics to create some fluidity.
I have taken away some of my own sets of rules around what the paintings need to be like and have delved into being a little freer. The perspex panels are a layered (front to back) painting and have been sat around in the studio for a long time with a lack of decision around starting them. Painting them now, in synchronicity with the smaller canvas has become a 3D layered triptych that partners the canvas so that when hung the two paintings can accompany one another in telling the story of the materiality.
I also did some work to one of the large canvases which started with a glimmer of a thought prior to beginning, but in the end I dived in and responded to the outcomes of the initial application as it started to form.
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Talking about process, materials and switching the lights off!
With a smaller group of year 12 & 13 pupils we had a great time talking about the physical painting process, how a painting started, how I would make a start on the two large pieces I had just stretched and going from blank canvas to making the first ambitious and risky first move, but then moving past that to manipulating the materials and then allowing them to sit and find their place.
- We chatted about control of materials, and again, risking the painting while adding areas of colour and doing big pours and hoping for the best, but then appreciating the unplanned things that can happen and seeing where they take the painting. Then onto living with the artwork to see how it might develop and seeing how that can help with decision making as the piece progresses.
- We looked at the potential for different materials and different iterations of themes and how they would change a piece, such as canvas boxes being re-created in a transparent material and playing with the light to get the pieces to change and take on colour, shadow and then at how it adds dimensions that the viewer can see and feel.
- We demonstrated how multiple pieces can be considered as different strands of the same body of work, but seeing what different directions they go off in, and then viewing those variations that have happened over a period of time, whilst they look different, as being a cohesive collection (with a little side note on how this is very different in a fine art practice to being a commercial artist, where the same formula is repeated to create customer / viewer understanding and recognition). In this practice it’s about risk taking and developing ideas without rules in order to make discoveries that push the practice forwards.
When we looked at colour and the luminosity of the light on the paint we had a go at switching off the lights to see how the effect of changing the lighting might increase the charge of the colour in the dark ( as I was writing this and looking out of the window I spotted the sky switch to night mode, looked straight back at my phone and the notes app also did that!) also talking about the properties of phosphorescent paint and pigments and planning to create a ‘dark version’ of a piece that uses phosphorescent pigment to glow in low light and how using a range of the innovations in materials can help to change artwork.
We then moved on to finding out about their personal projects and seeing how this gives them an individual line of enquiry, and talking about how those themes fit into the diverse range of contemporary practice, artists and genres that could be used for helpful reference in developing those themes they are working with.
Finally, we also had a go at getting the girls to rate how they felt before and after the ‘colour bath’!! They returned back to the classroom and rated if they felt uplifted by the artworks.
Week 2 – progressing paintings and sparking an interest in abstraction
I was really chuffed to see lots of year 7 & 8 pupils in the gallery with watercolours doing studies on the artworks and finding parts of process, abstraction and composition that they found appealing that they could zone in on.
The works that I had started in week one progressed quite a long way with some huge bold moves on the two large canvases, one medium painting scrapped and some well considered progression on the perspex and smaller canvas. Sadly these had to be left to dry for some while as they are quite wet and so will take more attempts to complete in the studio, however I’ll photograph then and maybe will be able to bring them back to exhibit!
Thank you Truro High School for Girls for a truly memorable fortnight
It’s been a valuable time and if you have found this interesting and would like to come to a future exhibition please join my email list below or get in touch with me
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Virtual gallery experience
Make a visit to my gallery from the comfort of wherever you are!
With many thanks to the Immersive Business team of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter, I'm delighted to unveil my virtual art gallery.
The Immersive Business team has helped me to build a 3D experience of my work in VR (virtual reality), the web and mobile. The gallery was built as a result of the team walking me through various digital technologies that can be used to create, plan and simulate artworks, find ways to more comprehensively present them to galleries and customers, and to render sample exhibitions and projects.
The work I make is difficult to photograph and represent due to its scale, and my customer base is widely distributed, so we looked to find ways that I can give people a remote experience of my work in place of being able to visit an exhibition or make a studio visit.
We have been exploring 360 photography, Photogrammetry and Virtual Reality. These tools can support the entire creative process from the inception and planning stages, through to creating the art itself and presenting the end result.
By weaving these different technologies into my workflow I am able to save money, materials and time in the planning and experimentation stages (R&D) making the work more sustainable and affordable, and I can investigate a range of outputs before committing to the materials to make physical works.
