Presentation Of Previous Work And Plans For The Future

By Isabella Sasso 6.2 Diploma

Jean (2015)I chose this image as a source for my portrait due to the fact that I was interested by the expressiveness of the brush strokes and how the artist merged expressionistic/ fauvist aspects like the artist Maurice de Vlaminck, with realistic, proportionate art. This portrait was approximately size A1-A0, with the portrait being central and slightly invasive as the portrait takes up the majority of the canvas, which further implicates not being able to see more of the background making it have no illusion of space. The colour range in this painting is fairly light, ranging from white, to pale blue, to burnt umber, however there are no drastic colour changes suggesting dark shadows, indicating that Jean-Paul Tibbles, painted this image over the year in a very bright setting. It is visible in the face and other various places in the portrait that Jean layered the colours and tones, due to the fact that there are many colours in one specific area creating highlighting and contrasting tones. Jean used oil paint on canvas, not needing to use additional mixed media materials because he clearly emphasised the change in colour with his erratic direction of brush strokes. Jean exploited the technique of un-uniform/ blended brush strokes by using the technique in the smallest details like the mouth and eyes, because he used that same theme but in a smaller scale.

I think that the style of his work adds a flare of child-like playfulness or joyousness to the image due to the fact that the expression on the boys face is plain, which could suggest that was what the boy was feeling inside, without wanting to display any obvious emotion. On the other hand, the erratic brush movements, especially around the focal point of the portrait could be a way of Jean showing time passing, due to the fact that nothing stays the same, especially because it took Jean a year to paint the portrait.

Actual image

My interpretation

Arnold Abraham Goodman, Baron Goodman

I chose to look at Lucian Freud’s sketch of Arnold Abraham Goodman due to the obscure angle of which it was sketched. Although there were many sketches displayed in his part of the exhibition, I decided that this would be the best to take inspiration from because of the fine detail in the creases of the face around the nose and eyes.

The portrait, being sketched on an A3 page was drawn with charcoal in a scribbled form, pressing harder when the shadows and creases became darker. Although we cannot see the bed/ chair because the sketch does not add tone or line around the face, the portrait suggests that the person is laying down, due to the angle of the sketch. Furthermore, as the lines of the face do not lead to the edge of the page suggests that the artist found the surroundings unimportant in the purpose of his image, causing us to look at the face alone. Freud exploited his rapid motion of line in his portrait by using it for small details and making clear likes without a straight like, its always shaded with no solid line beneath.

I find that the angle of the portrait causes the image to have an atmosphere which seems dreary or tired-like, due to the fact that the models face is completely relaxed. However, the composition of the image suggests that the artist was mainly focussing on the visual aspects, not the hidden meaning behind it because of the fact that the sketch doesn’t reach the end of the paper and that there’s no additional shading suggesting background.

Actual Image

My interpretation

PetrasI chose to look at this portrait due to its finite detail in the stubble and wrinkles of the mans face and hands. Due to the fact that I was interest in composing a lifelike painting, I felt this image would be good to look at as it was very realistic.

The acrylic on canvas painting was larger than A0, being in a landscape format, focusing on the hands and facial features of the mans body. The dark background against the very light and powerful facial features, causes the image to look like the man is standing in open space. Laura, the artist, uses a small thin brush to create the fine detail of the stubble in the mans face and the individual creases on his body, which causes it to look like a photograph. Due to the large variety of shades in this portrait suggests that she layered on the paint to help blend the colours better, and to also create harsher, more prominent lines once the paint dried underneath. The fact that Laura Gruoke used a monochromatic colour scheme further makes the painting seem like a photograph.

The portrait seems to have a hopeful, or happy mood when looking at it, perhaps because of the use of his hands covering his mouth and the detail in the eye showing his inner emotion. Furthermore, the age lines on his face have left marks which cause him to also look as if he’s smiling. I find that the use of his hands is a powerful prop because it can suggest many things, such as hiding something, or embracing, or in a compassionate manor.

Actual Image

My interpretation

Laura In BlackI chose this portrait to study due to the mood it suggests by the way it is painted angelically in a classical style. Furthermore, I liked the way the artist merged the classical period with modern day aspects like the clothing, jewellery and hair-style.

