I have included Picasso, Modigliano, Gabo, Andy Warhol and Walter Langley in my study.
Picasso experimented with and excelled in many mediums, from painting and drawing to sculpting and collaging. In addition to different art forms and materials, Picasso also worked in a spectacular array of styles, including Cubism, a style of art which aims to show all of the possible viewpoints of a person or an object all at once.
During his lifetime, Andy Warhol painted commissioned portraits from Polaroids or photographs, but he was also well known for appropriating images of iconic faces from newspapers publicity stills, and other media. These images were then turned into large-scale silkscreen prints on canvas.
Modiglian is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures that were not received well during his lifetime, but later became much sought-after.
Walter Langley was one of the first to settle in the Newlyn artists' colony Newlyn School. Initially he benefited little from its growing fame, partly because of his working-class origins and partly because until 1892 he painted largely in watercolour rather than the more prestigious medium of oils. His early training in lithography gives his paintings a detail and texture that show his technical skills.
Naum Gabo was a Constructivist painter and sculptor who believed that art should directly reflect the modern industrial world. For some, Constructivism, which evolved in Russia in 1917, involved creating objects, not to express beauty but to demonstrate how materials, such as wood, glass and metal behaved, which would lead to the design of functional items for mass production. For others it was a new modern style which expressed the dynamism of modern life.
I have always liked how Andy Warhol uses colour to surprise the onlooker, provoking the viewer to accept new ideas. I find Picasso confusing but as I started to 'tear' my own face to pieces was rather pleased and surprised by his influence on me! I have made a few sketches, trying to find out how these famous artists achieved their own styles.
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I went
to St Ives Tate Gallery in September and saw some of the Gabo drawings and sculptures on display.
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I love Walter Langley's paintings of Cornish life. He is a true master at capturing the mood and feelings of the local fishing community. They are not modern in style but still have a place when studying faces.
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The silhouette of a 'willing' member of the family!
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The outline rearranged again and again on coloured backgrounds.
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Playing around with the back of the silhouette, more shapes emerge.
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Face to face and still more shapes.
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This one reminds me of stained glass windows or perhaps Indian temple architecture.
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Distorting the silhouette's features.
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I used the 'face' of the silhouette to break up the sketch.
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Fractured pieces.
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Self portraits during lockdown, help!! I used a candle to draw myself, then coloured in with oil pastels. Next I washed over the faces with Brusho ink.
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Combining the various sketches was far more enjoyable than I thought it would be. This is the 'portrait' that I will base my resolved sample on. My face seems to be all over the place.
