Building and working from a model - a painting 2 project

In this project I have put together abstract graffiti influenced shapes with two literal objects that represent two creative passions of mine.

Blogging assignment #4 - culmination of my work

(self-portrait)

(in progress)

In the second half of the semester, I decided to do much more challenging compositions. For my self portrait, I challenged myself to confront my fears of flesh tones. In my last project, I began a caricature painting that will showcase all the skills and techniques I have learned this semester. I want to especially challenge myself in my last project because I initially chose to use this imagery because of it was unchallenging to my usual way of working.

I chose to use oil paints for my projects because I believe it will give me the most dramatic finish to my work. The colors that I can create with oils cannot be matched by any other medium. If I used another medium, I believe my work would ultimately have to change. By using another medium I would not be able to rely so much on dramatic lights, shadows and colors. The vocal points of my work would have to be interpreted differently. However, I did learn how to use lights and shadows with charcoal. I do believe that, given the right subject matter, using charcoal as my medium, could allow me to explore the many possibilities of chiaroscuro. Using charcoal, I would want to do work on a larger scale. The larger the scale, the more I could explore the space of lights and darks. This exploration would not be possible on a small scale and therefore would jeopardize my overall work.

I believe that, in my work, the imagery I use and the speed in which I execute the painting have to be in harmony for the composition to get its full effect.

The idea or message that I am trying to convey in my work is one of two things. I want the viewer to feel the intensity of my work and admire my manipulation of color. The other idea that I want to translate to the viewer is a sense of intimacy with the figure I am painting. I want the viewer to feel invited to bring their own emotions to the imagery I am presenting to them. I try to achieve both aspects by devoting a tremendous amount of attention to detail throughout my painting and choosing the right concept, imagery and composition for each of my projects.

All of my paintings and the imagery I use in my paintings all have personal meaning. However, throughout this semester I have found that I achieve more by making the viewer able to bring their own emotions to the work, rather than trying to make them feel exactly what I am trying to convey.

My work is personal because I am either, literally, using a person, place or thing that has made an impact in my life, as the subject matter or I felt a big enough connection with an idea that I have to make a painting of it. I believe that my process, more than technique, gives my work its personal touch. Working on a project is a form of meditation for me. My concentration and devotion to the painting comes through on the painting.

Caravaggio, John Singer Sargent, El Mac and Kehinde Wiley are at the top of the list of artists that I am mostly influenced by. I have borrowed the most from Caravaggio and Sargent throughout my work. I study Caravaggio's use of chiaroscuro and his rendering of the human form. I study how Sargent captures the intimacy of the imagery through his usage of impressionism. The others have influenced me but not as much. This is mostly because I did not even know about them before this spring semester.

My work comes straight out of the graffiti art movement from the last 40 years. My approach to a composition and usage of geometric shapes and color are aspects of how my work relates to the graffiti movement. One of the main areas in which my work differs from this art genre is the fact that I use oil paints, and not spray can paint, to execute my artwork. I also allow other art forms or genres to influence me so that my work doesn't become too one sided.

Pop culture today is a big influence in my life as a painter. I was a kid in the 80's and a teenager in the 90's. This gives me and me a very distinct awareness of the world, as well as, a voice. The political climate in our society has also proven to be a big influence. Obviously, technology has also played a big part in my life as a painter.

My project is relevant because of my usage of graffiti and low brow pop culture imagery influence. I have seen graffiti art be constantly criticized and yet, all the while, gain acceptance world wide. This is the platform in which i hope my work will be fairly looked upon with a less amount of bias from the longer established art communities.

Blogging assignment #3

Lucian Freud's painting, Evening in the studio, was a painting of topic on the the PaintersNYC blog. Lucian's usage of imagery, no doubt, created much controversy on the blog site. The criticism consisted of a few key issues. On technique, process and skill the painting was criticized on being too "academic" and not transformed enough to evoke "desire". On overall meaning and composition, an overwhelming majority of bloggers got caught up in their own interpretations of the large naked female and how she is depicted in the painting. This led to greater societal and political arguments which ultimately drowned out discussion of the actual painting.

