top of page
Degree Show
Development
Granny Square
For the first of my new Degree Show paintings, I wanted to use the small 50 x 50cm canvas that I made in the wood workshop, and I was inspired by my previous work Four Generations. These were my two starting points, so I thought it would be interesting (and also give me another opportunity to play with scale as in Tools of the Craft) to paint one singular crocheted granny square that fills the entirety of the small canvas.
This is the reference photo i used for this work. This is another granny square taken from the same blanket that I used for Four Generations, but is a new colour way that wasn't included in that work. I chose this square carefully as I wanted the colours to be bold and bright.
This is the painting in its current unfinished state. I think the colours are effective and the third row from the middle where multiple colours of yarn have been used in the original granny square work very well and represent the handmade nature of the craft well. I also really enjoy the scale of the work and how it fills the whole canvas. It also conveys similar themes (crochet and family) to Four Generations due to its use of the same subject matter.
Crocheting Hands
I have had the idea for this painting since the start of the year, and always knew for the Degree Show I wanted to do a painting that depicts my hands in the process of crocheting (to the right is a sketch I did in the Autumn term of the initial idea for this piece). This is therefore what I decided to do for the second new Degree Show painting. I also wanted to take it a step further than my other works which showcase the tools of the craft, and a step back from painting actual crochet and instead display the actual process of making.
As a starting point, I decided to do some hand studies in the positioning that I want them to be in my final painting. I also know that hands are hard to paint and I don't usually paint people/body parts so I wanted to get some practice in before starting the final painting. Additionally, I wanted to practice in both normal skin colour and pink and purple tones, as for the final piece I wanted to use unusual colours so the painting stands out, and I also in some ways wanted to play on the typically feminine nature of the craft and use traditionally 'girly' colours.
I then moved onto the next phase, which was building my canvas stretcher and also the frame for the painting. I decided I wanted to build a frame for this work in order to make the canvas stand out from the wall, and offer a slightly more interesting and/or developed mode of painting presentation. I also wanted this painting specifically to be differentiated from my other works, as this signals the culmination of this year's work and the Art of Making series.
To continue these ideas, I have also decided to crochet 4 long strips and hot glue these to each side of the frame (to the left is a sample to give you an idea of what it will look like), so that it covers the entire surface. I decided to do this because I wanted the subject of the work to translate through every aspect of the piece, and thought it would be interesting to add real crocheted elements.
I will also be adding a crocheted element onto the canvas itself, which will act as the work in progress that is currently being crocheted by the hands in the centre of the canvas.
David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring, (2011). Oil on canvas, 365 x 975 cm.
David Hockney, Winter Timber, (2009). Oil on 15 canvases, 274 x 609 cm.
Andy Warhol, Shot Marilyns, (1964).
The unusual use of colour in this painting is also semi-reminiscent of David Hockney's work from his A Bigger Picture Exhibition and David Hockney's Shot Marilyns. Both substitute more naturally occuring colours for pinks and purples, and these painters have always been large influences on my practice.
This work is also reminiscent of Hands of God and Adam. This directly links to the subversion present in my practice between depicting crochet (typically a women's craft) and oil painting (historically male form of artmaking).
Michelangelo, Hands of God and Adam, detail from The Creation of Adam, (c. 1512). Fresco, 280 cm × 570 cm
bottom of page