In this essay I'm going to investigate two portrait painters, Alison Watt and Pablo Picasso. I will be writing about their lives and influences.
The first artist I will be writing about is Alison Watt. She was born and raised In Greenock in 1965, 18 years later and she is still studying in Glasgow School of Art for a further 5 years. At the national gallery in London Watt was the associate artist holding a spectacular exhibition of her own Phantom in 2008.
Watt was well known for portraits of herself and others holding cups plates etc, she came to the publics attention in 1987 when she won an award for the National Portrait Gallery's. watt was also well known for drawing female nudes and figures usual neutral colours, dryly painted lost of her portraits were done using oil paint on a canvas.
As far as I am aware Alison Watt was known for painting portraits I have not heard of watt sculpting. She was also awarded an OBE, she was the youngest female artist to be awarded a solo exhibition at SNGMA.Alison Watt was quite original she interpreted her own ideas in her into paintings. such as the paintings 'Hinger and the horses head' I. This paintings watt has duplicated herself and she has also placed random nite s in Radom places.
The Alison watt painting I will be writing about is 'The native boy', It was made in 1990, made with oil paint on a board.
Alison Watt has modelled herself I'm this painting, I chose this painting because its very neutral and doesn't have too much going on.
This portrait is close up so you can't see of the sitter is sitting or standing it just shows the face and neck. I would say everything in the portrait is mostly all the same proportion in terms of scale.in the background it was just some simple leaves and what looks like to be a wall. The foreground and the background don't look joined together it looks like Watt is standing in front of something. You can only see the top parts of the sitter and the background as it is a close up. The only thing that's being cut out is the rest of the figure.
I think if I was there whilst this being painted you could smell nature and paint. You could probably here birds chirping and the wind blowing as it looks like an area where you would hear these surroundings. It looks as painted around midday. It does seem like a calm place and a very peaceful place . The lighting on the face is quite bright but the background is darker. I think it is a natural light. The light is coming from straight in and because if this I think it is during the day almost evening, but also I think it is winter because it looks quite cold.
The light does cast shadows around the face I think it's there to show some form and atmosphere, so the face doesn't look flat. The mood in this painting is quite dull and dreary and Watt doesn't look very happy , which I think has an effect on what the mood which comes across as wintery. Although sometimes winter is bright it will always has that effect which makes the atmosphere dull and tense. The expression on Alison Watt definitely has an effect on the mood of the painting because it just looks as if she's depressed and wants to cry.
The sitters position is unrecognisable as you can't see the shoulders all that you see is the neck and above the only way you can tell the mood is by the facial expression.
As mentioned you can't see the sitters clothes but from the hairstyle it looks quite classy and old fashioned.
I think the artist chose the colour scheme because it isn't a very complex painting So the colour of the painting being neutral I believe is relevant to the painting. Watts brush stokes in the background are part of the painting they are almost unseen , it almost looks edited to look smooth,but the face is more textural you can see a few brushstrokes. Also on the face you can see where it has tried to be blended. I think the brush strokes are looser on the background and more controlled on the face etc where you need detail.
I am oblivious to how much time was spent on This painting as they are to skilled be able to tell. But, personally I think Watt may have spent less time on this painting compared to the other painting. As this painting isn't as complex and not extremely detailed.
The piece itself I would say is textural but around the cheekbones you can see dots/dabs used to blend the cheek and skin colour.
Watt seems to have used life like style or realistic, because it doesn't look fake and are elements where it just looks airbrushed.
Neutral colours have been used in this painting. I think Watt used these colours to give it the look of a real person. I think because of these colours that is why it made me decide the painting realistic/lifelike piece. I don't think they have am effect on the mood or atmosphere. Also I think the colour scheme makes parts of the face such as the nose and mouth stand out.
I honestly couldn't choose between whether this image is hot or cold. At the first look I would definitely say cold but if you look closer at the painting the face gives it a warm sensation.
Watt used pattern in empty and dull areas. Pattern was used well around the face using leaves and curls. Also where there is a big plain space of wall a ribbon has been added and I think without these features it would be really empty.
The pattern used was regular and uniform nothing is out of the ordinary.
In this painting the pattern is subtle.
Although there is no definite outline ,you can see the different shapes and where watt has used two different colours side by side with a crisp edge.
I think the painting is really bland. There is nothing really interesting going on. It is really amazing though how good an artist is when they make it look so simple. I think Watt is good but I dislike this painting. I don't think this is the best piece Alison Watt has done, because the rest have something interesting In it which makes you remember it and makes you wonder about the painting.
The other artist I'm going to investigate is Pablo Picasso. Picasso was a Spanish artist, borm in 1881 who was the son of an art teacher and showed artistic talent at a very young age. When Picasso was 19 he went to live in Paris to study new styles and to pick up new styles. The blue period was a famous period of Picasso's. As the colour blue symbolises depression, when Picassos best friend committed suicide Picasso went into deep depression this is what was known as the blue period, where all the paintings are in shades of blue, have religious undertones and the subject matter is unhappy in nature.
In 1973 Picasso was taken from us and he was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century.
During Picasso blue period it was his friend Casagemas who influenced Picasso. During the rose period when mostly shades of pink were used he was experimenting with gouache , the subject of matter was the circus and during the cubist period it was 3d African masks which influenced Picasso.
The cubist period was when Picasso did his most origanal work , he took simple African masks which inspired him and turned them into paintings which are famous today. These kind of painting break away from the rules regarding realism and perspective. Some of the faces are distorted.
Picasso was only known for doing portrait and figure paintings to my knowledge.
Oil paint on canvas is Picassos most chosen way to work.
The art work I will be focusing on is the weeping woman. It was made in 1907. I'm not able to tell what size the artwork is.
I do not know the name of the sitter nor do I know that its actually a person who Picasso has just made into his own idea or wether he painted this from his head.
I chose this painting because I painted it in primary school and its his most known painting or the only painting I had ever heard of.
The portrait is full length and the figure in the painting is in able to tell if she is sitting or standing as you can only see the top half of her body but I'm assuming she's sitting. It is a close up and the head takes up most of the portrait so the head is definitely the biggest object in the painting. In the background it is just simply a wall. The forground and background do look joined together because the woman isn't 3d. You can see a bit of the sitter and a bit of the background.
I can just see a cartoon woman crying that is literally all I think if i was to imagine myself in the painting. I can hear a woman crying and smell lots of paint. You can't tell the time because it isn't a realistic painting. I'm guessing something has happened as there is a woman in tears, it feels awkward and depressing , not a very nice place to be.
There is no lighting in the painting.
I think the mood and atmosphere is sad and awkward. It's expression and the body language of the sitter also the painting itself is about a woman crying. I would describe the mood of the sitter as upset and you can't see the shoulders. You can see spathe hands as if she was holding a tissue up to her face to wipe her nose/eyes. She is multicoloured I can't see any of her clothes. I have no idea why Picasso chose this colour scheme.
The artists style is cartoonistic and abstract to me. You can't see the brushstrokes. I don't think he worked on this painting as long as he did the others, the others just look as if they have been thought through more carefully. The painting is flat, I don't know what textures have been used. The painting looks abstract , childlike and unrealistic because it looks like a cartoon.
The artists has used various colours and I have no idea why he picked the colours used , I think he just thought he'd try some different colours.
I don't think they're are any similarities , they are two completely different paintings and I think The Alison watt painting was the best because I don't get the Picasso paintings , I don't see why people find them appealing and I don't understand why you would decide to change faces like that.
Alison watt and Picasso
In this essay I'm going to investigate two portrait painters, Alison Watt and Pablo Picasso. I will be writing about their lives and influences.
The first artist I will be writing about is Alison Watt. She was born and raised In Greenock in 1965, 18 years later and she is still studying in Glasgow School of Art for a further 5 years. At the national gallery in London Watt was the associate artist holding a spectacular exhibition of her own Phantom in 2008.
Watt was well known for portraits of herself and others holding cups plates etc, she came to the publics attention in 1987 when she won an award for the National Portrait Gallery's. watt was also well known for drawing female nudes and figures usual neutral colours, dryly painted lost of her portraits were done using oil paint on a canvas.
