Ceramic work

Yosaky Yammamoto's work manages to be both whimsical and unsettling. Observe his sculpture carefully, what concrete aspect instigates such an inference? It's all in the face. Like a mask, the deceivingly apathetic expression cloaks a bottomless well of a mystery. In otherwords, what lies beneath the surface of his work is up to your own imagination. Like monsters in the dark (that's really just a coat on a hanger or something). That's what I like about his work. The enigmatic-ness (I'm pretty sure that's not an actual word...oh well).

Art with text

Just admire how incredibly detailed this is. It's a page from the artistically renowned illuminated manuscript "The Book of Kells". Imagery and writing merge together into a seemless whole. And I'm pretty sure it would still be that way even if I could read the language written in the book.

Second Artist that inspires me

For the second artist that inspires me, I'll do someone more contemporary: Agostino Arrivebene. I found out about this guy in Juxtapoz magazine. I could stare at his work for hours in pure wonder, and that's not even at the original painting. Technically he employs classical italian techniques with his own subtle mannerisms--he mixes his own colors and makes his own medium. You can tell. Additionally, content wise he does this reall surrealistic figurative work rich with allegory. I've attached a picture of one of his painting's below.

Two Artists that Inspire me (number one)

First on the list  [of artists that inspire me] is...(drum roll)... Renoir! That is, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (yeah that's a bit of a mouthful...or keyboard full)  if just the surname isn't enough for identification (which I know it is). The reason he makes it on this list is his forward-thinking and, if I do say so myself, beautiful use of color. He picked up on hues in the human skin that had traditional-slanted critiques spitting on his face (figuratively) and the more open-minded viewers gasping in awe (this is not necessarily figurative). I mean, sure, the colors may be a little exaggerated, but then why is there such thing as hyperbole in writing? Exaggeration has a way of enhancing somethings reality. And besides, exaggerated or not, it's a scientific fact that their are thousands of different colors in skin tone. Not just one. Even the old masters-- whose use of color is comparably less, well, colorful than Renoirs'-- knew it.Well, maybe some of them were just jumping on the bandwagon of toned-down and even simplified color, but some of them knew.  In Leonardo Da Vinci's notes he makes note (as is expected seeing as it's his notes) that different surfaces pick up different hues -- for instance, shadows on a white surface are predominantly blue. Now doesn't this sound like something Renoir would say?

Ryan De La Hoz

Another post prompted by Juxtapoz, the artist in question being Ryan De La Hoz (I "discovered" him through an article in the magazine). What strikes me about his work is, beneath the surface, the depth of intelligent meaning. Every aspect of the work is a symbol. His art is very grounded in the culture of today, and yet at the same time timeless. For example, with tie-dye, De La Hoz says "while it is now considered kitschy by some, it was once emblematic of a movement that defied corporate culture among many other things. I am interested in the way motifs change meaning over time as they are reappropriated."

Painting portraiture

As I'm focusing on portraiture in my open studio, I found the above artwork a helpful reference on technique. I admire the color the artist uses for values. Also, I find the expression the subject makes intriguing -- it pulls you in. Composition ally this painting can be admired as well. Overall, in small ways and big ways this painting acts as reference.

Abstract Oil

The original color scheme is what initially caught my eye in this oil painting. Things aren't distorted into a striking enough -- but well overused -- balanced rainbow of bold colors. If anything, the rich, brown earthy tones on the right half of the canvas seems to defy such cater-to-the audience aesthetics. Contrasted on the lefts side is a sky-like mish-mash of light blue and white -- it may seem to go with the whole fake-y aesthetic thing I was talking about, but in truth, it's contrast with the other half the canvas only further emphasizes the overall originality. It should also be noted that technicality wise, this painting is one to admire  -- the various shades and hues are picked, mixed, placed and layered with sharp precision.

Fresco

Just recently, I have "discovered" the existence of fresco painting. It's as if this whole time my subconscious has been repeating to me "There's four types of paint mediums: watercolor, oil, and acrylics, and that tempura stuff. There are no other paint mediums." So it's literally mind blowing to suddenly find out there are other paint mediums. Fresco painting, in  a nutshell, is painting on wet plaster. When the plaster drys, a chemical reaction takes place such as with pottery in the kiln, causing the color pigments to become richer and brighter. It's a really ancient technique, found in artwork all over the world. In Europe, it was a predominant paint medium for much of the middle ages (it and tempura) , though it was largely usurped by oil paints. This particular fresco painting is Indian in origin, and I can really appreciate it artistically -- from the sharp, accurate shapes, big bold colors to the meticulous detail. Added to this sense of appreciation is the rapid drying nature of fresco, meaning the artist has to be highly skilled in order to achieve such accuracy, complex coloring and detail.

William Wonter Painting

I guess I'm guilty of, once again, robotically typing in some art related mumbo jumbo into google images, and picking some random picture a few lines down that for whatever reason grabbed my attention, and then framing this frenzied, hasty series of events as something "deeply personal and moving".  Let's be frank. What's so deep about that? Thus, for this post I'm determined to do some background research to add that needed depth (okay, so the only difference now is the search has shifted from google images to wikipedia, but wikipedia is NOT as bad as everyone says). 

So, it turns out this oil painting is by renowned 18th century portrait painter William Clarke Wontner. I guess you could say he was sort of "behind his times" (in a good way), because instead of jumping on the surrealist bandwagon that was cruising around the bend around the time of his career, he immersed himself in Academic Classicism and Romanticism. 

It can definitely be said his drawing have a weighty classic and romantic vibe, bringing to mind the masterpieces of European painters several hundred years before the man's time. The rich, luminous shading -- a known trademark of oil painting -- exemplifies a technical proficiency not to be taken for granted. He doesn't just ape after his former's formula though -- he brings his own twist of mood and aesthetics -- subtly yet successfully. For instance, ponder the uniqueness and aesthetic merit to the marble wash background.

Mural

For the upcoming mural assignment, I plan to draw inspiration from this music video. I think the "earth people" are not only really cool looking, but profound. I'm really visually inspired by them and hope to incorporate the concept into my mural.  Though despite this, I want to add my own originality to the artwork.

Etchings

From a quick search of etchings on Google Images, I found this particular one by Anders Zorn really attracted me. The sense of depth in the portrait, with an emphasis on lighting, is masterful. Also, I like the way the artist's lines manage to be so expressive. The chopped, dissonant hatching-- almost scribble like--  brings a dark mood to the artwork. The picture is beyond realism in the sense of photograph perfectness:  it captures a scene with an emotional lense.

Nils Frahm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIwwjy4slI8
The above link is to a music video by Nils Frahm, which in my opinion is both visually and orally a good example of abstract. The monochrome rain-like drops come down at first in tiny impressions but eventually in dramatic, bold washes that mark the building progression of the song. It reminds me of painting--specifically watercolors--the way the fluid continually falls and leaves marks yet is always added to and changed, it's constant yet ephemeral, simple yet profound. It's like a painting in motion.

Contrasting Concepts

The above is one of the many interesting artworks by artist Charlie Immer. Immer enjoys creating paintings taking place in a made up world that blends gory violence with cute, rainbow candy coated creatures. I love the contrast of the two concepts, and the unique vibe it gives the artwork. Technically, I am very amazed by Immer's painting skills as well, I feel like I can learn allot from his art just by looking at it.