Art By River

This is some mouldable material I still have yet to find the name of. It originally was flat, I laid it in a tray and filled the tray with boiling hot water from a kettle and let it soak for a few minutes. I had a glass mannequin head/face covered in plastic wrap ready. I placed this now wet mouldable material over the 3D glass face and moulded it to fit the shape of the face and let is cool and set and so I was left with this mould.     I used roving wool to thread between the grid of the sculpture. Using sky colours to try to create somewhat of a sky scape feel. Sun, clouds and sky. I am really happy with this piece, I enjoy the shapes it has created on the face looking very anatomical with muscular shapes showing. I would love to do more if I can figure out what the original material is called and can source it.  This is a shot taken in the photography studio with Julian. Shot by Carolanne. I find it powerful but creepy. I like it.  Black and white. Looks even more creepy. I adore t

Exotic Romanticism or  The male gaze?  Just the title alone gives me the creeps. Why is power and control needed? OK we wont delve into that but, why is it and has been for the majority of time through art history, always been one sided? That is the question here. Are we not made of the same flesh and bone?  From the 16th-19th centuries woman have been seen as nothing but a muse. Women where deemed good enough to be painted back then but not to become a painter. It was not until 1860 that women were allowed to enter and study in big institutions like The Royal London Academy. Even then these works where not considered valuable, not looked after and not stored so nothing survived.  Objectification, judgment and humiliation towards the feminine form have been filtered out through art over many years. Plenty of examples are out there for us to see..... This piece by Barbara Johansen is painfully relatable as I have been here in this situation before, many times, I know exactly how the wom

Authorship . What makes a painting or a piece of art recognizable? Can we notice tell tale signs in the works that can possibly indicate which artists work we are observing? Is it from there style? Specific paint strokes? or from a certain method? Who do I recognize and know by just observing there work? One artist that always stands out for me is Jackson Pollock. Jackson Pollock 1912 - 1956   Born in Wyoming, America. An abstract expressionist artist. Pollocks works in the beginning created more of a narrative before the famous drip technique came to be in . Taking influences from Janet Sobel with her sporadic style, Pollock flew into action with his version of this style of painting. Free movements, no confinement, no rules. Using his canvas or unstretched fabric he would place it flat on the floor this way he felt he could explore the area more intensely and it added a new dimension for an "all over painting" experience. This " drip technique" Pollock used househ