Make-Up Work Week 6
CRITIQUE #1
The original of this painting on the left is named “A Sunflower from Maggie”, painted by the famous 20th century painter, Georgia O’Keeffe. I love the original painting but I also love the one on the left. I enjoy looking at the drastic changes in the color and how the painting on the left is an up-close painting. Most of Georgia’s paintings were up close and personal, especially with her flowers. She enjoyed painting the inside of flowers and made them almost abstract. The difference with both of these flower paintings is that they are up close but they do not look abstract. Although the “artist” on the left created the flower with unrealistic colors, I like how they did that because it makes the piece more interesting. I especially like the middle of the painting where I can see all the seeds of the sunflower in different colors.
I think the painting on the left also shows a lot of depth in the brush strokes of the flower petals. I think the depth of the flower petals is more obvious from the left painting than Georgia’s original. The dark purple background makes the flower pop out and definitely makes the flower the area in focus. If any changes needed to be made of the flower painting on the left would be to create smaller dots in the center of the flower and to make more of a “swirling” effect or technique in the very center of the flower. I feel that these changes would make the flower look more professional and relaxed rather than a well-thought out flower painting. To me, the idea of creating and painting a flower is supposed to represent natural beauty and it is supposed to naturally flow. With some of the harsh brush movements of the dots and the center of the flower gives the flower a harsher effect rather than a natural one when you look at a real flower. If the artist on the left wanted to change up the way Georgia created her original piece, they definitely managed to make their artwork their own. I also think maybe the painting would look even better had the flower on the left painting not been such an up-close image of a flower. I love the idea of having the flower staring at the audience but I think it would look better if the flower was just a little further back. Also, to add to that maybe putting the flower on an off-angle and not directly in the center of the painting would make it look more interesting and unique. Overall, I obviously love the painting on the right because Georgia O’Keeffe is an amazing artist and is very talented, though I do enjoy looking at the painting on the right. I am not sure if you could correct any changes that have been suggested for this particular piece on the left but I think it is a really neat painting how it already is.
CRITIQUE #2
I am not sure what the original painting is on the right or who the painting is by but I think it is a beautiful painting of a woman. Although both pieces are not a realistic painting of a woman, I love the representation that both pieces give about a woman. It is as if the painting is trying to tell you a story about the woman in the painting. I feel that the painting on the right is gloomy and has dark colors representing how the woman feels almost sad or has a somber feeling. The painting has a somber feeling and it looks like the woman is starting off into space and has a flat face with no emotional expression to tell the audience how she feels. The painting on the right, however, tells a story. I love the drastic change on the painting on the left from the painting on the right. The painting on the left has a night and day scene. Almost portraying that this woman is the goddess of night and day, at least this is the feeling I get from the painting. The woman on the left painting has a smirk to her face and seems to be smiling. Of course, her lips are on the “happy” side of the painting, or the bright colored side. Maybe the artist on the left wanted to change the piece so drastically because she wanted the woman to see different views of the world and realized she is too beautiful to be sad.
On the left painting I also feel like the woman is dreaming, which is why her hand is resting upon her chin. It is as if she is day dreaming of the woman she really wants to be to the rest of the world. I feel a strong connection with this piece just because I think it has so many meanings to it. The interesting thing is that the artist probably thought it would look neat to change the original painting to this type of style; the artist probably did not intentionally recreate this piece to make you feel like you wanted to know more about the woman. The only negative critique about this painting that I can state is that in some areas some of the little figures, such as the stars, almost look like a child painted it. I love the idea of this painting and the way it makes me feel but whenever my eyes drift to those childish painted images I feel that the painting could be better. Nonetheless, I would buy this painting on the left in a heartbeat and I would prefer to look at the painting on the left rather than the somber one on the right. I love the painting on the left so much because of the drastic change in colors and it makes me just want to keep looking at it, as if I am missing the opportunity to look at something more in the painting. The painting keeps me wondering and thinking about life and how I am portrayed as a woman, as a human being.
