Activity 3 Images I like...and artists l want to know more about.

 Rolf Armstrong

Born: Michigan

1889-1960

Classed as one of the best 'Pop-Up' Artists of the first half of the 20th century. Art Deco, Illustrator. Flapper paintings. Rolf Armstrong's pictures adorned magazine covers and he painted faces of very famous movie stars. The first impression of his work is 'Wow'  and the colours used and line movement all lent to a beautiful portrait.

 The texture to his work was created  with soft pastels which most of the 'Pop Up' artists used in this era along with water colours. The dreamy eyes and the colour and texture of the girls skin is perfect-like velvet. Painting full length pictures of movie stars and really show casing their dresses or outfits was a talent especially with the smiles on their faces. Most works had a hard, raw edge from the pastel somewhere on the page - which said 'Yes l am a painting not a photograph'. 

Each skin tone is executed differently and background colour in the full length paintings are picked to really make the model pop out.

Betty Wales Dresses 1918

The author died in 1960, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 50 years or less. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.

Peter Paul Rubens 

Landing of Marie de Medici a Marseille

1577-1640

Germany

The first impression l had  of this artwork in our assesment was 'Who Painted This'

I loved the mythical play mixed with all the drama. Obviously someone important...maybe a Queen? European. Why would the sea Gods be involved? The Royal Guard at the top in blue-France. Welcoming....

Your eye moves through the page from bottom to top and stays on the main figures. Two trumpets at the top of the page make you think it is a fanfare for who?

The Sea Nymphs in the foreground are holding up the ships fast. Taking up 1/3 of the canvas. Adding to the movement of maybe water as the sea Gods are involved. All eyes are looking up to the Focal Point- the woman with red hair. The painting is oil on very large canvases. 

It is actually a series of 24. These paintings were commissioned by Marie de Medici a Marseille who was very wealthy and the Queen of Henry the 4th of France. 

These paintings were to deplict her main events in life. She went onto be the Regent of France when her son was to young to rule and was later banished by her son.

 Rubens was commissioned and along with his team of his workers finishing 21 of the 24 works. Rubens had to paint the figures but his understudies could fill in insignificant parts of the work.  The paintings are great moments of her life.This particular painting is when she landed in France from Italy and is the 9th of the set. 

I liked this artwork because it made you ask Why What and Where.

Outside the city gate, Peking

1941

Ian Fairweather

Scotland, Australia

29 Sep 1891 - 20 May 1974

What caught my attention with this artist is the fact that Ian Fairweather was 

a 'Hermit on Bribie Island'

So l chose this painting of his because l needed to know more about the man and his life.  

On looking at this painting it is telling a story about a scene in a foreign country-Peking. It has camels and a building on top of a hill or other building in the top - nearly in the middle. People are busy cooking  and getting on with everyday life.

The simple outline work and the use of few tonal values, might lead you to believe, this maybe a quick work to use at another time-a reference.

The eye moves through the foreground  to the camels and then up to the isolated blue, around the building and back down to the camels. Which l think could be the focal point intended.

'Fairweather has recorded a moment in his time'

I think that having a simple line drawing like this, lends me as an artist to want to finish the work! Maybe use the reference work to do a painting!