I haven't posted in a while because I've been enjoying my summer break. Luckily I went to the beautiful city of Amsterdam with all of its culture, amazing architecture and history. Id definitely recommend visiting.
It was such a pretty city and its given me a lot of inspiration and ideas. Its made me think about artists of the past and I can clearly see why Holland as a place can create so many great artists- Van Gogh, Rembrandt ........
The Stedelijk museum is a modern and contemporary museum I visited and it had so many different varieties of artwork from paintings by Matisse, Picasso to more modern ideas like Anish Kapoors. Even the building itself is beautiful, a mix of modern architecture and brilliant design. http://www.stedelijk.nl/en
Rembrandt
Saint - Etching
I didn't really know a lot about rembrandt before I visited his house or saw his work. His house was situated along side the canal's and you can see where he got inspiration from. I managed to see the way he worked, usually in etchings and quick sketches and I absolutely love his style. Its looks very modern in my opinion, but so relaxed and neat. I saw his studio space and the powdered oil paints he kept as well. His study smelt like turps and brush cleaner just like my room did for my Ernest Shackleton painting i did. I was fascinated in the way he used other artists work as reference and tried to copy the style and way they worked to influence his own work. I want to work in the same style and method in future work as I see similarities with my own style and line mark. A true art legend and inspiration to me and I feel very lucky and privileged to see his work.
Vincent Van Gogh This was an interesting one for me because Ive only ever really seen his most famous work like the flowers he painted and I've always had a perception of what his work looked like. I couldn't have been more wrong. When you get to see his work up close I can clearly see the mark making and expressive nature of his work. He was trying to capture a suggestion and mood. For example in his self portrait's, it wasn't about self obsession, but about capturing a facial expression. I learnt a lot about colour and the importance of getting the right colour balance. He spent years trying to perfect his skills and did drawings daily to improve. You can really see the difference in his earlier work to his older and more matured work.
Again he used other artists as a reference point to try and lean new skills on composition and ways of working, exactly what I have been doing.
Wheat field with crows (1890)
Matisse ( View of Notre Dam 1914 )
Matisse's work was very different and a lot more modern thinking in my opinion. It was more about composition and material used than anything else. It was good to see thought put into where something was placed and simplicity in the way he work.
Ive done a lot of essays over the years on Pablo Picasso, seeing his work up close you can see the bizarre reality of his paintings and the thought process again. It might not be clear at first, but it comes together when you look properly and understand his concepts. This was a painting of a nude model he did, very divided but influenced by his links with cubism and shapes.
