RILEY, B. (1989) The Artist’s Eye, London.

The Artist’s Eye, is a conversation between Bridget Riley, a London based English painter, and Robert Kudielka, a German art historian, discussing a collection of paintings selected by Bridget Riley to be put into the National Gallery. Riley has chosen works by artists such as Titian, Veronese, El Greco, Rubens, Poussin and Cezanne. Riley talks passionately about each painting, going into great depth about their compositions, narratives, choice of colour and the artists painting process. Alongside the text of the conversation are copies of several of the art pieces they are discussing, allowing the reader to understand and see the specific points they talk about.

In particular, Riley discusses Titian’s painting ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’ (1520-22); she starts with discussing the idea of using colour as an element of construction when it comes to painting. The idea that colour can change the painting and how it is viewed. The feature that makes this painting worthy to Riley to be put into the National Gallery is the use of such a strong blue colour, which was a risk for a painter in that time, and how he has manipulated the rest of the painting to compliment this colour choice. “He uses the complex narrative to balance the blues.” – Riley. In regards to this painting, Riley explores Titian’s process and intentions when it came to this painting, for example, the idea that he was constantly thinking about the subtle pairings and narrative that can be found in the painting, and how they can affect the final painting. “He works through an intuitive logic of oppositions, distinguishing and simultaneously relating every inch of the canvas in a continuous web of contrasts, echoes, reversals, repetitions and inversions without either trying to form a unifying envelope or depending upon any simple common principle.”- Riley

Details within the human body is something I’m interested in and was the starting point for this self directed project. As it went on I focused more on hands and their details, such as wrinkles and veins. I took several close up photographs of hands to capture this detail and to use for references when I try to recreate it in a painting. As I’m someone who tends to work small scale i.e A4/A5, I wanted to challenge myself and create something a little bit larger. I wanted to make sure I could capture and emphasise on the details of the hands that I love so much. I also like the idea of framing artwork so I used masking tape to create a simple frame around the edge of the canvas. I began with the base colours in acrylic before then working over the top with my chosen medium of oil paints. I chose a monochromatic palette of blues, greys and blacks to create a more tonal painting, rather than copying the photograph directly and using realistic colours. I wanted to add my own style to the painting and make the painting add something different that a photograph could not. I used quick, short brushstrokes to layer the paint and build the tones and texture. Again to overcome the scale issues, my technique was to focus on a section of the piece and get the level of detail to a standard I was happy with before moving on to the rest of the painting, this way I wouldn’t lose any of the detail, which was my main aim for this piece.