The name of the book I have chosen for this task is Concerning the Art of Glenn Brown by Michael Bracewell. This book was published for the Glenn Brown exhibition, that took place in, 2007. I picked this book simply because I found Brown’s work online and wanted to explore his art further. The book contains a review by Michael Bracewell and his overall thoughts on Brown’s work tends to be that of great praise.
Bracewell begins by describing Glenn Brown’s work as truly original, mentioning the putrid colour palette and the overall dreamlike and timeless nature of the compositions. He then goes onto compare Brown’s art to John Dryden -a descendent of Augustan Mock Heroism – whose poems mock classical stereotypes. However, in this case, his art could be mocking classical art through its ghastly colour schemes and altered proportions making everything look other-worldly. The swirling brushmarks create the illusion of a thick, dense painting, drawing the viewer in closer, then being presented with shock when they realise the painting is flat.
Bracewell comments that Brown’s paintings are ‘psychological portraits’ meaning that they reflect our inner most deepest thoughts. Perhaps subconscious thoughts, not shown through the colours or shape but through the magnificent beauty of the art. I believe that this could also be portrayed through the fluid, swirling brush marks as this could represent the perpetual change in thought processes. Brown’s brush marks personally remind me of the bizarre patterns that appear after rubbing your eyes too much which refers back to the psychological intent.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-dryden
https://www.gagosian.com/artists/glenn-brown

For this account I’m using a piece of work that I completed during my own project at college. I chose the word ‘layers’ and from that developed numerous pieces of work. I began by getting ideas from the real world and translating them into sketches and ideas in several sketchbooks. Eventually I began working outside of my sketchbooks and worked on other surfaces, ti decided to use wood for this piece, which was my favourite material to work on because it was much smoother than canvas and the paint was much easier to manipulate across the surface. For this ‘layers’ project I began by layering numerous amounts of paint on a canvas until it was so thick it would nearly sit off the page. I then began to experiment with layering shapes over the top of the abstract paintings in order to disguise and hide the painting.
To develop this idea further I could use other materials and mediums to layer over the paintings, such as string, tape, wire, cloth, charcoal or graphite and discover which creates the most interesting outcome. I could also develop the concept further by changing the medium of the painting beneath by using pastels, oil crayons or by using photos or drawings and manipulating the composition by hiding specific sections, this may create mystery and intrigue for the viewers.