Piet Mondrian

Mondrian used straight lines and primary colours , to banish 3D and curved shapes, in order to create the 'perfect composition' and 'balance'.

"his aim was to create an objective art of disciplin whose laws would somehow reflect the order of the universe. The pure line and colour highlights the painting's connection to the De Stijl movement of which he was a member"

(The Art Book, Phaidon Press Limited, london, 1994)

"Mondrian's paintings are not composed of perfectly flat planes of color, as one might expect. Brush strokes are evident throughout, although they are subtle, and the artist appears to have used different techniques for the various elements." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian)

I wanted to look a bit closer at his personal life to see if it had a direct affect on his work! The work is very neat, structured, and some what obessive within the straight lines, and not crossing the borders! I did find some articals, (that I had forgotton to reference) that pointed to the fact that he was an Obessive Complusive, which for me make a lot of sense!

As I get further and further into this study, it is becoming more and more apparent the links between stuff like OCD, or personailty disorders.....and the way that it is applied directly within artworks!

B xx

out of touch

sorry guys feel a tad out of the loop at the mo, the stuff on the blog looks really good i´ll blog properly soon.
haven´t got much time but well wishes to you all.

charlie

Willem De kooning!

This is in relation to Mark Rothko, De Kooning's paintings started, well not colourful, but not dark, you can trace this descent into poverty in the 20' and 30's because of the change in colour, shape and form. (to poor to buy fine quailty artists paint, he used household black and white enamels  You can also see the effects of alzheimer's within the colours used...  

A biography of his life can be found on this website http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/willem-de-kooning/

I think that you can see the difference between his earlier work, and the work that he made whilst living in poverty, the black painting is called "Black Friday" . 

I'm starting to really understand the strong link between an artists personal life and the way that they go about making art work. It could be interesting to look at some past work that we've done and try to link it up to times in our lives, and what they represent to us.

Process

Hey guys, just thought i'd blog how far i am with my canvasses. I have painted all four but need to ad layering and glue. Im guessing im nearly done. My palette now looks like this and has caused me grief today cleaning it :). Hope all is well for all of you and i hope to see photographs of the canvasses soon!

Enjoy

More about Libra

Libra’s refined sensibilities are seen in artistry of all forms. Social and diplomatic, Libra can be highly impartial. As the Cardinal Air sign of the zodiac, Libra represents the need to initiate relationships and make connections. Yet Libra can also be distant, inconsiderate, and conceited. Symbolized by the Scales, Libra strives for balance and harmony, but is sometimes caught in indecision. Libran energy tends toward a high degree of logic and consideration, but can also be expressed through placating or argumentative attitudes. Ruled by the planet Venus, Libra is continually judging the value of everything. Libra knows there are two sides to every story, and when called upon to mediate, can be an exceptional arbitrator. Where you see Libra in the chart, there is a need for harmony, beauty, and refinement.

Leonardo Cremonese

This painting by Cremonese involves using oil paint on linen. Born in Brazil, Cremonese then moved to Sydney where he has been exhibiting work since 1991. His bright colours are inspiring and striking attracting the audience further into his work. He use of application is apparent in all of his works which creates a texture which is very unique. I like his loose and experimental feel throughout his work.

Mark Rothko

When Rothko started his colour field paintings they were radiant and bright progressively getting darker as he continued to progress to the point where he was producing black/grey and just black paintings at which point he committed suicide!! So moral of story......Don't paint Black!!

But to the point, Rothko's paintings are very intense...huge fields of colour which draw you into them....ie audience engagement. He built up layers of thin paint which evolved into a luminous vision on huge canvasses.


"Rothko, however, generally avoided explaining the content of his work, believing that the abstract image could directly represent the fundamental nature of human drama. For him, eschewing
representation permitted greater clarity, the elimination of all obstacles between the painter and the idea and between the idea and the observer."

I think that last statement is useful in thinking about how we will display and engage an audience in our colour works.