My work investigates various three-dimensional and sculptural forms that you can be immersed in, when I make an exhibition or a work, much of the experience of that work is in the viewer being surrounded and physically up close to paintings and pieces that radiate a physically uplifting sensation that can be felt by the whole body and self. It therefore means that if you put on a virtual headset and step into a virtual world, the experience surrounds your senses. By having a virtual way in which to be in front of an artwork, there's a good replication of the experience of that piece when the in person experience isn't readily available. It's also possible to envisage exhibitions and curate different ones within the platform and even to take historic gallery exhibitions into the platform and archive them so that they can be experienced again and again.
Presenting Trudie Moore's Immersive gallery experience here.
This work is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and supported by Falmouth University in partnership with the University of Exeter
Latest painting, May 2020 - Untitled
Untitled – [Red stripe with white and pale yellow pastel layers].
I have just completed this painting, it went on hold during lockdown and so the latest layers went on this week.
I have been trying to articulate how some of the transparencies I created on the ply box would translate onto canvas variations. The canvases I order are primed with a white primer, I don’t use rabbit skin glue because I refuse to be involved in animal cruelty as a consumer. So until I find an alternative, this gives me some limitations on how I use the paint when I translate it to canvas. There needs to be an addition of a colour to give the white transparencies something to show up against. The layers in this painting are extremely delicate and hard to photograph to show correctly and the studio lighting is overhead so that makes this task harder.
Hence I have chosen a pastel yellow made from combining fluorescent yellow and white. It’s become an essential part of the painting, not just a layer to form the underlying structure, but also a divider between two layers of ‘leaves’ of transparencies.
There is a rhythm througb the layers from canvas to the upper layers, a sequencing. The layers move outwards / forwards from the base canvas layer through pastel yellow, then white then yellow, they are intersected by the almost three dimensional red line (which itself wraps around the canvas and onto the sides) and the layering of white continues on top of this to seal it in.
If this were expanded out three dimensionally as panels they would be delicate, soft sheets. You could imagine walking through hanging layers or planes of space.
Around the edge to the top right there is a red triangle ‘tag’ device that would link this painting to the next, it’s a feature that has come from the previous studies on ply and the box where the elements of the paintings touch together.
All images © Trudie Moore
Current themes: transparencies, opacities, paint edges, material performance, three dimensional planes, lightness and freshness of colour, purity and expansion to create space.
Trudie Moore 2020
Transparencies and subtleties in my latest painting.
I’m in the process of developing a bigger, three dimensional body of work that expands planes and dimensions within my paintings. Materials are important to me, as much as colour and so I am investigating how the two work together to ensure the surface has an importance in the piece.
A piece I completed around Christmas starts to move into a much more three dimensional space. I enjoy working with materials that have a character of their own which brings a deeper concentration to the planes within the work. Ply has proved to be not just an appealing material with the natural wood grain contrasting with the plasticity and synthetic surface and colour of the paint, but it’s also a good, resistant and smooth surface that gives clean edges and sharp lines and a smoother surface to the paint.
So this has opened up for me various avenues I am exploring, how ideas translate both onto canvas and ply (and other potential materials) and how the elements within the paint itself work with the surface.
In terms of the paint application, there’s an ability with acrylic to create super sheer, delicate layers that can increase and increase in density and be built up to an almost plastic layer which sits elevated on the surface
Untitled [Three dimensional box in ply] .
Amplifying the surface more extremely is an experiment I have been making. My deep frame canvases haven’t been deep enough to carry out the ideas I have been trying over the years and so this three dimensional box is the substantial iteration of that. From the smaller preceding ply studies there were planes of colour that were moving across. This is the next step on where the elements go around the sides and over the top – an element of wrapping the object as well as unfolding around it.
There is a stage on from this of exploring both ‘the material of the canvas’ and ‘the material of the paint’ as separate yet combined elements which constitute the painting.
All images © Trudie Moore
Supporting studies .
The studies below experiment with concepts in the pieces above, some are tests, some are works in their own right.
Alongside my fine art practice I undertake commissions and sell existing work. You can find out more here, or learn about the Artist Support Pledge.
Scaling up and expanding
Sometimes working on multiple small paintings at once leads to results that require a little expansion - to further explore something to see how it might work if the areas and proportions changed.
