Howard paintings and abstraction research paper sample

Background information

Howard Hodgkin is a renown British artist born in 1932. He attended Camberwell School of Art and then also attended the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham. He started his talent use when he represented British during Biennale which was followed by his win of the Turner awards which were undertaken the following year. He has been able to exhibit in international events and majorly in local and international museums. His work has done extremely well all over the world. The major museums that have had the works of Howard include Paintings 1975-1995 which was undertaken and organized by the Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth. Most of his work was charged emotionally. He brought the sense of emotions in most of his work where the pictures looked like they had been embedded in the matrix of the picture. Given his sense of humor, it depicted Howard in the climate of Pop art although he had no direct links to this category. His main concern in his work was to ensure that the [picture was an object of all his work. This is the reason he started working on assertive wooden objects instead of working on the canvas. This allowed him to draw on drawing boards or door frames.

Howard paintings started by bringing out emotions and experiences. His work brings out gestures and a style of expression. This is done by making use of sweeping brushstrokes in order to bring out clearly layers of intense and bold color. One example of his paintings is that of Night and Day which bring out a strong physical presence and some form of aura. The brush strokes act to show the presence and the movement of the artist; the blazing contrasts of color bring out intense pictures of visual energy and a strong sense of intensity in his work.
Most of Howard paitnings have an effect that resembles frames. This is achieved by using vertical and horizontal strokes which are found at the edges of the compositions that he makes. To this effect, there is attention that is drawn at the center of the picture which helps with being depth in the work. There is some work where Howard has the brush strokes going beyond the frame. This is evident in the Night and day painting. In this case, the artist brings out the notion that the painting is an object in itself. This is one of his greatest emphasis. He tried to bring out the effect that the painting is an object in itself. While the bold and fluid brushstrokes brings out the notion that the work of the artist are spontaneous and rapid, this is not the case. The artist is known to work on some painting for a long time. This helps him to undertake the painting in detail and gives him time to perfect the piece of art that he is working on. He works on a painting by adding layers until that painting is satisfying.
In Mr and Mrs Robyn Denny 1960, the work of shifts away from bringing out the physical appearance of his subjects. In this piece of art, he combines together figuration and abstraction so that he brings out the feeling and the status of being in the presence of this couple who are fashionable and young in marriage.
Most of the paintings bring out the abstract writing style of Howard. From the paintings that are taken from the chorus of the famous song in America, Home, Home on the Range, the strokes bring out the memories of the united States. This is evident in the way the famous abstract paintings in America are shown. It shows the paintings and how abstract paints in America are shown. This is evident in the way the paints evoke these paintings. This is a major shift for Howard because of the fact he has always liked to express his paintings using European easel painting. This is a major shift to the use of abstract painting. His paintings have always been created with strokes that are frame-like and brush strokes that were seen in the margin. In his initial paintings there was the expression of depth and temporal continuity. There are two paintings in Oxford that were a contrast to his initial paintings: Where Seldom is Heard a Discouraging Word and and the Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day. These two arts of paintings were done in the years of 2007-2008. They dispense the element where the frame comes out clearly. In these two paintings also, there is no expression of landscapes or any expression of any scene that is shown in the paintings. On two of his paintings, Home, Home on the Range, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play, there is a clear expression of the landscape of America West. In these paintings, there is a character who is epic; this epic character depiction is unique in the works of Howard given the fact that he has not had epic characters in the past paintings. What is evident in huge and brush strokes which are colored in a vivid connotation. This painting shows the width of the scene and also bring out the dramatic contrast and clashes of the colors that have been used in the painting. In this, a new bright environment is brought and shown. Howard concentrates on how a given scene will affect the viewer rather on how the painting looks like. This is what he has been seen to dwell on in the majority of his paintings. Instead of bringing out the elements that are common in a certain place, it is clear that Howard strived to bring out the effect that certain elements have on the viewer. This is evident in the works of this painter and strived to bring out these characters and facts to the viewer. In this sense, he tried to recreate and isolate some elements from the painting so that a new expression is created from the painting. This is unique in his work and shows how he works to ensure that the writer interest and emotions are well taken care of.

My comment

I am perturbed at how the painter is able to connect with the viewer. Sometimes I feel there is a special connection that the painter knows and understands how the viewer will come out with the paintings. There is colorisistic effect that comes out with the painting that I suspect that there is a special skills that the author has that enables him to evoke special reactions from the audience. However, my irritation in my view of the paintings is replaced adoration and admiration when I realize and stop to think how the author has taken time to bring this painting and evoke certain emotions in the paintings that he brings out. I am also filled with admiration in the adaptive nature of the painter. The painter is able to connect and move from one painting style to another. I am perturbed at how the painter is able to adapt to British and American painting styles and still bring out the emotions that are required in the long run. There are special ways in which the painter brings out his works that he touches on special works and paintings that he brings out special emotions on the side of the viewer. The way the colors are able to match the emotions of the viewer is another way in which the painter brings out the painting to touch the emotions of the viewer. Although the paintings might have been undertaken long rime ago, their effects and expressions are still obvious to many today. I feel the painting style of Howard will remain one of the best and memorable for years to come.

Works Cited

Graham-Dixon, Andrew. Howard Hodgkin. London: Abrams, 1994.
Heenk, Liesbeth. Howard Hodgkin: The Complete Prints. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003.
Hodgkin, Howard, et al. Howard Hodgkin paintings. London: Harry N. Abrams Publishers, 2009.