CRITIQUE #3
The paintings on the left are what I will be critiquing next. As far as the painting on the right (on the left side) is a very delicate and intricate painting. I am not sure as to who created this particular piece or what the name of it is but it is very easy-going and has a neat variety and use of colors. It reminds me of two sisters or two friends that are at a very fancy brunch and are talking or gossiping about the latest fashion. The painting on the left differs a lot from the painting on the right. I feel that the artist of the painting on the left created a random tree in the background of the two women talking. The lips of the woman in the painting on the left are abnormally large and she seems very uncomfortable. I am not sure if this artist meant to recreate this painting this way but everything in the painting seems odd and out of proportion. I feel that the painting on the right has so many vibrant colors and looks so natural and more realistic compared to the painting on the right. However, this could have just been a bad painting that was created from the artist on the left. I like the yellow hat in the painting on the left and I think the artist did a good job on the long brown hair of the girl in the hat. There is a lot of texture and movement in her hair and I feel that if the artist used this type of technique throughout the whole painting, it would have softened the looks of the piece. I feel that the painting the artist chose to recreate from the right side is such a difficult and complicated painting to recreate, so I give credit to the artist on the left that attempted to do a replica. I also found it interesting that the artist on the left used the same sort of color scheme throughout her whole painting, almost a burnt orange. I feel that the painting would look much better if more variety in color was used and would show a different feel to the painting. The painting just seems stiff and dry as if the artist did not want the audience to look at it. However, this is just my interpretation of the painting.
I do believe, though, in the painting on the left the artist recreated a good connection between the two women talking in the painting. The angles and the body movements of both of the women resemble the original piece a lot, which I thought was very impressive. If the artist were to re-do her recreation of the painting on the right, I would suggest to use more variety in color and to have the background fuller. When I say “fuller” I mean to create the background with a lot of clutter in the background, just as the painting on the right did.
CRITIQUE #4
The drawing on the left is the painting that I will be critiquing. I feel that the general sketch and outline of the house and yard resembles the original painting on the right. I am not sure the name of the original painting on the right nor do I know who painted it but I love the beautiful use of colors and the fascinating use of brush strokes. I love how the painting on the right makes you feel you are looking at this house in the middle of the day. The only thing in the painting that makes me feel uneasy is the woman in all black standing in front of the house. However, on the sketched drawing on the left the artist recreated a nighttime scene. You can notice that it is nighttime because of the moon placed where the sun is in the original painting. I feel that the sketched drawing on the left is too much of a rough sketch and could have used a lot more shading in the areas where the yard and the house are. The details are barely there in the drawing compared to the tremendous amount of detail that was used in the original painting. I think the drawing on the left would look better if it was at least in color and make the scenery daytime, as in the original painting. Also, the woman in the black figure in the original painting almost reminds me of a ghostly figure that wanders around the house at all times of the day, which makes the painting tell a creepy story. I do not feel that way in the drawing because it lacks depth and the woman is sketched very small, so it is hard to tell what the image in the front of the house is in the drawing. If any changes should be made to the drawing on the left would be to make the woman bigger and to change the scenery to a daytime. However, I think if the artist on the left wanted to continue doing a nighttime scene in the drawing, they should change the clothes of the woman in the front of the house to be bright colors. This would make even more of a contradiction from the original painting and it would be neat to see both pieces side by side with different scenes.
The drawing on the left just needs some more work altogether. I think the general outline of the house and the yard look great and look very similar to how the artist painted it in the original. The drawing just needs more depth, which you can get this by using more pressure when you are shading. It also needs more variety in pencil marks; such as, if you use the pencil as a tool, you can create different effects on the paper to make each pencil mark look unique. However, it would not be a harsh line of pencil onto the paper, it would be a gradual shading. I think the artist just needs to practice their techniques more and add more shading and depth to their drawing.