I've always enjoyed large scale paintings, my work generally lends itself to a more ambitious scale rather than being confined into smaller dimensions, but smaller works do help to create a volume of ideas and exploration.
This is how a few of my recent big canvases started out. I scaled this smaller piece up to a really big painting as I could see the capacity it had that would lend itself to a bigger expanse.
The detail of the ‘balance’ (the linking of elements), the semi-opaque white as a leading element to this piece, are favourite points for me.
I had to scale the piece from rectangular portrait dimensions to square and devise how the colours would work on a white primed canvas when the background wasn’t a neutral base of ply.
With painting onto the white primer there’s a need to cover the whole surface, unlike with the ply, which means all of the painted shapes become more as one, rather than benefiting from the natural way the ply becomes visually, and tangibly another plane.
With the ply it’s more obvious that the surface is separate and the paint sits on top of it. With a canvas this is less so the case. And then there’s an element of illusion in the two dimensional effect as well where just by adding a painted colour, it changes the planes.
Yellow and white abstract.
This painting is another large scale translation onto square canvas from one of the smaller studies on ply that I did.
The asymmetric composition and diagonal lines with linked elements are where I feel the flow with this, as well as the introduction on this larger piece of the red triangle ? contrasting with the subtle green and white, yet linking across to the fluorescent yellow.
As with the other large painting that evolved this way, there were changed and adaptations I made to transfer to a white background (primes canvas) and the larger, square format.
Now having lived with it for some while, and having progressed other pieces I’m eager to add something, another element, that was never a part of the plan when I started.
So you could say that this piece has taken almost 2 years to do!
Commissioning an artist
You might be asking “How do I commission an artist? I don’t know where to find one, What should I expect? How do I start?”
I’ve been undertaking commissions over 21 years, for me as the artist, it’s been simple, I chat to my client, we discuss what they like and I build a picture of what the painting is in my head that is what they want. But that’s not the scenario for the recipient as they just don’t know what they are going to get.
I don’t know where to start
Don’t worry, I do
So you might be asking the same question ‘can you do something for me? What’s it going to look like?’
There are so many ways of going about briefing an artist, or of carrying out a process for a commission. I’ve done them a few different ways:
- the client asks for something that looks like something I have already painted and we chat about that and it either sets the brief immediately – style, colours, size OR it leads into new territory for something a bit (or completely!) different
- I go to the house/ business/ location and we measure up, look at what’s already in the space (furnishings, furniture, light, space, materials and colours of objects in the room)
- I take an existing painting around to a space to see how it works in the space, we talk about the colours/ space/ visual style and elements of the painting.
Trustin the process
Be brave
There is a degree of trust and faith you need in order to take a risk. You aren’t in a shop looking at something that has already been completed and imagingin how it will look above your sofa or reception desk. You have to know and understand that the artist you’re working with has a strong sense of visual awareness and sensitivity both to you, your environment and the outcome you’re looking for.
Take a chance
This is the time to be adventurous. If you brief the painting to be safe, that’s what you will get. If something that is in the artist’s portfolio really appeals and is unique, stands out and is stronger than the rest of their work then that is the upper point of risk you might take. The more you talk the better the outcome. If you say ‘ I like that but that one is a bit adventurous, I feel like I should have this [safe] one over here, can we meet in the middle?
Perhaps you like adventurous, perhaps you need reigning in? Maybe the bold colours need to be brought into line with your interior so that they don’t clash.
There are so many variables.
You can be guided.
You can set the boundaries
You can choose the size
You can choose from a portfolio
You can guide the colour choice (if you need or wish to)
Or you can trust in the artist to create something with you in mind that is their vision.
You can commission something that you choose to have no input into
Their vision of you, or their vision of what you like. Or you can ask them simply to do something for the space that is completely of their own, that you will love, because the thing that drew you to them for a commission is an intrinsic part of what they do. You can work with their intuition and natural style. That way the piece you commission just might be the wonderful piece that makes the art collectable, valuable and unique and worth the most to you, to them and to the art world (if future investment is the thing you are after).
How would you choose to run your commission? You have the power to both choose the artist you want to work with and the power to decide if the choices I have outlined above are available from the artist you choose.
My process forcommissions
How I take commissions
Here’s a sample of one of the ways in which I do commissions, hopefully you’ll find it a calm and reassuring process, there are some formalities but I try to keep it lightweight because that’s more enjoyable for both of us.
