Elley Westbook – New Blog to document my final year studying Fine Art at Hereford College of Arts.

Well the B.A (Hons) Fine Art at any rate…who knows maybe I will be able to do the M.A at some point in the near future.

Over the summer I have tried my hand at abstract painting. I’m in two minds about it really. I like to have a reason, narrative or concept for my artwork. There is always a story or a hook on which I hang my creations.

That said, not so my doodles. They were just mindless, non thinking therapy and always have been a way to occupy my mind allowing it to process stuff.

The paintings have sort of taken over from that, I have spent many hours of listening to books or music whilst painting this summer. But I also find them frustrating because I’m not getting them. They are not even somewhere to hide really. I suspect I am not very good and this makes me nervous, upset and I’m left feeling vulnerable. It hasn’t been an easy summer.

I am really looking forward to getting back into college and getting my teeth stuck into a project. My thinking at the moment is a collection of stories. I want to record the memories of certain people, record conversations and see where it leads. It is seeping out of my projection project where I was struck by the different ways two people can remember the same event. I’m thinking I might write about the unreliability of memory for my dissertation….

You can follow me (if you’d be so kind) on Instagram @elleywestbrookartpractice