John Batemen: Serengeti Dusk - White Storks

This painting was an experiment by Bateman. He used gold leaf because after seeing this in real life in the Serengeti images of Japanese screens with gold leaf backgrounds became a recurring thought. He stated that it was worth a try but there was a risk because he would be combining gold leaf with a realistic image.

I really like the natural light in this image. The angle he has stood at has caught the light of the sun set, the cause of the golden colour. Although it is an experiment I think it has worked well. The dark background has pushed the attention to the lighter foreground and middle-ground without creating to much negative space. 

The shapes in the water are very interesting. Almost all the water is rippling because of the commotion of the storks. Bateman thinks that they are they to feed before they rest in trees for the night. The fact that he has chosen to add a flying stalk just makes it for me. It emphasises the fact that they are moving and have came to the water for a reason.

The piece has such a natural feel to it, the birds are so realistic; this is a talent that Bateman has as his work is so lifelike. I feel this is probably one of the most important aspects for a naturalist, similar to Ansel Adams and Cristina Penescu.

Serengeti Dusk - White Storks, DATE
36" x 72", gold leaf and acrylic on canvas

His website:
http://www.robertbateman.ca/index.html

Julie Askew: Giraffe Run

I've met Julie before and have seen a painting demonstration of hers. She works extremely fast yet still produces very high quality work. Her style is consistent in all her work so you can recognise her work. I think the technique she uses to make her work look realistic yet paint fast is that she can apply paint directly and get the lighting right almost instantly. If you look at the giraffes they all are "lit" very well, having complimentary tones to form the shapes of their bodies, like  blue tones for shaded areas and different beige tones for the underlying skin tone.  She works in a similar way to Brian Simons, applying a wash to prep the canvas/panel. This tone may be illuminant  yet working on it  works because of how she sees colour.

I find the motion in the giraffes and the smoke exciting. She has captured the movement so well.  The forms of the giraffes are also consistent showing the bone structure and muscle well although they are all in different positions and are at different angles. 

Also the way she has used the light is interesting. She has gave them all pale tones where the sun has hit them directly then has used reflected light from the ground to make them glow. These brighter tones are complimented by the blue tones of the shade. This is how I think she creates her work. This shows she is talented as the combinations of tones fold over the shapes of the giraffes bodies without making them seem like they are covered in dimples.

Giraffe Run, DATE
Acrylic on Panel, 58 x 116 cm

Monet: Bathing at la Grenouillere

This is another piece from another great and famous artist. what attracts me to this painting so much is the mood and appearance created by his colour palette and impressionist style.

The way the foreground is bathed in shade and the background in sunlight gives the impression  of the time of year and wheather conditions. This use of light gives the impression of a walm afternoon, swimming outdoors. Judging by the clothes some of the people are wearing on the deck, this could be possibly happening. The fact that Monet has captured so much in the painting is why i chose to look at it in depth.
The clear brush stroke style of the impressionist has such a hold on me. When i look at this picture it gives an "out-of-focus" of blurred appearance. This personally makes it seem as if you were remembering it as if it was a memory. I'd love to of been here at la Grenouillere at a time like this. Just the atmospheric feeling of the painting gives such positive connotations.

Bathing at La Grenouillere, 1869
Oil on white preimed canvas 73 x 92cm

Here is a link to the National Galleries page on Monet:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/claude-oscar-monet

Brian Simons: Nanaimo Creek

An American self-taught artist whose style derives from the impressionists. He was inspired by the "GROUP OF SEVEN", the French Impressionists and the Writings of Baha'u'lla'h (Baha'i Faith)" and moved to Vancouver Island which shows in his style of working and his subject matter.

This painting is amazing, I've seen progressive photos of a painting of his and i like the way he works. Similar to some of the other artists I'v looked it has paints the canvas completely one colour then builds on it from there. The colour can be complimentary which can really stand out if it shows through. 

What attracted me to this image was the colour. The subject matter is interesting but the way he has chosen to show it is more enticing. I think the way he uses colour creates his pieces. Here I think its the coolness of the palette and a combination of the yellow plants and the blue/white behind it. The way he paints is expressive which conveys the emotion in his work. The water looks like it's moving and continues off the canvas once it passes the dark strip at the bottom of the page.

 The way he uses shape is interesting as the blurred edges gives the audience room to sharpen and define the subject matter themselves; this just adds another aspect which emphasises the nature in his works.

Nanaimo Creek, 2007
24 x 30", acrylic on canvas

Official website:

http://www.briansimons.com/

John Singer Sargent: Muddy Alligators

John Singer Sargent was a well known portraitist around 1900 but began to create a transition towards watercolour up to 1910 where he rarely created portraits. Using watercolour naturally would push him away from the demand of his portraiture work as its just ideal to have a portrait in oil or acrylic; "looked to this medium as a means for personal expression, a respite from the constraints of mural commissions and portrait painting. Muddy Alligators seems to have been such a diversion, painted to offset the frustration of a work in progress"

I really like this piece because of the way he simply, or has appeared to, depicted such a realistic setting. The impression that it's simple is given to me by the brush marks. If you were to break down the piece its easy to see a few underlying layers of tone in each area with marks on top. I believe he has painted it this way to show the strength of the heat. The direct light has cast thick shadows, which has also bleached the skin on some of the alligators. There's quite a difference in colour between the one in the water and the large alligator in the centre.

John Singer Sargent is most likely the artist whose work I admire most and this is why.

