I discovered Eileen Hogan’s work very recently in a book I’ve been reading called “Ways of Drawing: Artists’ Perspectives and Practices” and was automatically drawn to this work by her (which automatically makes me want to get up and draw!):

- what seems to be the process here: basic marks and lines indicating general shapes and forms of objects, which are then gone over with more ‘detail’ – the detail in here being the process of shading, giving the lines more materiality
- the same ‘unfinishedness’ that she discussed in her essay – this includes the quick lines as well as the text – quick observation of the surroundings
- I like the addition of the text in here – adds a roughness and rawness to the drawing – makes it more in the moment – conveys quick passings of thought that just needed to be recorded and put down so that they would not be lost in the flux of observations, thoughts and ‘visual images’
- some line ‘structures’ are left untouched, or indeed unfinished, which means that the composition ends up having a fair amount of negative space, that brings balance to the image
- the lines visible within the negative space are left to wonder – the viewer is left to think about the ‘untold’ what hasn’t yet been said by the lines – these lines present a possibility – a future
- a variation of pressures applied to the material along with a variation of approaches towards it – some left as bold marks, some blended – some applied from the tip of the charcoal, some from its side
- the balance also occurs with the different ‘sections – the grid that is formed makes the drawing slightly more structured
- is this what I want from my work too? I thought that introducing structure wouldn’t go with the intended spontaneity, but
- is this what I want from my work too? I thought that introducing structure wouldn’t go with the intended spontaneity, but
- but, when we step back, or slightly disassociate ourselves from the image, the charcoal sections become indeterminate – they begin bending together and loosing their original meaning and ‘purpose’
- I like the fact that the centre of the composition is concentrated with charcoal – whereas the outer areas around it have more distance between them
- what this also creates is a balance between the environment and the figure in the foreground – there end up being two main focus points – one on the figure and one of the tree trunks further in the distance – I find the combination of the two balancing techniques calming on the eye – quite peaceful and not too overwhelming
- I also like the contrast between the more refined nature of the figure as opposed to the roughness and rapidness of the garden – the most focused areas of the figure are the face and the torso, so it’s not completely refined either – the unfinished elements of it connect it with the rapidness of the experience as well as the person’s surroundings – breaking the boundaries between the two – CONNECTING THEM –
showing that one can shape the other, by using similar mark-making or lines – just like the vertical ones that represent the legs, also stand for branches and trunks.
A BIT MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST:
“The whole idea of presence and absence runs through all of my work. And when I am working on a series of pictures the memory of the place is as important as the place itself,”
Hogan, E. (n.d.). Biography – Eileen Hogan. [online] Eileenhogan.co.uk. Available at: http://eileenhogan.co.uk/biography/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].
- just reading this quote, looking at the drawing above and reading a bit more about her just makes me want to read her book: “Personal Geographies” (2019)
- before I read and research any more on the artist and her practice I just wanted to think about and point out the key elements of this quote:
- PRESENCE AND ABSENCE
- perhaps indicates the passing of time?
- perhaps being in the space, but not actually encountering it because we are more focused on the physical aspect of it – or maybe the other way around?
- MEMORY AS IMPORTANT AS THE PLACE ITSELF
- allows for a full encounter and connection with the place – not just being in the space but also what impact it leaves on us – this impact can be analysed and judged in terms of the memories we hold of the place
- PRESENCE AND ABSENCE
“I think that the whole process of walking, thinking and drawing goes right back to then [her school days of walking through the Tooting Common] And the idea that what I am painting is a record of an encounter”
Morris, R. (2013). British Artist Explores Poetry of Light in Enclosed Spaces. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/arts/british-artist-explores-poetry-of-light-in-enclosed-spaces.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].
- focusing on a direct encounter with things and her surroundings
- a documentation process – more successful when it becomes a daily activity – more in-depth knowledge of the object (if consistently looking at one object), creating familiarity and a connection, as well as training the eye to see and experience things beyond our surface level understanding
“Opening Lecture – Eileen Hogan: Personal Geographies”: Notes
Youtube.com. (2019). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg_bVUTZ1ns [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].
- why we are who we are, and why we do what we do
- combining landscape painting and portraiture
- words and letter–forms present in her work
- surrounded by the legacy of war when she was growing up in Tooting Common – bron in 1946 – so childhood would have been right after WWII
- inspired by different combinations of light
“walking and drawing are always the beginning for me,
scribbling and making notes in my sketchbook,
I find out what connects me to a place or what I think through drawing.”
- always paints from the same spot – once settled on one, in a project
- make it hers, becomes a ritual
- Little Sparta – represents an interaction with both the person as well as the place
- FAMILIARITY is important to her – if you see something everyday it changes both the experience and the relationship between the observer and the object
- likes to paint things that disappear -like rain and snow and mist – TRANSFORMATION
- spends week planning and observing in advance
- concentrating on geometry and rhythm
- traces of the previous layers get trapped between the layers and become ghostly in the final painting
- SPONTENAITY requires an awful lot planning
- doing something fresh and poetic with a traditional medium like paint
- vividly of the passing of time – 3 hours per sitting when painting / drawing portraits from life – over the course of months or years
- “a portrait is a confrontation of a meeting or a connection”
- PRESENCE AND ABSENCE
- MEMORY AND LOSS
- would study a person for a portrait painting commission and then when it came to the actual painting process in her studio she would paint without the model there – to focus less on the person but rather on the painting itself