books from library
I decided that one of the main things I wanted to do this summer was get more into physical art and painting again after, what was possibly, a year long (or maybe even longer) hiatus.
Other than sketches and a few good painting pieces, I felt like i hadn't really ever developed my style and felt lost in terms of what I wanted to paint and how I wanted to do it, so I knew I needed to find inspiration and look into other works.
Digging through the depths of artists online was difficult, as I found I was redirected to the same few famous artists and I couldn't really find anything visually I liked this way, so I decided to go down the traditional route and go to the library. This way I could find a good base and maybe then go on to research deeper and find other crevices online.
There wasn't tons of art books at my local library, but I did manage to find some good books.
There wasn't tons of art books at my local library, but I did manage to find some good books.
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BOOK ONE
I picked up this book as I have always loved Van Gogh, but wanted to see if I could find specific pieces of his that I liked and also find out more information on him and his work techniques/meaning.
I read about a technique that Van Gogh used in 'L'Arlésienne' called 'cloisonnisme' which consists of surrounding every object with a dark outline. This technique was also typical of an artist called 'Paul Gauguin', a post-impressionist artist also unappreciated til after his death.
While reading this book, I also noticed the re-occurrence of how significant Van Gogh's surrounding were to the development and direction of his work. From Paris to Arles to the hospitals he was admitted to mid 1889.
Other key objects and factors of Van Gogh's work included sunflowers and cypresses; he compared cypresses to 'beautiful Egyptian Obelisks'
MY FAVOURITE PIECES
THE NIGHT CAFE
i love the bizarre proportions with the floor zooming you into the scene. also the use of colour with the tone of light and the paint strokes that bracket the lights.
this piece doesn't appeal to me, visually and aesthetically, straight away but i love the sky brush scrub look. it looks cool & interesting.
i swear i've seen something like this before. Again, the use of light is interesting and gives a murky atmosphere which is also pulled along with the murky colours. the light creates a focal point into the scene and i also find the woman's eyes interesting as they seem to glow with the highlight.
the clouds and sky look nice and also i love the detail of the flags.
i liked the orange tone that contrasts with the red wall to the right and i also like the signs/text.
the texture of the sea with the brush strokes look so cool and bring the ocean to life, giving it movement and a fluid look. also i wanna touch. its interesting to see how the strokes fade away in the distance of the sea.
again, texture! the contrast of the colours accompany the brush strokes. the smudgy looking sky combines with the smoke and shows the sun radiating into the sky.
this is probably one of my favourite painting ever. I think the main reason i love van gogh is the contrast between the golden yellow and midnight blue tones, which is especially evident in this piece. It emits tranquility and creates a soothing tone to this evening scene.
wow. again the colours!! the sinewy willows grow through the composition and the sun again is stretching across the sky.
I like this portrait in particular as the dark green is very earthy and compliments the look of melancholy on the subjects face with the dark garments.
This portrait heavily reminds me of the Grand Budapest Hotel film (or the other way around). The blue clothes and swirly strokes of the beard stand out from the interesting patterned wallpaper.
i love how the stokes push the tree up, giving it a growing feel and the yellow building in the background with the blue sky and the figure that stands in the foreground.
VINCENT'S BEDROOM IN ARLES
i have always liked this i think it was in our art room in school in yr 7-9. the crooked proportions create a personal atmosphere along with the frames on the wall. The blue walls create a secluded space with the glowing window in the back.
like this one better than the other self portraits of his. this is probably due to the background.
The sky, again, looks so magnificent with the use of cloisonnisme to frame the crooked structure of the church.
texture! colour! crows! i love it!
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BOOK TWO
Post Impressionism is used to refer to the two decades at the end of the 1800s of avant-garde artistic experimentation in France.
This book talks of the different exhibitions of Post-impressionism when the movement started, one of them being the Salon in Paris.
The disadvantages of the salon and why impressionists led to seek their own exhibition spaces in 1870s was due its poor hanging arrangement and commercialised side. Controversial artists; work was hung so they werent visible and there was no attempt to hang similar works together.
And so, founded in 1884, was the 'Societe des Artistes Independents'. The book goes on to explain other exhibitions, however this began to disinterest me. I think this was due to it referencing artist that I wasn't yet familiar with and wanted to know more about, rather than the exhibitions in intense detail, assuming you were already aware of the artists which made it difficult to keep up with, with names being thrown around here, there, and everywhere.
I decided to make a list of the artists referenced in the book that I was possibly interested in, so i could research them in the future:
Alexandre Seon
Auguste Rodin
Camille Pissarro
Edmond Aman Jean
Edouard Vuillard
Emile Bernard
Ernest Meissonier
Eugene Carriere
Ferdinand Hodler
Georges Seurat
Harold Gilman
Henri Matisse
Jean Beraud
Jean-Francois Millet
Jules Bastien-Lepage
Louis Anquetin
Maurice Denis
Pablo Picasso
Pascal Dagnan Bouberet
Paul Cezanne
Paul Gauguin
Paul Serusier
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Puvis de Chavanne
Pieces I liked/interesting things I read about artists.
PAUL CEZANNE
The Large Bathers 1906
Portrait of Achille Emperaire 1866-68
still life, fruit dish, glass and apples. 1877-9
bay of marseilles from l'estaque 1885
portrait of ambroise vollad 1899 - liked the face design
JAMES ENSOR
The Intrigue 1890
PAUL GAUGUIN
Tropical Vegetation, Martinique. 1887
self-portrait, les miserables 1888
EMILE BERNARD
The Buckwheat Harvest 1888
Bridge at Asnieres 1887
LOUIS ANQUETIN
Avenue de Clichy. 1887.
GEORGES SEURAT
left paris to persue plien air studies in the provinces
PAUL SERUSIER
Landscape in the Bois d'Amour 1888
Melancholia/Breton Eve. 1890.
PIERRE BONNARD
France-Champagne, 1891
GEORGES LACOMBE
cliffs near Camret 1893
GUSTAVE MOREAU
the apparition 1876
pieces where I liked the 'backgrounds':
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1) Vision after the Sermon: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel 1888 PAUL GAUGUIN
2) Breton Women in the Meadow 1888 EMILE BERNARD
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BOOK THREE
I chose this book purely because I was drawn to the cover.
There isn't a lot of text, however it talks about how Newton used polaroids to test out fashion shoots and know how they'd look as a photography straight away, as well as testing out composition and lighting.
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BOOK FOUR
This books speaks of how she used art as self portrait & reflection with the use of words and poetry as well as images and gouache. The pages in here remind me of the things florence welch posts on her instagram, as I think she has said before in an interview that she loves her.
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BOOK FIVE
Egon Schiele was an Austrian artist who died at 28!
Experimented a lot with his style at the beginning.
Traces of secession style and influence of klimt.
Male Nude (Erwin Dominik van Osen) 1910. Gouache, watercolour, charcoal.Nude Self-Portrait with Ornamental Drapery. 1909. oil & metallic paint.
in colour but i like the B&w version in the book
Oskar Kokoschka The Girl Li and I 1906-8
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