There’s an adage in the art world – the gist of which is attributed to numerous people, from Picasso to T.S. Elliot – that goes:
Good artists copy, great artist steal.
We discussed this idea in our group tutorial a couple of weeks ago, and came to the consensus that such an idea is outdated. No one creates art in a vacuum, rather, we’re all influenced by what has gone before and those around us. Besides, the golden calf of originality has been knocked off it’s pedestal, in favour of connection and collaboration, so there is no need to steal. Therefore, do the decent thing and acknowledge your sources.
With this in mind, I thought I would write a post listing my favourite contemporary painters, whose work I both love and which serves as a source of inspiration. The latter is especially true in relation to the figurative paintings I am developing for my research project.
del Kathryn Barton
del’s work is glorious beyond compare. I’ve seen it in the flesh, and it doesn’t disappoint. Naturally, I love all the details, being a fiend for the iddy biddy, but it’s actually her figures I love the most. In fact, they are probably my favourite figures of any painter. Below is my favourite of del’s paintings.
Genieve Figgis
Genieve is an Irish painter who came to prominence through social media when famed artist, Richard Prince, fell for her work and ushered her into the New York art world. It’s easy to see why, her work is sumptuous, quirky and daring. I particularly love the painting below and feel happy when I see it.
Susan Rocklin
Susan and I met on a course at the Slade School of Art in London. Shortly after, she began her MA at the Royal College of Art, also in London. It has been amazing to see her work develop. I think it is utterly sublime. I love all her work, but especially the one below.
Maryclare Foá
I follow Maryclare on Instagram under one of her art names M and F Mo. I didn’t know who she was (to be honest, I thought it was a bloke), I just loved her delicious colours and expressive figures. When I was looking a bit further into her work for this post, I was delighted to discover that Maryclare is a lecturer at Central Saints Martins, and also did her MA there. I hope our paths cross one day, so I can tell her how much I love her work.
George Raftopoulos
Not wanting to leave the fellas out, I thought I would include George. Like del, he is an Australian painter. I love his work and find his figures particularly inspiring.
Well, there you have it, the contemporary painters I find inspiring. There are others of course, but I have run out of time, as I have a workshop in a few minutes (about creating an artist’s portfolio), so I better go.
Oh no, the workshop was cancelled, I guess because of the teachers strike. Never mind, I’ll go and see if that Fonzi wants to hang out instead. I’ll pick some rubbish while I’m there, as he tends not to come if I stand there looking for him.
Nope, he wasn’t there. He’s either gone fishing or is playing hard to get. Ah well, at least I was able to pick up some rubbish…including a permanent marker that still works. Thanks Manannan!
If you’d like to see more work by the artists above, just click on the images.
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