Joseph Mallord and Michel Keck work analysis

This is a painting created by an artist called Joseph Mallord, called “Norham Castle – Sunrise”. Created using oil on canvas in 1835-1840. The artist full name is Joseph Mallord William Turner, he was born in 1775, in London, England, however his exact date of birth is unsure. By the age of 15 Turner had one of his paintings exhibited at the Royal Art Academy. When he was 18 years old, he already had an art studio. By the age of 27 he had become an associate of the Royal Academy. The artist died in on the 9^th of December 1851 from a serious illness.

Thought his career, Turner used mediums such as watercolour, oil paint and prints. His oil paint technique was influenced by his watercolour paintings. His original style was created when he started using oil paint in a translucent manner, this technique created a similar effect to watercolour.

One of his works that I am studying (Norham Castle – Sunrise) is a landscape painting. The inspiration for this painting came to Turner, when he visited the Norham Castle, in 1797. However it was only almost 40 years later that this painting was created, along side other attempts of paintings and sketches to portrait the scenery he had seen there. This painting is said to have been “unfinished” but by Turner's perspective the one that represented that moment he had seen just as wanted. It is said that he was inspired by purple rocks, blue river pools, glittering trees and the endless hills.

Here are some of his other attempted paintings he had created of the sunrise by the castle(Norham Castle on the Tweed Sunrise and Norham Castle on the Tweed)

Looking at his other paintings it is very clear that in the very last painting Norham Castle – Sunrise, it's almost hard to tell what is being shown, as the whole image is quite blurred and unclear, nor is the castle visible at all, just the hill that it is suppose to be on and the river etc.

I think the reason his painting is so unclear, is because he isn't trying to focus on the castle or objects around it. Turner wanted for people to look at the painting and focus on the actual sunrise(sun rays at dawn) and that moment alone, gently outlining the nature around it, like the river and the hills. Maybe because the castle would be a distraction.

This other image that I am analyzing is created by an artist called Michel Keck called “Searching For A New Distraction” created in 2012, using mixed media on paper.

Michel Keck is a self- taught abstract painter. She started creating her art full time in 2003. She has said that two of her artist influences are Thomas Kinkade and Matt Lamb. Keck has also said that when she is creating something, she is unsure of what she is trying to achieve.

Most of Keck's work is abstract, her work is unique, as she uses a mixture of mediums. This can be clearly seen in the Searching For A New Distraction collage. Where she uses a big variety of tones, colours and media. I think this make the image look quite uplifting and energetic as well as very expressive. I can only guess what she is trying to portrait in this image, but in my opinion when I look at this painting,I get the idea of celebration, or a party, maybe because of the dancer women and the amount of vibrant colours being used. Personally I don't like the use of colours of this work, there is too much, so it gets hard to concentrate on one subject.

Comparison

When looking at the two artist images, there are some very clear differences, for example;

The actual style and composition of the images is different. Turner's painting concentrates on the sunset and the nature around it, in a way the atmosphere dominates the entire painting, even though it consists of lots of tones there isn't much detail on it. Whereas in Keck's work it is harder to have one focal point , the first time I look at it, I concentrate on the photographs, but then suddenly I get distracted by the darker colours more down in the bottom. However her work has very fine detail. Like in the close up picture bellow, where it's clear to see lots of individual writing etc. Text and photographs is something that Turner's work does not include.

Another difference is Turner's image has very warm and cool colours, that compliment each other. Like the light purple/blue sky and the light yellow sun with the golden yellow river banks, balance each other out. The sun almost warms up the cool sky, giving a warm and soft effect. I think the choice of the almost tinted colours and the very light delicate tones gives a very calm and peaceful effect, as well as making it look a bit more 3D.

Differently Keck's work is more 2D, it uses mixture of different vibrant colours, from bright pink, to very dark blue, to orange, green,brown, dark purple and many more. As well as darker tones. This shows strong expressionism to me, like she is trying to express her feelings with layering these tones and colours, in a way the darker tones represent anger and the lighter tones happiness. Yet it is very hard to identify a gradual change in colours, as it can go from a dark colour to a light one straight away, maybe because they are not blended in together as much as in Turner's piece. This is because Turner uses light and loose brush strokes, to both create a light effect and graduation in the change of colour.

Also in Turner's work there isn't really any strong shape or line, it is all very smooth, and blended together. Keck's work on the other hand has clearly got a big range of lines, both from the coloured lines and the pen/pencil marks etc.

Keck's work leaves some open space, differently Turner's painting is fully filed, with no empty space left. This is why Keck's work to me appears to be more unfinished, like something is missing.

Although the images differ, maybe because of the different use of media or just the fact the they were made in different time periods. In my perspective they both share the similarity, of the artists expressing their feelings, by showing them in their work. Also I have notices even thought Keck's work has more colours in it. In some parts of the image the colours and tones are slightly similar to Turner's work. Like the lighter sand like tones and the softer purple/blue tones.

In class I have already tried creating paintings of my own, in the style of these artist, images bellow(I will upload more pictures later on) Also because Turner's work is meant to be translucent, it relates to some of the work I have also done in class like when I used oil paint and turps substitute to lighten the oil paint and achieve lighter tones that are more translucent. Also relating to Keck's technique of layering different materials and colours, I have done a similar thing of layering paint,chalk,ink,paper etc. in my old book (will also upload an image later on). 

It is hard to relate this to my theme (environmental neglect) I have thought though of the concept of layering like in Keck's work. Maybe it could be related to layers of litter,leafs or other stuff that build up in the streets and create this sort of "image" for the environment.

These are two images I done in the style of Joseph Mallord William Turner in class. I firstly applied some emulsion onto the base of the paper. I definitely needed it since the book I'm using has glossy paper, and without it the paint would not stay as well. After the emulsion had dried I used acrylic paint.  I only had primary colours, blue,red and yellow and some white paint. So I had to mix colours to get other colours, tones etc. When painting this, I discovered that applying paint with a paint brush isn't good, because the brush leaves clear brush strokes and the colours don't blend together. So instead I decided to use a sponge for my painting. As it easily blended colours together, so instead of a quick colour change, the colours changed gradually. Also leaving a almost smooth texture.


Sources http://www.pinterest.com/pin/544724517400576376/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/544724517400576220/