Lords & Ladies, Kings & Queens

Portrait of an Unknown Man - Andrew Robertson 1830

I am starting a major new project that will focus on the art of Miniature Portrait Painting, most popular from the mis 1600's till the very beginning of the 19th Century (early 1920's). The advent of photography put paid to this particular artform, as they were primarily made to give to loved ones to carry with them wherever they went, much as we have photographs in our wallets today. They were placed in lockets, with hair or some other keepsake, or were free standing as tiny little pictures, complete with frame. I am currently at the research stage and learning how to paint very small, which initially I thought would be very easy, but am discovering takes much more practice than one would imagine.

Over the years my work has got much smaller, I think that the desire to make very large paintings was connected to my desire in my mid 20's to 30's to be seen to be making a mark, having an impact, whereas the older I got the more I wanted to make work that was intimate in scale, and required the viewer to draw in and experience the piece.

Ist Sketch Karen at the computer but far too big (inch measure by the side)

Miniatures have very specific rules that must be adhered to in order that they are considered miniature paintings, these were laid out centuries ago. Heads, for instance, should not be more than 2 inches tall, from the top of the hat or hair to the beginning of the neck. There are many rules regarding the techniques that are used to paint the portrait, they should be watercolour paint, on vellum or ivory sheets, and created using hatch and cross-hatch painting techniques. I am bending these rules slightly and will be using oil paint, my preferred medium on wood panels. Modern miniatures are painted in a variety of media, and it is still a thriving area of modern art practice.

A quick recap, using a ruler to map out the correct heights. The penny gives a visual idea about size.

The last miniature portraits were painted between 1912 and 1945, although it's heyday was long gone by then. In the second half of the 19th century, with the development of the daguerreotype (an early type of photograph) there was a massive decline in popularity of the miniatures.

Portrait of Bertha Maria Crapper by Edith Bertha Crapper 1945- One of the last examples of the Miniature portrait painting.

Miniature painting is a very detailed form of painting that has its origins way back in history appearing in many cultures including illustrations on the papyrus rolls of ancient Egypt and later on manuscripts and medals from the Roman Empire. The early middle ages saw a huge increase in the use of illustrations with the production of illuminated manuscripts and books.

The 1500's saw the emergence of the portrait miniature, these type of paintings were portable and therefore more accessible to all. Portrait miniatures began to flourish and were hugely popular during the 17th century and 18th centuries. These small paintings were used to introduce people to one another, as keepsakes, a wealthy nobleman proposing the marriage of his daughter might send an official messenger over great distances with her portrait, to be approved by potential suitors, unfortunately the accuracy of portrait painting with regard to actual aesthetic truthfulness was often found wanting, portrait painters tended to flatter rather than realistically put down all that was in front of them.

Below are some links to contemporary miniature artists. This not to say that I like all their work, however they are interesting to look at.


http://www.billmundy.co.uk/
http://www.elizabethmeek.com/#

The Art of Typography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eu9GfHCpVo

Philosophy, cultural positions, typography all in one little package.

"Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 -- April 3, 2000) was a modern philosopher, whose main interest was psychedelics and their role in society and existence beyond the physical body" Wikipedia

An interesting piece for thought on a Sunday morning about the nature of the electronic media and it's control of "us" and thus our positions in life, and our destiny.

I wonder what he would have made of Facebook, the internet explosion, their combined time-sucking properties, and also the opportunity to view life vicariously through your "friends" all 300+ of them. I read a while ago that we, and I  mean society by "we" have about 6-8 friends throughout life, people that we can count on in real life to love and protect us, and sociologists are interested in how the Facebook/My Space/Bebo phenomenon is affecting the generation that grows up with this technology and what effects this might have on their future relationships, not to mention their EI (Emotional Intelligence). Could this be stunted, steered, could we consider this to be a huge social experiment, and look on with dispassionate eyes?

Anyway, I have sucked enough of your and my time, enjoy the words, enjoy the typography, enjoy the message at the same time as considering what and why you are still at your computer screen.

Donald Urquhart - Joan Crawford Alphabet

Donald Urquhart's Joan Crawford Alphabet is a fantastic piece that uses an alphabet and one particular character to illustrate her life through short statements and cartoon graphic characterisations.  (The print can be bought online at the Saatchi Gallery shop). This currently fits with my obsession/interest in all things font based. I have always had a fondness for text-based work, and have toyed with the idea of producing lightboxes with laser-cut text for many years, and have started to try to work these ideas up in sketchbooks, and on the computer. The problem I have is that I am not sure that I have something to say, or at the very least something that other people need to read or interact with. Maybe that is the answer, to say nothing or statements which are so bland and inconsequential that they might as well be on the cover of OK magazine, or maybe use these magazines for source material....I have creative copyright on that by the way!!

Tracey Emin- Fear

Jenny Holzer -You Are My Own

Jenny Holzer's You Are My Own  and Tracey Emin's Fear are both text based work but in very different scales and media, both women have worked in a variety of materials to get their point across, although Jenny Holzer, described as an American Neo-Conceptualist seems to have hit upon the ephemeral qualities of light and projection as her metier of choice. This large scale projections can be viewed for a short amount of time on prominent buildings, and they deal with philosophical questions,statements of intent, political positions. Tracey Emin works in the typical women's "crafts" of quilting, and uses the language of womens confessionals, coffee shop/3rd martini style highlighting inadequacies, fears, hopes and dreams of the average woman in the street.