Even though I’m looking at specific artists for each degree project in terms of suitability, application and style, there are a number of artists that inspire me in all of my artistic endeavours. By looking at the work of these creators, I’ve been able to hone my own style and artistic voice through looking at their work, finding my favourite aspects and fusing these elements together to create my own style. To reference one of my favourite quotes once again, Tony DiTerlizzi once said:
“…an artist’s “style” is simply an expression composed from a combination of the elements in other artist’s work that the artist finds appealing”. (DiTerlizzi, n.d.)
Here are just three of the best artists I follow that have influenced my own process and aesthetic~
Amy Sol
I first came across Amy Sol’s work in an issue of Juxtapoz I was given to look at in the first year of my degree, and I instantly connected with the way in which she utilises fantasy setting and figural fauna and female elements to create an ethereal feel that is both haunting and endearing.
A recent article from Juxtapoz Online tells of her inspiration and process:
“Exploring how nature and femininity intersect, Sol’s figures are elegant and serene with a stoic, introspective power. Both her sculptural work and oil paintings are frozen scenes taken from airy dreams and tales. Populated by bewitching figures and their mythic companions, each piece is a glimpse of a delicate ritual or parlance with nature. Incorporating traditional oil painting and sculpting techniques as well as virtual reality and 3D printing, Sol has masterfully blended mediums to explore light, atmosphere, dimensionality, and mood in this new body of work. Characters and figures are rendered both in graceful oil paintings and dynamic sculptural works utilizing digital- based and classic tools to create a visual language all her own.” (Juxtapoz, 2018)
Since I first started following Sol, she has transitioned into a darker palette with more muted grey tones and less bright, pastel colours. I feel this is somewhat reflective in my own art, in the sense that I am starting to find it easier to refine my colour palette to suit a purpose, rather than combining colours from many different families. Nevertheless, I do still enjoy colour and like to embellish areas of my work with colour to draw a focal point or place of interest.
She also makes a wide use of flora and female characters in her work, something I also like to utilise wherever possible. Favouring female figures is a bit of a trend in the illustration world at the minute, but I find the female form so much more interesting and appealing… it seems a lot of artists agree! Combining form and nature is a quintessential match, and I love the diversity and endless possibility of working with this theme.
Overall I just find her work mesmerising ♥
Miho Hirano
Another one of my favourite artists, Miho Hirano’s work shares many of the same qualities with Amy Sol’s work- somber palettes embellished with slight touches of colour, and female focal figures that command the piece. She uses mostly oil paint in her work, which creates smooth fluid scenes and colours that blend seamlessly together which makes for a strong sense of surrealism.
The figures are often surrounded by flora and naturally curving patterns like foliage, smoke and hair- I often use these elements in my own work as I find they flow especially well together and I like to use as much naturally occurring imagery as possible. I especially love how she hides flowers within the hair of the figures, rather than just using them as a separate entity. Touching more upon this aspect of Hirano’s art, Tracy Eire of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine says:
“My first impulse was to connect the floral nature of Miho Hirano’s characters to reclaiming a confounded notion of womanhood, like women’s closeness to nature, their connection to the moon in myth and body, and painting them as entwined with untamed things.” (Eire, 2018)
In terms of feeling and emotion, the facial expressions of the figures play a big part in how the piece portrays these elements- the somber faces of the women in the paintings are a blank canvas for everything that surrounds them. I do find that a neutral expression cultivates a much more appealing aesthetic in my own work, leaving the possibility for the emotions of the viewer to be manipulated using other visual motifs; I find this creates a much more universally appealing piece. ♥
James Jean
I couldn’t write a favourite artists post without mentioning James Jean- I think he’s the artist that really inspired me to explore different varieties of illustration that were a bit more abstract, and has helped me grow out of my comfort zone- even though I still have a long way to go ^^”
I think my favourite aspect of Jean’s artwork is the engrossing, immersive atmospheres mixed with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic. Jean states that he was introduced to Hiroshige and Yoshitoshi during art college (Jean, 2016), which influenced him to start experimenting with sea-like waves and flowing forms in his art.
I adore these aspects, as once again this speaks to my personal love of curved and contoured form which flows across all areas, binding the artwork together. Referencing a 2016 article from It’s Nice That, James Jean and his interviewer Jamie Green expand on these themes:
“Creatures, critters and the tendrils of foliage wrap themselves around spectral figures, occupying worlds that seem to bleed out of the canvas. He casts his surreal and decaying fantasy worlds in technicolour blues, oranges and gold.” (Green, 2016)
“Despite my efforts to force my work to go in a certain direction, I keep going back to these dreamlike images. I suppose they are a selfish, self-indulgent escape from the anxiety-ridden age we live in.” (Jean, 2016)
The detail in these pieces is simply exquisite. Viewing Jean’s artwork is truly a joy, and evokes a very calming effect on the viewer. I’ve previously written about my attention to this particular aspect of emotion in my own work- see my Design Philosophies here ♥
There’s so many artists I’m inspired by, so this is only a small look at some of my favourites. I hope to write another post in the future about more artists that I love! Thanks for reading~
References
DiTerlizzi, T. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions: Art and Illustration – Tony DiTerlizzi.[Online] Diterlizzi.com. Available at: http://www.diterlizzi.com/faq-category/03-art-and-illustration [Accessed 1st Oct 2018].
Eire, T. (2018). Hair and Hirano – Beautiful Bizarre Magazine [online]. Available at: https://beautifulbizarre.net/2018/02/15/hair-and-hirano/ [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Green, J., Jean, J. (2016). It’s Nice That|James Jean’s phantasmagorical world of technicolour fever dreams [online]. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/james-jean-zugzwang-phantasmagorical-paintings-180816 [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Hirano, M. (2016). 夢占い ‘Dream Divination’ [oil paint].
Hirano, M. (n.d.). Instagram – @mihohiranoart [online]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/mihohiranoart [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Hirano, M. (2014). Miho Hirano|Powered by Strikingly [online]. Available at: http://mihohirano.strikingly.com [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Hirano, M. (2015). 自慈 ‘Self Pity’ [oil paint].
Jean, J. (2015) Adrift [mixed media].
Jean, J. (n.d.). Instagram – @jamesjeanart [online]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/jamesjeanart/ [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Jean, J. (n.d.). James Jean [online]. Available at: http://www.jamesjean.com [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Jean, J. (2015) Mockingbird [mixed media].
Jean, J. (2015) Piggyback [mixed media].
Sol, A. (2019). amy sol. [online]. Available at: http://www.amysol.com [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Sol, A. (2018). AN INTERVIEW WITH AMY SOL ON HER NEW SHOW “LORE” AT SPOKE ART [online]. Available at: https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/painting/an-interview-with-amy-sol-on-her-new-show-lore-at-spoke-art/ [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Sol, A (2018). Diurnal Garden [oil paint].
Sol, A (2018). Embers [oil paint].
Sol, A. (n.d.). Instagram – @amysol [online]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/amysol [Accessed 8 Mar 2019].
Sol, A (2018). Rae [resin, enamel, oil paint]. Available at: https://spoke-art.com/collections/amy-sol-lore/products/amy-sol-rae [Accessed 8th Mar 2019].
chalon joy collingwood 