Artist 50: Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini was born c. 1430 in Venice. An Italian Renaissance artist, he used oil paints which created a different look from most other Renaissance painters, setting him aside from them because of the colors and smoothness he was able to achieve. What I like about him, and mostly a specific painting done by him, "Pieta," shown here, is that his figures aren't also "pretty." The Virgin Mary in this piece looks rather manly, not beautiful like most artists depict her. None of these figures are "beautiful." However, this painting is beautiful. How can this be? Well, because of the true emotion you can feel from this. The Virgin is not beautiful, but you feel her pain. She just lost her only son before her eyes and it is real pain. Bellini makes it obvious that ugly can be beautiful, and that you don't need to worry about idealizing your figures. Paint them as they are because the truth is always better than an idealized lie, and the viewer can always sense the difference. In another sense, be true to myself when I paint my art, is what I also take from Bellini and his piece, "Pieta," as well as his other works.

Artist 49: Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck, born in c. 13965, was a Flemish painter who was considered one of the best painters of the Northern Renaissance. He wasn't the first to use oil painting however he was one of the first. He mastered it and using details with it, which is evident in his painting, "The Arnolfini Portrait," pictured here. The reason I chose this painting was because of the format. It isn't anything different or amazing, however I recognize that I have difficulties sometimes having a good format with my pictures. I think format is incredibly important, and it can make or break your entire picture. I think too often I don't think about format enough, or I just need to learn how to utilize it in a more effective way. The format in this painting is done well. The figures aren't squished into the frame, it doesn't look cluttered, it looks very free and relaxed, as far as formatting and placement of figures goes. I plan to experiment and finally understand what it takes to be good at creating a perfect format for my subject matter.

Artist 48: Albrecht Durer

Albrecht Durer was born in 1471 in Germany. Part of the Renaissance, he obviously wasn't in the Italian Renaissance but participated in the Northern Renaissance. Really, there was 1 Renaissance period, but each part of Europe, such as Italy, Germany, etc, had their own styles. Durer was very talented even as a 13 year old he did an amazing self portrait. His skill allows him to do incredible details in his engravings, such as this piece, "Melencolia I." There are many interpretations of this piece, however one of them is that it is a representation of melancholy and despair. Most of the objects in the piece have some sort of symbolism towards despair or melancholy, such as an hour glass showing time almost has run out, unused mathematical tools on the floor, everything is a symbol. Durer inspires me to use symbolism, which I plan to do for my my senior thesis, I just need to figure out good symbols that make sense for what I am doing exactly. He inspires me to put more thought into it!!

Artist 47: Tadeo Gaddi

Tadeo Gaddi was born in 1300 and was another member of the Italian Renaissance. What makes him so special and why I admire him as a painting is because he is another artist who did "a first." This first was he did a night scene. He was very interested in lighting effects which is obvious in this painting, the intense light is generated from the angel appearing to the sheppard and his flock and the light casts many shadows, however the shadows are not incredibly dark, so it gives me the impression that it is a holy light. The figures, however, don't really cast a shadow, I'm not sure if this is intentional or not. If it is, then it stays with my holy light impression, however if it is not intentional, then it proves that even the great masters of the Italian Renaissance were human and made mistakes. That very fact gives me comfort in knowing that mistakes are ok because everyone makes them. Sometimes mistakes are even favorable and make your piece even better. All I can do is learn from my mistakes and hope for happy mistakes if any!

Artist 46: Masaccio

Masaccio was born in 1401 in Italy and was apart of the Italian Renaissance. He was a very important artist because he was the first to use linear perspective. This is evident in one of his great works, "Holy Trinity," in which Christ is seen hanging from the cross, a figure behind him, possibly meant to be God, taking his son up to Heaven. Underneath Christ is the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist. Next to those figures are the patron of the painting and his wife. Underneath all of the figures, at the bottom of the painting is a skeleton, a reference to Adam, the inscription by him says, "I once was what you are now; what I am you shall be." The hall behind the Christ stretches back into the distance, revealing the massive structure they are in. As said before, he was the first to use linear perspective, and this is 1 point linear perspective. Masaccio is inspiring because he was the first to do something. It is very difficult to become the first to do something, especially now, since so much has already been done. But it is possible that is what he felt before he used linear perspective, and I might be the first to do something myself if I really put my mind and soul into it.

Artist 45: Jesse Richards

Jesse Richards was born in 1975 in Connecticut and is another Stuckist artist. However, I honestly do not know specifically what "Stuckism" is. I've looked up the definition, and I've looked at multiple artists who are in the movement, and I do not see anything that that connects them. One of his paintings, "Nightlife," reminds me of "The Scream" in a few ways. One being the man on a bridge whose face appears to be skull-like. Also, the brush strokes appear bold and quick, the colors used are just much darker, except for the face, which is incredibly white. The contrast in this picture is far greater, creating a different kind of eerie feeling from Munch's piece. Instead of a strange horror at sunset, this seems like a lonely sense of terror in the middle of the night. His piece also seems, well, primitive. The object he is standing on, I assume a bridge, looks like it isnt straight or an even thickness, however this adds to the nightmare sense that one recieves from this painting. Richards gives me a few ideas of how one can use a lone figure to give a hopeless, lonely feeling to the viewer, and how to utilize these different ways to evoke different, strong feelings.

