This is a painting that I just had to paint. The face is so interesting with the shapes and contours and the wild hair and wrinkly skin. I had great pleasure in painting this piece as it was so satisfying applying the paint and I relished in particular painting the wrinkles on the left side of her face by her chin. It is interesting that some people see her as warm and friendly, while others have said she looks scary and she makes them feel uncomfortable. This suggests that we all look at a painting with all the personal history we have, and we see different things depending on the experiences in our lives.
Finding this is becoming addictive!!…Reading a lot about Lucian Freud for my dissertation. Painting a portrait is an attempt to not just replicate the image of the sitter, but to capture something of their essence. But as yet….I am not sure that is neccessarily true from painting from life compared to a photograph. Both have very strong merits and this convinces me that this is a good subject for my dissertation. Finished painting of young girl. I dound the photo mesmerising, especially her eyes and I felt compelled to paint her. I used liquin with my oils which gave a transluscent effect. The liquin allowed me to work up layers of colour which gave a beautiful lustre to the painting. However…it also removed any of the brushstrokes and for me…seeing the mark making in a painting and the swirls of paint is what excites me, so I will probably not continue with experimenting with liquin.
Have got half way through ‘Man with a Blue Scarf’…a book written by Martin Gayford. Martin Gayford sat as a ‘sitter’ for Lucian Freud for a year and some… ‘Man with a Blue Scarf is a book written by Gayford on his experience. I like Freud’s quote: ‘ a painting in order to move us must never merely remind us of life, but acquire a life of its own, precisely in order to reflect life’ I am going round my parents tomorrow to take photographs of my dad. He has had major heart surgery and also recently broken his back!! He has experienced great pain and this is reflected in his face. He is now at home recovering and is happy for me to paint him.
Sitting in studio space. About to start some research for my first draft chapter for my dissertation. Reading ‘ Man with a Blue Scarf’. A book written about sitting for a portrait painted by Lucian Freud. Hope it will give me some insights into some of the merits as to working from a life model compared to a photograph. In my paintings I am trying to work looser and be more expressive. Love Lucian Freuds’s work. I went to see his exhibition last year in London where I was so inspired by his work, and was fascinated how his paintings developed over the years. I loved the bold paintwork and texture of his later work. I feel I am developing a looser style since buying some much larger brushes and not working too much on the painting in pencil first. Tutor Robin advised me to use bigger brushes and in hog hair, I did….and have found that since swapping my fine brushes for larger hog hair has changed how I paint. ..allowing for them to become looser and allowing me not to follow an obediant literalness, but not without keeping to the likeness of the person I am trying to paint. I am interested in real people. Honest images of real ordinary people. . I am interested in the extrodinary ordinary Need to get better canvas’s. Also need to find out how to post up images of my paintings on this blog.
Trying to consider how I feel about the person I am painting. Does it affect my finished piece? Interested in photography versus a ‘ sitter’. Why should a painting based on a photograph be considered a less legitimate work of art than one painted from observation. Is this due to an overly ‘romantic’ view of the artist getting in the way. Isnt a ‘sitter’ totally impractical in the modern contemporary art world of today. All images come through magazines, papers, tv and of course the internet. Why not utilize the millions of images and use them for art. Found the picture of Chuck Close on the cover of a biography that I have just read. It was an amazing read ( I love reading). Maybe it’s because I feel I know him through reading his biography that I have a this compulsion to paint him. I have also watched a DVD in the last couple of days lent to me by fellow student Karl. I am feeling a great respect for this artist. His life has been a fascinating journey. One of the things I love about Chuck Close was his determination to paint portraits when it was so out of fashion and considered out-dated. The art of the ‘time’ in the 60’s among many were Andy Warhol and Robert Robert Rauschenberg…and portraiture was held in disdain…let alone Chuck’s style of painting with his photo-realism paintings. While I admire Close’s attitude, I am not sure I relate emotionally to his paintings. I respect his dedication and talent, but also know that this is the style of painting I want to move away from.
