Alison watt and Picasso

Alison watt and Picasso In this essay I'm going to investigate two portrait painters, Alison Watt and Pablo Picasso. I will be writing about their lives and influences. The first artist I will be writing about is Alison Watt. She was born and raised In Greengrocer in 1965, 18 years later and she is still studying in Glasgow School of Art for a further 5 years. At the national gallery in London Watt was the associate artist holding a spectacular exhibition of her own Phantom in 2008.Watt was well known for portraits of herself and others holding cups plates etc, she came to the publics attention in 1987 when he won an award for the National Portrait Gallery's. Watt was also well known for drawing female nudes and figures usual neutral colors, dryly painted lost of her portraits were done using oil paint on a canvas. As far as I am aware Alison Watt was known for painting portraits I have not heard of watt sculpting. She was also awarded an OBEY, she was the youngest female artist to b e awarded a solo exhibition at SIGMA.Alison Watt was quite original she interpreted her own ideas in her into paintings. Such as the paintings ‘Hunger and the horses head' l. This paintings watt has duplicated herself and she has also placed random niter s in Radio places. The Alison watt painting I will be writing about is ‘The native boy', It was made in 1990, made with oil paint on a board. Alison Watt has modeled herself I'm this painting, I chose this painting because its very neutral and doesn't have too much going on.This portrait is close up so you can't see of the sitter is sitting or standing it Just shows the face and neck. I would say everything in the portrait is mostly all the same proportion in terms of scale. N the background it was Just some simple leaves and what looks like to be a wall. The foreground and the background don't look Joined together it looks like Watt is standing in front of something. You can only see the top parts of the sitter and the background as it is a close up. The only thing that's being cut out is the rest of the figure.I think if I was there whilst this being painted you could smell nature and paint. You could probably here birds chirping and the wind blowing as it looks like an area where you would hear these surroundings. It looks as painted around midday. It does seem like a calm place and a very peaceful place . The lighting on the face is quite bright but the background is darker. I think it is a natural light. The light is coming from straight in and because if this I think it is during the day almost evening, but also I think it is winter because it looks quite cold.The light does cast shadows around the face I think it's there to show some form and atmosphere, so the face doesn't look flat. The mood in this painting is quite dull and dreary and Watt doesn't look very happy , which I think has an effect on what the DOD which comes across as winter. Although sometimes winter is bright it will always has that effect which makes the atmosphere dull and tense. The expression on Alison Watt definitely has an effect on the mood of the painting because it Just looks as if she's depressed and wants to cry.The sitters position is unrecognizable as you can't see the shoulders all that you see is the neck and above the only way you can tell the mood is by the facial expression. As mentioned you can't see the sitters clothes but from the hairstyle it looks quite classy and old fashioned. I think the artist hose the color scheme because it isn't a very complex painting So the color of the painting being neutral I believe is relevant to the painting. Watts brush stokes in the background are part of the painting they are almost unseen , it almost looks edited to look smooth,but the face is more textural you can see a few brushstrokes.Also on the face you can see where it has tried to be blended. I think the brush strokes are looser on the background and more controlled on the face etc where you need detail. I am oblivious to how much time was spent on This painting as they are to skilled be able o tell. But, personally I think Watt may have spent less time on this painting compared to the other painting. As this painting isn't as complex and not extremely detailed. The piece itself I would say is textural but around the cheekbones you can see dots/dabs used to blend the cheek and skin color.Watt seems to have used life like style or realistic, because it doesn't look fake and are elements where it Just looks airbrushed. Neutral colors have been used in this painting. I think Watt used these colors to give it the look of a real person. I think because of these colors that is why t made me decide the painting realistic/lifelike piece. I don't think they have am effect on the mood or atmosphere. Also I think the color scheme makes parts of the face such as the nose and mouth stand out.I honestly couldn't choose between whether this image is hot or cold. At the first look I would definitely say cold but if you look closer at the painting the face gives it a warm sensation. Watt used pattern in empty and dull areas. Pattern was used well around the face using leaves and curls. Also where there is a big plain space of wall a ribbon has been added and I hint without these features it would be really empty. The pattern used was regular and uniform nothing is out of the ordinary. In this painting the pattern is subtle.Although there is no definite outline ,you can see the different shapes and where watt has used two different colors side by side with a crisp edge. I think the painting is really bland. There is nothing really interesting going on. It is really amazing though how good an artist is when they make it look so simple. I think Watt is good but I dislike this painting. I don't think this is the best piece Alison Watt has done, cause the rest have something interesting In it which makes you remember it and makes you wonder about the painting. The other artist I'm going to investigate is Pablo Picasso.Picasso was a Spanish artist, boor in 1881 who was the son of an art teacher and showed artistic talent at a very young age. When Picasso was 19 he went to live in Paris to study new styles and to pick up new styles. The blue period was a famous period of Picasso. As the color blue symbolisms depression, when Picasso best friend committed suicide Picasso went into deep depression this is what was now as the blue period, where all the paintings are in shades of blue, have religious undertones and the subject matter is unhappy in nature.In 1973 Picasso was taken from us and he was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. During Picasso blue period it was his friend Casemate who influenced Picasso. During the rose period when mostly shades of pink were used he was experimenting with gouache , the subject of matter was the circus and during the cubist period it was ad African masks which influenced Picasso. The cubist pe riod was when Picasso id his most original work , he took simple African masks which inspired him and turned them into paintings which are famous today.These kind of painting break away from the rules regarding realism and perspective. Some of the faces are distorted. Picasso was only known for doing portrait and figure paintings to my knowledge. Oil paint on canvas is Picasso most chosen way to work. The art work I will be focusing on is the weeping woman. It was made in 1907. I'm not able to tell what size the artwork is. I do not know the name of the sitter nor do I now that its actually a person who Picasso has Just made into his own idea or whether he painted this from his head.I chose this painting because I painted it in primary school and its his most known painting or the only painting I had ever heard of. The portrait is full length and the figure in the painting is in able to tell if she is sitting or standing as you can only see the top half of her body but I'm assuming she's sitting. It is a close up and the head takes up most of the portrait so the head is definitely the biggest object in the painting. In the background it is Just simply a wall. The foreground and background do look Joined together because the woman isn't ad.You can see a bit of the sitter and a bit of the background. I can Just see a cartoon woman crying that is literally all I think if I was to imagine myself in the painting. I can hear a woman crying and smell lots of paint. You can't tell the time because it isn't a realistic painting. I'm guessing something has happened as there is a woman in tears, it feels awkward and depressing , not a very nice place to be. There is no lighting in the painting. I think the mood and atmosphere is sad and awkward. It's expression and the body language of the sitter also the painting itself is about a woman crying.I would describe the mood of the sitter as upset and you can't see the shoulders. You can see spate hands as if she was holding a tissue up to her face to wipe her nose/eyes. She is multicultural I can't see any of her clothes. I have no idea why Picasso chose this color scheme. The artists style is cartoonist and abstract to me. You can't see the brushstrokes. I don't think he worked on this painting as long as he did the others, he others Just look as if they have been thought through more carefully. The painting is flat, I don't know what textures have been used.