Proposal

Which artists, movements, groups, cultural and social ideas and beliefs, and other artistic forms in the past have had bearing on my own?

Looking at artists in the past that have had a bearing on my work I would first talk about the Senefelder Club, in this group of artists were Francis Ernest Jackson, Edmund Blampied and Henri Matisse. This groups exploration of working with lithography has impacted how I approached my work, for example looking at Francis’s portraits which had a drawn quality I really liked, I learnt how portraits could be varied using lithography as some had a more smudged/charcoal like quality (like that of Gerhard’s contemporary paintings) and others were very linear with harsher lines. Alongside him in the Senefelder club were Blampied and Matisse who both also produced lithograph portraits. As well as this the period of Romanticism has had a significant bearing on my own work, looking at the portrait paintings and lithographs of Eugene Delacroix (which I first saw one of in the Legion of Honour Museum) and of artists;Alexandre-Marie Colin, Leon Cogniet and Theodore Gericault.

Which contemporary artists, movements, or groups have a bearing on my own?

Moving on to contemporary artists, the most significant one to have a bearing on my work would be Jono Dry, who produces photorealist and surrealistic drawings, him and the photorealism movement that started in the 1960s have drawn me to a more photorealistic style. As well as this are my recent discoveries of artists; Gerhard Richter (who drew inspiration from Romanticism), Wuon-Gean Ho and Wendy Sharpe. I do want to explore more in depth about these artists inspirations and look to more contemporary artists that can shape my work, especially contemporary printmakers.

In what way have these things influenced or contributed to my own?

Firstly, the work of the printmakers I mentioned above in the Senefelder club influenced how I approached lithography, it enabled me to explore different variations of portrait work, exploring different ways to express the faces in my works. Most specifically it brought me to the artists who worked in the Romanticist period such as Alexandre-Marie Colin and Theodore Gericault who contributed to a recent change in my work as instead of creating these big portraits I have become focused on perfecting smaller details and tighter portraits which completely change the mood of the work. Looking at contemporary artists, Jono Dry influenced my work by setting the basis for me wanting to work more realistically, although I do not have the surrealist elements, he uses I have learnt from his use of subject and photography. Most significantly to currently influence my work is Gerhard Richter who made me think more about how you can change the viewers perception of the subject in your work. He distorts his portraits so they are almost unrecognisable and ‘avoid making a specific point’, I want to take forward this idea and expand it maybe to thinking more about how my portraits can capture moments in time, as if I have drawn a figment of my memory that the viewer can just about ascertain. Finally, artists Wuon-Gean Ho and Wendy Sharpe create more expressional works with human subjects, looking at their work has led me to think of more gestural and expressional works to coincide with my other inspirations.

In what ways is my work different to these past or contemporary precedents?

My work is different to that of both the past and contemporary artists I have explored in that I have been focusing more intensely on what the people in the portraits mean to me and looking at how I can create both emotionful and emotionless works which have different impacts on the viewers. I have also not stuck to one technique, trying to combine both the realist and expressional together. I also think that right now I cannot compare my works with these past and contemporary precedents because I am still exploring and experimenting with my work, it does not have as complete and resolute meanings and compositions. This is something I need to work on and choose a direct path to take my lithographic portraits towards the end of this year and in the next semester.

In envisaging the future direction and form of my work, what information or sources do I need to strengthen my understanding and practice?

For the future direction of my work, I want to be able to strengthen my technique and find a more complete direction in the style of my portraits and what I want to achieve from what they express to the viewer and how they show meaning to me. In order to do this, I would like to find more sources in the Romantic period, to see what the drive was to create the portraits that they did and why. I may consult more books as sources, looking at history of portrait works and the significant difference between the Romanticist movement and Photorealist movement, both producing very different works but strengthening my understanding. I also, looking at finding direction in my work, need to find more visual sources of my own, so photographing my already chosen family and friends to be able to start forming ideas for each of the subjects. Alongside this I would like to expand my technique, so working more refined and detailed, this would come from looking more in depth at artists technique and how they have achieved in making a successful piece, this will in turn strengthen my practice and give it a clear form going into next year.