Artist 44: Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was born in 1904 and is mostly known for his surrealist paintings. The most famous is "The Persistence of Memory." Yes, that's right the melty clocks. What I love so much about this piece is that it is like something you'd see in a dream. The background seems almost like a mirage, the melted clocks are rested on strange objects such as what seems like a brown block, a tree on said block, and a floating self portrait of Dali. I believe that his paintings work so well because, unlike many of the other painter's techniques of quick, thick paint, Dali uses very smooth and precise brush strokes, I myself cannot see any of them. This creates a more serene feeling, like as I said before, it's like you are in a dream. A very strange, hard to understand, dream. Dali's pieces are all so strange, that he inspires me to try to be more creative in my ideas to attempt to come up with things none have ever even contemplated before.

Artist 43: Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in France of the Fauve (wild beast!) movement. I really love his paintings because they are all so bright and bold, and the colors that he uses are intense and crazy! His paintings are really very fun, that's how I like to describe it. When I see his paintings, such as my favorite that I reference ALL THE TIME "The Green Stripe," it just makes me happy. The colors are weird, but they look right. How can a lady with a green line down the middle of her face look right? Well! He uses colors that are "incorrect" as far as realism goes, but the colors he does use are the correct shades and tints that would be similar to real life colors. I'm sure if you saw this in black and white, you wouln't have a clue the colors he used were so, well, wrong. Even the background is interesting, yet so simple. The colors help to accent the figure in the front, not to draw away from it, yet you find yourself looking at the background also. His paintings really do look incredibly simple, and at the same time, complex and detailed. I believe he was able to create the illusion of his pictures being very detailed by the paint texture and by the certain colors he placed by each other. Everything about his paintings is an inspiration to me and I have studied many of them. That being said, I am not nearly done being in awe of his pictures and revealing his influence in my own.

Artist 42: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Kirchner was born in 1880 in Germany and he was apart of the German expressionism movement. One of my favorite movements, Kirchner does a lot of scenes depicting the streets of Berlin, and most especially taking note of the prostitutes on those streets. Such as this one, "Street, Berlin" in 1903, it shows a dark, cluttered, busy street with mostly male figures except the two women walking together closest to the viewer. Honestly, they don't really look like prostitutes to me, however I never lived in Germany in the early 1900's. I'm sure that prostitutes dressed a bit more...better...in those times? Regardless, the style of the painting, whether you know they are prostitutes or not, gives you an eerie feeling. The jagged edges, the dark color schemes of mostly black of the men's clothes and dark purple of the woman's, along with the bright pinks of the street create a very unsettling feeling, so you know something is up. This street seems very high class, but shady and dangerous. It seems like a place where the rich would hang out, but also a place that you could get stabbed in the back, where greed runs rampant, and good people do not want to be. I usually like my black and white pieces, however Kirchner really makes me think about how much color effects the feelings you want to get across to the viewer, and how they can emphasize your subjects.

Artist 41: Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was born in 1863 in Norway. He used expressionism and symbolism in his painting, exploring the themes of life and himself, such as love, fear, anxiety, etc. His most famous piece, "The Scream," aside from being one of my favorite pieces as well, this piece is a prime example of his use of symbolism. The man screaming is a symbol of the anxieties that plague the modern man, as he stands on a bridge at sunset. This reflects an experience Munch had while walking one day, at sunset the sky turned a blood red and he felt a great deal of anxiety. The style that he uses reminds me a bit of Van Gogh. The swirling lines that seem to be involved in an intricate dance that includes each and every line on the painting. He also uses bold colors, and a wide variety of them in each part of the painting (No 1 object is 1 color.)
One thing that really draws my interest is the story and purpose behind the painting. Munch was exploring the themes of life and what makes people human, this inspires me to use my own artwork to explore myself as well as to explore who others are and possibly who we are as human beings.

Artist 40: Francisco Goya

Born in 1746, in Spain, Goya was a romanticism painter. He painted for the Spanish crown, and many of his works documented events that happened while he was alive. During his later years, he succumbed to deafness which resulted in his mental stability to come into question. His earlier years consisted of art that was done of the Royal Family, the court, typically more light-hearted scenes, occassionally dark. However after he became deaf, his artwork became drastically dark and disturbing. Some of which he painted on the walls of his dining room and the rest of his home, these were known as the "Black Paintings."

The painting pictured here, "The Third of May, 1808," is probably one of his most famous pieces. This is not one of his black paintings, instead it is a painting depicting a tragedy that happened between Spanish civilians and French militants. The Spanish civilians were slaughtered by the French, Napoleon's army, and this is similar to a newspaper report on the event, just more emotional and heartbreaking. You can see the terror in the man's eyes with his arms up in the air, as he knows he is about to die in a flurry of bullets. The dark of the night and the illumination of the lamps brings your eyes towards the hopeless men who are about to die, and the blood already spilt of the ones who fell before them. This is a truely inspiring piece, because the emotion is so intense, it inspires me to create something so incredibly emotional, or at least a fraction of what this has accomplished.

