 |
| Garden Nocturne, Detail 1, 2011, monotype on paper, Andrew Portwood copyright 2014 |
 |
| Garden Nocturne, Detail 2, 2011, monotype on paper, Andrew Portwood copyright 2014 |
I want to say first that I am "influenced" by great work...past and present. I admire the great works that have survived the test of time. While researching the monotype process in order to learn the process for my own work...I came across examples of monotypes authored by other artists throughout art history...I did not know Degas made so many monotypes! I have researched and looked for good examples to learn from...monotypes from the great artist master's of the past, like Degas, Goya, Rembrandt etchings, etc. And I have to say that I have been Directly influenced; The line quality and draughtsmanship of these artists is at the core of their work. One can speak volumes with a descriptive and bravado line.
I admire linework because I have spent years (thousands of hours) drawing. I was an advertising story artist for ten plus years. This job involved drawing with pencil daily...creating detailed, narrative illustrations of proposed television and film story and idea. Everything that I drew came out of my head and my experience. I visualized everything...and most of that story involved figures and movement in different settings and from different and sometimes unusual angles. I found a loose and descriptive line style on my own from putting in thousands of hours of drawing practice. I do occasionally use photo reference for proportions sake...for instance the horses, in some of my work, need to be more accurate for my own preference. I have "the license" to change it up.
This latest and largest monotype attempt: "Garden Nocturne", 2011, Andrew Portwood
(measures 18" x 24"), came out with a kind of "Baroque" feel to it, sub-consciously and by accident.
When I loaded my brush, I did not use large globs of paint, but more thinned out swaths of paint trying to cover a 18" x 24" plate, and as it turned out that the thin paint really amped up the line quality ( I am always learning by doing). I like it!
