Yan Pei-Ming - Comparison

Yan Pei-Ming, "Mao" (Ch. Ver. #6), 2001, oil on canvas

Pei-Ming's work is known for its large scale and thick, heavy, brush strokes. I admire the loose application of paint and Pei-Ming's ability to accurately portray an individual without precise detailed rendering. Pei-Ming and I share the subject matter of portraiture on a large scale. I want to incorporate more texture into my work with the use of more paint and medium. However, I do want to vary my brush size and stroke slightly more than Pei-Ming. I do not want to paint in a monochrome pallet as Pei-Ming does, but I do want to lesson the "rainbow" effect that often occurs in my work.

Alice Neel - Comparison

Alice Neel, "Priscilla Johnson," 1966, oil on canvas

Neel and I share portraiture as a subject matter. And, within that suject matter comes a similar conceptual matter as well. Neel's portraits have been characterized as highly psychological as she seeks to show how the outside forces of society affect a person both mentally and physically, something I hope to achieve in my work. Neel's combination of Realism as well as Expressionism contribute to her ability to accurately portray her subjects as well as a secondary element of personality in those she portrays as well as herself. I find that Neel's work is "better" than mine due to her ability to freely attack the canvas with her self expression. She is not focused on photo-realism and works fully from life. I want to break free from trying to make my work look "pretty" and focus more on the process, which I feel will lend to the psychological aspects of my work.

Chantal Joffe - Comparison

Chantal Joffe, "Big Head," 2003, oil

Joffes work is similar to mine in process and concept. Although she uses oil paint and I use acrylic, she mentions when talking about her process that she enjoys the messiness of the paint and talks of her struggle to master the medium. I too approach painting as a struggle and experimentation with new techniques and ways of manipulating the paint. Both Joffe and I have a somewhat loose painterly quality to our work, leaving room for the paint to make some of the decisions for itself. Conceptually, Joffe's work is largely psychological and emotional, something that I have been trying to achieve throughout my work. For example, during her pregnancy, Joffe talks about trying to convey the anxiety and physical changes that come from being pregnant. I want to try and narrow my conceptual focus to more specific topics, rather than broad generally ideas.

Work in Progress: fall 09

The subject of my intended work this semester is portraiture. I plan to depict images of people that I have close ties with as I want to be able to incorporate and bring to light elements of an individual’s mentality and/or physicality. My intention is to pay homage to my subjects and also expose something mental, physical, and emotional that may not be consciously or deliberately on display. Portraiture for me has become a means of story telling. There are so many people in my life that I find absolutely fascinating and feel that each one deserves to have a part of their self illuminated.

The first piece I intend to paint is an image of my grandfather and my brother together. I only knew my grandfather for the first twelve years of my life, but I do have some fond memories with him. This first piece will deal with the psychological aspect of memory as well as attachment and loss. It is significant to me that my brother is in the piece because much of the way I viewed my grandfather was based on how I saw him interact with my brother. I plan to work from photographs as well as specific mixed media elements.

A second piece I have in mind is that of a very close friend of mine. We spend a great deal of time together so I am able to closely observe and attend to her mental and physical attributes. Although I am able to make my own opinions of this specific individual, it is how she views herself, namely her physical appearance, that I am interested in basing my piece off of. I want to use this piece as an exploration of technique, but also want to attempt to show emotion in the face of my subject as if she is studying herself, rather than a bland statement about cosmetics.

Formally, I will be working initially from photographs and intend to incorporate a large variety of materials to avoid direct photorealism as an outcome. I am interested in continuing to work with mixed media elements, which I feel adds greater emphasis and intrigue to my work.

My biggest challenge with materials is going to be tackling the largest scale piece I have ever worked on for the piece of my grandfather and brother. Also, I want to avoid overloading my pieces with too much alternative material and knowing when an element is adding or subtracting from the image.