Artist 39: Edward Burne-Jones

Edward Burne-Jones was born in 1833 in England. He was apart of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and upon seeing his works as of recently, I think I can firmly say I have a favorite artist. The detail he uses is just enough, not going overboard, and it is beautiful. Also, there is just something about his figures that seem so much more, I suppose beautiful is a good word for what I want to say. All of his drawings and paintings seem so elegant, after seeing each and every one all I can think of is "beautiful!" After my last post, I figured I could keep going with my "Annunciation" obsession, and so here is Burne-Jones' "Annunciation." I love this piece, not only because of his style, but because it is done differently any other Annunciation I have seen. The Virgin Mary seems a bit startled, however unlike all of the other pieces of this subject, she is not reason, but it seems that she was walking down the hall to be greeted by Gabriel. Gabriel almost appears to be materializing out of a large tree inside of the lavish hallway that both of the figures now occupy. The clothing of Gabriel is so elaborate and so well detailed it is incredibly difficult to look away. However compared to Gabriel, Mary seems plain. That being said, the simple white dress she wears really allows her natural beauty to show and that she doesn't need an elaborate costume to prove who she is. I am certainly going to do more research on this artist!

Artist 38: Fra Angelico

Fra Angelico is another of my favorite Italian Renaissance artists, someone whose work I really admire and one of the first names that comes to mind with the phrase "Italian Renaissance." Born in c. 1395, Fra Angelico was a Dominican friar.

My favorite painting done by him, with no surprise here, is the "Annunciation." Honestly, I think I just love angels because they are so pretty and...angelic. However these paintings of the Annunciation done by him, Leonardo, and Simone Martini rank as my favorite because they are done so well and so elegantly, they bring out the importance of this event. The background is part of what catches my attention, the columns are so elaborate, along with the vegetation of the trees behind the fence, and even the grass. They don't compare to the beauty of the figures, however they create a fantastic balance which is perfect for this piece. This piece reminds me that the background is important also, regardless of how tedius it seems.

Artist 37: Cimabue

Cimabue was born in around 1240 in Florence. He was the teacher of Giotto, and worked in the Byzantine style, which was more or less of a Medieval style. One of his most famous pieces, the "Maesta," pictured here, has very distinct characteristics, and, while it is an amazing piece, it is obviously lacking in some things that Giotto was able to achieve. Some of these characteristics include that all of the figures have the same face, there really is no, or very little, if any, variation. Also, all of the figures seem to be standing on bleachers, they are stacked up on one another and there really is no depth in the work. Another thing to be aware of is that the size of the figures are obviously off, as the Virgin is huge compared to everyone else. The body of the Christ child is also rather odd, he seems more like a shrunken adult, rather than a baby or child. This being said, for the time that it was created, and even today this is a breathtaking piece. In fact, it inspires me to try, possibly just for fun, a more primitive style of painting, throwing caution to the wind and ignoring things such as depth and proportions! Well, maybe.

Artist 36: Giotto

Giotto was born in around 1267 in Italy, near Flornce. This is an artist I beleive I will never forget. One of the legendary masters of the Italian Renaissance, he helped to open the door for future artists that would follow in his footsteps. He worked with fresco painting, as was done at the time, mostly, if not all, of religious scenes. One of the most important, I beleive, is the "Lamentation (Mourning of Christ)" because of a few key aspects of this painting.

Al of the lines point to the body of Christ, and every person is looking at him, all of the lines of sight point to his body. Not only do those lines point to the body of Christ, but even the landscape does, the rocky background slopes down at a direct angle towards Christ. Next, There is obvious emotion and lamentation. The man standing in the orange robe swings his arms out in anguish. Finally, the two figures in the front face away from you. This makes you feel like you are part of the painting, that you are standing behind those figures and are looking upon the body of Christ yourself. I believe this was incredibly important in taking a new step towards more realistic art, as well are more interactive art.

Artist 35: Michael Goldberg

Michael Goldberg was born in 1924 and was an abstract expressionist painter who trained at the Art Students League of New York. He uses a lot of bold colors and what appears to me be to quick, typically large brush strokes. Similar to what I appreciate about other abstract artists is that you really are able to use your own imagination in these paintings to conjure up whatever image you desire. Many of his paintings evoke images of figures, and because he wasn't only abstract, I think this was intentional. This style seems different from the other abstraction artists I've talked about because the images are ever so slightly more obvious. In this one pictured to the right, "Untitled," I count at least 2 figures in the painting. His color schemes also work very well, this one uses a mostly primary color pallet, and that seems to be his most used combination in his other paintings, though there are also other colors used which help to give life to his other paintings.

Artist 34: Titian

Titian was born in 1488/1490 in Italy. Unlike most artists of his time in the Renaissance, he was very well rounded in his subject matter, what I mean by that is he wasn't only able to draw portraits, or landscapes, but he was able to do both. He was also skilled at doing both religious as well as mythological paintings, giving him an edge over most other artists in his wide variety of abilities in art.

One thing I admire about Titian is that his style changed throughout his life, but not in a negative way in the least bit. Yes his style changed, but he was/is still considered a master, because while his style was not as it had been when he got older, it was still amazing. Like him, I expect my style will change over time through my life, however I do not want it to be in a negative sense, but I want to improve my skills in art the older I get.

