Week 9

Today was not a good day for me.
Were back onto personal projects now that the majority of panto is done and I want to better myself and step out of my comfort zone especially as my last personal project didn't have the 'wow factor'.

Id decided I wanted to paint some folded fabric like Alison Watt. After choosing a piece and starting to draw it up I was told it wasn't good enough and it was easy so I chose something else, after id started painting this one I was told again it wasn't good enough and didn't have the wow factor.

It did make me feel a little inadequate when my work was compared to others in the class who's work did have the 'wow factor'. At that point I felt like I couldn't do anything right and that I would always be the bottom of the class. Considering iv never done anything higher than standard grade art I feel that my work is really good, and im proud of myself as I never thought I could produce anything like I have. I guess today was just a bad day for me to be put down.

Although, as they say 'what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger' and it's true because I want to excell myself. Not only for me but to rub it in the faces of those who think my work isn't good enough!


On another note we had a photoshop class on Monday which was good fun. We made animated gifs which was actually quite tricky but im happy with my final output :).......which apparently doesnt work on Blogger :(

Photorealism continued....

The invention of photography in the nineteenth century had a great impact on art. Portrait and scenic artists were deemed inferior to the photograph and many turned to photography as careers. Within the nineteenth and twentieth century art movements it's well documented that artists used the photograph as source material and as an aid. Even though this was the case they went to great lengths to deny the fact fearing that their work would be misunderstood. The invention of the photograph was a break in art's history and also challenged the artists skills in trying to replicate the scenes they viewed.
By the time the Photorealists began producing their bodies of work the photograph had become the leading means of reproducing reality and abstraction was the focus of the art world. Realism continued as an on-going art movement, even experiencing a reemergence in the 1930s.

The term "Photorealism" was first used by New York art dealer Louis K. Meisel in 1968. His definition of photorealism included the necessity of a camera to capture the image or scene, and also identified that the image from the photo must be transferred to the work surface via mechanical means, examples of these are: through the use of a projector, grid method, or transfer paper. This means, in his definition, that mechanical transfering of the reference image is essential to the definition of Photorealism.

Mechanical means have been used by artists for centuries to transfer images onto their canvas, paper or wood panel. The camera obscura was commonly used by Renaissance artists to allow them to capture the intricate details. Many famous and celebrated artists, such as Dutch Baroque master Vermeer and early Flemish Renaissance master Jan Van Eyck used this tool as an aid to create their exceptionally accurate artwork.


Jason DeGraaf who is another photorealist painter, is a Canada based artist born in 1971. His paintings are still life based reflective objects and he has a few of splashing water which are stunning. The way he's captured the movement of the water droplets in his paintings is beautiful. I find it really hard getting the highlights and low lights of my paintings, especially with anything like metal or glass but his paintings make it look so simple.
He describes his approach

"My paintings are about staging an alternate reality, the illusion of verisimilitude on the painted surface, filtered so that it expresses my unique vision…Many of my paintings are about the relationship of light with reflective and transparent surfaces and my journey to understand those qualities and convey my sense of wonder and intrigue over them."

http://www.jasondegraaf.blogspot.com/

I also found Chiara Albertoni who does a lot of nature paintings, including trees, skylines, close ups of flowers and cobwebs with water droplets on them. i love her cobweb ones, i find it really beautiful and magical when you see it and she's captured both of these in her paintings. The detail she's managed to achieve on the paintings of the flowers is gorgeous as well. You cant even tell its a painting, her brush strokes are so smooth and non existent.

She was born in Padova in 1979. She achieved a certificate in Applied arts at Modigliani Art school then went on to the school of fine art in venice.

Here's her website and some of her work.

http://www.chiaraalbertoni.it/

Demon Cave...

We've been working on the last of the set for the last few days. Finally got the demon cave to paint which has been interesting. Its looking really good so far, just waiting on the wings which are proving to be a bit of a challenge. I think we're going to end up painting them down the road as i think Simon was wanting to cover them in canvas before we paint them to make them a little stronger. We're also still waiting on the head of the cave. It looks so good seeing everything come together, especially something as big and interesting as the demon cave. The noodle box is looking great as well, props have come along and stuck some food on which looks great, although its kind of odd as its so different from the rest of the design...but im sure it will all look great in action.

