Sometimes artists get an idea that is "grabby" for them, one that sticks and is worth pursuing, sometimes over and over. Think Georgia O'Keefe's enlarged flowers, for example, or Monet's bridge. When this happens, it is said that the artist is "working in series." A series is a group or continuum of artwork, each sharing something in common. The collection of work might share a theme, a subject, or a technique.
Working in a studio-setting, learners are free to explore themes and interests, and build a related body of work. We recently hung a series of paintings that "M," grade 8, worked on over several weeks.
"M" has been pursuing faces, large and small, for some time now. Many of his earlier faces were made with marker.
Sometimes he paints faces on and in magazines, creating a variation on the idea of "altered books."
For this series, "M" mostly used acrylic paint on 18" X 24" paper, although the one below is mixed-media; permanent marker and white gel pen over acrylic paint.
And the first one in this series, the one above with the yellow hair, is double-sided, with a marker-face on the reverse. Here is the reverse side of that painting:
Finally, "M" wrote a simple artist statement to accompany his work. The statement give a little glimpse of this artist's process.
