Conclusion

This is supposed to be enclosed at the bottom of the blog.

Conclusion to my Personal Study

Throughout this last year I have gained experience and learnt many new forms of expression thanks to the influence of these artists I have mentioned in my personal study. In my work you can see accumulated techniques I have acquired from practicing each artists personal methods. It is evident in my work certain artists have had bigger impact than others as I have repeatedly carried out their individual techniques from the start of my work down to the final pieces such as Traci Bautista.

Its easy to distinguish Bautista's doodle designs throughout my work, and Barcelo's textured background techniques but both artists Close and O'Connor have inspired me to focus on the portrait side of my topic but adapting it in my own style for example Close's percolator method adapted into the backgrounds rather than the face. Another example being Danny O'Connor's vivid colours to describing emotion in a face carried out by the literal painting on a human face, photographed it, enlarged and painted it for one of my final pieces. It included the messy, layered and colourful result Danny O'Connor produces but in a bolder format.

I have drawn these four artists together to produce the final outcome for my coursework. Doodles will be seen throughout my work entirely. Patterned faces of colour will play the central focus on each piece whether in the middle or to a side of the textured surface that makes up the background.

I have acquired new experiences and learnt many new and different techniques, which if not thanks to the research of these artists, I wouldn't have. I now know various bizarre methods of applying textures and a how to make a more distinguishable image. This year I feel as if I have expanded my depth of field in what I knew and what I did, comparing my AS work with this year, I can see how these artists have influenced my work and inspired me to push myself and think out of the box. This personal study really allowed me to expand not only in the research section but in the practical

as it gave me a sense of direction and a way of realising my own style as easily separable from the main artists.

From Bautista I have learnt doodle techniques, stencil work on my backgrounds, layering of collage in the depth of the backgrounds,contrasting colours, application of spray paints, print making with my own shapes, personally designed prints and layering of pattern to express emotion...

From Barcelo I have learnt new background effects. The use of thick paste and harsh texture, plastered patters following the outline of his work. I have learnt to use a wider range of colour, a wider range of materials to compile a more expressive background.

From Close I have learnt how simplicity can lead to an image becoming more complex. It has taught me more detailed approaches in smaller more intricate areas and the use of colour to match and blend with its main focus.

From O'Connor I have learnt the way in which colour, including black and white can create dimension, depth and expression in a painting. He has made me remain interested in portraiture as it gives of a very modern image. Chuck Close and Danny O'Connor might not be the most visual part of evidence in my work but probably play the biggest role in the theme this year. They have had the biggest impact on me in the sense they lead me on to producing mixed media portraiture. The painted portrait is a living art form.

Mixed Media Portraiture, what does that mean?

Art has advanced just how we all do, and has grown over the years. The concept of art has changed drastically looking back at historical times in relation to today. Art use to consist of contemporary portraiture attempting to look the most realistic as possible, simple colours, simple backgrounds, nothing unusual. Portraiture art is very different how we see it. We live in a modern day where thanks to technology we have been able to advance extremely, even in art. Art has now been adapted so we can actually explore such things as mixed media portraiture as in the past it was not an option. In our current day life, mixed media portraiture is more widely accepted as forms of expression and art techniques. I believe portraiture is one of the best ways of expression, you are painting something you are familiar and comfortable with, you can bring out true passion though the touch of a brush. Before starting this year, modern portraiture was already in my mind, but mixing it up with a more complex appearance is what made it more distinguishable from my other work. The painted portrait may prove the last best hope of painting as a popular art.  

Introduction To My Personal Study

Mixed Media Portraiture

My journey into mixed media portraiture started with exploring both mixed media surface artists and contemporary portrait artists. My aim has been to use the inspiration of both types of artists in my own creative experiments, whilst attempting to compare and contrast the techniques and concepts of these individuals in my personal study. I have chosen to continue with my portrait theme from my AS studies, but with a different approach. 

Thanks to the artists I have looked at, I have been able to get a true feel for the direction I want to take and hence recognise my aim to explore different media formats such as the use of charcoals, pastels, graphite, acrylics and many more. When I refer to mixed media I mean artwork in which more than one medium has been layered. Portraiture is the recording of an individual's appearance and personality, whether in a photograph or a painting, in which I hope to capture the spirit of an individual through the colours and textures that I layer around the face. 

