Anj Smith is an English artist currently working in London, having completed her BA Fine Art Painting course at the Slade School of Fine Art. She is, as of 2017, 39 years of age and continuing to hold exhibitions of her paintings up to this day.
I have been studying Anj Smith in painting, but saw possibilities in her art for sculpture related developments.
Her paintings are very bizarre to me. Almost every one of them starring a pale, fish eyed woman with , dark circles around the eyes, reconstituted patch clothing and a matted mess of hair, intertwined with many strange objects.
Although her style has gripped me, I can not say that I particularly enjoy it. It definitely evokes a reaction from the viewer, mostly thanks to the hauntingly dark eyes of the women in her paintings, and the pale, almost translucent skin (the subtle blue and green tones in the skin assert this affect very well). The women look ill and out of proportion. Perhaps they are on drugs or hard times. These theories are only further supported by the state of their hair and clothing, which is often matted and ripped.
The muted colour schemes do not connote happiness at all. Smith seems to generally avoid bright colours, which sets a neutral, rather empty tone to her work.
It is the hair that interests me the most. I have a natural admiration for art that flows, and the hair in this image does flow, but also doesn't. It's almost frustrating, as the natural flow of the hair is obstructed by strange objects such as feathers, wire, fabrics, and many other strange things that seem to come from nature.
I intend to explore this concept further, with my own adaptations. The subtle inclusions of nature in the hair could be amplified, which I think would be very interesting. Many more forms of nature could be incorporated into the hair, such as leaves, vines, flowers, even living creatures. I sketched a simple idea of what else I could add into the hair, here.
 |
| This sketch was created using a purple fineliner, which I then painted over with a wet paintbrush to allow the ink to run. In the hair, I incorporated shells, feathers, vines and a rats tail as well as the usual braids that Smith seems so fond of. I enjoy the idea of weaving interesting colours, patterns and forms from nature into hair. This would lead to a rather surreal piece, which I would fully support. The natural flow of hair would guide my way around it, and all I would have to do is think creatively on what to incorporate into the piece. I think that this would be especially interesting in 3D, and so, perhaps I could consider sculpting items from clay or wire to add into the mix. |
A4, acrylic + watercolour This is not my favourite piece of art. I did not enjoy the process, as the alienlike face threw me off track. I made the effort to align her eyes slightly better, and have plumped her lips ever so slightly. This is an incredibly rough effort, but helped me to understand the way that the hair flows, how the odd features align, and how to create a skintone that appears ill.
Personally, the haunting faces of these women do not appeal to me, and if I were to take inspiration from this style, I would ignore the facial structure altogether. I feel that these pieces would be much easier on the eye with softer, less angular faces with less contrast. Specifically, I can imagine the soft faces of a renaissance or rococo style portrait working well.
 |
| Original Anj Smith painting |
 |
| George Romney - Lady Hamilton (As Miranda) My adaptation - I used photoshop to transfer the face of an 17th century portrait onto the face of Anj Smith's painting. The entire feeling of the painting has already changed, with a simple softening of features. I am pleased with the results of this simple photoshop task. |
I took inspiration from Anj Smith's work and created a pencil drawing incorporating nature into a woman's hair, but with a much softer face.
I prefer the outcome of this piece much more than my previous painting in Anj Smith's style. The softer face softens the entirety of the piece, and allows you to focus on the surrealism of it as well as the nature around it.
To me, she gives off the impression that she is a personification of "Mother Nature" or an "Earth Mother".
Mother Nature/Mother Earth is the fictional/religious personification of nature. As a mother should be, she is believed to be nurturing and caring towards nature, the earth and all that lives in it. Mother Nature is benevolent (all-loving) and serene, and it is believed that she would never do us any harm.
 |
| A personified painting of "Gaia"/"Mother Nature" ---- I am interested in the way that she is displayed with flowers in her hair, similar to the route I am planning to go down. This painting is by Josephine Wall. |
The name is well known, but it means many different things to different people, of different ages, and from different cultures.
In Paganism, Mother Nature/Earth is referred to as "Mother Goddess", being the goddess that cares for all creation, and the embodiment of Earth. She is sometimes referred to as Gaia, and there is a specific branch of Paganism named after Gaia that specifically "calls for a new spiritual relationship between man and earth." http://contenderministries.org/UN/gaia.php
In Greek Mythology, the goddess Gaia is "the ancestral mother of all life: the primal Mother Earth goddess." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(mythology) She is also the mother of the sky God, Uranus. Gaia is often displayed with a large bosom, as to capture the idea of her being a capable nurturing mother.
I am interested in the idea of personifying Mother Nature in my sculptures, using artists influence and my own ideas to create a uniquely interesting piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment