I have enjoyed looking and studying Chuck Closes work for a few years now. I studied him for my art Alevel and now refer back to him quite often when people question on me on which artist i believe to be the most unique or influencial to me.
Close first became famous for his acrylic paintings (the lower picture). He airbrushed layer on layer of acrylic paint onto the piece to get the most visually accurate end result that he could. Close was obsessed by portraits, how people were structured and shaped. However he was annoyed how most artists concentrated mainly on the features of the face, he believed skin and hair, even the background was neglected on portraits and how they represent the people. So therefore, every single pore of skin was thought about and developed perfectly in Close's acrylic portraits, which has to be admired- as these could take years to complete.
Later on in Close's career he took to a new style, which was woodcut print. Developing each tiny block with a specific mix of colours so that when they were all put together they created an accurate portrait. These blocks could have layers and layers of paint on them and only the tiniest speck out of line could ruin the process behind the whole painting. (There is an example in the first painting, Close's niece Emma). Although i think i probably prefer Close's acrylic work to look at i believe that this process is so intelligent it blows my mind, how someone can visualise the end product so perfectly and have the patience to work every colour and piece together is trully a unique talent and one of the many reasons i admire Chuck Close and his work.
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