Research into Artists for Unit 1 and Unit 2

David Hockney

Born: 9th of July 1937
Nationality: British
Education: Bradford school of art (1953-1958)

He is known for his paintings, print making and photography. His work is very abstract and unusual. Hockney made prints, portraits of his friends and stage props for the Royal court theatre. Hockney uses oil and acrylic paint, applying smooth and flat to create a brilliant colour texture.

This is one of David's famous montages, it was painted on the 28th of March 1982 and it is of himself. He had taken several photos of different parts of his body and the background area then printed them off and created a whole new composition. In the 80s this was a very famous painting as it is inspiring as well as abstract and abnormal.

However this painting is called "The road to York through Sledmere" it was painted on an oil canvas with oil colours in 1997 by Hockney. In my opinion Hockney varies with his work as he paints portraits, landscapes and objects but what makes him different to other artists is how he presents them, mainly with his montages and how he places photos in certain positions. With some of my work for this unit I am going to work in the style of Hockney as he links to the human nature and how objects are formed in certain areas.

Franz Kline

Born: 23rd of May 1910

Died: 13th May 1962 (51)

Nationality: American

Education: Boston University

Franz is mainly associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s and is a very abstract painter. Kline's work is distinct in itself and has been revered since the 1950s. He uses a lot of acrylic paint and mainly black colours, however he is known for his bright block colours in his later paintings.

 This painting was created in the 1950s using oil paint. Franz named it "chief " this was because of the arc like shapes to symbolise the hat a chief wears. He also chose to use black bold lines for a very powerful effect. In my opinion I don't like this painting as I find it very dull and boring. If I was to improve it I would include the colour red and sharper edges for a bolder and harsher effect.

However, this painting is very different to the others and he has used block colours and has experimented further with the black lines. For example he has let the paint run slowly down the centre of the painting. From this painting I have got ideas for my costume. I am going to let paint run down my skirt and I'm going to paint it with block colours such as orange, yellows and brown. I really like this painting as it is very abstract and busy so it inspires me to find out more about it.

Pablo Picasso

Born: 25th October 1881

Died: 8th April 1973 (91)

Nationality: Spanish

Education: Real academia de bella artes de san fernando

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso, also known as Pablo Picasso is a very important artists to me as I find his work so moving and colourful. He was a cubism and serarealist artist, he painted, created scultures and did stadge designing and print making. Although baptized a Catholic, Picasso would later on become an atheist. Picasso's family was of middle-class background. His father was a painter who specialized in the life of birds, he would watch them and observe the way they live and he would paint them.

This painting is called "Girl with a Mandolin" it was painted in 1910 and was a created in the cubism part of picasso's life. In my opinion I find it very abstract and complex as the colours of the painting are very mutual; the fact that he used these specific colours means he was trying to get a calm vibe across to the viewer and for me, it has worked. Also I love how he has made it look so 3D and how its not perfect, by this I mean I like how its out of proportion and weird.

Now, this painting is one of my favourites of Picasso's work because I love how the colours blend and how abstract the face is. I find the positions of the facial features strange and the contrast in colours are amazing. This painting is named "The Weeping Woman" it was made in 1937 on an oil canvas, this painting is that famous that he invented cubism around 1907 in Paris along with Georges Braque. From Pablo's work I have got sereval ideas for my Unit 1 and two work, for example I am going to creaste a new composition with my life drawing work in the style of David Hockney but use hints of Picasso's work. Like how he makes facial and body features abstract and moves them to places where they shouldnt be.