As far as I am aware Alison Watt was known for painting portraits I have not heard of watt sculpting. She was also awarded an OBE, she was the youngest female artist to be awarded a solo exhibition at SNGMA.Alison Watt was quite original she interpreted her own ideas in her into paintings. such as the paintings 'Hinger and the horses head' I. This paintings watt has duplicated herself and she has also placed random nite s in Radom places.
The Alison watt painting I will be writing about is 'The native boy', It was made in 1990, made with oil paint on a board.
Alison Watt has modelled herself I'm this painting, I chose this painting because its very neutral and doesn't have too much going on.
This portrait is close up so you can't see of the sitter is sitting or standing it just shows the face and neck. I would say everything in the portrait is mostly all the same proportion in terms of scale.in the background it was just some simple leaves and what looks like to be a wall. The foreground and the background don't look joined together it looks like Watt is standing in front of something. You can only see the top parts of the sitter and the background as it is a close up. The only thing that's being cut out is the rest of the figure.
I think if I was there whilst this being painted you could smell nature and paint. You could probably here birds chirping and the wind blowing as it looks like an area where you would hear these surroundings. It looks as painted around midday. It does seem like a calm place and a very peaceful place . The lighting on the face is quite bright but the background is darker. I think it is a natural light. The light is coming from straight in and because if this I think it is during the day almost evening, but also I think it is winter because it looks quite cold.
The light does cast shadows around the face I think it's there to show some form and atmosphere, so the face doesn't look flat. The mood in this painting is quite dull and dreary and Watt doesn't look very happy , which I think has an effect on what the mood which comes across as wintery. Although sometimes winter is bright it will always has that effect which makes the atmosphere dull and tense. The expression on Alison Watt definitely has an effect on the mood of the painting because it just looks as if she's depressed and wants to cry.
The sitters position is unrecognisable as you can't see the shoulders all that you see is the neck and above the only way you can tell the mood is by the facial expression.
As mentioned you can't see the sitters clothes but from the hairstyle it looks quite classy and old fashioned.
I think the artist chose the colour scheme because it isn't a very complex painting So the colour of the painting being neutral I believe is relevant to the painting. Watts brush stokes in the background are part of the painting they are almost unseen , it almost looks edited to look smooth,but the face is more textural you can see a few brushstrokes. Also on the face you can see where it has tried to be blended. I think the brush strokes are looser on the background and more controlled on the face etc where you need detail.
I am oblivious to how much time was spent on This painting as they are to skilled be able to tell. But, personally I think Watt may have spent less time on this painting compared to the other painting. As this painting isn't as complex and not extremely detailed.
The piece itself I would say is textural but around the cheekbones you can see dots/dabs used to blend the cheek and skin colour.
Watt seems to have used life like style or realistic, because it doesn't look fake and are elements where it just looks airbrushed.
Neutral colours have been used in this painting. I think Watt used these colours to give it the look of a real person. I think because of these colours that is why it made me decide the painting realistic/lifelike piece. I don't think they have am effect on the mood or atmosphere. Also I think the colour scheme makes parts of the face such as the nose and mouth stand out.
I honestly couldn't choose between whether this image is hot or cold. At the first look I would definitely say cold but if you look closer at the painting the face gives it a warm sensation.
Watt used pattern in empty and dull areas. Pattern was used well around the face using leaves and curls. Also where there is a big plain space of wall a ribbon has been added and I think without these features it would be really empty.
The pattern used was regular and uniform nothing is out of the ordinary.
In this painting the pattern is subtle.
Although there is no definite outline ,you can see the different shapes and where watt has used two different colours side by side with a crisp edge.
I think the painting is really bland. There is nothing really interesting going on. It is really amazing though how good an artist is when they make it look so simple. I think Watt is good but I dislike this painting. I don't think this is the best piece Alison Watt has done, because the rest have something interesting In it which makes you remember it and makes you wonder about the painting.
