Art 220, Yan Pei-Ming

Landscape of Childhood, 2009

Pu Yi, 2007

Victime- Ingrid L., 2001


As a perfectionist I find it really hard to work in charcoal, or any medium that is slightly blurry. I like things that are crisp, straight, and black and white. Looking at the work of Yan Pei-Ming challenged everything that I am comfortable with. Not only are his subjects slightly startling, but the way he paints and draws makes me nervous. I would like to push myself outside of my comfort zone, and working in his style would easily make me do that. For my final project I want to challenge myself to render figures in something other than ink, and I think charcoal, although scary, has the potential to push me the most. Yan Pei-Ming's figures are blurry, but still have a sense of clarity, which is a happy medium I believe I can compromise with. The roughness of his work adds character, and that is what my work has been lacking lately. I am interested in using his technique in my final project to see how it turns out.

Art 220, Lisa Yuskavage

Top to bottom: Kathy on a Pedestal, 2001; Nana on a Shower Curtain, 2005; Violet Quilt, 2009

The first thing I noticed about Lisa Yuskavage's work was the proportions of her figures. The angles, colors, and ratios of body parts in her figures are all very exaggerated. Her work is intriguing because it is very mysterious. I can't figure out who the subjects are, what they are doing, or why their bodys are so distorted. I am not sure whether or not the feminine figures are benefiting from their exaggerated hips and boobs, but it definitely gets the feminine mystique across to the viewer. I think something I could bring into my own work is the way she creates her space and background behind the figures. It is subtle but still allows the viewer to understand that the figure is in space. It is a mix between realistic and pattern, especially in the last image, and I think that could be incorporated into our work in class.

Art 220, Yishai Jusidman

I really like Jusidman's work because it is the complete opposite of what I am used to and comfortable with. I don't pride myself on being good at portraying faces and often times I shy away from him. Doing a portrait this up close seems actually terrifying to me because of how accurate you have to be. His work, like many of the other artists I talk about, is very intriguing and has a definite story behind it. What I like most about Jusidman's portraits is the cropping he chooses. He makes awkward look good, and you have to be a good artist to do that. I'd like to try doing this because I like paying small attention to detail and it would force me to stop shying away from faces. I am thinking about trying this for my final project.

Art 220, Steven Assael

I was really interested in Steven Assael's drawings because of his usage of negative space and ambiguity. All of his drawings combine the usage of shading and line drawing which makes for an interesting composition. I especially like the last drawing because it relates to what we are doing for our final project and combining multiple figures. I thought the middle drawing was particularly interesting because he doesn't depict a head so we don't know much about the figure. I think his lightness in touch is something I could definitely take a lesson from and try to apply in my own work. I normally stick to strong contrasts in my figures but Assael's gentle approach is very appealing. You can tell he takes a lot of time in getting proper proportions and it's nice to see the lines he lays out before he shades his figures.

Art 220, Burton Silverman

Image 1: Beach Topless, 2004, graphite
Image 2: Waiting for Spike, 1997, black and white charcoal
Image 3: Summer of '82, 2004, oil on linen

I like the work of Burton Silverman because it looks very raw, and realistic. I can imagine the people that he draws and paints in his portraits and I can imagine the life that he depicts. Not only are his subjects realistic, but his style is also very realistic. I especially like his drawings, in particular, Waiting for Spike, because it has an unrefined quality to it. You can tell the head of the figure was paid extra attention to and it clearly becomes the focal point of the drawing. His drawings are similar to what we do in class which is why I think he work seems so applicable and almost achievable. It is obvious that he uses a light stroke to get the proportions down which is what we try to do every class. I also like the way he combines shading with line work and blends the two styles so you don't notice a dramatic change. His drawing techniques apply to the high quality of his portrait paintings as well. Silverman's work isn't about depicting perfection, it's about capturing the figure as naturally as possible in simple strokes.

Art 220: Ellen Altfest

Image 1: Armpit, 2011, Oil on canvas
Image 2: Sleeping Man, 2007, Oil on canvas
Image 3: Torso, 2011, Oil on canvas

The work of Ellen Altfest looks very creepy and almost abstract at first glance. For instance, her work entitled Armpit, you might not realize what you're looking at immediately. Most of her paintings are done in this style, a very zoomed in view of the male figure. When she started her career she painted a lot of vegetation and the detail she portrayed in plants definitely carries over to her detail in the skin of her male figures. The gradual color changes and attention to detail in the hair on the body are what stand out most to me. You can tell the skin is alive and very fleshy, very touchable with almost a soft texture. Every body part looks so well rounded because the shading is done very gradually with a light touch. The highlights and shadows balance one another out to create a visually cohesive image. I especially like that she uses purple to shade for the dark areas on the skin. Not using black makes the figure seem much more alive.

Art 220, Margherita Manzelli

Image 1: Untitled A, 2002, graphite and pastel on paper
Image 2: Diencephale, 1998, oil on canvas
Image 3: White Spirit, 2012, oil on linen

The work of Margherita Manzelli is so much different than the artists I have looked at earlier for these blog entries. Her work is much more illustrative and very graphic. I like the way she uses negative space in the backgrounds behind her figures. It makes them pop and also gives each work a sense of curiosity and eeriness. In each of her paintings and drawings there is an aspect about the piece that is peculiar and intriguing; in the first work it is the orange underwear, in the second work it is the hat, and in the third work it is the eyes. What I noticed about her work is that she does not compromise accuracy and realism in making the subtle changes and intriguing aspects to each piece. Even though the figure may have an unusual feature they are still rendered very realistically. The most inspiring work for me would have to be Untitled A because of the gentleness of the drawing. The lines are simple and clean but are able to convey form at the same time. Clean edges and curiosity are two aspects I am going to take away from Margherita Manzelli's work.