One of Titian's master works is "The Venus of Urbino." This piece has very possibly inspired many works similar, such as "Olympia" by Manet, and the many others that had a reclining nude woman as the subject. This picture seems rather scandelous, as the woman is most likely the mistress of a rich man, as she is seen here relaxing in the nude as two maids attend to a chest in the background.

Artist 33: Sam Dillemans

Sam Dillemans was born in 1965 in Belgium. He believes that it does no matter when something is painted but how it is painted. I believe that is an interesting philosophy! Regardless, this is another example of that "sketchy" style that I love so very much. I believe it is a sort of expressionism, as the colors aren't really right, and it isn't incredibly realistic. It is still amazing, however. At first glance, a very very quick glance, at that, this picture, "Portrait of Ingres," looks like a mesh of colors mixed in together. However actually looking at it reveals a human face that seems aged, almost sad. The quick, bold brush strokes heighten that sense of age and wisdom, something a smooth brush stroke would not have successfully captured. Dillemans, as well as other artists, remind me that the texture of the brush stroke can make a huge difference. They inspire me to really think about the smallest details of my work, even down to the appearance of my lines.

Artist 32: Edouard Manet

Edouard Manet was born in 1832. He was a controversial artist for his time, especially with such works as "Olympia" and "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe," depicting nude women. However what I love about him, most especially a specific painting, the one pictured here, "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere." What I like about this picture could take a very long time to talk about completely and as in depth as I would like, so I'll be relatively brief! This is another example of a painting that you can interpret yourself. Is there a mirror behind the woman? But then her reflection is off. Is it supposed to be a reflection of how she acts with customers, and the woman looking at you is her true self? Or maybe it's just another woman behind her, and that is a continuation of the building she is in. Honestly, I've discussed this painting with a few people and there are flaws in every possibility. Which makes me to believe that it is intentionally strange and it is exciting to debate what is going on and what you are supposed to take from this piece. What I also like about this painting is the detail. For some reason, my favorite part is the woman's lace collar. It's just so delicate and intricate. Manet inspires me, similar to some other artists, to learn to be more patient in doing details, because sometimes they really make a difference in your picture.

Artist 31: Guy Denning

Guy Denning is an English artist who was born in 1965. Another Stuckist artist, his art is very sketchy in appearance. That, by no means, is something bad, as I believe it adds a huge amount of emotion to the pieces. Most obvious is the emotion in his piece, "#407 Untitled," a portrait of a person screaming. The sketchyness really amplifies the emotion in this piece, if it had been smooth, it would not have translated nearly as well. In fact, it would have looked odd, perhaps. It really allows you to feel the scream, if not have the urge to scream yourself and just let out all of that emotion bottled up inside! For me, the sketchyness in painting and other media allows the artwork to feel more human. It seems less precise and probably has a more primal feeling, which allows true emotions to be evoked from the pieces. Smooth paintings are beautiful, but sketchy paintings are emotional.

Ahhhh!

Artist 30: Claude Monet

Claude Monet, born 1840, died 1926. An incredibly well known French impressionist painter, and one of my personal favorite artists. He really gives me a new perspective on art. The colors that he uses are really breath taking and he seems to make the world appear far more...I don't want to say magical, but I will, than it is. His landscapes have a very serene, peaceful, calm feeling to them by combining the colors that he does. In one of my favorites, "Impression, Sunrise," the brush strokes seem very quick, almost sloppy, but precise at the same time. They have a very loose flow to them, which helps with the calm feeling of the painting. Monet inspires me to be more free with my line use and color. I believe I try to be too precise, but I need to let my tools flow and trust my instincts more, and my artistic ability.

Artist 29: Chuck Close

Chuck Close was born in 1940 in Washington. He studied at the University of Washington in Seattle as well as Yale University. A painter as well as a photographer, he was able to capture photorealism in his works. "Lucas," seen here, is a prime example as this giant artwork which looks like a photograph from a distance is actually done in oil and pencil on canvas. That is made more clear when seen up close, the picture on the right is a close up to show the many different colors used. His ability to create such realistic pictures on such a large scale is really something to admire, and is probably an outcome of being a photographer. His artwork is really interesting to me because he can create such incredible realism in multiple ways, the multi-colored way, pictured here, and the straight realist way. So no matter how close you get, it looks just like what is pictured down to the tiniest detail. That kind of detail blows my mind, but it makes me want to practice details more and to practice patience in doing so.

Artist 28: Dan Christensen

Dan Christensen was born i 1942 in Nebraska. He was trained at the Kansas City Art Institute, as well as University of Indiana. He is an abstract painter, which I believe is made quite obvious in his work, "C-Breeze," pictured here. I very much like the creativity in the name, along with the abstract work itself. I understand the C, and I believe I can understand the "breeze" part. Though it looks rather like a tree in the darkness that is illuminated by the moon.

What I like the most about his art is the contract, primarily. Especialy on this piece, the black really makes the white stand out, event he very thin lines. Speaking of thin lines, I love the use of thick and thin lines in this piece. I think it is balanced very well and it has a lot to draw your eye around and keep your attention.

