Research Point - Look at contemporary as well as historic artists who work on the face in different ways


Graham Little (1972-) 


Graham Little produces highly detailed drawings using coloured pencils and gouache. 

Little works for months at a time on one piece using his medium to produce texture and detail, a figure and a scene in one emotive piece. 

Inspired by fashion magazines, Little sources images, both past (to the 1970's) and present using Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. 

Little's work is viewed through what feels like a soft focus lens placed on the viewers eye. His scenes feel full, romantic, inspired and almost cryptic in the sense that there are so many small elements carefully placed in the drawings such as the brush and mirror in 'Untitled (yellow mirror) 2014' above and the piece of fruit resting in the male figures hand 'Untitled (Man and Dog 2019). 

'Untitled (Man and Dog) 2019' - The detail of the woven jumper is so intricate, as if it could be real. It sits so naturally with beautiful areas of shade and light. More specific to the face though, the male appears in thought. His face is pale, attractive, soft and incredibly detailed. I can see the dark stubble, minute in its presence that matches his thick and dark hair, despite how dark the hair is Little has been careful to build its texture. This hair contrasts dramatically against his pale skin. Again there is carefully placed shadow and light, a real and genuine depiction of the figure. 

Line upon line has created the most meticulous detail. 

Elizabeth Peyton (1965-) 



'Daniel' 1999
Watercolour on paper. 

In contrast to Graham Little above, I can see a different approach in Peyton's work. Here I see large area of almost transparent washes, with lines and drips. I would fear these marks as if they were mistakes, however I can see that Peyton has confidently embraced them as part of the portrait. They are intentional in adding to Daniel. 

There is shadow in the washes, with darker areas along the creases of the jeans and shirt. 

Daniel's head is rather haunting. He is pale with heavy circles around his eyes, his skin is pale and his start almost vacant. A feeling of fatigue.  Peyton is quoted as saying "A painting of a person can be descriptive, but for me it's about all the things that make up a picture - the feelings, the brushstrokes - more than describing somebody". I interpret this as Peyton looked beyond Daniel as a person and used his figure to recreate his as a painting, rather than a figure IN a painting. 

The washes and brushstrokes have a vibrant, modern, direct feel in contrast to Little's detailed, romantic soft focus drawings. 

Leornardo Di Vinci (1452-1519)

'Mona Lisa' 1503 continuous 

La Gioconda, is the wife of Francesco del Giocondo


I wanted to take a closer look at perhaps one of the most famous, most visited and the most known historic paintings of the human head. I was fortunate to visit the 'Mona Lisa' at the Louvre Museum in Paris and was blown away by this small yet dramatic presence of this portrait. 

Oil on wooden board.

Similarly to Graham Little, this portrait is in a romantic soft focus. Visibly the layers of oil paint on the board are heavy yet the brushstrokes are soft which is what gives her the serene and romantic feel she has about her. 

Leonardo Di Vinci was one of the first artists to use a sitting model in front of an imaginary landscape. 

This painting was worked on over what is thought many years, so I imagine beneath the layers lie a number of strokes. All of these layers add to the finished masterpiece. 

The texture of her skin and hair has been built in with a brush and despite the heavy layers of paint, you can see the very fine stokes of the hair around the head. 

Mona's face stands out, pale skin that glows in contrast to her dark hair and darker tones of the background. She almost glows. Her expression is subtle. Her eyes are dark and focused. Shadows have been meticulously painted in, beautifully placed around the lips, mouth, the eyes and the shadow of the hair line. She is heavily shadowed. She is perfect. A masterpiece. As real as a camera in soft focus. 


References: 

https://www.alisonjacquesgallery.com

http://www.artnet.com/artists/elizabeth-peyton/

British Council - http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/collection/artists/little-graham-1972

https://www.leonardodavinci.net/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Research Point - The still life genre  To approach such a huge area of research, I have decided to study a painting from each century and note down my observations on medium, style, application and the mood of each piece.  Pieter Aertsen 'A meat stall' 1551. Oil on canvas:  This painting offers a scene of abundance. A stall full of meat, of food. Outside of the doorway I can see many people going about their business, picking up supplies. In the immediate scene I can see fish and sausages, birds and ham and of course the most striking element, the head in the centre.  The oils are used here with such precision and skill. The colour is exact, so truthful. The scene has been depicted exactly as it would be caught on a camera in this modern age. There is no room here for an untruth. It is a photograph of the stall. A stark reality.  The shadows have been painted in so accurately on the white cloth just right of the head. In shade a pale grey. ...
Read more
Image
Research point:  Landscape artists from different eras Claude Lorrain 1604/05-1682 Claude Lorrain, born Gellee in 1604/05 is one of the earliest know landscape artists.  Rome was his interest and inspiration and where he spent a large amount of his life. Lorrain would sketch the Roman countryside with fellow artist Nicolas Poussin. These sketches would the be developed into oil paintings.  Lorrain was influenced by Northern painters, Elsheimer and Domenichino .  Lorrain's earliest dated canvas is 1629 with 'The storm' from 1630. 'The storm is a drawing/painting of an unknown location. Pen and brown wash are used on blue paper to depict a seascape. Figures on the beach are pulling hard to bring the ship to shore in the foreground. A ship floats wildly amongst the waves of the sea in the middle ground and in the background, I see the cliffs. Is it a real scene or is it fictional? There is such energy in this piece, I can see the great effort ...
Read more
Image
RESEARCH POINT  Odilon Redon Here, I also found the pencil sketches of the trees to help with my study.  'Two Trees'  The dark bellows through the trees from behind, like there being an expanse of dark behind them. You can see the dark to the side of the trees too. The tone is bold and the darkest marks.  The light hits the trees further up. I think the light comes from the right hand side. There are dark marks that show the round shape of the trunks. The straight lines of the trunks appear delicate and look as if they move downwards, perhaps downward strokes of the brush and pencil.   The light especially hits the branch on the right side, this branch to my eye is the lightest part of the piece.  Redon also includes bobble like marks on the tree trunks to depict texture. Things marks appear round in shape and move upwards around the tree, again enhancing the appearance of their shape.  'Portrait of Madam Redon Embroid...
Read more