[image_with_animation image_url=”8290″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] On Friday I posted work by Lawrence Carroll. His work reminded me of another artist, a favorite of mine. It reminded me of a Catalonian artist Antoni Tapies, prolific at the time Carroll was born. In addition to what was posted on Friday, here are a few more paintings by Carroll, from 1989-1991, note especially the first one: [image_with_animation image_url=”8275″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
” load_in_animation=”none And here are some works by Antoni Tàpies, from the mid 1950’s. [image_with_animation image_url=”8288″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
” load_in_animation=”none In comparison, Carroll’s are quieter, gentler works. I often assume Tapies had a personality almost as bold, passionate, and confident as Picasso (both Spanish painters), while Carroll (a Californian) seems more surfer smooth and meditative. Even with the differences in tone, the elements the two artists are playing with are very similar: surface, texture, mark, composition. They they both sculpt with their paintings.
Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012) was a Spanish painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation. His works are recognisable for their gestural brush marks, incorporation of found materials such as sand, soil and marble dust as well as the occasional white sock. He also developed a personal lexicon: a combination of backwards script and geometric symbols, frequently including the shape of a cross. His works are associated with Informalism, or Art Informel, a European art movement that paralleled American abstract expressionism.
When I think of Tàpies I think of composition chess. He seems to move quickly, intuitively, but I believe his choices are intelligent, daring, conniving, and sometimes just intellectually humorous. In composition chess, very mark effects every other mark. Shapes and spaces have weight, and implied movement. Color and texture complicate the game. Automatic marks on a surface might seem simple – but try it. Invent a lexicon of marks, place them on a paper. Got one you like? Good. Do another. And another. And another. When I do this, patterns in my composition habits, and patterns in my own internal limits quickly emerge, and it becomes increasingly challenging to keep my compositions engaging, active, and balanced. Sometimes I get on a roll, but at the end of a session of composition chess, I am both invigorated, and exhausted. Composition chess is a brain game. It’s surprising once the marks start interacting, how much there is to think about. Try it! If you’re interested in exploring more unconventional paintings like Lawrence Carroll and Antoni Tapies’, consider signing up for Paul D. McKee’s Unconventional Painting workshop March 3 & 4. Composition chess anyone?
A Very Good Idea What if you had a Very Good Idea for a painting that you just couldn’t quite get enough of? What if, miracle of miracles, you had a Very Good Idea and you actually painted it. And what if you didn’t quite get what you were hoping from this attempt. Would you …
CONGRATULATIONS! You’re only one more day away from the end of this possibly impossible 30 day challenge! Our 2nd-to-last-prompt is from the League’s own Lyall Wallerstedt: Day 29: Movie/TV Scene TRANSCRIPTION. Draw a scene from a favorite movie or TV show. Post it To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the …
I’m seeing fabulous creatives out there! This is so fun! To see what people have made, search Instagram for #30SAL and click “most recent.” To learn more about the 30SAL Challenge, click here. Today’s challenge: It’s all going downhill! Make a composition emphasizing a strong diagonal. Media is artist’s choice. You can draw, paint, print, collage, …
Congratulations! You are halfway through our 30 day creative challenge! How are you doing with the various approaches? Do you have favorites? Hopefully you’ve logged into Instagram or to the Padlets to “like” people’s artistic responses. Awards and prizes will be posted today. Here are links to all the Padlet pages so far: Day 1: …
Lawrence Carroll and Antoni Tàpies
[image_with_animation image_url=”8290″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] On Friday I posted work by Lawrence Carroll. His work reminded me of another artist, a favorite of mine. It reminded me of a Catalonian artist Antoni Tapies, prolific at the time Carroll was born. In addition to what was posted on Friday, here are a few more paintings by Carroll, from 1989-1991, note especially the first one: [image_with_animation image_url=”8275″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012) was a Spanish painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation. His works are recognisable for their gestural brush marks, incorporation of found materials such as sand, soil and marble dust as well as the occasional white sock. He also developed a personal lexicon: a combination of backwards script and geometric symbols, frequently including the shape of a cross. His works are associated with Informalism, or Art Informel, a European art movement that paralleled American abstract expressionism.
When I think of Tàpies I think of composition chess. He seems to move quickly, intuitively, but I believe his choices are intelligent, daring, conniving, and sometimes just intellectually humorous. In composition chess, very mark effects every other mark. Shapes and spaces have weight, and implied movement. Color and texture complicate the game. Automatic marks on a surface might seem simple – but try it. Invent a lexicon of marks, place them on a paper. Got one you like? Good. Do another. And another. And another. When I do this, patterns in my composition habits, and patterns in my own internal limits quickly emerge, and it becomes increasingly challenging to keep my compositions engaging, active, and balanced. Sometimes I get on a roll, but at the end of a session of composition chess, I am both invigorated, and exhausted. Composition chess is a brain game. It’s surprising once the marks start interacting, how much there is to think about. Try it! If you’re interested in exploring more unconventional paintings like Lawrence Carroll and Antoni Tapies’, consider signing up for Paul D. McKee’s Unconventional Painting workshop March 3 & 4. Composition chess anyone?
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CONGRATULATIONS! You’re only one more day away from the end of this possibly impossible 30 day challenge! Our 2nd-to-last-prompt is from the League’s own Lyall Wallerstedt: Day 29: Movie/TV Scene TRANSCRIPTION. Draw a scene from a favorite movie or TV show. Post it To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the …
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