ava mckenna 1st year lsad

These are the works I’ve selected to present for my assessment. I feel that these pieces best reflect my journey and thought processes through this brief. I’ve included selected life drawings and paintings of the LSAD building as well as my oil pastel series. My favourite pieces are the oil pastel drawings as I feel like I found a style of working with them over the past few weeks. I noticed how much of my larger drawings and paintings are done in dark or muted colours whereas with the pastels the colours are bright and vivid. My subject matter in these drawings are my friends and for me this shows how my friends in LSAD are what make the experience so colourful and happy. Overall, I am really pleased with how this looks visually and am looking forward to presenting it to tutors.

I find Kossoff’s thick application of paint very appealing. He is very generous in terms of his use of material. Some of his paintings made me think of the palette knife self portraits our class did earlier on in this brief. His work is highly expressive due to his striking gestural approach and use of impasto.

Saville’s paintings for me feel very honest and raw. The expressions in the subjects faces and what initially drew me into her work. I’m also very attracted to her colour palette and certain works remind me of my oil pastel drawings where lots of vivid colour is used.

I spent this evening out in the countryside by a river and wanted to try to capture the peaceful essence of the nature around me. I’m not used to drawing plein air and generally get frustrated when doing it but this time it seemed to come quite naturally. I used oil pastels for this drawing and incorporated lots and lots of colour.

Because the sun was setting, the lighting was frequently changing but I managed to create a nice colour palette anyway I think. I found this incredibly relaxing and such a mindful process.

Very interesting and unique perspective by this artist from South Cheshire. I came across his work on Instagram today and his point of view is unlike anything I’ve seen before. He works en plein air, first sketching out his ideas on paper before applying whirls of paint.

I’m really loving working with oil pastels recently which is funny because I never used to be able to get the hang of them. Now though, I’m fond of the quick and painterly feeling that it gives to my drawings. I have been very inspired by my college friends for these works!

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was a prominent French Impressionist painter, known for her depictions of domestic life, particularly scenes of women and children. She was the only female artist to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. Morisot's work is characterized by her use of loose, expressive brushstrokes and her focus on capturing fleeting moments of everyday life.

The other morning, on my walk to college, I saw a single swan floating on the water at Arthur’s Quay. Something about it felt kind of spiritual because the water was so calm and there were no other birds around but this one. It seemed like it wanted to be painted. I did a quick small scale painting of the scene today and I’m pretty happy with it. It gives me the same feeling as when I saw it in front of me.

Margaret Clarke (1884–1961) was a prominent Irish portrait artist known for her refined, sensitive, and often psychologically insightful paintings. Her style bridges academic realism and a more modern, intimate approach to portraiture.

I think that her portraits capture more than just the likeness of the sitter—they convey mood, personality, and a deep human presence. As well as this, I'm very fond of her muted colour palette and elegant, balanced compositions.

Klimt channelled his reflections on desire and consciousness through canvases and murals, embedding allusions of sexuality and human psyche in his exuberantly embellished figures and patterns. I find myself particularly intrigued by his 'femme fatale' paintings, depicting seductive, mysterious and often dangerous woman whose beauty and allure bring about the downfall of men. His message of pleasure and sexual liberation drove him to put eroticism centerstage, particularly recognizing women’s body the leitmotif of his art.