Have been working on the painting of my dad. Had some valuble feedback from other students on this painting. Realised that what wasnt working was that my dads face was quite beige, as was the chair I had painted him sitting in….this then gave little perspective…..or depth. I painted out the chair….and suddenly my dads face started to come to life. Sometimes….you just need a pair of ‘ fresh eyes ‘ Still not totally happy with it, but will keep working on it….and upload a photo in the next couple of days
Other artists I am looking at for my dissertation who work from photograohs are Jenny Saville, Lui Xiaodong and Elizabeth Peyton. I like the fact that Lui Xiaodong paints ordinary people where he lives in China , snapshots from ordinary life. He became intrigued by Lucian Freud after seeing a painting painted by him, and like me felt that Lucian Freud had the ability to capture a persons essence in his work. Jenny Saville’s work is shocking and ‘in your face’. I like the powerful images and strong brushwork, as well as the sheer scale of her paintings. Have been struggling with the painting of my dad, it hasnt flowed in the same way as the painting I did of ‘Man in a Blue Hat’…..which has been frustrating and I have started another larger painting of ‘Man in a Blue Hat’. Feeling very motivated to paint lots of paintings….. My dissertation progress has slowed down a little…..especially with just starting a new job…..so little time!!.I am working on the first draft on my chapter….finding lots of information now on artists who use photographs for inspiration for their art. I am now struggling to find contemporary artists who favour life models. Perhaps the life model died with Lucian Freud?? Has the notion of working from life been buried with Freud….perhaps this should be my dissertation question?
Thanks to fellow art student and lovely friend Sarah Bale for showing me how to resize photo without photoshop on computer, allowing me to finally put photos of my paintings onto my blog. Patience is a real virtue!
Still working on the painting of my dad.Its taking alot longer than the previous one. I am finding that some paintings just seem to flow… .and they are rare….but they are the one’s I am ultimately satisfied with.
Finished the book’ Man in a Blue Scarf’. What a fantastic read and a real insight into Lucian Freuds world. Felt inspired to do a painting afterwards and started and finished one in the same evening. I find working in oils, and wet on wet….gives me the ability to paint in a much more free and expressive way, and also quite fast. It is the only painting I have done so far that I am actually happy with and I can see that it is far looser than enything I have painted before. I am sure that from reading the book where the sitter explains how Freud thinks about the strokes of colour he applies and puts them on with great thought, that this has made a lasting impression on me and has made me consider ‘mark making’ in painting. I believe gestural marks give a painting energy and a life-force, and I am excited about the possibilities this gives me in my own paintings, and am pleased that I have at last done a painting that I like.
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.
