Saturday 26 April 2014

Your Favourite Paintings

Students on the "Advanced Oil Painting" courses at the Norman Long Studio School and Runshaw College were asked to select their current favourite painting and write a brief appreciation. 


Runshaw College students' choices

Bob Overton

Artist: Joseph Wright of Derby              
An Experiment on a bird in the air pump  1768




I like the dramatic main source of light from the candle and the subtle moonlight through the window.


The  expressions on the spectators faces vary from fascination and interest until we see the young girl who cannot bear to look.

The composition is brilliant with many lines and devices that bring your eyes to the focal point of the picture such as the shapes and directions of arms, shoulders and faces.
Overall composition is almost like a Victorian type vignette – an oval within a rectangle.


-----------Jim Gill

Artist: Georges Seurat
The Bathers
National Gallery, London





A huge canvas simply known as “The Bathers”. A sense of lazy, hazy relaxation contrasting with the industrial landscape in the distance. Relaxing figures in all manner of timeless poses, respecting each other’s space, alone in contemplation. Perspective enhanced by the shrinking figures along the river bank- all (including the dog) drawn to the water. Clothes scattered in contrast to the fully dressed (affluent) figures in the boat.


Visible brush strokes in the grass and horizontal ones for the water. A “halo” effect around the backs of the bathers gives further contrast. It oozes warmth, softness and summer…. in any age.

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Suzanne Noblet

Artist: David Barnes
The Nantffrancon Pass


Last year I saw an exhibition by the artist David Barnes at the PlasGlyn y Weddw gallery in Llanbedrog, North Wales.

I could have picked any of his paintings, as I like them all and the artist has his on distinctive style.
I chose this piece in particular because I love the composition. Although a David Barnes painting is very bold, the way he blends the colours is actually quite subtle. You can see this particularly in the foreground of the painting.

David Barnes paints using a palette knife using a thick impasto technique to produce bold strokes that add strength and texture to his paintings, giving them a structured feel/ I think that this technique perfectly captures the rugged beauty of the North Welsh landscape.

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Debra Ludlam

Artist: Caravaggio
The Incredulity of St Thomas
1601-02,  Oil on Canvas 107 x 146,  Potsdam, Germany



Using a dark background and bold strong oranges and reds create an intense dramatic effect. I like the usage of strong light on Jesus’ body and partially on the disciple’s faces, as it gives contrast and creates huge depth. The positioning of the head in the centre of the painting gives the painting a still, calming effect as it takes the eye from one face to the other, and finishes on Thomas’ finger in Jesus' side. 

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Helen Wilkinson

Artist: Henri Matisse  
Red Room  1908  (Harmony in Red)
 

Originally Harmony in Blue - an entirely blue painting inspired by a piece of patterned blue fabric - Toile de Jouy - owned by Matisse.  Repainted in a saturated red.  Even though the effect is of flatness, the eye is moved around the picture by the repetition of shapes in the decorative elements and by the lines indicating perspective.  The view through the window adds depth, space and air to the painting.    

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Keith Chapman

Artist: JOHN CONSTABLE   (1776--1837)
SALISBURY CATHEDRAL FROM BISHOP GROUNDS (1825)
Oil on Canvas  (35in 44.3in)
Victoria And Albert Museum.


My view on the painting, which is one of my favourites. The three trees seem to create two paintings. The left section contains the Bishop and his wife and a path weaving into the distant lady with a parasol. The right side frames the Cathedral. The central tree leans to the right the right hand tree leaning back in to the painting forms a triangle with the Cathedral in the centre.   
My favourites items in the painting are; the light shining onto the Cathedral, the light filtering thru the trees leaving light patches in the fields, the shadows and the reflection on the water. 
Above all, the leaves, the sky and the clouds look almost real. 

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Jacquie Banister

Artist: Ben Aronson
Urban Reflections 

Instantly I felt drawn into the picture; I became one of the crowd.  Where was I going?  Who was I going to meet?  I could almost feel the rhythm of my feet as I walked on the hard pavement.
This painting is such a carefully observed street scene brilliantly simplified by sifting perceptions and making choices.  The play with light and dark creates a whole range of tones with a limited cool palette, harmonising the final effect.
I like the lack of distinction giving an impression of figures in a crowd.  Aronson captures their movement brilliantly.
There is a ‘noisy’ side and a ‘quiet’ side.  The former is somewhere to go to be excited, your eyes dashing around discovering.  The latter is a place to escape and become calm.  I need that reflection to slow me down.  I think I’ve been walking very fast weaving in and out and in between.

There is a tiny touch of orange which takes you to that part of the picture.  In fact the painting is like being on a journey, your eyes darting between the light and the dark.

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Mary Grasar

Artist : Edouard Manet
Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil



I like this painting by Manet. It suggests subject and atmosphere rather than states them using precise brush strokes. The loose, flowing style and the colours, which are not that naturalistic, all enhance the visual experience. The colour, the flow and the movement of the water looks effortless.... I bet it wasn't !!!!

