NT
SPIRIT RESEARCH
There are many artists that have acted as inspiration for my project - 'Spirit'. Each of these artists are painters who have taken an interest in portraiture, spirituality, the elements or a combination of the three. I wish to use similar ideas within my project to create effective work and explore ways to represent the human relation to the elements in my art.
John Burden
NAOMI WALKER
Naomi Walker, is a spiritualist artist who creates 'Astral Angels' and 'Spiritscapes' by channeling energy from the universe and people surrounding her. Walker, from Northumberland, uses the beauty of the landscapes and countryside skies around her to paint spirits based off of feeling and expression. Often her work will feature human like features but surrounded by an energy that can be calm and water like, or powerful and fiery. I am interested in Walkers pieces as I think they are a beautiful representation of the energy surrounding nature, and they are powerful in the sense that they provoke emotion and form a connection with the audience. This is something I'd like to represent but in a more recognisable manner, and I would like to provoke a similar feeling.
EMMA FAY
Emma Fay is a British concept body painter and makeup artist, who uses the human body as her canvas to produce stunning, eye-tricking paintings. Aside from her mind bending pieces, Emma frequently takes inspiration from nature and the animal kingdom in her work. She uses photography, film and performance pieces to document her work. Body paint is something I would like to experiment with when researching the relationship between the human body, the soul and the elements, as I believe it would be more interesting to look at and more effective at portraying my message.
John Burden
John Burden were one of my main inspirations for this project. Burden's work includes original acrylic paintings, watercolour paintings, and traditional and modern artist’s prints. His art is symbolic or surrealist, using representational skills from a lifetime of drawing, painting, & design.
His intricately detailed portraits combine elements of nature with people by smoothly combining them to make an overall image. Burden gets his inspiration from wandering through the country in Norfolk as a child and listening to the folk lore of the farmers who worked there. 'I try to portray “Yearning”. Yearning being the ever present beauty hidden within the chaos of our existence.' I like the idea of lacing imagery into a photograph or portrait similar to how Burden has, to alter the overall energy of the piece.
Aisha Cahn
Aisha Cahn's work brings together the disciplines of faith and science through the form of contemporary, conceptual art. 'The curiosity of the essence of existence and the elements of nature have intrigued me, '
Cahn's work is supposed to combine art and spirituality to allow the audience to enter their own contemplation. It uses the basic elements of the earth and the stories of creation as inspiration. I FIND CAHN'S WORK INFLUENCIAL BECAUSE ALTHOUGH IT IS SIMPLE IT GENERATES A STRONG FEELING OF PEACE, WHICH PROVES IT IS POWERFUL AT FORCING THE AUDIENCE TO FEEL SOMETHING WHICH I ADMIRE.
CHUCK CLOSE
Chuck Close is an American Painter, known for his large scale photo-realist portraiture and his detailed abstract work. Closes work is interesting to me because of the intense detail. I like that there is almost hidden art work within the overall picture. This work has served as inspiration for my Fine Art in Society exhibition as although I am exploring his portraiture in my methodology, I want to continue this idea into an exhibition but use tiny pieces or drawings to create a picture, such as in Closes work. "The elements of the picture are seen as separate abstract markings when viewed close-up, while simultaneously maintaining the illusion of a realistic portrait at a distance"
RENE MAGRITTE
Rene Magritte is a surrealist painter from Belgium known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. Magritte is famous for his graphic, unusual and witty compositions. Famous in the 60s, Magritte was a pioneer for surrealism and his work is iconic of that era. One distinct aspect of Magritte's work is his use of clouds. I am inspired by this use of graphic, recognisable imagery. I also like the creative, dream like essence of Rene Magritte's creations.
Annett e bank
Annett E Bank graduated from Brighton University with a Fine Art degree in 2007. She follows a theme in her work of vibrant, dynamic expression and she uses the human body form as inspiration. Banks work is energy in motion an holds a very spiritual essence. 'People are made to be unaware of their true origin, their amazing vastness as a being that has comprised within themselves all the elements of the universe.'
The progression, the layers of paint and feeling and thought that builds this work is interesting to me. The process of Banks work inspires me to compose my work in interesting ways, and pose my figures in freeing poses. I would also like to experiment with the thicker, vibrant paint strokes.
Jackie Whall
Jackie Whall is known for hr painted portraits. She developed a series of paintings where she painted the exposed skin and face in a realist manner, but left the rest of the image as line work. Whall holds a fascination with faces. 'The human body, in particular the face, holds an endless fascination – an incredibly unique and beautiful package for the soul and temple for our Creator.'
She is a true believer that a face is a window to the soul, and is the best way to express yourself. I like the style of Whall's paintings and the concept of a close up detailed, face to determine emotional vulnerability.