🎨 .... ART. CLASS ..., 🖼

Just adding something triggered by a discussion irl last night.

Its Brett Whitely Self Portrait .. that one the Archibald

Curious what you all think of it.

Personally I love it @Appleblossom. But I'm about as far from a viable art critic as one can get. I'm sure the more credentialled will point out something in it or about it that I will think... Why didn't I see that. I just think it is so great how it gives insight to his outer vision from his POV and he includes the mirror to reflect who is looking and interpreting it all.

Thanks for posting it.

Just an aside.... My friend did a charcoal drawing of him for her art class. it was just amazing and it was chosen to be displayed at a couple of shows. That's neither here nor there, but she drew this thing in a matter or hours and I was just gob smacked it was just incredible to me... and her being her.. she didn't even think it was any good and was going to throw it away! I was mortified and wouldn't let her... and thank goodness I didn't.

Yep @Former-Member

Thank goodness we support the artists that are around us ..

I posted it because it was one of the the things I had saved ... so I could .. lol .. and it suggests ideas about "the self"

I am more interested in Wendy's Garden in Sydney than Brett .. or pretentious art critic stuff ..

I guess he used a lot of blue cos he was used to the blue of Sydney Harbour .. lucky dude.

here is something for the journey ... of the self.

I painted an old work boot in sepia colour years ago .... the boot told a story ....

I'm thinking that much of what Brett Whitely was painting in that self-portrait was in fact still life .... the setting being his own bedroom at home, and that his walls were painted that blue colour ...

.... but ...

.... the "self-portrait" was actually the view into his room, with the special items of memorabilia that were displayed there as a part of his everyday life ... perhaps gifts from special people .... travel souvenirs .... and it is our life and what we call home that is all part of the self-portrait, depicting who we are.

That's my thought anyway. The image in the mirror is only a part of it.

@Appleblossom that's nice too. The boots they certainly look well worn hence the sepia for nuance I guess.

@Faith-and-Hope yes.. re the outward view. I also notice if you look closely there seems to be at least two little hims. Identifiable by the hair. I have no idea if they are his "mini me" but I defiitely can see two in there.

The window is the link to the outside world, I have a deep feeling for that. I just really like the open window "doors". Of course the bridge is there too. The paraphernalia on the table, other pieces of art give insight to his tastes and intimate knowledge of his choices in decor. In so many ways it is a painting where he shares the intimacies of himself, especially since it seems to be his bedroom. Maybe it isn't, maybe I just assume it is because of the bed.

In the Middle Ages it was fashionable to paint intricacies about the sitter into the background and paraphernalia depicted in portraits ...... a typical sample of this is Hans Holbein the Younger, commissioned by King Henry VIII of England.

Portrait of the Merchant Georg Giese, 1532., - by Hans Holbein the Younger

Still a work in progress ....

@Former-Member ... seeing whether the tag works this time .....

😊 🎨 💕

Hi @Faith-and-Hope, found you!! ad yes, it did tag to email. Thamks for including me. Missed you lately. Just love your stepping stone painting. Looks finished to me but I've heard its said "a painting is never finished, we just put the brush down" (or something like that). I have a 'thing' for pathways in paintings, any path - but mostly 'natural' (not roadways) so your painting appeals to me, and reminds me to stay on the path, one step at a time... So glad you're doing this. Love to know what was in your mind when you started it?

Guess Now with everyone carrying cameras, guess our art needs to carry a message of some sort, but the imagination is amazing. If I could paint some of what I see in my dreams, quite different, don't see that anywhere else.

@Former-Member, hello, you sound well read too. Got me thinking on a new word 'nuance' had to look it up plop it here, thanks. Nice getting to know you btw, your colourful personality.

nuance (noun)
a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound. "he was familiar with the nuances of the local dialect"
synonyms: fine distinction, subtle distinction/difference, shade, shading, gradation, variation, modulation, degree; subtlety, nicety, refinement, overtone "the expression of subtle nuances of thought"

Have a great week everyone 🙂

Hi all, am back.

@Former-Member, my husband is a craftsperson too, in a different field. He brings a lot of artistry into his work, both at the design level and at the completed object level. It comes really naturally to him. He was doing an in person display of his work while we were away over the weekend (long weekends are rich in event choices!) and often when that's happening, I can slip into the crowd watching and hear people's reactions. Always kind of fun being the "fly on the wall". And yes, sometimes frustrating, but not too much so. Hubby does have a lot of drawings sitting around that are completey unrelated to his public work, so I'll probably try to sneak some of those into this thread at some point.

@Appleblossom@Faith-and-Hope, I'm not much into Brett Whitely's style, but sometimes a "cluttered room" self portrait is an attempt to include the world/personality of the painter in the imagery. Brett Whitely most certainly works at a level where the inclusions are unlikely to be incidental, but that's the "art critic' trap point where we've got no idea whether our interpretation of the meanings behind the objects is what he meant it as or not. 😄

And I love the character of the old shoes. Objects like that tell so many stories.