Being new to the blank page, I am experimenting with a number of mark-making techniques. I use Conté to create texture both as background and as stand-alone imagery. I line different sized cylindrical vessels with paper, add a select number of different coloured Conté sticks and rotate the container, gently for softer texture, and vigorously for heavy marks, holding the cylinder at varying angles to direct coverage.
Depending on the number of rotations, the marks appear like a patina, rust specks or scratches, which lend an aged and decayed look to the paper, linking to my project theme of ‘Ageing and Decay’. I have also found this technique useful in layering earlier works to add warmth and atmosphere.
In an outdoor setting and benefiting from some of the elements of wind and sun, I hang fine-liner markers above sheets of blank paper to track the passage of time by the density of the marks that accumulate on the blank pages. The results are wispy, delicate, yet intricate patterns.
Recording time with mark making from 09.00 to 15.00 on 28/04/21