The painting was created by painting oil on linen, causing the textured effect on the background. The size of the linen was approximately A3, with the portrait being fairly invasive like the image Jean (2015). With a fairly plain background, it is difficult to see the scale of the model, however due to the fact that the majority of the foreground is dark because of her top, causes the background to come forward as it is lighter, making her look like she’s standing against a wall. The artist has used a feathery and light technique with his paintbrush to mask any imperfection and finite detail, however the face is more detailed and pigmented compared to the hair and background, suggesting that he used quicker motions with his brush on the less pigmented areas. I think that the artist had an initial wash on the background however he did not layer his paints too much so that the image would continue to have the dusty and slightly blurred effect.

I think he painted his wife, Laura, in this style because he felt that it displayed her beauty in a more visual way. This style of painting has caused the model to have an innocent yet desirable look in her eyes, because even though there’s no physical emotion, the positioning of the model and the use of her hand suggests a more angelic and calm mood. Although the main aspect of the image is that it was painted in the classical style, the modern aspects help suggest her personality and lifestyle.

Actual image

My interpretation

Haydn as HenryI chose to study ‘Haydn As Henry’ by Stephen Earl Rogers due to the fact that it was a very realistic portrait. The many portraits that I looked into from the National Portrait gallery all looked very proportionate and realistic, however I found this composition the most interesting due to the fact that the lighting is very precise and drastically contrasting, also because there was great detail in each aspect of the image, from the clothing to the lips. Furthermore, the fact that the image was portrait was composed as a landscape not a traditional portrait.

The image was approximately 60cm x 40cm and was oil painted onto canvas., with colours ranging from warm, like the light hitting the mans face, to cool like the colours used to form the jacket. Unlike many portraits, this painting was manipulated to recreate a still from a movie , which is why it was composed as a landscape. Due to the darkness of the background and the lightness of the highlights on the face, causes the image to seem like the man is in a fairly large room, additionally because there were no props displayed, making it difficult to scale up the man to the room. Stephen used many layers in his images due to the vast amount of tones through out, furthermore, he used layering to blend the skin and material and to also add textures such as lines on the face. The oil paint on canvas was the only material used in this composition due to the fact that all the texture and depth was emphasised through shading and highlighting. Furthermore, he formed this image in a realistic manor by blending all tones together with a oft bristle brush whilst adding important aspects and detailing, like the lips and the highlighting on the nose with smaller brushes.

As Stephen had initial inspiration from the film ‘Goodfellas’ , where the opening scene starts off in an eerie setting outdoors, however in stead of using the still from the scene, he replaced the actor with his nephew Haydn, therefore getting his nephew to pose in a similar way in order to keep the atmosphere intense, like a pregnant silence.

Actual image

My interpretation

Experiments and DecisionsOnce I collected all of my information from my sources, I started experimenting with different angles of my face and drew them with simple line and no tone. Going through this process helped me become more aware of what composition looked best, whether the final piece should be landscape or portrait, and what I was looking for to show to the audience. The eight sketches either had my face alone, with my hand in the image or using a prop to indicate proportion. I decided that I was not going to use objects in my development to indicate proportion due to the fact that the source paintings/drawings did not include any props. I was inspired with the way the emotion was revealed to the viewer in the image “Petras”, therefore I decided to narrow down the images to the ones with my hand in. The experimental images did not display any direct emotion due to the fact that I was looking to have a more aesthetic approach like “Haydn as Henry”, rather than looking to influence the viewers emotion alone. I decided after my experimental sketches that I would use “Haydn as Henry” as my main focus of inspiration due to the style of painting and the mood it portrays, however I would use the aspect of the hand like in “Petras” to further connect the image to the audience.

EXPERIMENTAL SKETCHES

Four Painted ExperimentsOnce I decided what my main inspiration was and how I was going to compose it generally, I generated four A5 paintings where I practiced blending different skin tones, making small details in the face and creating the right mood. I decided that I did not like the portrait format so I would try landscape for my final piece, however I did like the dark drastic tones of the first painting, so I’d incorporate that. I felt that in my experimentals, I wasn’t incorporating any aspects of my clothing to indicate the time I wanted to look like it would be painted it, therefore I noted that I needed to add modern jewellery and clothing to suggest the time. As each painting developed, I tried to blend the highlights and contrasts in a more realistic way, by trying to make the visible brush stroke marks disappear. Although the skin tone was slightly too yellow in some paintings, the merging of the shadows with the highlights improved. In addition, I experimented with using my hand in an image, which finalised my decision to keep it; seeing the hand in a painted image influenced the mood much more than the experiment sketches that didn’t contain the hand previously.