Artist 27: Godfrey Blow

Godfrey Blow was born in 1948 in Western Australia. He is part of the "Stuckism" movement, a movement I have not heard of until quite recently, but I think I like it! From what I have noticed from Godfrey Blow's work is it has a sort of edge to it, yet it also have a softness. I think this is shown well in his piece, "Emergence of the Green Religion," pictured above. The trees seem pointy and harsh, but the edges of them and the scenery behind them is very soft, pastel, and has a light glow to it. I also very much like the lines and texture created by the paint, it adds a bit of personality to the piece.

Blow's style really makes me want to explore Stuckism. I believe it could be something I may find rather interesting, possibly enough to try it myself. He also inspires me to try a style of "Edgey, yet calming." I'm not sure how to explain it other than that way, dark, and yet light and calm. I guess I won't really know what I mean myself until I try it!

Artist 26: Zdzisław Beksiński

Zdzislaw Beksinski was born in 1929 in Sanov, Poland. Best known for his fantasy art, or as he called it, Baroque, or Gothic. His pictures had a very eerie feeling to them, as they were very surreal, featuring strange creatures and creepy scenes. Needless to say, I adore his art. One of his pieces, pictured here, "Untitled, 1975," one of my favorite, though I could say that about most of them. They take you into a foggy world that some would say is nightmarish. There are strange, humanoid creatures that are just as odd as the world around them. Not surprisingly that is just up my ally, as I really enjoy to look at his images to try to figure them out. I also try to imagine just how he came up with these images, they are really inspiring for me to come up with similar ideas that are unique to myself.

Beksinski was said to be a very nice person, quite seemingly opposite from the works he produced. That in itself is inspiring to me, because it proves you can't assume someone's personality is negative if their works seem to be so. Unfortunately, Beksinski was murdered in 2005, he was stabbed 17 times by the son of his caretaker because Beksinski would not give him a small loan. What a waste to shorten the lifespan of a great artist.

Artist 25: Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning was born in 1904 in the Netherlands. He not only did 2D works but was known to do sculpture as well. Both of these styles he did in an abstract way, his sculptures being just as visually entertaining as his 2D pieces. Though, because I love 2D more than 3D, I am going to focus on that for this artist. One piece he did, "Woman V" 1952-53, is a very interesting piece indeed. Obviously abstract, one could argue it looks like something a toddler drew. It is very unproportional and sketchy, it almost appears the artist had no motor skills in creating it. Honestly, it looks like a mess. So why is this famous art? Why is it anything worth talking about? Because it makes you think and it's his own expression. I've stated in other posts, I like the sketchy look, and this takes it to the extreme! This reminds me of a type of painting one could do to let off steam if you were angry, just slam paint onto the canvas and let it flow. I'm unsure of what was behind the creation of this piece, but it makes me smile. It is fun to attempt to decipher what is going on, what is what and where is what body part of piece of the art. I hope I am not misunderstood but this piece is a hot mess!

Artist 24: Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiet was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960. His style of art is representational of his African heritage. This is true as it appears reminiscent of African art, my favorite being "Untitled (Skull)." There is a lot going on in this picture, what I love about it is the sketchiness, it looks very quickly done, yet it looks like much thought was put into it. The bright colors really catch the eye, and while there is a lot of blue on one corner, it doesn't seem heavy on that side, because the brighter orange opposite it balances it out perfectly. It also gives me a feeling of graffiti art, possibly it helps that it was created in the year 1984. In this piece it is like you are looking into the head of the head pictured here to see the inner workings of it, or even possibly to see what he is thinking. What it could be thinking is beyond me, as said before, it looks very sketchy, but this allows the viewers to come up with their own interpretations of the inside of the skull's head. This kind of freedom, intentional by the artist or not, is something I really enjoy in art because it allows me to use my own imagination on top of the imagination of the artist!

Artist 23: Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was born in Wyoming in 1912. This is an artist I have mixed feelings about. Don't get me wrong, I very much like his work, especially since he did it so many years ago, so it was unique then. And yet, one can only ask "how does splattering paint make you famous?" This is mostly because of the time I live in currently, well kind of. I'm sure back when he did these paintings he recieved criticism for splattering paint, but then it was new. Now, whenever I see someone do a painting such as that, yeah, sometimes it looks interesting, but I can only wonder how much time, effort, or thought one put into it. Today, since splatter paintings are well known, any idiot can take a paint brush and fling it onto a canvas. But as said before, I like Pollock. He did something different at the time, and I applaud this. One of my favorite pieces of his is "Number 18." The splattering of paint reminds me of dipping ink into water, just less liquid-like and less smokey. The colors used are also eye pleasing, the bold parts of the painting are scattered, the boldest being in the middle. This does not make one edge or side of the piece heavier than the other. It is very well balanced and the splattered paint enables the eye to move around the painting freely and easily.

Artist 22: Roy Lichtenstein

Lichtenstein was born in New York City in 1923. He is most known for his pop art style paintings that are reminiscent of comic book art. Many of his pictures even have the word bubbles with dialogue spoken by the person in the picture, making them basically comic book pictures. What I like about his work, especially the example here, "Girl With Hair Ribbon" is simply as stated before, it's just like a comic book. You wouldn't automatically assume this to be an artwork, it's just a comic book drawing. But, isn't that art? Just because it is commercialized and seemingly un-artistic it in itself is an artwork. It is just simplified art, one could say pointilism, since dots make up a lot of the shading, etc, because of how they are printed and made. Lichtenstein took an art style that was underappreciated and misunderstood and really brought it to light of what one could do with it and what it really means. I especially love the old comic book look, it really gives off a classic feeling to me that is fun and unique looking, something I'll always be drawn to.

