The parent category for research and reflection posts.
Not for the first time, I find I’ve pre-empted an exercise with pieces of work that would qualify but were located elsewhere! I have a very hostile-looking self portrait in blue that would have served me well in the ‘character’ … Continue reading Part 3, project 3, exercise 2 – telling a story
Fitting the brief of paintings that appeal to me, I went first for Degas and his dancers in studio contexts. That led inevitably to his antithesis, Paula Rego and her dancing ostriches which are altogether less delicate. Stuck a little in ‘dancer’ mode, I spotted a painting by someone called Colin whose figures are very nearly symbolic (and which may or may not be in an interior setting), then I pursued the brief in more modern terms with a piece by Grayson Perry which is a crowded and cluttered interior which is recognisably a ‘today’ scene , and finally a … Continue reading Part 3, research point 3 – figures in interiors
This task points up some of the artists who have illustrated mood above likeness. Picasso’s blue paintings for instance; van Gogh’s early paintings of peasants, and the way Rembrandt used tonal contrast in a restricted palette to pull out a person’s mood and personality. After looking at these, the task then asks us to compare them with Fauvist painters and with German Expressionism. This requires some serious internet searching, but the artist who comes immediately to mind is Bisa Butler who, arguably, is as much about mood – in this case pride and the assertion of the right to be … Continue reading Part 3, research point 2 – portraits conveying mood or atmosphere + Fauvism & German Expressionism
My main takeaway from this was that my sense of developing a personal voice is not a delusion and that I’ve succeeded in upping my game with regard to the research elements. I think the latter is due to growing into the subject matter and I’m very glad I put this module on hold until I had finished the Drawing module because that was really the place some elements fell into place. I found a ‘buddy’ who was also struggling with this new vocabulary and had no background in any sort of historical or artistic canon and we have nudged … Continue reading Formative feedback for assignment 2
The brief is to research self portraits by various artists over a broad time span and to focus on five or six that appeal. The notes are to include comments on whether or not the artist portrays themselves in the process of painting/as an artist along with thoughts about what the purpose of the portrait might be and the impression the artist may be trying to convey. This is very similar to a research point in the drawing module where I looked at Rembrandt, van Gogh, Frieda Kahlo, and Paula Rego. I decided to revisit that post to see if … Continue reading Part 3, research point 1 – self portraits
Project 4 is about interiors and this task requires an investigation into the way the Dutch genre painters, as they were called, achieved their sense of realism, space, and the occupants in the room. Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was one of these and happens to be one of my favourite artists because of the warmth he brings out in his portrait models. His interiors, though, impress as well; their domesticity and mundane but beautifully intimate and gentle compositions where so often the key character is shown in light from a high window. This one, The Milkmaid c 1658-60 (left), for me … Continue reading Part 2, project 4, research point 4 – Dutch realist genre painters
I’ve discussed elsewhere on the blog how Seurat and Signac, amongst others, following on from Chevreul’s meticulous account of colour the ways colours interact with those adjacent to them, how leaving a white space between dots was said to emphasise the effect, and what the optical impact was on the viewer. Pissarro is reported to set his paintings in white frames in order to capitalise on the effect of complementary colours, and Monet used the principle to enhance colour intensity, his many poppy fields being cited as good examples of this. Seurat is said to have summarised ‘the six principles’ … Continue reading Part 2, project 3, research point 3 – optical effects
Research the still life and flower painting of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age. Make notes on particular paintings you admire and find out about techniques. Research at least one with iconographic significance and discuss the meanings ascribed to the objects. Explore still life through the 18th to 20th centuries and discuss how the subject matter was dealt with; in particular the early Cubist approaches of Braque and Picasso. Consider how contemporary artists are interpreting this genre. Specifically, this task refers to 17th century masters from what’s known as the Golden Age. Running an initial search, my first thought was … Continue reading Project 2, Still Life. Research point 2, Dutch still life painters.
We’re hearing more and more about the down side of deep faking – that ability of AI to make one person look like another, to ‘place’ someone in an incriminating position or make the seem to speak words they would … Continue reading Dali – Deep Faked and Personalised
Strayfish Arts 