Surrealist Painting Evaluation

by abuelgasim (student)

During the Painting project we were asked to identify the critical aspects of Surrealism and to take onboard these critical aspects and use them in our sketchbook ideas and the final painting. Therefore, critical aspects of Surrealism are evident in my sketchbook and final piece. The first technique was the drawing technique. I took great care on producing the best outcome I could, when coming up with a Surrealist idea. Surrealist’s paintings are generally based on dreams. Their paintings are filled with familiar objects which were painted to look strange or mysterious, just like my painting. My painting is very strange because there are two contradictory landscapes merged into one. The aim of Surrealism was to reveal the unconscious and reconcile it with rational life. Surrealism is a visual movement that emphasises the critical and imaginative powers of the unconscious. The emphasis of critical and imaginative powers of the unconscious is evident in my final painting as I have tried to get across to the viewer that one dreams of an unrealistic scene may divulge the working of one’s unconscious.

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I planned and developed my ideas for my surrealist paining, in my sketchbook. I planned my ideas by researching several surrealist paintings. I then made two surrealist collages from magazine cuttings. However, in my collages there were too many objects and hence, the theme didn’t relate to the objects, as it should have done. Therefore, I made a third surrealist piece using images I found on the computer, which created a world of difference; the theme was more apparent and was a lot more surrealist. In this project the good research was the vital key to the success of the entire project. The research which he undertook for the Surrealist painting project, gave us the wide range of choices for the design of our painting and the colour scheme of the painting, which enhances our painting and makes it more dream-like. I also understand how research impacts our decision making. If I did not have the essential research, which I need for my art project, I would have found difficulty in producing any ideas.

A large palette is not a necessity, but certainly a pleasure when it comes to mixing paint. Any palette after all, is your 'thinking ground', a place where you mix colours, judge their properties, make decisions. When laying the colours out on my palette, I tried to lay them out in some sort of logical order, with the three primary colours in a triangle and white in the middle.

Max Ernst influenced my work through the way he paints. He paintings are realistic, in the way that it is 3D and the way he choices his colour. I try blend in the way he does. For example, I tried to imitate the sky in the background of ‘L'Ange du foyer ou Le Triomphe du surréalisme’. I was also captivated by Ernst tone of painting.

If I had to repeat this project again I would do several things differently. One of these things is to take more time on applying the paint. I would do that differently because I kept on applying too little or too much paint, and I think that knowing the right amount of paint to apply is a crucial criterion in achieving a successful painting. I would also take more care on achieving my highest possible standard because during some parts of my painting project I would take less care. Overall, if I take more care into the input of my project I would definitely get a better and more successful outcome, which would be a higher standard compared to my original. I also try to make my painting more realistic by using light and shadow; this would give the painting a 3D effect. Dali uses light to communicate ideas of this painting. Dali’s used realism to hold the scene together so that he could go on to upset our normal expectations of reality. My final fails to capture that technical aspect of Surrealism.