Tag Archives: realistic paintings

Artist of Interest: Justin Hopkins

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Justin Hopkins is a mixed-media artist who grew up in Washington and began developing advertising for corporations at the early age of 14. Nowadays, Hopkins focuses on working specifically in oil.

Justin Hopkins’ work encompasses an array of oil paintings, graphite drawings on paper, watercolor portraits, ink-made compositions, and mixed media renditions of subjects. One of my most favorite of his pieces is part of his collection called “DOT.”

DOT

DOT series – Depths 2

DASH series - Hatch Girl

DASH series – Hatch Girl

People Like You (Skinny Legs and All)

People Like You (Skinny Legs and All)

I became fascinated with Hopkins’ compositions created by dots because I find these pieces so captivating. The one displayed above (“Depths 2”) caught my eye because I enjoy artwork capturing water and, more importantly, the technique that Hopkins used to develop value is on point. I admire his craftsmanship and can only imagine how much time it took to create such an awesome scene. This piece appeals to my taste in art, which includes meticulously-detailed subjects.

Another piece that I also really like is one that is created with dash lines (“Hatch Girl”). The composition portrays a person that confronts the viewer behind several dashes made of differing weight. This composition caught my eye because of the way the figure is suggested; rather than being explicitly drawn, the face serves as positive space while the amalgam of dashes are the negative space. Similar to the dot-made composition, this piece focuses on using an unlikely method to create an illusory depth. I marvel at this work and hope to be able to create unique art such as this one day.

One last piece that I want to look at is called “People Like You.” Hopkins demonstrates a keen understanding and mastery of oil in realistically depicting a pair of legs. I enjoy realistic depictions of subjects, so I immediately developed a liking for this piece. The subtlety in hues and the way the neutral blue background emphasizes the flesh tones in the legs is eye-catching. Also, the brush strokes create a lucid contrast to the smoothly-finished legs that make them pop out at the viewer. Hopkins definitely displays skill in various mediums of art that I can only dream to emulate one day.

Project # 1 Artist of Focus: Karen O’Neil

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Karen O’Neil is an artist and instructor in New York that works with oil to capture a variety of seemingly mundane subjects, such as an orange slice. O’Neil’s range of work includes paintings of different fruits, vegetables, flowers, and items such as tea-cups.

In Orange Series # 11, O’Neil solidifies her love for still life by depicting an orange slice on a small glass plate. O’Neil’s use of hues of orange, blue, and purple demonstrate her mastery in manifesting light without using an overwhelming amount of white. I found this piece, in particular, a good model for the way I should be developing my own value assignment (which involves placing color in a mainly white subject). This piece inspires me to not be afraid to exit my comfort zone by seeing and emulating color in predominately white subjects.

Karen O'Neil, Orange Series # 11

Karen O’Neil, Orange Series # 11

Likewise, in February 14 #2, O’Neil’s attention to the subtle colorful hues found in a simple white flower (perhaps a white rose) create life in this otherwise flat piece. Her use of purple, yellow, orange, and even green color to capture the way light is received on the flower shows an understanding and mastery of developing light. Similar to the first project I am working on, this piece focuses on demonstrating that color can be found even on the blankest (in this case, white) of subjects.

Karen O'Neil, February 14 #2

Karen O’Neil, February 14 #2

I hope to be able to show as much fearlessness with color that Karen O’Neil shows in these still-lifes in my piece that requires paying close attention to subtle hints of color created by light. Overall, I find O’Neil’s work to be a testament to one of the ways that oil paint can capture the life of a subject through simple (even fuzzy) lines; her work has re-en kindled the love I share for oil paint.