This Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was painted for the 60 Anniversiry of her being queen by Llywelyn Hall in 2013. I chose this painting because it has lots of texture and it was a different kind of portrait. I chose this painting beause it is in a style of portrait that I like. My first reaction to this artwork was that I loved the red color on her dress. I immediately recognized Queen Elizabeth II and thought "WOW". Some parts of the artwork draw my attention such as the pearl necklace and her red dress. It makes me feel like I'm looking at someone who is powerful but calm. The subjects pose is relaxed and direct and the use of gold in the background makes you think that she is powerful and rich. This portrait reminds me of a similir portrait of HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said because they both have the same posture and similar gold background.
The second piece of art is a street painting painted by Brandan Odums called 'In Nine Wall'and it is in the New Orleans’ Bywater neighborhood. I chose this artwork because I like street art and this piece is a self-portrait of the artist painting a portrait on a street wall. I was impressed by the way he painted the wall using only a few primary colors. I was also impresed with the style of the painting. What drew my attention first was that a man was painting a portrait and it took a minute to realise that the painter was in the painting. This piece of art makes me feel sad because the man is frowning and looking at the public with his head turned. This street art reminds me of my last trip to London where I saw lots of street art.
Part 2 Contextual Understanding
Dan Llywelyn Hall was born in Cardiff in the year 1980 and moved to London and Graduated in the year 2003. After graduating he has won many awards for example Sunday Times/Singer Friedlander Young Artist of the Year for his painting ‘Ship Hotel and Splash’. After winning many awards he got interested in painting portrait's. His impressionistic Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was painted for the 60 Anniversiry of her being queen 2013. He was the youngest artist to paint a portrait of the queen. He was only 32 years old at the time but it was her 133 official portrait. `in this portrait he wanted to show the very human side of the Queen's personality. you can see this by having her play with her wedding ring just like anyone else would. His work has been exhibited throughout the UK . Now Dan LIywelyn Hall works Amesty International on a extensive portraiture project. He works and lives in London and this portrait of the Queen is currently hanging in the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.
The name of the artist of the second work of art is Brandan “Bmike” Odums. He was born in California in a military family and moved to New Orleans in 8th grade. He travelled the world with his family in the military and this influenced his art. After Hurricane Kathrina there were many abandoned buildings in New Orleans and he began street painting on the abandoned buildings. He often paints portaits of African-Amarican activists. The 9th ward of New Orleans is an area that was badly flooded after Huricane Katherina. It was the poorest area of the city and mostly african-american people lived there. This is where he does much of his street art. Odums is also a teacher, artist and a filmmaker. Brandan Odums likes to work with the community and teach art to young artists.
Part 3 Formal Elements
This is Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Dan Llywelyn Hall (Wales, 2013). He used acrylic paints on a canvas of 5ftx4ft. In the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II the observer focuses on her hands which are fidgiting with her wedding ring. The painting is meant to show the Queens personality and it was commissioned for the 60th anniversary of her being Queen. I like that the Queen is less formal than in her other portraits.The Queen is facing the observer and her face is calm. She is wearing pearls, a broach and a watch. She is sitting in a golden chair with the light behind her head is like a halo. The tone is darker in the top corners and directs you to look at the darker face in front of the light curtains. You also see her lighter hands on the darker red dress. The artist painted using acrylic paints on a canvas. He used brushes of different sizes. Hall uses colour to describe emotionally the power of the Queen. He used mostly shades of red and gold which are complimentary. The atmosphere is very formal, relaxed, calm, luxurious, stylish, friendly, approachable and caring.The painting is in 2D and is rectangular in shape. This is a very large painting and is hanging a very large stadium. The surface texture in this painting is smooth. You can see the brushstrokes in the background of the subject but not anywhere else. The red dress has texture.
This street mural was created by Brandan Odums and it's called 9 Wall (New Orleans). On an unknown outside wall using spray paint.This street art is of a man painting a portrait of an African American activist. The artist has his back to the observer and the portrait person is looking directly at the observer. The art was painted after hurricaine Katherina flooded and destroyed an area of New Orleans called the 9th Ward. I think that the artist is trying to warn the observer about what happened in the 9th ward during and after hurricaine Katherina. The back of the artist is in the foreground and the portrait of the activist is in the background. On the left side of the work is a rectangular shape covered by text. It is assymetrical and the central object is the portrait of the activist frowning and looking directly at the observer.Odums used spray paint to create this mural outdoors and probably needed a ladder.The mural uses dark colours to contrast with the yellow. The artist painting in the painting is covering the bright yellow with dark blue. The left and right sides of the piece are light blue and it all gets darker toward the middle.The mood of this street art is dark, depressing, accussing, blaming, angry, sad, active and it makes you think and care about the victims of hurricaine Katherina.This work is 3D and is a large rectangular wall.The pattern in this street art is irregular.The surface texture of this street art is rough cement. You cannot see the brushstrokes but you can see the can of spray paint in the artists hand.