Artist 21: Toulouse Lautrec

Toulouse Lautrec was born in 1864 in France. One of my favorite artists, many of his pieces revolve around scenes such as this one pictured here, "At the Moulin Rouge." Many of his figures are dressed up in fancy clothes, which they would be in that time period inside a place such as that. Yet while this seems like a fancy place, he makes it seem, I guess scary is a good word. If you look at the woman on the right, staring at you, she looks ghoulish. Possibly giving a wink to the type of places these were, a bit shady. He meshes class with sleeze in his paintings and creates visually stunning pieces that capture your eye and won't let go. His figures are always so expressive and each has their own personality. The angles he chooses are also important to the pieces and are always interesting, they help to make his works more dynamic and unique. Finally, I like this piece, and all of his works, but primarily this piece because of the textures he seems to have, it doesn't seem to have incredibly smooth colors, but the roughness gives it more character and adds to the character of setting and figures pictured.

Artist 20: Tom Wesselmann

Tom Wesselmann was born in 1931 in Ohio. Not only did he paint, bu the was known for sculpture, assemblage, as well as collage. He was known to be a pop art artist, which is really the only other pop art artist I've known of beside Warhol. This goes to show that not all pop art is Warhol-esque, and that it comes in many shapes and forms and appearances, all pop art, yet distinct in their own way to stand out.

This piece, pictured here, is "Still Life #20," mixed media. This type of art reminds me of Dada, which, well, I hate. But I do not hate this! This doesn't seem to be mindless, but more random with a creative touch. It doesn't seem to have a purpose of "just 'cuz" but something more meaningful that the artist wanted to show the world. The bright colors really stand out and make the entire piece bold, and each piece is so different your eyes travel to each piece to see what is happening and to try and understand. It is very pop art, in my opinon, a great part because of the bread and coke pictures on the bottom right, as it seems very fiting for the time frame of which it was created. One of his major influences was Henri Matisse, one of my influences and most treasured artists. His style is evident in Wesselmann's art mostly in the bold colors and lack of detail. In other words, both of their styles are very bold and eye catching. Unfortunately, Tom Wesselmann died in December 17, 2004, he was 73.

Artist 19: Vincent van Gogh

Born in 1853 in the Netherlands, he is one of the most famous artists to date with his unmistakeable art style. My personal favorite picture from him is "Starry Night." My reasons for liking this are, well, partly because of the conditions of how it was painted. What I mean by that is that he painted this while he was in a mental hospital. No, I don't like it simply because of that, that would be silly. My point is that, as he was known to suffer from mental illness, my personal assumption is that the artwork would not be so beautiful and peaceful. I do not believe this LOOKS like it was done by a mental patient, although his pure skill possibly enhanced the outcome of this piece. Even in a mental hospital, Van Gogh was still able to express his amazing talent so gracefully. His works, such as this, are oil paint, yet they remind me of pastels. Mostly because of the color, yet also the simple fact of the brush strokes give it a pastel appearance. The many short strokes give everything a texture and allow your eyes to follow them all around the painting, as they swirl with the stars and proceed around the town. While Van Gogh was known to have a rather macabre feeling to his works, I really don't see it in this one, though I believe I used to. Note that not all of his works have that feeling, many of them are very beautiful and light hearted! This one is no exception and it gives no assumption that the creator suffered mentally.

Artist 18: Sigmar Polke

Sigmar Polke was a German painter, born in 1941. He took up an apprenticeship in Dusseldorf and then at age 20 went to the Arts Academy there. During his studies at the academy, there were many changes in Germany being made because of World War II, and so he was in the middle of the huge shift in culture, society and the arts in Germany. In 1963, Polke founded his very own artistic movement, Capitalistic-Realism.

His own style is evident in his works, which he uses different media, such as gouaches, watercolors, drawings, etc. In the work pictured below, "Treehouse," it is a simple ink drawing of a treehouse, nice detail, something one would assume to see as an illustration in a book maybe. What makes this art work stand out is obvious. Maybe that is an understatement. Polke uses a fantastic wash of 3 different colors to make this painting an otherworldly experience, as compared to the typical, everyday, dull treehouse it could have been. Now, I don't want to sound like a druggie when I say this, but this looks trippy. Wait, I take that back, it looks like an "altered state of mind experience" really. The execution of the wash is done in a fantastic way as well, making this piece look very elegant. Many of his subjects emphasized the social and cultural changes in Germany, enhanced by his own coloring and creative styles.

Artist 17: Jennifer Bartlett

Jennifer Bartlett was born in 1941 in California and is mostly known for her abstract and represenational styles meshed together to create one unique image. She studied at the Yale School of Art and Architecture and received her MFA in 1965.

