David Hockney

David Hockney, born in England in 1937, is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, and photographer. He was an important contributer to the pop art movement in the 1960s. This work of his is called "Self Portrait with Red Braces". It was created in 2003 out of watercolor. I liked this image of his because it seemed different than a lot of his other works. Many of his other works are of nature or of other individuals interacting with other people or just by themselves. This one stands out to me because it is the artist himself, looking directly into the person observing the image and he is painting himself doing what he loves- art!

David Hockney

The painting is made up of fifty panels joined together to form a whole. Its subject returns Hockney to his native Yorkshire with a view of a landscape near Warter, west of Bridlington, just before the arrival of spring when the trees are coming into leaf. In the shallow foreground space, a copse of tall trees and some early daffodils stand on the slightly raised ground. Due to its massive scale and technical complexity the painting took Hockney six weeks to complete.

David Hockney

This piece by David Hockney is called "A Bigger Splash" and was created in 1967.  Interestingly, this piece was a result of two smaller paintings that helped him develop the idea.  This painting used acrylic paint which was still a new medium at the time.  Hockney wanted to show the movement of water in this picture and used a picture as a template for this piece.  Hockney wanted to recreate an image that only lasted a few seconds in real life.  I like the simplicity of this piece and how he was able to represent the splashing of the water.  I also like the idea of Hockney recreating an event that only occurs for a few seconds in real time.

David Hockney

This artwork by David Hockney is called “Pearblossom Highway.” He created this picture in 1986. It depicts a view of an American Highway. Hockney describes his artwork as a painting instead of a photographic piece. This piece of artwork is made up of 700 separate pictures. I like this picture because it shows two perspectives, the driver’s side and the passenger's side. The right side of the drawing portrays the driver’s viewpoint of the road. The driver always has to pay attention to the road, hence the road signs, the destination in the distance, and the words on the road. In contrary, the left side of the drawing represents the passenger’s side. On the left side of the picture, the passenger’s view is completely different than the driver’s side. The passenger only sees the scenery of the picture, making the passenger very observant of the surroundings around them. Through Hockney’s picture, the viewer can interpret that everyone in the world has different viewpoints and we do not all see the world in the same way.

David Hockney

This oil on canvas by David Hockney is called May Blossom on the Roman Road (2009). At this time, Hockney had moved from the California landscape and into the more inland east Yorkshire scenery. He presents his outdoor painting with bright and welcoming colors as it is in midst spring time. Some people have argued that the landscape looks like it is from another world or a dream-like scene. And I would have to agree, but I believe that is probably my favorite aspect of the painting; this sort of illusion of the trees and the road that could lead to anywhere I want it to go.

David Hockney

This piece by David Hockney is called The Sermon on the Mount X (after Claude). This piece really intrigued me because of its abstract nature. I think Hockney uses the shapes well to depict what is actually going on in the scene presented. It is easy to tell people are worshipping and that something otherworldly is taking place. The colors are also very popping and pleasing to the eye which I noticed in other art pieces of his. The piece is an oil on canvas and was done in 2010. 

David Hockney

David Hockney’s “A Bigger Grand Canyon”, the painting demonstrates a scene of the Grand Canyon that he finished in 1998. Hockney loved nature and outdoor scenes. He took a series of photographs of the Grand Canyon that he placed together to form a collage. He used the Grand Canyon as a theme for his works. His painting “A bigger Grand Canyon” made a statement abut depiction and experience of space, he used different views taken over a period of time. Hockney refers to Cubism and depicts it from multiple viewpoints, from Chinese scroll paintings and different time sequences and landscape elements.  The landscape of the canyon, shows many viewpoints and shifting time frame and shows what it’s like to be in a landscape and to travel around it. The painting captures the extravagant color as it relates to Hollywood.