The Snoring Fish, 2001, Albert Oehlen
240 x 380cm
Looking at the work of Albert Oehlen I am inspired by the different brush marks in his paintings. The Snoring Fish, is like two or three paintings overlayed and made into one, almost like a collage. The thin washes over previously painted areas contrast with solid areas of bolck colour and give the painting deepth, with other parts of the painting (for ex bottom left) the image feels like it is pushing its way forward towards the viewer. With regard to my own paintings I've been thinking about how much is too much.... is it indeed possible to put too much infomation in a painting? I think in Oehlen's paintings the variety of thickness in line and brush marks creates movement, it pulls you in different directions, I find myself struggling to find a space to concentrate on as my focus is constantly pulled towards different parts of the painting.
Piece, 2003, Albert Oehlen
280 x 340cm
Colour is an area in my painting which feels slightly alien at the moment, I'm playing with different ways of using colour and trying to find out what colour is doing to my work. I've been making blue paintings as I found myself surrounded with fire, my space felt too hot and my eyes were tired of seeing bright red, yellow and orange! Oehlen's painting, Piece, is interesting in the way that the green seems to receed and the yellow feels pushed forward. The white areas allow the other colours space. I wonder if this is more to do with the composition, if the white was black would the painting still work? Does the painting work because there is space within the composition or is it due to the white space? Perhaps space as well as colour is what I should be thinking about.
