Analysis of An Artwork Original by Mary F Harrison
Watercolour on khadi paper
An artist’s manifesto or analysis of an artwork.
AIM- to produce work relating to natural forms as a remembered response to the environment or another given subject.
OBJECT- the 7 elements.
The elements which this artist personally considers necessary in the construction of a piece of work are line, form, flow, balance, texture, contrast, and tone. They differ slightly from the classical elements, which include space, colour, and value. The artist believes those follow when the construction adheres to the altered criteria.
METHOD- the production of 7 paper discs, each illustrating one of the artist’s chosen 7 elements.
Following the artist’s desire to interfere with the natural environment as little as possible, handcrafted watercolours from the North of England were applied to Khadi rag paper, handmade in India.
CONCLUSION- it is possible to dissect a piece of artwork in a scientific manner- but it’s a bit of a bore!
When I was a child, the family moved from place to place, from continent to sub-continent and I spent a lot of my time mentally cataloguing the landscapes where we had last been. I later settled in the North of England, and now spend part of each day on a walk around the suburb where I live, gathering in my mind images of natural forms and movements.
People ask me where my compositions and colours come from. I can only say with any honesty that the imagery and palette are informed by my memories and impressions of all I have seen; and that the interaction of the pencil and paint on the delightfully variable texture of the rag paper seems to conjure forth the subject matter, and often the title, of the picture.
As I claim to be an abstractionist, and to be working intuitively, I understand that there is some deeper internal process which drives the engine which produces the finished piece. If you ever draw or paint with your ‘wrong’ hand, doodle, scribble mindfully, or otherwise ‘lose’ yourself with paper and pencil, you will understand what I mean!
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