Criticisms on Lucian's skill and process were only directed at his overall composition. Evening in the studio was accused of being academic. A blogger was directing his criticism at the sense of flatness in emotion of the painting. The colors and process did not do enough to move the viewer enough to see past the obvious imagery. Another blogger added that the rendering and attention to the figures was not enough to transform the painting into that next level. This was a popular issue because another criticism was that the composition and rendering also lacked "desire".

The majority of other criticisms were focused on the aspect of how the female figures were used in the painting. The large woman depicted in the foreground stirred up a great deal of controversy. Instead of exploring the painting as a painting, the imagery and usage of that woman took up most of the attention. Lucian is pressing the "same tired buttons" of traditional gender issues was a clear point made by a blogger. Many also stated that this painting was an example of the "male gaze".

I found myself being able to see where both criticisms were coming from. Although the painting showed great skill, I did not know what to take from the overall composition. The imagery and placement of the figures evoked a sense of symbolism. It is vital for a painting to be as clear as possible so that the viewer can feel confidant in whatever reaction they get from the work. When the viewer is not confidant, that is when the focus of the painting begins its discourse. I believe that it was because of this mistranslation, on the viewers part, that the flood gates of political and controversial conversations begin.

I identified with Lucian Freud's work because of his use of the female form in his compositions and how he applies his personal style of brush strokes to enhance his painting. In my first project of the semester, I made a graffiti style portrait of a woman's face. This caused many of my classmates to go off on a tangent on the meaning of that woman and less on the overall composition. This taught me that I had to be more concise with my composition the next time I use imagery of the female form specifically due to not wanting my work to get lost in a greater argument over the sexes. In addition, I also took note on how Lucian's technique was criticized and became a reason why viewers were misled and confused. From this, I learned that composition alone may not be enough to make a painting translate to the viewer. Color, brushstroke and technique need to be used in a way that enhances my imagery to take it to that "next level". I believe that one reaches that "level" when the viewer is so taken by the work that it becomes acceptable for questions to remain unanswered, because the work, itself, takes all the attention.

Assignment 2

Kehinde Wiley is one of the recommended artist that, by far, most resembles my work in terms of image, process and concept. His main subject matter deals with people that exist in his surroundings and in his experiences throughout his life. In my project, I am exclusively dealing with imagery that deals with my life experiences and the faces that I connect with from my surroundings. Kehinde's process is to capture this imagery and juxtapose it against pattern design reminiscent of classical portraiture. The overall concept is to put the people in Kehinde Wiley's life up on that pedestal that classical renaissance portraiture is generally considered to reside. This is the entire point that I am trying to make with my work. My goal is to put the people in my life that have made me who I am seem larger than life thorugh color and composition. Two things that Kehinde Wiley does in his work that I would like to improve on in my work is the realistic style of the human form and the harmonious collaboration of abstract design with the paintings main subject matter.


John Currin is one of the two artists that have been recommended for me that I feel most resembles my current work, as well as, my overall goal for this semester's project. His technique, process and overall concept all coincide with harmoniously merging different distinct styles together. I also identify with his usage of the female form and satirical subject matter. Throughout his composition in "Heartless", there are sections with rough brush strokes that materialize into the female's dress. In the same painting, he makes the smoothest of brush strokes to bring out the smoothness of the females face and hair. This difference in brush strokes and painting styles throughout the composition is exactly the process I use to bring out the imagery in my work.


Andrew Wyeth is a realist painter who's work has been criticized to verge more on illustration and to focus overwhelmingly on sentimental subject matter. Illustration is in my background, as an artist, and almost all of my subject matter is sentimental. It is because of this that I am able to relate to Andrew Wyeth's work. His technique and/or process enables him to make a realistic portrayal of a female in "Braids" (1979) and be able to make that image jump off the canvas without exaggerating any aspect of the composition. This is a valuable skill to have and one that I am exploring my semester's project.


