Scotney Castle, Study 5 Painting

This painting studies the architecture of Scotney Castle, a 14th-century moated castle in Kent that was deliberately partially destroyed in the 19th century to create a "folly". In the 19th century there was a surge of interest in Greco-Roman ruins, art, and architecture, and efforts to create landscapes that stylistically mimicked some of the historical sites abroad. I find this castle particularly interesting because, aside from it's political history, it conveys a lineage of aesthetic viewpoints across time. The deliberate destruction of the castle allows the bones of the original architecture to show through in a way that wouldn't be possible were the structures intact, and in a way, reverts it to a very early stage of its building. The changes made to this castle in the 19th century both mangle an object of history and exposes it in an intimate form through an inside look at the castle's structure. Note: This work has been painted on conservation grade paper mountboard in order to do multiple layers of detail work and washes. I utilize coffee because of it's unique physical mark making abilities. As liquid coffee evaporates from the center out to create a stain, the tension makes particles flow to the outer edges of the original mark which is stuck in place. Because ground coffee has larger particles than ink, which is refined, this creates an exaggerated outline. This allows me to create a record of each layer of wash I do in coffee, and also impacts certain types of ink I use as well. This process allows me to engage in a sort of building process that historical architecture itself goes through.