Through analysing and understanding these four artists I hope to absorb some of their forward thinking approaches and experimental techniques both in portraiture and mixed media. During AS I mainly focused on contemporary portraiture and plain backgrounds with a simple focus on the painting in the middle of the canvas causing a very simple result. This year I changed my backgrounds from a solid block colour to a mixture of colours and textures and different processes to achieve this. Learning from Traci Bautista's Youtube tutorials, I have incorporated her rustic, but effective print techniques and vivid colours into my own work. She was the first artist I looked at and she completely changed my view on how I approach this theme. In addition, one of the reasons I am now calling my work "Mixed Media Portraiture" is because I plan to use her layered print concept with sprayed or ink treated backgrounds. I also wanted a hint of Barcelo's 3D skills in my backgrounds through prominent layering of plaster, paper and fabric. O'Connor and Close inspired me to continue with portraiture mixing it up slightly changing the reality of a plain panting of a face to an unrealistic intensified image. 

Photography

Incorporating my own photography into my paintings.

In the sense that the colours captured in these landscape pictures could be used in the portraiture or the backgrounds of my paintings in the form of mixed media. 

Sunrises/Sunsets

Chuck Close

Chuck Close

Charles Thomas “Chuck” Close born July 5, 1940, is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, though his massive-scale portraits.

Chuck Close is known for using creative and intricate patterns to portray a human portrait. In 1988 he was left severely paralysed, but he still continued to paint and produce work that remains interesting to museums and collectors. Close lives and works on the south shore of Long Island, and New York Citys East Village and in Bridgehampton, New York. He has been married twice, an has two daughters with his first wife who he divorced in 2011.

Chuck Close first stood out to me over the internet, looking for a contemporary artist who paint portraits but incorporate the use of personal photography. In my work I wish to continue painting portraits but consolidate the use of my own photography skills I have previously acquired. I also was familiar with this art app called the “percolator” gives an effect very similar to Close's work but on any image I wish to use. It gave me an idea as to how I would like to see my own work finished and the result I could expect. The image to the left is an example of his work and the image to the right is a percolator example.

His work, at a first glance appears out of focus and blurry. He seems to continuously use this effect throughout his work to possibly distance the image he produces. His main focus is on human portrayal, which is the reason I decided to research him.  He seems to think of it as “reinventing portraiture for the next generation.” Wanting to give a modern, almost digital visual effect.

In the past I have studied and looked in depth at “pop art culture” which may not be exactly comparable to Close's work as it uses bolder colours and a more minimal approach but Close's work is comparable in the sense that its not a realistic image. Through research I have found that he has produced portraits of other artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Kara Walker and Philip Glass.

In my opinion Chuck Close stands out from other portrait artists in the many ways I have expressed above, but more than anything because I hadn't witnessed anything like it before.

Miguel Bacelo

Miguel Barcelo

Local Artist to me.

Growing up on the wonderful island of Mallorca as I have myself, Miguel studied at the Arts and Crafts School in Palma, and then moved to Barcelona to study at the Fine Arts School. A year after that he returned to Mallorca and had his first show at the Palma Museum. After gaining confidence watching and using other artists tips and experiences, he soon found his own way of expression by simplifying and reducing his habits and reformulating themes and technical challenges, but still sticking to his original ideas such as his piece of work the “chiaroscuro”. He believed heavily in his continuation of a grand tradition.

Throughout the 1980s, he travelled extensively across Europe, USA, and West Africa but  always returned to Paris which is where he set up a second studio that became like a second home to him. After which he created a third studio in Segou. All the traveling,  influenced him and impacted his work, such as West Africa; the power of its light, its bright sun and extremely warm climate, the rockyness of the landscape, and then the colours from the sea and rivers. He adapted this to the texture, layout and colour of his work.

We had the opportunity to visit local galleries and museums on a school trip. 'Es Baluard' is where I first noticed Miguel Barcelo's work. This artist was given a main focus in the gallery not only because of the large scale piece of work handing directly in front of us, but by the form and texture of his work.This gave out a appealing first impression to want to conduct personal research and find out more about this local artist. I am hoping, in the near future, to be able to visit his galleries and even the possibility of meeting Barcelo.