Muddy Alligators, 1917, Watercolour over graphite on off-white wove paper 

34.3 x 52.1 cm,  Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts

http://jssgallery.org/Paintings/Muddy_Alligators.htm

A "complete" collection of his works:

http://www.johnsingersargent.org/

John Thomson: Untitled (51)

I found this image when researching the influences of Ansel Adams. Whether this is or not I don't know. Either way, this image is from a photographer called John Thomson. He is a Scottish man who eventually settled in Hong Kong after travelling in Asia. There is a link with more of his photographs from Asia. I'd rather not take any recognition from Anthony Luke who has put effort into making a detailed blog post. about Thomson's works. 

The blog where I found this image:http://anthonylukephotography.blogspot.com/2011/10/photographer-john-thomson-stunning.html

Untitled

I really like this old fashioned style of photography. The colour is on a more sepia spectrum which adds red into the image, making the detail of the graininess more interesting.
The effect of the reflection is strong. the white stripe reflection reminds me of the Northern Lights as the white bleeds out making it blurry. Also where the mountains have faded into the distance, the reflection shows them more prominently.
I think mysticism is conveyed with this photograph, the wide open space which fades into nothing after miles gives me the impression of an old finished map. I think this effect has happened because of the distance, in the reflection its fuller because the light reflecting from the lake is closer the distant background. The shapes of the mountains are quite interesting as silhouettes as they aren't complete block colours, they fade which makes it seem almost like they've been painted with watercolour. If this photograph was in a clearer black and white format then the effects and feel would change completely. 
I also feel that he has captured his curiosity while exploring this region, this  because of the effect that the type of equipment and processes he has used; but also the silhouettes which could resemble people also emphasise this.
I'd love to try and capture an image in the same style of this, I feel it its timeless and posses more character than modern images in some cases.

Ansel Adams: Tetons and the Snake River

Ansel Adams is a favourite american photographer of mine, I've only ever seen landscape photographs from him, his black and white images the best ones. Many of his images are taken of Western North America, like Yosemite National Park, which work as he took his shots with large-format cameras so that he could achieve clarity and sharpness; I think this was worth the cost and effort to take the pictures. 

He was a environmentalist as well as a photographer which is why I think the landscape photography is the majority of his work. Apparently at a young age he began developing an interest in nature, having an eidetic memory gives me the impression that his was able to retain  almost every shred of inspiration which is why his work consists of so much feeling and obviously has the effort and drive to achieve such high level of photography.

I really like the way he portraits nature using the light and natural shapes. He achieves such a great balance in his work, the compositions work so well with the exposures.'Tetons and the Snake River' is a great example. The areas in the  image have been carefully exposed to make sure the shape of the scenery like the mountains have been emphasised by the clouds behind them etc. this is a good example of the Zone System. A system for  determining optimal film exposure and development.

I personally take more landscape photographs than anything else so I really appreciate and admire the way he works. He formulated the Zone System with Fred Archer and also founded the Group f/64.

 Tetons and the Snake River, 1942,  

16" x 20", gelatin silver photograph

Link to more of his work:
http://www.anseladams.com/category_s/71.htm

Cristina Penescu: Within Reach

This piece is from a very talented Romanian award winning artist call Cristina Penescu. She creates very detailed pictures in acrylic and scratchboard. I've never come across scratchboard before recently finding her work. It's a unique medium as the image is engraved into the scratchboard. "Scratchboard consists of a 1/8" Masonite panel that is coated with a layer of white clay which is then coated with a fine layer of India ink. A sharp tool, such as an x-acto knife or scalpel is used to carefully remove the ink layer to reveal the clay beneath. Other abrasive materials, such as sand paper and fibreglass brushes can also be used to achieve a wide range of effects. Each scratchboard piece consists of tens of thousands of small cuts or scratches which are layered upon one another to create a sense of depth and tone. Once the entire piece has been scratched out, it can be toned by applying ink either with a paintbrush or an airbrush. Black ink can be added and then the piece can be re-scratched in key areas to achieve an expanded tonal range, or the piece may be coloured using watercolour. Finished works are sealed with a satin-finish fixative to prevent further scratching of the board. Scratchboard is archival, just like other art mediums, and can be framed with or without glass" - This is an explanation from the artist herself (http://www.wild-visions.com/artist.html).

After learning about the medium that this image was made with, I really was shocked when I saw this again. It's quite interesting the fact that she chose to depict dogs legs and paws. Also the way she has used fading to draw the viewers attention to the legs in the foreground makes it almost like a photograph as she has created a field of depth. The composition is strong as the centre paw is so light then the others create a gradient as they become darker. 

She has had no formal teaching and is self-taught; there are other pieces as strong as this which is why I thought she was worth the mention.

Within Reach, 2010,
scratchboard, 6.75 x 12

Antoni Gaudi: La Pedrara

Gaudi's 'La Pedrera' is situated in in the Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona. Gaudi designed this building partially, along side Josep Maria Jujol. the building contains many innovative work for architecture, like its self-supporting facade and underground car park.

   This is the roof of the building, made it the one of most interesting buildings I've ever been to.

In the loft of the building there are models and videos showing how the building was made. Looking at these was really inspiring, and are probably the aspects I remember the most from my visit. In display cases there were his inspirations from natural forms, e.g. Snake skeleton, femur bone and honeycomb.

 http://androidos.in/2011/01/android-2-4-aka-honeycomb-needs-heavy-hardware-support/ 

 http://www.hemmy.net/2008/03/30/snake-skeleton/

http://androidos.in/2011/01/android-2-4-aka-honeycomb-needs-heavy-hardware-support/