I've been looking at a few more Photorealist artists and have found out that it evolved from pop art in the late 1960s early 1970's in America. It appeared in print for the first time in 1970 in a Whitney Museum catalogue for the show "Twenty-two Realists."
I've found a few more artists whos work I find really amazing and it makes me slightly upset to look at it. As it is a skill i will probably never possess....although, my mum always taught me to be positive and never say never.....I'll definately try my hardest.

The first person I found interesting was Chuck Close. He was born in America in 1940. He was born Charles Thomas but was  popularly known as “Chuck Close” and made his name as a photorealist. In 1988 he suffered an artery collapse which resulted to him being paralyzed but even through this he still continued to make paintings that are still a must have for museums. Inspired from photographs, the early Chuck Close paintings are large paintings. The main subjects of these photographs were his family or friends.
I couldnt find a good website theat displays a lot of his work but if you type his name into google images you can see a lot of his woks of art. Heres one example.

The next artist I found was Pedro Campos. His paintings are of coke cans and jars of sweets and more still life than portraits. They are absolutely beautiful, the smoothness and perfect shape and light he's managed to capture is amazing. He's a Madrid based artist who has worked in a variety of creative settings, decorating nightclubs and restaurants, and also working for ad agencies as an illustrator. He also studied art restoration in Madrid, working on furnishings, paintings and sculpture. It wasn't until age 30 that he finally took up oil painting and began to forge his career as a fine artist. His work is a mix of pop art and photorealism.

http://www.pedrocampos.net/







Personal project week

Scenic has been quite relaxing the last week. I really enjoyed the last few days working on our personal projects. It was nice to get a few days off Panto.
My octopus in a teapot has turned out really well, i'm really pleased with it. Even when Gary kept saying I was choosing the easy option (even though its the one he said would be most challenging and I should do it!) I ignored these cheeky comment and continued on with my work. I don't think it was the easy option seeing as I was trying to replicate a computer image in paint.
I had fun working on my own and having to solve my own problems and work things out on my own.

We're back onto panto work now, working on the Palace scene which is the biggest piece. Its looking good, will be better with the glitter and gold paint though....obviously.

I went to see Dracula last night which was excellent. I loved it. Although at points i wasn't entirely sure what was going on...I loved the set and the acting was great.

Im exhausted after this week and im really looking forward to a lovely weekend and a lie in on Monday morning.

Photo-realism...

For our research project I decided to do some research into the techniques and styles of photo-realism. I find it absolutely fascinating.
Its also an interesting topic to look into as some people don't see the point in it, they say if you want a picture as realistic as the actual person/image why not just take a photo....Which is a fair question, but being able to paint something as realistic as it is in reality is an amazing skill to have...much more impressive that a photograph.

I only really had an interest in photo realism last year when i was shown some paintings by Alyssa Monks. She does a lot of painting with water, whether its under water, in the water or shower paintings. the detail she manages to create is amazing. I find her work beautiful. This is a link to her website and some of the paintings i love.
http://alyssamonks.com/portshow.asp?portfolioid={AF28BAA9-57F2-4BD7-90EE-A183D253413D}

Aladdin continues

 Its been busy busy busy in scenic the last few weeks. We've been getting set pieces in and churning them out just as fast. Its all looking great. Apart from a few minor spillages we're doing really well, too well it would seem as we've now got to wait for the set pieces to be made as construction are running behind.
Its been really exciting working on panto, im loving it. Working on cloths, flats, gauze and material, its been a great learning experience.

We've got a few days to work on our own pieces in our personal project time. Iv decided to have a go at re-creating a piece from an artist i love called Tom Lewis. His stuff is very quirky and random and iv chosen a painting of an octopus in a teapot. So far im not sure if im loving it yet. But it has only been one day. Tomorrow ill have fresh eyes!

Iv also been working on a few pieces of my own art at home using Cyanotype. Im trying a few different techniques from acetate to placing coins and buttons on the canvases. Its looking good. but my brilliant idea of having a paper mache style background has failed miserably, which is a shame as it looked really good before i painted the chemicals on!