I began this painting workshop by searching for and documenting interesting environments which I will later record. I was really interested in the concept of ‘Liminal Spaces‘; areas that create a strange and haunting atmosphere because of their purpose as a transitionary or ‘in between’ area which society moves through. I decided to photograph a train station as I found it interesting how its lack of visitors in the day provided it with an empty, lonely atmosphere that draws focus to its interesting architecture. I was really excited by the juxtaposition of the ornate, decorative architecture from the Victorian era and the modern, grid patterns of the practical updates made to the station.

 

After photographing the train station, I began to create charcoal studies which would aid my development towards the final painting piece. I began my creating lengthy studies, trying to accurately emulate the photographs I had taken to create a realistic outcome however, however I found that these outcomes lacked energy. Therefore, I began to set myself timers with a maximum of twenty five minutes on each study, creating exciting and expressive impressions that I preferred.

 

 

 

Following my first observations in charcoal, I moved into creating acrylic paint studies inspired from my photographs of the train station and developing techniques like the markings and washes I used over my charcoal studies previously. The muted, grayscale palette I was using mirrored the morbid palette utilised by Irish artist Brian Maguire in his painting series: “War Changes its Address“. Throughout his career, Maguire has depicted the horrific aftermath of war and conflict. In 2018, I viewed his series instalment: “Aleppo”  exhibit at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and was struck by expressionist handling of paint the artist used to convey the distress and chaos which remains in the architecture of war. In this study, I tried to reflect some of the techniques Maguire used including: allowing the paint to drip across the painting and using rough, bristle brushes to create texture.

I also experimented with collage in the below studies. I found these abstracted studies very successful in reflecting the dilapidated state of the older buildings in the train station, as the rough tears and chaotic shapes echo back to rusting architecture.

I began to also create quick acrylic studies, moving from black and white to colour in preparation for my final piece. I took inspiration from the muted palette used by Brian Maguire in his haunting cityscapes as I think that by dulling down the tones present in my photographs I can best depict the melancholic atmosphere of the station. The first coloured painting was created in thirty minutes as I wanted it to display and expressive impression of picture which I think worked more successfully than the second painting that took longer and was more detailed.

After creating these painting practices, I began to arrange my photographs in a sequence as I think that they work best together in a story-board like template to allow the audience to feel as though they were walking through station experiencing the physical architecture that creates n liminal space. I decided to alternate between an image which depicts the older, more intricate architectural elements of the station followed by a photograph that displays modern modern features like metal stairs and the elevator block that hold more robust and sharper lines.

 

I decided to use an A5 template for my sequence as it would draw the audience into a smaller display and create a more intimate engagement with the station setting. I also continued to work in fast, more expressive movements as the collage experiments really inspired me to present the rough edges and dream-like sense the liminal space creates.