Barcelo enjoys the use of white and pale pastel colours, such as sky blue, which were the colours used in the first piece of work I ever saw at Es Baluard called 'Fifteen Holes'. He creates a 3D effect using what appears to be texturing agents or plaster. This makes his work more distinguishable from other artists that rely simply on brush work to create texture. The simplicity of his forms are contrasted by the vibrant colours in some pieces such as the one below. The intense layering of all his pieces also give his work a more expressive and free spirit.

Danny O'Connor

Danny O'Connor
 Abstract Artist

Danny O'Connor lives and works in Liverpool, Uk. He studied graphic arts at Liverpool John Moores Art School. His work in very focused on the theme 'contrasts' and mainly only on portraits and figures. His inspiration comes from a diverse amount of sources such as comics, illustration, tattoo art and even graffiti to abstract expression. Contrasts play a massive role in Danny's work as its probably the most resounding feature throughout his work that we can see. From his work we can instantly see repetitive techniques he enjoys using such as the use of natural flowing lines over and though his work with harsh diagonals to create an edge to the repetitiveness. He is also keen on using clean patches of bold colour surrounded with layered messy splashes of paint, which makes his work very easy to distinguish from other artists.

 He takes something as simple as a portrait or a figure of a body and changes a traditional image into something a lot  more modern and even slightly futuristic in my view.

Danny states he uses layers upon layers of paint in his work to give it a greater depth of field. My journey of discovery into his work on the internet, allowed me to discover some of his unusual media combinations such as correction fluid, paint markers, charcoal, graphite + oil sticks...All of which were inclusively applied by bizarre stencils such as “sticks, splash, his figures, paper/cardboard to drip...”

The use of these unique forms of creating art interests me to further develop my own ideas and possibly adapting his work on portraits to backgrounds of my own portraits. The most inspiring thing about his work is its so individual and personally fun to try and interpret as I very much enjoy the messy theme of his work. He uses an abundance of white in his work to make the colours used stand out in comparison, and in addition this way his portraits blend in with the background.

For me personally, abstraction indicates a departure from reality to an illusion of visible reality.. A departure from accurate representation to a slight partial representation. Danny O'Connor is one of my favourite abstract artists not only with the form of colour used or the shape and form of his work but the use of lines to create composition

Danny O'Connor is one of the most common abstract artists, I find his work very interesting to observe and then able to incorporate into my own work.

Traci Bautista

Traci Bautista


Mixed media/designer.

Traci Bautista is one of the artists that inspires me most, not only with the use of collage but the layout of her backgrounds. 

She left a very successful marketing and graphic design career in 2001 to pursue her one true passion for art and expand her creative side. She has become an skilful mixed media designer, entrepreneur, influential artist, teacher and now an author to the two books she has released, “Collage Unleashed” and “Doodles Unleashed”.

Her art has been in several magazines, many mixed media books and all over blogs. Bautista's fame has expanded ever since the release of her bestselling book collage unleashed. She uses her past experiences to expand and create the work she produces now , and due to her relaxed way of working she is able to explore without boundaries.

In the past 12 years she has inspired thousands of people by giving lessons of many different workshops aiming to share and teach others to expand in the way she has. Traci's mixed media workshops consisted of such things as “art journalising, creative business, surface design...”

She has now developed in such a way that she is working with large companies and has her work all over the web, but not only that, she is now planning on opening her own art studio for the public and for her own benefit.

I am very fond of watching Traci Bautista's workshop videos online as not only do they inspire me for my own work but help me understand the simplicity of it yet it looking so detailed, and then being able to incorporate that into my own work. She uses a large amount of colour in her work which I admire, as her colours are bold and impactive. She includes the use of overprint which intensifies and frames the vivid background. I think this technique will work well to not detract away from the main painting in my own work.

Personally, it isn't that easy to compare pieces of her work with other sections of it as she uses a wide range of collage and prints unevenly across all her work to make it all look personalised.

In my opinion her work is very easily separated from other artists as her style is very recognisable  To help me progress, she uses simple, almost childlike prints and application of paint but layers it in such a complex and intricate way that it looks mature. Not only by the way she works and taking that initial approach and extending the idea further, by including texture that evolve from Barcelo's influence. 

Thanks to Bautista I have now discovered many ways in which I can expand my media base using such media as print, layered paint effects, and 3D textures with my accurate media style of portraiture.

Link to Traci Bautista's workshops> Youtube Tutorials