Lucian Freud "paints people...not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be." In his "Interior at Paddington" painting (1951), Lucian blurs the line between realism and expressionism. His process, technique and overall concept all consist of making this combining of different styles compliment each other and seem naturally intertwined. This merging of these two distinct styles is similar to what I am exploring in my work. In my project, I am combining realism with graffiti imagery. I study Lucian Freud's work to see how different styles can compliment, rather than take away from each other.

Midterm Reflections

WORK HABITS

As the semester went along, I found that the work schedule I was keeping was not sufficient enough to keep up with my work load. As the due date for our critique neared, I started coming into the studio more frequently. Even though I had to increase my time commitment, I felt that I was going to be able to have the painting finished on time. I brought my project home for the weekend before the critique but was unable to work on it. The bulk of my project was complete but because of that weekend I couldn't put the finishing touches on it.

After the experience of my first project I will increase my time commitment to my other projects from the beginning and not a week or so into it.


PROJECT

Since the 30 studies, I have gradually increased my time commitment to my project. I feel that I have maintained my focus to be in sync with what I expressed in my statement of intent. The project has shifted in a positive way. Instead of having every aspect of my painting planned out before, I allowed myself to explore possibilities on the canvas. This, however, took a little bit more time and caused me not finish my project on time. My main challenge in this project was how to make the face of the female more dramatic yet smooth. I consider this project a success because I learned techniques of how to push the imagery to be more dramatic without taking away from the over all composition.

4 influential contemporary artists

Henry Lewis is a contemporary artist that uses shadows and lights to make his compositions have a more dramatic effect. This is a highly instrumental aspect of my work. I want to challenge myself in pushing this dramatic effect of chiaroscuro. I believe that if I can create depth in the lightest and darkest areas of my paintings, then I can successfully make a more inviting composition to entice the viewer.

This piece was a collaborative effort done by artists Marquis "Retna" Lewis and "El Mac". These two graffiti artist combine graffiti imagery with stylized portraiture painting. The depth and smoothness of the female features put up against the crisp shapes of graffiti is what I am exploring in my project.

Sylvia Ji is a contemporary artist that uses the female form as the main focus in her work. My semester's project deals with the female form as well. I admire her work because of her combination of realism and stylized painting. Her work is also very reminiscent of art nouveau. It is because she uses the female image as her main focus and uses a style similar to art nouveau, which one of my favorite genres, that makes her an influential artist for me and my work.

Belinda Eaton is another contemporary artist that works with the human figure and juxtaposes it with pattern designs. For my project, I am using graffiti imagery with the human figure, so artists like Belinda who use imagery outside of my general interest is very useful. It is very important to explore all different kinds of subject matter. Looking at different styles widens my perspective and helps me elevate my skill level.

30 Studies

After I finished my statement of what I wanted t accomplish this semester, I began the next assignment of completing 30 quick studies of my ideas. At first, the assignment was easy because I started out with a clear concrete ideas of what some of my subject matter was going to be. However, when I moved on to coming up with ways of challenging my skill level and exploring possibilities outside of the scope of my general interests, the assignment proved to be difficult. I started to realize that there were a million ways in which I could challenge myself and a million different subjects there outside of my range of interests. Surprisingly, my breakthrough came out of this low point in my 30 studies assignment. When I couldn't decipher on where I wanted to or needed to challenge myself and discover new subject matter, I forced myself to look deeper into the ideas and visions I already had. I was able to truly explore what it was I wanted to convey in my paintings and where I needed to push, in order, to get to that place I felt I needed to be as a painter. Once I arrived at this high point of the assignment, I was able to choose subject matter outside of my general interests. I learned more about what I am looking for and how to look for that in other genres outside of my own.

A question has arisen from my 30 studies assignment. I know what I am looking for and what I am trying to express through my paintings. However, my question is how can I make the viewer understand what it is I am trying to say. How do I create my composition in a way that is inviting to the viewer. A painting that can make the viewer feel invited into what I am exploring and even, allow that viewer to evoke their own emotions and apply that to my painting.