One of the pieces that really catches my eye and makes me truely enjoy her work is that, at least from what I've seen, of all the artists I've covered in this blog she is the first to use pastels. My favorite is "Backdrop #4," pictured here, which really grabs my attention not only with the content but the beautiful colors and execution of combining content and color and format together into a very interesting piece. My favorite media to use in art are pastels and charcoal, two very closely related tools. In her piece I really love how it looks chalky and yet has a slight oil painting appearance as well, possibly because of the texture, or maybe simply because of the pictures I have seen give it that appearance. From what I take from this picture it is a captivating sunset behind a, I assume, city. The red and blue lights I believe are the cars and buildings, which has a futuristic feel. So this piece combines, at least as I see it, futuristic aspects with an old fashioned sunset, creating an eye catching work of art.

Artist 16: Rita Ackermann

Rita Ackermann was born in 1968 in Hungary. She attended the University of Fine Arts Budapest and then moved to New York City, where she then began studying at The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture.

From what I have seen of her work, the subjects she uses in the majority of her pieces are women, many look like typical teenage girls doing typical teenage things. However, there are always exceptions, such as "Shaman" on the right. Anything but typical, though strangely interesting, this piece depicts a woman in what reminds me of a ring master's uniform (from the circus, you know) sitting on top of a humanoid, well, creature who seems to be ready to devour a baby. It seems like the woman in the top hat and coat is in control of the situation, giving this an even more ominous feeling.

In a few of her other pieces, she's used similar figures in a collage-like feel, having them in slightly different positions, overlapping each other in the piece. What I like about this artist is rather simple, and it's just the way that she draws people. It's very simple yet very elegant. This elegance continues even though the actual art may not seem very elegant, and yet the figures do. As far as her figures go, less is more, and it gives me something to think about when I do my own work. This doesn't necessarily mean that I want my figure to look like hers, but it reminds me not to overwork my figures. Less is more!

Artist 15: Above

This artist is similar to Banksy, however the reason I chose to talk about Above is because, while he too is a street artist, he has a calling card. What I mean by that is his "calling card," his "symbol," a major part of or sometimes completely his signature is an arrow pointing up. I didn't notice anything of this nature with Banksy, aside from the fact that his creations were witty and creative.

Above is another artist, which I believe is reflected in his work, whose age is very much close to my own and my generation (He was born in 1981). This allows younger people today to relate more to his work and are more likely to take notice and appreciate it. He was born in California and began art at 15. By 19 he moved to Paris where he changed from simple graffiti words to intriguing artworks on the streets. He works with on-site art, which incorporates the area around him to make his art more meaningful, interesting, and interact with it. Also unlike Banksy, Above has traveled around the world to places like Europe, the States, and South America, to name a few. He's left his art in all of these places and even went on a "Sign Language Tour" which he left signs in specific areas with words on them that utilized word play to incorporate objects around them. An example of this, pictured here, an arrow sign with the words "HARD BOILED" on it, next to an egg sculpture in Lithuania.

Artist 14: Lucian Freud

Lucian Freud was born in 1922 in Berlin, Germany. In 1933 he moved to England with his family to escape Nazism. There, he became a naturalized Britain citizen in 1939. He went to school at the Central School of Art in London, East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, and Goldsmiths College. He was the grandson of Sigmund Freud, the well known neurologist.

Freud's style started off being that of surrealism, using plants, animals, and people as his subjects. However in the 1950's, Freud worked with portraiture, using only nudes as his subjects, moving away from the use of other objects in his works, though using an animal paired with one of his nudes every so often. He also began using thicker paint and more dull colors. He was also known to do pictures of horses which he learned to ride.

I can't say that anything about Freud really jumps out to me, however I will say he is another prime example of an artist who using a more realistic style, and one that I have noticed evolve. Some of his paintings, "Girl with a Kitten," the face is not proportioned correctly and there are other flaws, however in this painting pictured, "Girl with a White Dog," it looks much more realistic. The only obvious flaw to me is the eyes are possibly a bit large. Other than that though, the dog's fur and the cloth on the robe the girl is wearing as well as the background cloth is very realistic and an ideal tool to use to help in understanding the techniques used in creating effects like those. Freud has, in my opinion, accurately depicted the dog's fur, the woman's skin, the fabric of the cloth, and the fabric of the seat she is on without having them seem to be made of the same material. The smallest and seemingly most insignificant details can make a huge difference in effects such as that, and Freud is one artist I will use to help understand the technique of creating different textures for materials and the like.

Artist 13: Gerhard Richter

Richter was born in Dresden in 1932. He studied billboard and stage painting, as well we mural painting. He was inspiring by the Jackson Pollock and Lucio Fonta abstract paintings in 1959 which helped to shape his own style.

The abstraction is very clear, especially in one of his watercolors, "2.1.1978 (5)" which I really like the thickness of the paint, yet the constant liquidity that it keeps. Abstractions such as these evoke the viewer to come up with their own ideas of what is being portrayed in these pieces. This one, gives me a feeling of possibly the skeleton of a building or some structure which is surrounded by this liquid color, swirling about and melting away. I believe these types of paintings also give inspiration to create one's own artwork which looks more like what this image evokes the viewer's mind to create.