Final OutcomeDuring development in this project, I came to learn that I need to reflect on the previous work in order to gain new ideas and perspectives, if I didn’t, I would not have been resting on my hand in my final self portrait. I came across complications whilst painting my 4 experimentals, due to the fact that the images were not giving the same mood as the inspiration image, therefore I made sure I was in a similar position and that I was also in a landscape format for my final piece. Additionally, during the process of creating my final piece, I came across a complication; I firstly painted the canvas red to give an undertone, however when I started painting the skin tones on, the red paint mixed with the skin tones making a pinkie hue, therefore I used another clean canvas and started on a plain white background which worked successfully.

Whilst studying the source images at the beginning of the project, I came to understand that emotion did not need to be portrayed obviously in order to have an image with a strong atmosphere that suggested mood; the colours, positioning and cropping all came in to play when influencing moods. My final outcome communicates the fact that everyone is feeling something, even if their emotion is not obviously displayed on their face, posture and body positioning all play a part in finding out someone’s mood . I preferred sketching the copies of the source images and the line drawings of my experiments rather than painting nearer the end of the project due to the fact that pencil can be changed so much, rather than acrylic. However, I found that colour helped influence the mood a lot more, therefore it had an important part to play in the final stages of the project.

First Year Work

Projects that were important to meDuring the first year of college, I found that the projects that helped me the most with my learning was studying the colour wheel, analysing the human body/ face, creating a textile print and drawing from observation. The first term of being at college, we had the task to study from a still life. This process helped me understand tone and how to make objects appear 3D on a 2D surface with the amount of shadow and highlighting applied. Furthermore, I found that it gave me a better understanding of how to look at objects; to not see something as the object its self, but as lines and shapes that are put together either in a simple or complex manner to make an object. Later on in the year, we started to focus on colour and how the primary colours can be used to make any colour of the rainbow, in addition to making colours similar to black. Using the technique of the colour wheel, I was able to mix my colours from scratch and compose images with their true tones, making them seem more realistic. During the second term the class studied and created a textile pattern to suit a certain target audience. Using this technique helped me understand how colours, arrangements and patterns suit to different people, therefore becoming more aware that if I were to make something for someone specific, I would have to carry out a lot of research on how to make a successful project before even going through the making process. Finally in the last term, I found that the project that impacted my learning the most was studying the human form. The human body is a complex form, being able to move in unusual stances and is unique with every person. Studying the form I was able to gain awareness on how the body keeps balance and how it looks with strong lighting hitting against it. This was important for me because there are bodies all around us, and being able to successfully construct the human body on a 2D plain is a difficult skill to grasp.

Strengths through out the yearI find that my main strength through out the year was the research toward the development and the final piece; looking at different artists, researching and experimenting with inspired techniques. Many of my final pieces were strongly influenced by artists and their style of composing images, due to the fact that their work either caused a very emotional response or the techniques were interesting and not realistic, like Vincent Van Gogh. In addition I found that my strongest style of art through out last year was composing the human form because of the way that we used a live model to draw from, therefore making it realistic, I find realism the most interesting in my point of view as it can have such a dramatic impact and emotional connection to an audience. I think in my second year I will need to work on using more of a variety of media, due to the fact that I am uncomfortable with change. Exploring new materials and techniques may cause me to find a different style of art more influential than I did in the first year.

Future PlansOver the past year my ideas about progression have changed because I have explored many new areas of art, which I did not know would interest me, therefore causing me to think about different possible careers, which contain that particular art type, like marketing for example. Initially I wanted to become an architect however, once it came to the practical side of building a model, I found that I was not as interested as I first thought, especially because I found it difficult to manipulate materials to my desire. My current progression aim is to focus more on the photographic side of art, due to the fact that it could impact the way I view surroundings and certain subjects. In addition, through out the later part of first year of college, I found that I really connected with photographs because so much story and life can be captured in one moment, making a strong emotional connection between the viewer and the piece, which causes said composition to be a successful piece of art. In year two I will try and achieve this aim by applying more photographic evidence through my development and also incorporating image more in my work as well as other media, therefore making a stronger piece over all.