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Maureen Walker

Artist: Gustave Caillebotte
Floor Scrapers  (Les raboteurs de parquet)
1875 oil on canvas   



I first saw this Painting in the Musee d'Orsay, Paris, and was immediately drawn to it. The work depicts a bourgeois interior where three workmen are scraping paint off the floor. The first thing that struck me was the golden light suffusing the room, flooding in through the window, leading the eye towards the centre, which is the lightest area, then fading to dark at the edges. I like the effect of this light on the torsos of the men, who themselves are painted in some detail. The floor creates an atmospheric sense of perspective and the sheen on the boards, depth.

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To see Norman Long's current favourite paintings and brief commentary on colour, follow this link to his NEW BLOG 

Return to
Norman Long Artist WEBSITE


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Norman Long Studio School students' choices

Marjorie Owen

Artist: Edgar Degas
Ballet Rehearsal 1873




The painting is more than beautifully painted ballet dancers in a salon. The vast room is full of light and space, richly coloured and textured, using subdued colours from a limited palette in mostly highs tones. Contrasting colours are seen through the huge windows. Shadows play a sensitive and lively role throughout.


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Jacqueline Hilton

Artist: Robert Brindley
"The Venus", River Esk

To view this painting, please click this link and look for "The Venus", River Esk

By Robert Brindley, a fairly traditional painter who manages to capture the effect of light and hence mood in his impressionistic style of painting. I love paintings of boats anyway and although this is perhaps a bit nostalgic it is a painting I would like to own and look at often.

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Angela Holmes

Artist:John Piper
A ruined house, Hampton Gay Oxfordshire


I have been attracted to the work of John Piper for many years: I particularly like his drawings and paintings of buildings, the strong tonal values, very dark skies and dramatic white buildings producing rich moods usually rather sombre.
There are many works which fit into this category, mainly 50's, 60' 70's era
In the composition of this painting, the skeleton trees take the viewer on a tour around the picture, in others such as Stonehenge 1981 or Castle Howard the composition is much more layered.
I like his very loose colour, mainly earth colours at this time, a much more vibrant palette in later work, with the architectural features drawn on top, making no particular effort to register with the under painting
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Lilian Day

Artist: Paul Gauguin
The Siesta 


I selected this painting as I love the colour content of Gauguin's work. 
He seems to capture the culture of the people he saw on his travels. He spent quite a time in Peru and this picture seems to capture the interaction with the figures as they relax.  I feel almost drawn into this painting as you can from the scene almost feel the heat of the day as they take their siesta. I feel I would like to have a go at figures in my work, something I have not really tried before.

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Peter Coombs

Artist: Sir George Clausen RA, 1896
Bird Scaring, March
in the Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston

A boy acting as a human scarecrow stands in a cold field.
This agricultural landscape is painted with spontaneity and lively brushwork
in muted browns, greens and greys evoking a wonderful, subtle atmosphere.
Scumbled paint and blurred out-of-focus treatment give the painting an Impressionist quality.
British Impressionist indeed.

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John McCloskey

Artist: Laurence Leeson 
Title: Peninsula 1 (Oil 1962)



This abstract reminds me of a monochromatic Google map. The dark blocks at the centre are balanced by the cool expanse of pale grey at the top and bottom.  The eye is also drawn to the tiny patch of red which has echoes in the textured lines throughout the painting.


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Debra Siegal
Artist: Catherine Kehoe
Doctor K
2008
8" x 6", oil on paper



"For me, painting a self portrait is pure perception" - Catherine Kehoe.

Catherine Kehoe's self portraits are small and bold. The images are pieced together from flat planes of colour, simple shapes, carefully observed.

I am always on the internet looking at other artists work. But what interests me most now is different to what I was looking at 3 months ago. And if I look at what interested me one or two years ago, when I was just starting, very very different. There are also artists that I feel I will come to appreciate as I go forwards.

I found Catherine Kehoe through her blog Powers Of Observation.

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Jefferson Conway
Artist:  Geoffery Key




Geoffery Key was born and still lives in Salford Manchester aged 73 a good friend of Lowry

His landscapes are very pictorial with a sculptural quality to them, his original take on the human figure is a good humoured slant.

Geoffery Key is a leading figure in the northern contemporary art seen and his work sells for thousands.


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Ian Tidswell
Artist: David Shevlino
Blonde Diver


I love this picture by David Shevlino. It's the type of picture that's not abstract but has sort of abstract mark making in it. Don't know how big it is but would like to know and what size brushes he uses. Saw a tip earlier that said - to paint sunshine use more colour and definitely not more white... Seems like it with this.


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Louise Devonport

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Olga in an Armchair


I am drawn to this painting by Picasso for a variety of reasons:

  • I Like portraits
  • It is decorative
  • The composition is simple but strong, and beautiful colour combinations are used.
  • Picasso has captured her character in a variety of ways:
  • I love the choice of dress which, like her sad face, her carefully manicured hair, her fair skin tones, her posture, helps to suggest her whimsical delicacy.
  • The boldness of the background tapestry contrasts and therefore reinforces her  gentleness and sensitivity. 
  • The dark fabrics, which also emphasise the lightness of her skin, are beautifully painted.
  • The unpainted background helps the viewer to focus on the subject: i.e. the figure and the back of the chair.
  • The portrait is emotive.
  • It seems unlike most of his other work. 
  • Just realised: Olga is a ballet dancer- NO WONDER I LIKE IT!
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To see Norman Long's current favourite paintings and brief commentary on colour, follow this link to his NEW BLOG