Artist #15: Jasper Johns

The first painting I saw by Jasper was the number 5 (pictured above), but I did not realize this right away. He used various shades of black and white and different directional brush strokes so the number is almost hidden in the painting. Other paintings I saw included letters and numbers disguised by the use of color and stroke. I really enjoy this idea, mostly because I love to incorporate letters into my own work but I never thought about numbers. He also paints the alphabet in a large grid, which is an extremely interesting piece (shown above).   

Artist #14: Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth's work reminds me a bit of Al's because of the bright color choices and lack of heavy blending. Her works look almost like collages, with various shapes coming together in different directions to create a larger piece. They are layered so as not to create a solid piece which is interesting. I can not tell from her paintings what the individual objects are supposed to be but they each have a particular form and space in the overall finished product. The painting pictured here is very interesting to look at because there are so many individual pieces, and because the form is an irregular shape, it moves your eye around the entire piece and gives the viewer a lot to take in.

Artist #13: Al Held

Bright colors are heavily used in Al's work. There are a lot of line structures that move around in front and behind one another, creating this maze of line that gives the work a sense of depth and motion. Some paintings have various shapes as well, like triangles and circles. I like the color choices he used for his structures; they are very distinct from one another with almost no blending at all. He uses the shapes to create form and suggest a sense of space without needing to express what the objects actually are. The painting shown here exemplifies this idea of various shapes, each in a distinct color from one another to give them their own location in the painting and imply a sense of depth.

Artist #12: Alice Neel

The work by Alice consists mostly of portraits, sometimes including the whole body.  Some look almost monochromatic in their color scheme; they utilize many of the same colors in all different hues and tones. The faces are always serious, as if they are pondering something. The people are sitting in various positions, looking very relaxed or on the edge of a chair about to stand. I really enjoy her paintings because they are a mixture of realistic and a bit abstract. I love the colors in the picture shown here and also the way she suggests folds in their dresses by just using line. The girls themselves are adorable and I love the expressions on their faces.

Artist #11: Jim Nutt

The paintings I saw by Jim consisted of many abstracted faces, with our basic facial features replaced by various shapes like triangles and rounded hair. The eyes are not aligned and usually they are viewed from a slight angle. they seem simplistic in their technique; many different colors that are not blended together but rather appear in chunks. I think his work is interesting to view but I would not find any interest in painting faces in this manner. the one shown here exhibits the triangular grey nose and the rounded hair with an extremely tiny eye in the upper right side of the face, a very abstract and almost dog-like interpretation.

Arist #10: Anselm Kiefer

The first aspect I noticed in Anselm's work is his use of directional brush strokes that really enhance the paintings. The brush strokes help the viewer to decide what the actual objects in the painting are since they are more suggestive than actually outlined. His use of many small strokes come together to create a larger, very complex picture. The colors are more muted yet there are many in each painting. The blocks of color add contrast and really bring out the intensity in his work. I am in awe of his painting shown here. The detail is incredible, yet he creates the forms by using various blocks of color. The sense of depth makes you feel like you are actually walking through this structure.

Artist #9: Eric Fischl

The Travel of Romance, Scene 5

Eric's work really caught my eye because of the various settings he chose to place his subjects in.  Most of his paintings include a figure that is placed in a certain environment and somehow interacting with other human figures or objects. Some include water in the background, others in a bedroom or living space. The figures are painting in a very interesting manner with a lot of color variation in the skin tone. It seems like he is telling a story with his figures, giving us details about his or her life in some way. There is a lot to look at in each painting which makes it visually intriguing for the viewer. The painting to the right is one of my favorites by Eric. His use of the light source on the body gives it a sense of importance and makes you wonder why he is in such a position and where he is currently in his life.