Visit to the Baltimore Museum of Art

Paysage (A Winter Day in Brittany, 1881

William Lamb Picknell

The Embroidered Dark Blouse (Woman in Red Chair)

Henri Matisse - 1936

Self-Portrait

Andy Warhol - 1986

My Favorite Painting

 The painting that I found inspired me the most of the three featured above was the one by Andy Warhol. I do not know much about Warhol other than the fact that he was in some way or another a little crazy. However, his art work has remained a staple of the contemporary art community since the moment he started producing artwork. Before I get into my description of what I liked about the painting and how it made feel, I want to note that this was purely my interpretation and could be completely wrong. That being said, let's get into it.

One of the first aspects of this painting that caught my attention was the way Warhol created contrast utilizing light colors set against black space. In doing this, Warhol created a subtle, but easy recognizable counter-face. He titled the painting Self-Portrait, and I believe that this was more than simply a literal description of him painting himself. (Here is where my interpretation gets a little more complex) I believe that this painting was a personal statement from Warhol. I believe that in creating two contrasting images of himself, he was making a statement about the ways in which humans have multiple facets to their personalities. In a way, Warhol is almost saying that he cannot paint one image of himself because he is to complex of a human being. Another interpretation I had while looking at this painting was that we all have an internal conflict with ourselves to balance out the good in our life with the bad. Maybe in the way Warhol utilized so much black space, he is portraying there was more darkness in his life that the light is trying to pop out of. This could explain the choice of somewhat neon like, highly vibrant pink tones in the painting. Let me reiterate that could all be completely wrong, it's just what I gathered. 

Now on to the technical aspects of the painting. One thing I learned by studying this painting is that you can do a lot while not doing that much. By this I mean that you can utilize the space on your canvas to help you create your image. I also learned that contrast can really add emphasis within painting. Warhol created an image of himself using a minimal amount of colors, long brush strokes complimented by more filled it broad shapes and black space along with some slight shading in the face area. Seems easy right! Well I may have to put this style of painting to the test for my own self-portrait sometime. All in all, I had a great experience with this painting.