Artist 12: Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1962. He recieved a Ph.D. from Tokyo National Museum of Fine Arts and Music, where he learned the art of Nihonga, which is a traditional Japanese painting style used in the 1800's that is a combination of Western and Eastern styles. That evolved into his very untraditional style that he uses today, which he tends to incorporate Japanese anime with sculpture, animation, painting, etc. His works range from his fantastic piece to the right, "Tan Tan Bo Puking - a.k.a. Gero Tan" which reminds me of a psychotic panda bear dipped in ice cream and firing laser beams, to his more....controversial, you could say, sculptures such as, "Hiropon," which is a sculpture of an anime style girl jumping rope with milk that is coming out of her gigantic breasts. I'm not putting that picture on this blog.

I read in an interview with Murakami that what he was trying to portray in his art, contrary to the super happy cuteness that it seems to be, is hopelessness. Wow. You wouldn't think that from a picture that reminds one of a psycotic panda bear dipped in ice cram firing laser beams would you? From what I was able to take from the interview, he is displaying the hopelessness that is in Japan from otaku, which are obsessive anime fans. Those people are disliked in society and find comfort in anime and the like. Apparently, his stuff isn't very popular in Japan, and no museums there show his work, however abroad in New York is much different. This is probably because we look at it as a different culture, something that is alien and we want to understand. Personally, I thought people that were into stuff that I think "Hiropon" is trying to convey were just messed up, but from reading his interview, there probably is much more to psychologically understand about fanatics in anime. I think he related them to cults and things similiar to that.

To wrap this up, ..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PFexjG1pq0 .... I kinda wanna a Louis Vuitton bag now.

Artist 11: Damien Hirst

This artist is very interesting. It appears most of his works are sculpture, but their ideas would be similar also in drawing or painting, the 3D aspect simply magnifies their intensity and interest ten fold. Some, admittedly, are rather, well, I don't want to say "odd" but I will. Putting dead animals in formaldehyde (sharks, livestock, etc) is strange, yet really, once I think about it, what is more beautiful and artistic than God's own creation in nature? Whether that was intended from Hirst or not is...not important to me. I believe his formaldehyde creations allow one to focus on what is beautiful in nature first, which most really pass by without a second thought.

One of my favorite pieces, "For the Love of God," is a platinum cast of an 18th century skull which was covered in 8,601 diamonds (Wow! Diamonds are a girl's best friend, what girl wouldn't want that for a gift, I know I would. :P) From looking at some of his work, he seems to center on death (mostly dead animals) and the human body, including the inner workings of it, some sculptures being of people with pieces of their skin peeled back to reveal muscles and more. As mentioned before, I love skulls. Ok I'm not sure if I really mentioned it on here but if you don't know that now then you haven't been paying attention! :) This is one example of someone taking something that has already been done, and putting a personal and unique spin on it, making it it's own unique and mesmerizing piece.

Just a quick history of Hirst, he was born in 1965 in England and was part of a group called "Young British Artists" which were very popular in the 1990's. He is also known to do spin art, something that I have been a fan of since I was little. They are easy to do and they look amazing. On top of that because of the technique used to create them it is impossible to create the same one twice. The one pictured to the right is "Beautiful Axe, Slash, Gosh Painting." With so many different styles to his work, sculpture, dead animals, spin art, all which are well done in my humble opinion, Hirst is said to be the richest living artist to date. Which proves you need to go into controversial territory and push the envelope of what has already been done if you want to get anywhere.

Artist 10: Banksy

Banksy. One name. That's right, he is on par with Cher and Shakira, minus the singing. Probably the most exciting artist I'll cover here, unless I find someone else, who knows! He does graffiti, which people don't normally put into the same category as "art." I certainly didn't, that is until I saw some of Banksy's work. His ideas are so unique and creative and most of them have a message that is something more people can think about, such as a magnificantly drawn Indian sitting under a "No Tresspassing" sign, to silly things such as spray painting "Take that!" onto a tree that had fallen onto a car.

Born in 1974, and raised in Bristol, England. Banksy is not his real name. I know, it's hard to believe but it's true. He kept his identity secret to be mysterious and make him and his work more interesting. It worked. Because of his talent and unique ideas, street art has become much more popular over the recent years. That being said, this movement is incredibly new itself and we have been able to watch it evolve and grow into a recognized art movement. Also connected with this is that most of the people involved in this type of art, tend to be able to relate to people with their art much more than classical artists, being as they are alive today and not dead for hundreds of years. Jokes aside, their art is more relateable to the typical person, and personally I see it as a less formal art.

Concentration update

A small update, though I have put a bit of detail and thought into it in my sketchbook. This is mostly an expansion on my ideas for my concentration in that the only change will be the whole "portraiture" thing. It won't be typical portraits, though I will still be doing people. It just won't be...well, portraits. I plan to put symbolism into my pieces and because of that, different angles and such of figures would probably be a better course of action. What symbolism you ask? Well I'll tell you! Social and political symbolism, yeah that's right I'm going there. Something to make me more passionate about this project so I choose to add multiple things I am passionate about in reality, mostly being fashion and politics. Now, currently I plan for this symbolism and stuff to be subtle and not outright being "Hey! Listen! I'm making a political and/or social statement!" so a bit of explaining might have to be done, but really I won't be certain of that until I get right down to the pieces. Oh, and those social/political issues will center around being sheep, doing what you are told, and the control those around you have over you and your choices, and so freedom of expression and individualism is all a delightful lie. That includes Uncle Sam too! :D