I have chosen to look at self-portraits that I have seen when visiting the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Modern. All photographs, unless otherwise indicated, were taken by me with permission of the gallery staff. Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788) Self Portrait - Circa 1759 Born in Sudbury, Gainsborough is best known as a... Continue Reading →
Assignment 2 – Research
Sydney Bella Sparrow - Spectrum in Silk 2008 The first work I came across was by the American artist Sydney Bella Sparrow. She chooses simple, everyday objects and, working with a mainly black background brings these objects to life on the canvas in a realistic and vibrant way. http://www.sydneybellasparrow.com/paintings.html Spectrum in Silk is a small... Continue Reading →
Part 2: Research 5 – Linear perspective
The theory of linear perspective was developed by Florentine architect/engineers Filippo Bruelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti. The theory is to create an illusion of depth on a flat surface by increasingly reducing the size of objects to appear smaller as the near the vanishing point. The vanishing point is a point on the horizon line... Continue Reading →
Part 2: Research 4 – Dutch Genre Painting and Interiors
Once again I find this a very daunting subject with so little time available for in depth research. For this reason I have chosen five paintings that have caught my eye for various reasons and I will discuss them individually. Johannes Vermeer - Officer and Laughing Girl 1657 Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialised... Continue Reading →
Part 2: Research 3: Optical Effects
Maximilien Luce - Morning interior 1890 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436923 Luce was a neo impressionist painter, heavily influenced by the pointillist artists such as Georges Seurat. I particularly like ‘Morning Interior’ for its familiar, everyday subject matter and the artists handling of the paint. He has used red, orange, yellow and blue in stippled brushstrokes. Looking closely at... Continue Reading →
Part 2: Research 2 – Still Life
I have already looked at this subject during Drawing Skills 1 and my research can be found on the associated blog here:- https://jansoca.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/part-2-research-still-life-genre/ As a consequence I am going to ensure that I look a different artist for my research in this part. As I stated when I did my original research, this is such... Continue Reading →
Part 2: Research 1 – Michel-Eugene Chevreul, The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours
Chevreal (1786-1889) was a chemist who, in 1824 became Director of dyes at Gobelins, the Royal Tapestry Factory in Paris. It is here that he developed his colour theories showing how colours when next to each other can enhance or diminish the intensity of hue of each other. Effectively he established that contrasting colours, when... Continue Reading →
Assignment 1: Research
Edward Ruscha - Miracle 64 1975 Pastel and zinc oxide on paper depicting a beam of light. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ruscha-miracle-64-ar00052 Ruscha states that this series (of which this is one) of drawings reference Hollywood and the movie industry, Los Angeles being where the artist lives and works. He thinks of moves as being, rather than a story... Continue Reading →
Part 1: Research – Chiaroscuro
Derived from the Italian words Chiaro meaning clear or bright and Oscuro meaning dark or obscure, chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts of light and dark. This was developed in the Renaissance period and was used by many artists particularly in religious paintings. One such painting that shows this technique is Finding the body... Continue Reading →
Part 1: Research – Mark Rothko
Directed to look at the paintings of Mark Rothko and particularly the Seagram murals I turned to the internet. The Tate’s website has a number of videos and recordings but I chose to watch Curator Achim Borchardrt-Hume giving a tour of the 2008 exhibition at the Tate Modern. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mark-rothko-1875/mark-rothkos-late-works There can be no doubt that... Continue Reading →
Jan's OCA Painting 1 Blog 