Scripture.Size : 38cm x 25.3cm (15 in by 10 in)
Medium : Color Pencil & Acrylic Paint on Illustration Board Completion Date: March 2019 Exhibition Text:
This piece has been inspired by the contorted figure in Francis Bacon's "Portrait of George Dyer Talking" with alterations to the color palette. Within the illustration there are fortunes cookie notes that I have been collecting over the years. The purpose of "Scripture." is to somehow illustrate the vulnerability of what it means to be human. In a sense I wanted to show that we are creators of our tragedies and catastrophes. In other words, our own demise. |
Closer look at "Scripture." in the thumbnails above.
ARTISTIC
I N S P I R A T IO N
This portrait was that of Francis's homosexual lover and most influential inspiration, George Dyer.
The man in the portrait had shaped Bacon's work as he had captivated him with his aesthetics and rather tragic life events. George Dyer was Bacon's most profound subject and as an artist, Bacon immortalized his muse in multiple "studies and portraits". This portrait was done in 1966 while Dyer was still alive, times when he was continuing to inspire the beautiful mess of artworks that Bacon began to compose as he reached his artistic climax. In the portrait, the viewer can see the dissolving nature of the Nude that's supposed to be George's body.The color platte floats between cool, muted and solid hues. There's a lot of dynamic movement present in the center piece due to the layered brushwork as the room curves around it. |
Francis Bacon's "Portrait of George Dyer Talking" was not my first choice as an inspiration. I was stuck for a while deciding on a inspiration since none of them helped me envision any possible illustration. However I had to move with the process to begin creating as soon as possible.
I decided that I wanted to incorporate a sitting figure as well as the organic movement of the shapes in Francis' portrait. In addition to that I wanted to also build a similar theme of vulnerability and emotional "instability" captivated in not a nude but the insides of a human being. Literally as raw as humanly possible. The same setting of a curved room and papers laying on the floor will also transfer to my illustration. Placement of the lightbulb will be changed to help with the metaphors and meanings to my own piece. |
Portrait of George Dyer Talking By Francis Bacon
https://www.widewalls.ch/10-most-expensive-artworks-at-auctions-in-2014/portrait-of-george-dyer-talking/
https://www.widewalls.ch/10-most-expensive-artworks-at-auctions-in-2014/portrait-of-george-dyer-talking/
P R O C E S S
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I N T E N T I O N S
01. Creative Ideas & Brainstorming
Once again, I was as blank as the illustration board in front of me. I had no clue as to what I was going to do for this choice piece.
Thus I just began sketching to have at least smallest idea of where I wanted to take this.
Thus I just began sketching to have at least smallest idea of where I wanted to take this.
Planning Sketches
My sketches for "Scripture." were all over the place but the most 'accurate' to my vision was the one shown to the right. I had planned the body of the figure to be made up of mostly organs and animal parts. Said components were thought about to give a statement about the raw state of living organism, essentially a vulnerable and fragile physique. I noticed that a lot of my sketches had some sort of intestine-like or curvy shapes. I liked the way these created movement in the papers so it became an essential component that I most definitely was going to add. |
The sketches below were rather random "placeholders" that I would come up with in order to get ideas flowing.
02. Adding Color to the Illustration
I first began by coloring the piece in the center of it all so far. I experimented with the shading and "agreement" of the colors. I use color pencils the most, but it had been a while since I last tried making a 3-Dimensional form.
Most of this project would be based off pure experimentation.
I wanted to add a fleshy and meat like allusion to the illustration to form the main pieces of the body.
I mixed dark pink and purples with a solid rouge with brownish orange for the "intestine" in the center of it all.
Most of this project would be based off pure experimentation.
I wanted to add a fleshy and meat like allusion to the illustration to form the main pieces of the body.
I mixed dark pink and purples with a solid rouge with brownish orange for the "intestine" in the center of it all.
03. Redrawing the Head
As I was moving along with the illustration as the choice, I didn't like the original outline of the head.
The message I wanted to portray was not there, thus I reinvented and redesigned the head into a less deformed composition with more detail to the skull and wing.
The point of connection between the skull and neck would be of a more coherent manner.
The positioning of the light bulb would also have a significance since the skull is looking away from it, as to look away from the light.
