Artist: Brett Manning, Drawing Presentation

Brett Manning is a drawing artist from Chicago. She is a current artist making new work constantly.

brettisagirl.com 

Brett's work is figurative with geometric shapes, patterns and symbols. 

Her work seems surreal but the subject of her works are more autobiographical and personal to the artist. She describes her work as 'glimpses into my head, untampered, abstaining from outside influences.' 

i think that this is a very interesting statement as i think that most art is created to break the barriers of the mind which are created by society and the views of 'right' and 'wrong.' I think that this is reflects in her work as it appears that her work, no matter how strange and abstract, is a glimpse into what goes on inside her head or daydreams that are untainted by reality. 

Her work is partly a visual diary which is based on her own emotions and things which are very sentimental. A lot of her backgrounds in her work are made up of thoughts or feelings, they create a dream-like feeling, especially her use of colour and objects.

Before working on her main pieces, she makes sketches and notes which she then accumulates into larger pieces. For my own work, i think this is relevant because i think that making small sketches and doodles can help influence larger pieces by gathering smaller idea's and developing small things into one greater idea. 

Her works which include items such as knitted jumpers or blankets show warmth and comfort. These works reflect her own insecurities and hiding herself away.

One of the main reasons i chose to include Brett Manning in my research is because i have been a fan of her earlier works for a while. In particular, i like the style which she draws hair and fabrics. 

Then i started to look into her more recent work which is more abstract and surreal. As you look around at all the small things that make up the drawing it creates a mood and almost tells a story.

Artist: Nettie Wakefield

Group presentation on artist Nettie Wakefield

http://www.nettiewakefield.net/

Nettie Wakefield's works titled 'reversed portraits' are A3 sized pencil drawings of the backs of peoples heads. 

She is currently working on a masters degree specialising in drawing and she has been working independently on projects and exhibitions since 2009. She currently lives and works in London.

Her inspiration for the series came to her from sitting in a lecture theatre when she noticed the person in front of her had an interesting hairstyle. As she began to draw the back of her head she starting to consider who she was and what she looked like from the front. This series is aimed at provoking intrigue and curiosity from the viewer. 

The reason she chose to focus on the back of peoples heads is to discover how much information you can gather just by looking at somebody from behind. 

The reason i chose to look at Nettie Wakefield's work is because i found the concept of looking at something from a different prospective interesting. I like the way that her work is designed to make you think about how things which normally go unnoticed can still hold a lot of information about a persons personality, and in this case what they might look like from the front.

In relation to my own work, i really like how simple the subject is but it can stir thoughts in a viewer. I love the realistic style and how each individual hair is captured almost as if its moving. 

In the future, for my own work i'd like to find a simplistic subject which has a lot of meaning that makes the viewer want to know more information.

Artist: Jonathan Yeo

Jonathan Yeo is an artist that i saw in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Sienna Miller

Pictures from http://www.jonathanyeo.com

Jonathan's paintings vary in size and some are arranged in groups. His popular works are of recognisable people, actors, actresses and politicians. Some of his paintings are sized based on the popularity of his subject. 

The reason i chose to look at his work is because i find the way he focuses on the face of the subject and the rest of the painting is very out of focus and seems a little unfinished. 

picture (http://www.google.com/hostednews/getty/media/ALeqM5iw7yivRcnRibcwwG_SV_f4az0MvA)

Other the the style of his paintings, i like his use of colour. The backgrounds make his work seem very natural and almost make it look like the backdrop used in photography for school photographs. Collectively they look like variations of skin tones and pastels. 

Shebah 2013

picture http://www.jonathanyeo.com/gallery)

I particularly like this painting of the artists wife as the pose is very natural, it looks almost as though it was painted from life rather than a photograph. He has created this with his trademark 'unfinished' look which makes it a little more natural. I also like the way the colours are very neutral and light.