Studio: Painting on Canvas

Today using an unprimed canvas, I created a monochrome/ grey painting, with an ink roller. Here are photos of the stages of painting:

Progress Documentation:

 Finished Piece:

Reflections:

• Using the unprimed canvas worked really well to absorb abstract shapes of paint in certain areas, but the canvas did start to get a bit tacky towards the end of the paining when the paint had been applied over and over again. 
• Compared to my previous painting on board, the unprimed canvas really allowed more expression of what the paint could really do, and I think I would like to use canvas again. 
• The ink roller worked well to spread the paint, and I worked in a left to right motion, and then up and down, covering the whole canvas over and over again, until the paint had settled into a pattern I was happy with, and the canvas was covered. 
• I used only black and white acrylic paints, and these created the varying grey tones. There are areas of the canvas that are darker and lighter, and some with more blobby shapes which was where I applied the first layers of paint to the unprimed canvas - and this is what I really love about the outcome. 
• Using monochrome rather than colour is something that I feel I prefer at this stage, although I have experimented using colour, I am unsure which colours I would want to choose or why. The absence of colour seems easier.  
• Using the end of a paintbrush, I went around almost all of the edges with black paint to give it a rounded and more framed look, which helped draw attention to the central parts of the canvas more.
• Overall, while painting I felt like the process of creating art was at the forefront of this piece, and it was very much about wen I felt like I was satisfied with the painting, which was when it was finished - much like how Gerhard Richter has stated. 

Development:

• The ink roller created a checkered pattern when looking at it from a distance, which I liked at first, but now, looking at it again I really love the abstract areas where the canvas absorbs the different paints at different times of application. 
• Using a larger squeegee to apply the paint, and pouring more paint on at once, dragging the squeegee across the canvas would help to create more of these abstract poured shapes in the image. 
• Upon further reflection, adding a splash of yellow paint to the canvas would make a good contrast to the image and the colours would go well together. 

Further Research:

• Gerhard Richter's Grey Paintings
• Richter completed a number of grey paintings in the 1970s and 80s. Some of his paintings were thick grey squares, and they never came down the sides of the canvas, rather they left a neat edge, much like what i've tried to produce above. 

The edge of Richter's Grey canvas, source https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/videos/abstracts/grey-cr-3671-8-134

• Richter also did some abstract grey paintings varying in texture, using oil paints:

Grauschlieren, Grey Streaks, 1968 200 cm x 200 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 192-1, Oil on canvas

Ohne Titel (grau), Untitled (Grey), 1968 50 cm x 50 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 194-6, Oil on canvas