Favorite Artist?

[Tony]

I like Jackson Pollock's work. They call him an abstract expressionist but really he's a surrealist.

Jackson Pollock is regarded as one of the pioneers of abstract expressionism. I have never heard anyone knowledgeable of art and art history refer to him as a surrealist. If you want surrealism, you need to check out Salvador Dali, he is the quintessential surrealist.

 

[Soapy Sam]

A Scottish-resident German, Reinhardt Behrens.
A whimsical realist.
I have one of his works at home.

 

[Tony]

And Maxfield Parrish doesn't get nearly as much recognition as he deserves!!!

Indeed, here is a Maxfield Parrish piece I think we all will recognize.

 

[Temporal Renegade]

In no real order:
Rembrandt--I love the detail (a recurring reason)

Michael Whelan--fantastic use of colour & attention to (you guessed it) detail

Roger Dean--vivid imagery, totally from "out there"

Rodney Matthews--see RD

Frank Frazetta--dynamic, primal, just plain eye-catching: In fact since I came across his Edgar Rice Burroughs drawings for the John Carter stories, his images are all I now see whenever I re-read the damn things!

 

[Iconoclast]

Who is your favorite artist?

Damn, so many people have already picked Dali, and I have to agree, and every time you buy a Chupa Chup you get a piece of his art you can keep. Seriously.

 

[kittynh]

You have to see Van Gogh in real life. The more the better. His really good work is as much about texture as anything else. When I go to the Van Gogh museum I rarely am able to buy a print after having seen the real thing. They are totally different.

Maxfield Parrish. He painted the skies where I live. Our favorite saying is, "oh look, it's a Maxfield Parrish sky tonight!" It really is those colors here! You have to see his paintings in real life. They glow, they shine, they radiate off the wall drawing you to them.

Here's a game I learned from Thomas Hoving, when you go to a museum, ask yourself what two works of art you would steal if you had a chance. It's fun to do with a group, or alone. Just don't talk about it when you are in the museum, or make up a code!

 

[Peter Jenkins]

Another vote for Dali. And Chagall. I love the surrealists.
I had the great pleasure of visiting the Van Gogh exhibition in his centenary year (1999?) in Amsterdam. As othe people have noted, the texture of his paintings has to be experienced in three dimensions. 2D just doesn't do the artist justice.
(I first became a fan of Van Gogh after hearing Don Mclean's Starry, Starry night, and wanting to see the picture it was based on - how lame is that? )

Anyway, Here's one print that I love and never tire of. Dali's 'Woman at a window)

Peter

 

[BillyTK]

Jackson Pollock is regarded as one of the pioneers of abstract expressionism. I have never heard anyone knowledgeable of art and art history refer to him as a surrealist.

Well, here's a first for you. Surrealism is acknowledged as a major influence on Pollock's interests and work; his interest in the unconscious can be seen in his work from the early 1940s which featured Jungian psychoanalytic symbolism (Pollock was undergoing psychoanalysis at the time for his alcoholism). But it really came to the fore with his Action Painting of the late '40s, which echoes (and was doubtless influenced by) surrealist automatism; the idea of painting with as little conscious control of the brush as possible; and what could be less controlling than throwing the paint onto the canvas? Here's a quote from the great man himself:

When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of "get acquainted" period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through...
Source

If you want surrealism, you need to check out Salvador Dali, he is the quintessential surrealist.

*sighs* Yup, good old Dali; everyone goes for him. I guess his work is... how can I put it... more decorative than Max Ernst, or Rene Magritte (my favourite) for instance?

 

[JAR]

My favorite artist is John Gurche. He paints these really cool dinosaur paintings. To see his dinosaur paintings use this link and press on the text that says "DINOSAURS": http://www.gurche.com/main_frameset.htm

My favorite style of art is realism.

 

[HarryKeogh]

My favorite artist is John Gurche. He paints these really cool dinosaur paintings. To see his dinosaur paintings use this link and press on the text that says "DINOSAURS": http://www.gurche.com/main_frameset.htm

My favorite style of art is realism.

i recognized dinosaur image #132 on his website from the entrance to the new york Museum of Natural History. they have a fantastic fossil display and Gurche fleshed it out in his painting.

as far as my favorite artists, sad to say art is something that has never inspired me. like poetry, it does nothing for me. i appreciate their talent and dedication though but it doesnt thrill me like science, literature or music for instance.

plus i see pollack and can't help thinking "man, this guy really duped a lot of people into believing this stuff is good!". i'll take dali anyday.