The other artist I'm going to investigate is Pablo Picasso. Picasso was a Spanish artist, borm in 1881 who was the son of an art teacher and showed artistic talent at a very young age. When Picasso was 19 he went to live in Paris to study new styles and to pick up new styles. The blue period was a famous period of Picasso's. As the colour blue symbolises depression, when Picassos best friend committed suicide Picasso went into deep depression this is what was known as the blue period, where all the paintings are in shades of blue, have religious undertones and the subject matter is unhappy in nature.
In 1973 Picasso was taken from us and he was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century.
During Picasso blue period it was his friend Casagemas who influenced Picasso. During the rose period when mostly shades of pink were used he was experimenting with gouache , the subject of matter was the circus and during the cubist period it was 3d African masks which influenced Picasso.
The cubist period was when Picasso did his most origanal work , he took simple African masks which inspired him and turned them into paintings which are famous today. These kind of painting break away from the rules regarding realism and perspective. Some of the faces are distorted.
Picasso was only known for doing portrait and figure paintings to my knowledge.
Oil paint on canvas is Picassos most chosen way to work.
The art work I will be focusing on is the weeping woman. It was made in 1907. I'm not able to tell what size the artwork is.
I do not know the name of the sitter nor do I know that its actually a person who Picasso has just made into his own idea or wether he painted this from his head.
I chose this painting because I painted it in primary school and its his most known painting or the only painting I had ever heard of.
The portrait is full length and the figure in the painting is in able to tell if she is sitting or standing as you can only see the top half of her body but I'm assuming she's sitting. It is a close up and the head takes up most of the portrait so the head is definitely the biggest object in the painting. In the background it is just simply a wall. The forground and background do look joined together because the woman isn't 3d. You can see a bit of the sitter and a bit of the background.
I can just see a cartoon woman crying that is literally all I think if i was to imagine myself in the painting. I can hear a woman crying and smell lots of paint. You can't tell the time because it isn't a realistic painting. I'm guessing something has happened as there is a woman in tears, it feels awkward and depressing , not a very nice place to be.
There is no lighting in the painting.
I think the mood and atmosphere is sad and awkward. It's expression and the body language of the sitter also the painting itself is about a woman crying. I would describe the mood of the sitter as upset and you can't see the shoulders. You can see spathe hands as if she was holding a tissue up to her face to wipe her nose/eyes. She is multicoloured I can't see any of her clothes. I have no idea why Picasso chose this colour scheme.
The artists style is cartoonistic and abstract to me. You can't see the brushstrokes. I don't think he worked on this painting as long as he did the others, the others just look as if they have been thought through more carefully. The painting is flat, I don't know what textures have been used. The painting looks abstract , childlike and unrealistic because it looks like a cartoon.
The artists has used various colours and I have no idea why he picked the colours used , I think he just thought he'd try some different colours.
I don't think they're are any similarities , they are two completely different paintings and I think The Alison watt painting was the best because I don't get the Picasso paintings , I don't see why people find them appealing and I don't understand why you would decide to change faces like that.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The folk artist I would like to discuss is Clementine Hunter. She was born in 1886 on a cotton plantation in Cloutierville, Louisiana. Life on the plantation was hard on both the mind and body. Clementine didn't like school so she stopped going at an early age. She didn't have any educational background except life on the plantation. At the age of fifty-four, she was promoted from the fields to the house. The assistant of the house noticed her creativity right away through her chores of making dolls and clothing for the plantation owner's children. This led to her interest in art and everything is history from there. Her paintings were beautiful and her style was in a simple, straight forward way. She painted over 4,000 paintings in…
- 271 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
It was then that after being inspired by social activism she truly began to develop her own style as an artist. She continued making art for many, many years, as well as published a series of books.…
- 498 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Sally Smart’s art is inspired by the historical identity of women in society, however it tends to always look new, as though it remains relevant today. Her work is created using traditional methods that were the typical jobs women did roles of women through their art, like sewing, collage, stitching, etc.. (Vaaus) Glen Skein does large prints, cut-out dioramas, small cigar-tins filled with bits and pieces. Mostly his art looks very weathered, as though it has been sitting in an attic…
- 653 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The painting by Labille-Guiard is a portrait of her and her two pupils. The portraitist used oil as her medium is on canvas.…
