My tutor suggested in the report on assignment 3 that I take a closer look at these four artists:
Paul noble – For personal interpretation of townscapes in pencil.
Charlotte Verity – Trees for fluidity and sense of movement.
Piet Mondrian’s trees – again for the use of manipulation of media.
Leon Kossoff – energy and expressive drawings of his surroundings.
Paul Noble: Interpretation of townscapes in pencil
Born 1963, British visual artist
Invented, surrealist townscapes. Extremely fine lines, entirely constructed. Everything seems to be entirely controlled. I have the utmost respect for artists who feel the urge to make this type of drawings, but they represent about the most extreme opposite of what I personally like in drawing or find interesting in townscapes.
Sources
Tate Gallery http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/paul-noble-2767
Guardian article, Artist Paul Noble on how he draws. http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/sep/19/paul-noble-how-he-draws accessed 21 October 2013
Charlotte Verity: Trees for fluidity and sense of movement
British artist, makes paintings, etchings and watercolours. Born 1954 in Germany.
The paintings and watercolours of trees and plants are interesting and beautiful. They have something very fragile which is in stark contrast to my perception of massiveness conveyed by oil paintings. For example the painting titled “Winter 2011-2012” looks like a very transparent and soft watercolour, but it is an oil painting.j
It is a bit unfortunate that the web images I found were only low quality reproductions which do not permit a study of detail.
Sources
Artist homepage http://www.charlotteverity.co.uk/cev/home.html
North House gallery exhibition presentation: http://www.northhousegallery.co.uk/art-exhibition/artist/charlotte-verity/in-and-out-of-the-garden/
Piet Mondrian: Trees for the use of manipulation of media
Dutch painter, 1872-1944
Developed from a more naturalist style into a purely abstract painter – well known his graphical paintings consisting of black lines combined with yellow, red and blue rectangle areas.
These naturalist depictions of trees were made around 1900. Very nice to see the pencil study which prepared the painting of a group of trees. Many details were given up to simplify the oil painting.
It was very interesting to look at this development in how Mondrian depicted trees – from very naturalist to increasingly abstract. The later paintings can be seen as the result of increasing abstractions from the idea of a tree. I let the paintings speak for themselves!
Sources
Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian
Gray Tree painting (1912) http://vr.theatre.ntu.edu.tw/fineart/painter-wt/mondrian/mondrian-1912x.jpg
Christies Auction review, Stammer Mill with streaked sky (1905-07): http://www.thecityreview.com/s01cimp2.html
Tate Org: Artist Piet Mondrian http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/piet-mondrian-1651, The Tree A (c1913) http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/piet-mondrian-1651
Image gallery with many works by Piet Mondrian http://en.wahooart.com/Art.nsf/WebListe_EN?SearchView&count=30&Start=1&SearchOrder=3&Query=[Champ1]+contains+%22Piet%20Mondrian%22
Leon Kossoff: Energy and expressive drawings of his surroundings
British expressioninst painter, born 1926 in London
The video shows Leon Kossoff guiding two journalists through the British National Gallery, where the artist had an exhibition. Kossoff has spent much time of his life there and made part of his own works in direct response to paintings from old masters he studied there, for example Rembrandt’s Ecce Homo (1634).
What I like about this picture is that it is not attempting an exact reproduction or realistic depiction of the scene and the faces, but nevertheless conveys much intensity and energy. The fact that this artist was suggested for a closer look is somehow encouraging, because I have many doubts about my own drawings. Some were judged as “rushed” by my tutor, and I did not even like them myself because I found that they were not able to convey the sense of beauty I had when I observed the scene. I’m thinking especially about the group of trees I drew for trees project, but it happened multiple times. Maybe I’ll be able to develop my impatient style into something that better conveys what I feel. It is a bit like the permission and encouragement to develop my own voice, rather than having to force myself into the precise representational approach which seems to overwhelm and paralyze me at times.
Sources
Interview with Leon Kossoff on BBC UK (Youtube Video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAmBFUp-kUQ
Leon Kossoff, drawing from painting article on studiointernational online http://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/leon-kossoff-drawing-from-painting/ accessed 21 October 2013
Tate Gallery, Leon Kossoffs etching after Rembrandt’s Ecce Homo http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kossoff-from-rembrandt-ecce-homo-p20315/text-summary (no image available)
National Gallery, Rembrandt (1634) Ecce Homo http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rembrandt-ecce-homo
Leon Kossoff, after Rembrandt’s Ecce Homo (1996) http://www.artspacegallery.co.uk/MainImagePages/Artists/Paintings/Kossoff/MainPages/LK15.html