The image itself was being put together when I added the outline for the parted mouth and scorpions inside the skull.
The message I wanted to portray was not there, thus I reinvented and redesigned the head into a less deformed composition with more detail to the skull and wing.
The point of connection between the skull and neck would be of a more coherent manner.
The positioning of the light bulb would also have a significance since the skull is looking away from it, as to look away from the light.
The image itself was being put together when I added the outline for the parted mouth and scorpions inside the skull.
04. Building the composition in Detail
At this point in the process I was adding details to the initial outlines of the figure with pencil. Later on I began to add acrylics to the board for the bloody portions of the piece. I experimented with the primary colors, red and blue with a hint of white to bring in different gradations of red and dark pink. |
The images above show the transition of my piece as it was close to getting done. Most of them focus on the background and the coloration of the skull.
EXPERIMENTATION
I mixed shades of red with a pink made from blue and red with white acrylic paint. Most of it was based on the layering of the paint to create a darker "blood" red with some highlight to its nature.
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Here I combined color pencils with Acrylics. The tongue was something in the piece that I felt could have been better executed, but through the experimentation it didn't look the way I wanted it to appear.
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Like mentioned before, I tried two different mediums on the background. First color pencil and then black acrylic paint.
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C R I T I Q U E
SIMILARITIES:
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DIFFERENCES:
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R E F L E C T I O N
After completing this project, I felt satisfied with the final piece. I am my biggest critic and the improvements that could be done to the piece always seem to overweight the "good points". I put a lot into "Scripture." and experimented with as much color as I could. I switched mediums back and forth to better illustrate my theme of "human vulnerability". I could have done better with my time management skills and getting things done. I fell behind with the work yet I am for happy with my art for the first time in a while. Francis Bacon's influence on my work is subtle. I tried mimicking his style while keeping my own artistic character in the piece and I feel that I was pretty successful with that. Overall, "Scripture." is a physical embodiment of individuals struggling with themselves. It is a piece to those who can see themselves in it...it may or may have not been you who I tried capturing in this small piece of an illustration board.
ACT
R E S P O N S E S
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Francis Bacon's work captures my attention. His pieces are beautifully depicted with swatches of color and very organic/deformed figures. I wanted to bring some of those same forms into my piece as well as a similar depiction of feeling like he did for George's portrait.
Francis Bacon's work captures my attention. His pieces are beautifully depicted with swatches of color and very organic/deformed figures. I wanted to bring some of those same forms into my piece as well as a similar depiction of feeling like he did for George's portrait.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author and videos that I watched on Francis Bacon, romanticize and speak highly of his work. Most of them have mentioned the tragedy of the George's death and how that really impacted Francis who in exchange felt so many things at once that he painted his beloved muse after his death.
The author and videos that I watched on Francis Bacon, romanticize and speak highly of his work. Most of them have mentioned the tragedy of the George's death and how that really impacted Francis who in exchange felt so many things at once that he painted his beloved muse after his death.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I concluded that artists around the world, no matter what tie period or era, will repeat the same ideas in different manner for very different reasons. It was as if everything came together and concurred for a reason. Not many things, if any, are accidental.
I concluded that artists around the world, no matter what tie period or era, will repeat the same ideas in different manner for very different reasons. It was as if everything came together and concurred for a reason. Not many things, if any, are accidental.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is the almost the same one as the one in my past artworks: the fragility of the human and how sensitive we can be to our worst opponents, ourselves. There is also the underlying theme of self-destruction and how agonizing our senses can be.
The central idea is the almost the same one as the one in my past artworks: the fragility of the human and how sensitive we can be to our worst opponents, ourselves. There is also the underlying theme of self-destruction and how agonizing our senses can be.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I thought that the reasons as to why Bacon used a lot of fast strokes and overwhelming figures with color was due to the thoughts going through his head. Could it be considered "delusional" art because of his emotional instability? I assumed it was which would then explain his style as a creating artist
I thought that the reasons as to why Bacon used a lot of fast strokes and overwhelming figures with color was due to the thoughts going through his head. Could it be considered "delusional" art because of his emotional instability? I assumed it was which would then explain his style as a creating artist