Still Life, 1918, Henri Matisse
Still life with Oranges, 1881, Paul Gauguin
Still Life With Apples II, 1894, Paul Cézanne.
Still Life With Apples, 1890, Paul Cézanne
Still Life with Mackerel, Lemons, and Tomatoes, 1886, Vincent van Gogh.
I felt the need to begin making more work in this series, I had a firm base from the three collages created before and decided to use the same artists as before. These were artists who were using the paint to create an painting that wasn't attempting to reflect realism. The paint was used to craft colour and light in order to create beauty.
Within my own images accuracy is very important to me, I want these images to replicate the original as best as they can. In order to do this is usually better to start with an image that isn't too complex. I still want the image to be intriguing and the foundations for this are already set by the original artist but it is important for the objects to not become to convoluted or to imprecise. You can never really tell before hand how the image is going to turn out, often one object can throw the whole image out of place and the best thing to do is just keep making the work. Unfortunately creating this work isn't particularly simple. Even in recreating an image that is fairly simple in its composition can take hours, often due to one object being particularly hard to find. As I am continue to make the work I can see my skill of matching and placing the objects is improving all the time. This is a process of looking more than anything else. In some sense I am using google images to sketch outlines of these paintings, constantly looking between the images results and original painting.
In addition to the artists I first selected I have also created one image that replicates a piece by Gauguin. Personally I feel that this image works the best out of all of the new series, partly due to the fact that I selected this painting as I had a feeling that an interesting image could be replicated. Just like the rest of the work it remains very crude, there is something uncomfortable but differences in lighting direction, perspectives and image qualities are a lot more subtle in this page compared to the rest. This can also be said of the Matisse replica, Its simplicity really strengthens the overall image.
I feel that in some of these images there is a darkness or a certain tone that simple cannot be replicated through digital image. Trying to add the darker more somber atmosphere and tones with images that have not be captured under such conditions creates a contradiction that becomes the collages downfall. In the lighter more vividly coloured images the collage comes together. The strong definition between the objects allows the disjointed textures and angles to become so obvious that they must be embraced.
In the first three colleges that were created for the last unit we have theses bold distinct objects and colours that break apart the audience’s vision and forces the eye to be questioned. But in this new set of images Still Life with Mackerel and Still Life With Apples II have to many muddied tones that don't provided a partially strong image.
Fruit is fundamental to all of these paintings but I feel that these images really come alive when we have other bold objects to separate what would otherwise be just a collection of stock photos of oranges and apples. The fruit is the easiest to source and collect but finding a vase or a bowl that resembles the paintings looks much more impressive and makes the image much more rewarding.
With the fruit being the most abundant objects in all these paintings its becoming harder and harder to find images of fruit that I have not already used. There are plenty images out there but I feel that I should be careful to not just use the same image twice.
I feel that these images are starting to develop nicely and I am getting a real idea for why certain elements are working and why other are not. With the first set of three I think that I stumbled upon a set that work really well without having to experiment or adjust to much. Despite this I feel that as I continue to create I know what sort of images I should be basing this work upon.