Summary of my Summer Assignment 2014

Luciana by Javier Palacios - Oil on board

Javier Palacios undertook a Degree in fine arts at Valencia Polytechnic University and an MA in artistic production at Valencia Polytechnic University, where he is currently studying for a PhD in artistic production and research. His work has been seen in group exhibitions in the UK, Spain and Taiwan. The portrait is of the artist’s friend Luciana. In choosing a close-up view of the sitter, Palacios wanted to accelerate the moment of apparent intimacy and familiarity between two strangers: the sitter and the viewer.

Tony by Jelena Bulajic - Mixed media on linen

Jelena Bulajic undertook a BA degree in Visual Arts, at the Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad, Serbia and an MA in FineArt at the City & Guilds of London Art School. Her work has been seen in solo exhibitions in Novi Sad and Belgrade and ingroup exhibitions in Serbia, the UK and USA. The portrait is of Tony, an associate of the artist. Bulajics ongoing practiceexamines the effects of aging on the human face. The painting resulted from a three-hour sitting during which over 400photographs were taken, one of which was selected as the source for the painting.

Jean Woods by Richard Twose - Oil on board

At the BP Portrait Award 2014 Awards Ceremony on 24 June 2014 the Second Prize wasawarded to Richard Twose for Jean Woods. Richard Twose is an artist and teacher based inBath and it was there that he first saw the sitter of his portrait, Jean Woods. He was impressednot only by her striking looks and style, but also by the depth of character in her face.Following the broadcast of Channel Four's documentary Fabulous Fashionistas which featuredJean, Richard’s daughter told him she was the grandmother of a friend

Simon Armitage Painted by Paul Wright –Contextual StudyPaul Wright’s oil painting of the poet Simon Armitage is currently displayed at the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award exhibition. This paintingstood out to me when looking around the exhibition because it came across as quite oxymoronic – the detailed subjects yet loose background, and thecold colours' against the warm reds and browns. After training as an Illustrator, Paul Wright has spent the last 14 painting portraits of others. His aim is tocapture vitality beyond the establishment of a mere ‘likeness’ to the subject. Here the subject (Simon Armitage) is glimpsed rather than exposed.

Although this piece of work is of a large, potentially imposing scale, the painting remains approachable through fluency of brush mark and a rich palette.

The composition of the painting is a close up shot of Simon Armitage, allowing little background space. Simons is undoubtable the focus of the paintingwitch highlights his importance.

Simon Armitage is one of the most popular poets of his generation, with his unostentatious poetry ranging from office parties for the self-employed andmotorway service stations to King Arthur. This painting captures a poets deep thought, the use of indirect eye contact is interesting as it distances theaudience from the painting, this could have been done purposely to avoid intimidation. The expression for me portrays levels of inpatients, Simon isappearing to become frustrated, an emotion all poets are fully aware of. The stern assertive look on Simons face for me illustrates power and success,this is reinforced by not only the size of the painting, but the fact his face is placed in the right in the middle. Simon Armitage is known for righting abouteveryday events in a thought-provoking way, Paul has portrayed is by the use of grey, blue and black colouring in his t shirt, this colours' are associated aseveryday simple colours’.

The cold coloured background reinforces these negative feelings of impatience, yet highlight the warmer tones used in the face. The use of large freebrush strokes gives the painting a unique style. Some of the whites and blues from the background are repeated in the focus of the painting to highlightcurtain features such as his nose and chin. Although the painting is far from an photographic copy of the poet, It is clearly recognizable and for me tellsyou more about the poet than a photograph would.

To conclude, this portrait not only successful because there being a mere ‘likeness’ to the subject it is successful as it captures Simons personality andcareer. The bold brush stokes make the painting stand out, yet don’t take away any detail of the painting. The varied colour pallet used in Simons facebrings the painting to life and adds deeper emotion.

. Practical study

Sketches of myself

Self Portrait Sketches and Paintings

Final Self Portrait

Your opinion and an evaluation of the project

Project Summery

This project has helped continue to develop my and extended my skills and knowledge in Self-portrait painting. This project has taught me that working from observation is the best way to get to grips with painting and colour. My Inspiration has come from looking at the way other artists work, studying the artists Javier Palacio, Jelena Bulajic and Richard Twosehas allowed me to develop skills in many different Medias, and has helped me discover some unique techniques to painting. When studying the different artists I looked at how they use the formal elements of line, mark-making, colour, composition and tone.

I found it extremely difficult to paint in the style of Paul Wright, although the style looks carefree and easy, layering the paint and selecting an appropriate colour pallet was a struggle. I also found creating tone very difficult as all the colours blended together. Although painting is certainly not one of my strengths I feel I have developed and learnt a lot from doing this project. If I were to complete the project again, I would paint my self-portrait on a much larger scale, doing this would allow me to pay more attention to detail. I would also spend more time on my final piece.