Chuck close
Chuck closeBorn in Monroe, Washington, in 1940, Close studied painting at Yale University before moving to New York in 1967. Although he greatly admired Abstract Expressionist painters such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and, especially, Willem de Kooning, he wrote, "They nailed it down so wellthat I couldn't do anything but weak impersonations of their work. . . . Once you know what art looks like, it's not hard to make some of it. . . . The dilemma I found myself in after having gotten out of graduate school is enjoying making art but not liking what I made." Close's paintings were based on black-and-white photographs he took of himself and his artist friends, all of whom were fairly unknown at the time. He enlarged and transferred the photographic images to canvas by a process of grids. Close didn't want to make Pop posters of famous people. Chuck Close liked to use a grid method where he drew each portion of the paintings on a grid, block for block making near perfect replicas of the photo or he would make abstract pictures.
Linda is a very realistic piece made with acrylic and pencil on canvas. Close drew it exactly as a photo very clear around the face, eyes, nose, and mouth. However the outside of the hair, the cheek, the neck and below are all blurred. Just as in a photo. Linda is a middle age woman with brown curly hair and lots of make up. There are very thin lines everywhere in no specific direction, lots used under the eyes. Color is used a lot, there's red to show the make-up, white to show glare, blue shows eye shadow colors are obviously mixed to get the realistic skin tone. There is lots of value to get a realistic look for example the fading color of the make-up. The tome of this piece is a medium tone. Highlights are used in the eyes, nose, mouth, and inner cheeks. The texture is sooth. There are no specific shapes that close used, there are however Organic shapes as a result of his use of the grid. Like the curls on the hair, the oval shaped eyes, etc. There is No negative space the only possible negative space is the background, which is even shaded. The color is the strongest element there are so many blended to make such a realistic look it just draws me to the picture, only by looking very closely do I realize it's a painting. I think the design principle rhythm is mostly in the hair how it just curls around, down into the face it make you look everywhere. The mood of this piece is very dull the woman looks like she's had a rough day, and is tired. The focal...
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