For attempts to capture movement Duchamp Nude descending a staircase The idea is brilliant but I think the way he has depicted the form reminds of armour rather than the flowing curves and soft angles of a nude. It has strong cubist influences and this roots it firmly in the early 20th century. In the same year Giacomo Bala painted The dynamism of a dog on a leash which the Independent dismisses as comical but I rather like it for trying to do what Duchamp did whilst still showing a recognisable form.
I had never heard of Gillian Carnegie but I like her cat paintings particularly Prince 2011-12 and Prince my tutor describes them as solemn which captures the mood in one word. I like the contrast of the straight lines and the round cat and the way the tonal paintings create a restrained mood.
He suggested I look at Lucien Freud's interiors but I'm struggling to find many, I've looked at a lot of his work and he generally seems to be looking down on his subject and their surroundings. Freud is one of my favourite painters but looking through his work I was unaware of the variety of his subjects from his trademark nudes to plant studies reminiscent of Durer (and of course his whippets which are my favourite dogs) The BBC have some pictures here and Wikiart have loads of which this is my absolute favourite although its not an interior.
Colin Crotty is another artist I have not come across before who paints people in moody atmospheric setting. I was sent to him for his interiors which are sparse and equally atmospheric I like the way that they usually have people in them too though this image is lovely and empty.
My next task was to compare Lisa Milroy's loose mark making, still lives and interiors with Frank Aurbach's loose drawings. I find Lisa Milroy very difficult to pin down. Her early work was neat and tidy objects laid out grid fashion on a white canvas, not at all loose. However she also does fast loose cartoon like pictures, and ultra tight smooth interiors. I am finding number of artists who are successful with a variety of styles which is interesting as I was always lead to believe that the world couldn't cope with this. Frank Auerbach does lovely loose lively drawings. I definitely prefer this working drawing for Primrose Hill to the painting, somehow the painting looks messy but the drawing leaps off the page.
Much more delicate and deliberate are Rebecca Fortnum's drawings of children with their eyes closed also here very calm and beautiful.
Recommended reading was John Berger's book Berger on Drawing which is listed at a whopping £95 on Amazon. Thankfully Hertfordshire libraries obtained me a copy from deepest Tunbridge Wells. It's a lovely little book of essays and letters, observations about drawing. There are a few illustrations, explanations of a series of drawings by Picasso, images by famous artists including Watteau and Van Gogh and a beautiful drawing, by Berger himself, of his father. He does his best to pin down what drawing is and why we are compelled to draw. It's like trying to put a nail through water but he makes the best attempt I've come across and I highly recommend this book, I just wish I had £95 to spare!
Slightly linked to this theme is this article by Richard Johnson in the Washington Post which explores why we draw. He's also an amazing draughtsman.
There are a couple of other references which I can't follow just by looking online so will add them when I've looked at the source material.
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