A bespoke commission for an abstract painting in the style of my current body of work (geometric abstracts)
You will enjoy the experience of commissioning a qualified artist to create a site-specific painting in collaboration with the artist. I have been creating commissions over 21 years.
I’ll come to your site and chat about the possibilities for creating something that works specifically within that space and which can be seen as an extension of your personality or business through that environment. You might wish to come to my art studio or storage facility to view more paintings and discuss them more deeply.
I will then send you a quote and a short contract to sign to commence work, I will also ask for a deposit to be used against materials (but the full payment is upon delivery).
We might discuss points in the quote or the brief further at this point to check that what was discussed and put onto paper is still on track.
If it’s an installation, or something more three dimensional, we might draw up some visual plans or light sketches to illustrate the mechanics of the piece, but you will be aware that the way that I work is an evolution with the painting itself and this is not controlled and contained planning as such (like for a design) it’s a piece of art that has a conversation with the piece itself.
It is unlikely that I will show you the painting prior to delivery unless there are any queries.
Your painting will be created and delivered within an agreed time frame (usually 6 weeks dependant on time of year/ drying times).
I will give guidance on hanging the work but will not install the painting unless it’s painted direct-to-wall.
After delivery, I will ask to take photos and I might ask for you to send me photos after installation, or for a recommendation or social media sharing. I’ll ask you for permisison to share any photographs of your interiors or profile.
What I will create for you
You will commisison me to create:
- A fine art painting on bespoke artists gallery canvas from Harris Moore or another professional canvas supplier, of your designated size (ply or acrylic on request) or an installation painting.
- A specific piece of art that enhances and creates a feeling within your environment
- A site visit to your chosen location for the piece
- The experience of having a piece of fine art created that will be specifically for you
- All materials
- Ownership of the final piece (creative license remains with the artist)
- Installation of painting direct to walls OR delivery to location*
Who commissions work best for
This works best if you are:
- Open to enjoying the process
- Willing to place your faith in the artist to create something in their house style that has you and your space in mind
- Have a sense of adventure and ambition about your project and its place in the artist’s body of work
- Happy to work to the artist’s contract of sale
Painting on plywood
A lot of my recent abstract paintings are on plywood. There's something architectural about them, it feels as though I can expand outwards from the surface. I feel as though that surface can layer with others. The ply gives me a really solid and resistant base whereas canvas gives and feels more fragile.
This has become something of a trend for me. Traditionally I've always used canvas - high-grade artists canvas on bespoke frames. But not as of the last few years.
Modern acrylic paints have a range of abilities and very satisfyingly they suit ply, and ply works well with my hard-edged geometric lines. The paint goes on super smoothly and the edges are much cleaner. I've been working with the ripples in the wood to help determine which areas of the surface I want to 'save' and which I want to obscure. This sometimes dictates the composition which gives me restrictions I have to work within - external controls if you like - of which I help to make and guide the decision.
Here are a few medium-sized pieces from 2015. There is some structure, there are divisions, there are omissions to the surface.
I once had a conversation about how I develop my paintings, do I plan them? The suggestion was that I could plot them up on on a computer before painting.
But despite the time to learn a way that suits me for this to work, I struggle with that as my brain works better by using the paint itself. And actually a lot of the time what I plan changes as I’m doing the painting.
I can lose the impact if I try to plan too much. Perhaps you could say it was a 2-way conversation with the painting where it starts to guide you. You could say this was an intuitive approach but I think it’s more of a collaborative process with each piece.
Or maybe I prefer to just enjoy the moment or the instant that something reveals itself to me. A bit like running. I hate to run out and back on the same path, the run back is too difficult or painful to endure, I like the constant change of the new all the time. To plan a painting and then paint it, I think kills the joy and the thrill/ tension in the moment of actually getting the idea direct to the painting.
But I do use a sketchbook so that I don’t lose ideas and thoughts when they hit me or when I want to work out how something is going to work.
And so with the development of paintings, I love nothing more than to work on several at once. If my mind goes off on a tangent with an idea I can do it on another painting instead of being solely tied into the one and then losing the idea by the time I’m done. And I can develop nuances I think of once I’ve started by running those thoughts and ideas across a group of paintings at once.
That’s what’s happening in this picture, several pieces in development at once feeding into one another, a neon hotbed of ideas!