Jamie Poole

Charlotte Caron, graduating from Fine Arts with
honors just last year, already has an impressive body of work. Chunked
into four series—Landscapes, Portraits, Vanities, and Anatomy—the unique
treatment of the Portraits have particularly stood out. A beautifully
imaginative hybrid of humans and animals, “this series of paintings,
photographs, trying to respond to a form of duality—that assumes an
animal part—by the medium of painting in addition, runs, mask,
portrait,” according to the artist statement. “To ultimately create an osmosis between the two mediums, so between the animal and the portrait.”

Well I was in London last week on a photography A level training course and afterwards I thought I would take the opportunity to see if it possible to get into the Lucien Freud exhbition at the National Portrait gallery. I arrived at 4pm and tickets were being sold for 5pm. Brilliant! So I got an audio guide and spent nearly 2 hours viewing his work. What struck me the most was the amazing dedication and ambition of the artist. He worked intensively right up to his death last July. Even in the last years of his life, the audio guide talks about his constant experimental approach to the subject - painting the human form. One thing I found particularly amusing was that Lucien had a pass to the gallery after it was closed!

Lucien Freud's intense observational skills came across vividly when viewing the exhibition. He would constantly remix colours when working on each detail of his portraits creating a complex variety of flesh tones during his close scutiny of the subject. What is quite amusing and again inspiring is how he would then flick or scrape disgarded paint on the wall when it was finished with.

Another fantastic exhibition coming up in February. Best get those tickets early if you want to see this show. I heard that lots have already been sold! The Lucien Freud show opens on the 9th February at the NPG

Same as the Leonardo Da Vinci show - almost.

The new David Hockney show at the Royal Academy has had plenty of press this last few days. I also listened to the interview last night on Radio 3 which was really inspiring. I have always liked his work and  find his positive enthusiasm very motivating. The ideas about a movie having multiple perspectives and then the giant paintings which ask the viewer to 'walk through the landscape' or look around are great! Also it reminds me how much I love being outside just 'being' and drawing nature -  he is right there really is too much to see!  I really want to go and see this show!

Gerhard Richter

Kurt Jackson is probably one of the most inspring artist I have come across. He uses mixed media in such an expressive but beautifully representational way! Check out his website.

http://www.kurtjackson.co.uk/

This is my latest piece of work based on the book 'Warhorse' by Micheal Morpurgo. I am making this paintig out of poems from World War One and also poems from current and more recent wars or conflicts.

Click the picture to view my blog on this work.