Inspiration: Artists and Styles
A quick look at the artists I derive inspiration from.
I’ve held on to Vermeer as an influence in my art life since college and specifically found him influential in my photography. There is a quiet quality to his work, maybe because many of his pieces are of singular people and his use of dark and light to give his paintings a moodier feel. My photography often reflects that same moody feel. I love how he uses window light and tone rich colors that are slightly muted, giving his paintings great contrast.
I don’t really draw people but the contrast, colors and play of light and dark certainly influence my art now and I’m sure will influence it more as I develop. I’m reminded of this as I come across contemporary pieces that have noticeable contrast in light and dark. It’s something I hope to incorporate more of in time as I develop my style.
I had to include an artist focused on the natural world. His flowers and leaves are beautiful. I’m also drawn to his color palette choices of muted but rich colors. There is also an element of the printmaker and pattern designer in his work. He was focused on creating handcrafted work for the home which becomes evident throughout his work.
He is probably more famous for his post-impressionism paintings, which I do like if for his relaxed strokes and satiric subjects. But I love his illustration work in posters. The combination of the illustration and lettering is what captures my heart. My work doesn’t reflect the same hand drawn look but the style of the letters I am drawn to and how he used multiple styles on one poster. His illustrations are also simpler with line work being more of an emphasis than his paintings. I love line work and it’s something I’m consciously trying to incorporate right now into some of my pieces.
He also speaks to my illustration heart because many of his paintings have a poster, illustration feel to them. I love the elongated bodies and the graphic nature he gives buildings, backgrounds, clothing and even people. And to add to it, he was also a printmaker. The overlay of colors in his works suggest this idea of printmaking as well.
Once again another poster-artist/illustrator that captures what I love with the combination of illustration and lettering. His lettering is more like my own in it’s more refined/typographic feel rather than the hand drawn feel of Toulouse-Latrec. I’m also inspired by the graphic nature of his illustrations and the contrast of light and dark in his posters.
