Found a new artist...

...and I think I'm in love...

...with Sofia Arnold.

http://sofia-arnold.com/index.html

P.S. she works in acrylics :)

The un-contemporaries: part 2

Gottardo Piazzoni (1872-1945)

--Simplified and quiet Northern California landscapes. Piazzoni loved California and used his paintings as a way to explore its natural "underlying spirit". He evokes mood through his use of quiet and muted colors and positioning figures in restful meditative states. "Piazzoni [believed] that the colors and compositions of paintings should be in total harmony and that the two-dimensionality of the the painted surface should always be respected." (www.crockerartmusuem.org).

The un-contemporaries: part 1

Caspar David Friedrich (1800's)

Friedrich's paintings are about exploring the sublime aspects of nature, which is simultaneously fear inducing and attractive, and capturing a form of spiritual experience that happens in its solitude. He captures the overwhelming power of nature in awe inspiring landscapes, while maintaining a peaceful beauty. His paintings are a spiritual message about the temporary and finite state of man and materialism in the scope of a greater cosmos.

4 Contemporary Artists: part 4

4. Keith Tyson (specifically his "nature paintings")

Similarities/inspirations:

• expressing/depicting the essence of nature/specific objects in nature
• focus on color
• layering

Differences:

• more mixed media and exploration of experimental techniques (ex. pouring/pooling the paint, etc...)
• more focused subject, ex: just water, or just a shell...
• purely from nature (no man-made objects) and therefore less geometric aspects.

4 contemporary Artists: part 3

3. Tom McGrath

Similarities/inspirations:

• color palette
• exploration of specific places/working from photographs
• exploration of transcendental experiences through painting process
• abstracting a scene to explore perception/essence
• balance of the structured with the organic (more apparent in other paintings)
• variety of mark

Differences:

• he is more specifically exploring the ideas of perception, especially how they have been influenced by urbanization/sprawl ***this message really resonates with me***
• use of white and value contrast (although, I will probably experiment with imitating this)
• more painterly--drips

4 contemporary Artists: part 2

2. Luc Tuymans

Similarities/inspiration:

• style of abstraction/simplification--the specific lines/shapes he chooses to emphasize
• color palette--matte
• breakup of space--balanced

Differences:

• his seems more political then mine, and not as focused on nature/landscape
• his colors are more intentionally dull/upsetting (for the purpose of the message)

***I am intrigued and inspired with the way Tuymans has matched his style/technique with his subject matter--there is a fluidity and connection between the two (I hope to accomplish this)***

4 Contemporary Artists: part 1

1. Richard Diebenkorn

Similarities/inspirations to my work:

• layering of color
• simplification of shapes
• balancing the geometric/representational with the abstract
• use of process and showing the history

Differences:

• his are more geometric overall (at least in these examples)
• mine may not be this broken down, I would like for them to maintain a slightly more organic nature