Art 220, Egon Schiele

Image 1: Male nude 2

Image 2: Seated Female Nude With Titled Head and Raised Arms

Image 3: Standing Woman in a Green Skirt

At first when I started looking up Schiele's work I was really caught off guard. Some of his images are so disturbing that it takes a few seconds to fully process them and understand what is going on. The three images I chose are actually not his most shocking, but I thought they displayed his style nicely. I think his style alone is dramatic and catches your attention regardless of the subject matter and that is what I liked the most about his work. In the female nude, Schiele's use of mostly line and minimal color work really well together. Some of his images are painful and it is very obvious from the expressions he puts on his models. His awkward poses and hard lined faces do such a great job at conveying emotion. The figures may be awkward but you can see a sense of body and form in them that makes it hard to deny that it is a human figure. Schiele's work is interesting because it provokes questions and leaves you with an immediate opinion, whether it be good or bad.

Art 220, Steve Hanks

1st image: Time Standing Still, Giclee on canvas
2nd image: Centered, Lithograph
3rd image: View From the Balcony, Lithograph

 Steve Hanks has an amazing touch to his works that is very intriguing to the viewer. His use of lightness with strong dark contrasts that shape the human body are what I like most about all three of the works above. His pieces show amazing attention to detail and intricate brushwork that is obvious when looking at the work as a whole. The way he portrays human flesh is so realistic and convincing that his pieces look like photographs. On his website he talks about how he purposely leaves the faces of his subjects out to convey the emotion of the subject. I think it is a very effective strategy because it draws the viewer in and keeps us guessing as to what emotion Hanks is trying to convey. His figures are not necessarily energetic, but their flesh is still conveyed with warmth and life. I am definitely blown away by the accuracy of the rendering of the figures in each of his works.

Art 220, Eugene Delacroix

1st image: Female Nude, Killed From Behind, 1827
2nd image: Mlle Rose, 1817-20
3rd image: Soldat Se Reposant

I really liked these three images because they show the three things Delacroix was very good at: depicting the human body, movement, and emotion. In most of his paintings he used strong contrasting colors to make the figures pop and stand out. His rendering of the flesh is very delicate and so realistic, like in Mlle Rose. Not only are his anatomical proportions correct but he shades them in a way that makes them look like soft, rounded flesh. I also liked his figure drawing, Soldat Se Reposant, because it relates to what we do in class every day. His ability to render the figure accurately with charcoal is something to take note of. It is obvious that Delacroix imagines the figure in sections rather than an outline surrounding the form. Although Delacroix uses strong contrasts with lights and darks throughout the pieces he also uses gradual shading when it comes to the human form. I think we can take what he has done with his paintings and reference it when shading our charcoal drawings of the models in class.

Art 220, Kehinde Wiley

1st image: On Top of the World, 2008, oil on canvas

2nd image: St. Andrew, 2006, oil on canvas
3rd image: The Capture of Juilers, 2006, oil and enamel on canvas

You cannot look at Kehinde Wiley's work without being intrigued. The shock value of each of her paintings and prints locks you in for at least 30 seconds. The complexity of her work shines through her use of intense detail and imagery, but also in the powerful opinions her work displays. Most of her work is portraiture of black men, all in various settings. The overall theme is realistically rendered portraits laid on top of a graphic background, many of which appeal to the standard appearance of wall paper designs. After looking over her pieces I especially like the way she integrates the background with the foreground, always having them overlap in some way or on some part of the painting. Wiley attacks strong political and societal issues head on, as depicted in all three of these works. The power of her images correlates very closely to the passion she has about these issues. Rather than making the paintings come off in a purely serious manner, they capture a humor that is also very evident. The figures strongly juxtapose their backgrounds which is the initial thought provoking part of the pieces. These works portray a lot of what modern portraiture is: branching out from the work of past artists but also using their skill in rendering and referencing the figure.

Justin Mortimer, Art 220

I've never seen the work of Justin Mortimer before, but after looking at his paintings I felt very inspired. The last painting above was the most startling, but like a lot of his other work it is very graphic and moving. You can tell he is definitely trying to get a point across in every single painting. I was also very intrigued by his work because he has such a graphic style while depicting the figure. His use of strong black and white contrasts draws the viewer in, especially in the second work. I love the portrait of the boy and girl because there is a definite attitude coming through the work. I had to look twice at each of the portraits because the figures are so realistic they look like photographs. It is obvious that he does a lot of studies in pencil before he applies to paint to finish the piece. The poses of the figures aren't ordinary, but rather challenging, just like the concepts that Mortimer is bringing up through his work.

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Rubens, Art 220

This week I wanted to explore the work of Rubens because I figured if I was going to start somewhere, I should start with the best. We have studied the work of Rubens throughout all the art history courses I have taken in the past few years. He is continually referenced as the best and many artists base their work off of what he started. I particularly like his use of brushstrokes in his two paintings above, and even the pencil strokes in the drawing. The proportions are very accurate and precise but the brushstrokes are figurative and give the pieces a bit of movement. I am interested in learning how to portray the human face accurately and realistically and Rubens definitely accomplished that in his career. I am most inspired how he juxtaposes line work with blending to make the figures appear round.