- 279 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Art and Design. She earned her BFA in photography from the School of Visual arts in NY, she…
- 964 Words
- 5 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Mark Bradford was the artist that I took a look at. His creativity was wonderful abstract, catching my eye piece after piece. The particular artwork that I looked at was his “When We Ride” created in 2006. The media is a mix, which was created into a collage on canvas. The canvas was at its large of 46 3/8 x 62 ¼ inches. This piece of artwork is located in the city of art itself; Los Angeles, California. I believe this canvas collage tells an untold story through contrast and rhythm, light and color, and texture.…
- 640 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The art piece is representational, the lines are sharp and there are various and different shapes. The texture is smooth and there has been more than one colour that has been used in the painting. The tone shows that the sun is on him even though there is no sun shown in the portrait. Space and depth has been used as you can tell the objects are further away and the ones that are closer up and in detail.…
- 590 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Discuss how cultural experience informs the practice of artists, art critics, art historians and/or curators.…
- 582 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
On the other hand, the other painting that I chose is The Act of Judith and it’s also was painted by Jerome Paul Witkin on 1979-80. However, The painting features what looks to be a middle-aged Native American woman offering a mask that she has made to a person whose hand is only seen. Evidence supporting my observation of her as a Native includes her hairstyle, dress, and darker skin tone. The conclusion that she made the mask comes from the work space she is in, the tools surrounding her, and the paint…
- 437 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Artist Report I chose was Janet Fish. Janet Fish is a contemporary realist painter and printmaker who was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1938, and raised on the island of Bermuda. Her grandfather, Clark Voorhees, was an American Impressionist painter who inspired Janet. Her father was an art history teacher, and her mother, Florence Whistler Fish, a sculptor and potter. She went to Skowhegan Summer School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and studied sculpture and printmaking at Smith College in Massachusetts, and graduated from Smith in 1960. She then went on to Yale University School of Art and Architecture in Connecticut, where she received her B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) degrees in 1963. (She was…
- 318 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The second photo I'm going to analyze is of Jean Harlow, and is also untitled. I love how different this photo is, compared to the one of Dorothy Jordan, all because of the way the models are introduced to the audience. In this photograph, Harlow is leaning back, with her hand resting on her head, which helps frame the models face. Hurrell used similar lighting in this photo, as the one of Jordan, illuminating one side of the subject's face. However, in this photo the mood is different. The pose is more elegant, and the model giving off a friendlier…
- 667 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Black Star of contemporary American art - this is exactly how they call Kara Walker. Is she a contemporary artist? She is, without a doubt, even though she actually paints in a retro style, showing us the American South of the 19th century, before the civil war, and at the very heart of slavery. Her work shows something that she shouldn’t be able to recreate without being there, even with the help of her grandmother’s stories. It is safe to assume that it is a combination of passion, talent, hard work and a soft soul,…
- 1246 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
The historical and/or cultural context of artists may affect the way they analyse and explore aesthetic qualities and how they communicate ideas and meanings through their artworks. Analyse this statement referring to two artists that you have studied this year and their work.…
- 1136 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
•For this project you will fully research a modern artist from Art: 21 and make a connection between their work and at least one artist from the past (prior to 1945) who you have learned about in our text book. Your modern artist will be someone from the PBS series Art:21 http://www.pbs.org/art21/. Follow this link and click on the “artists” tab. Choose an artist you have a strong reaction to and who interests you.…
- 627 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
I walked into my art history class in early January. We were studying the impressionists at the time, and there was something about this group of artists that caught my eye, but I wasn’t sure what it was exactly that caught my eye. I knew there was something special here waiting to be discovered. That day in class, each of my classmates was assigned an impressionists artist to do a presentation on. I was given Mary Cassatt. At the time, I had no idea who this women was, but little did I know that over the course of t he next two weeks, I would become intensely obsessed with this women and with a certain oil on canvas portrait done by her. The painting that would haunt my thoughts was called Girl Arranging her Hair. From the minute I saw this…
- 1429 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays