Comments on: Art awards, BP Portrait Awards, Art for Art’s Sake

By: Peter Monkman

Peter Monkman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:19:21 +0000

Simple interpreation is further obscured by the way the images is printed and transmitted. The National Portait Gallery for some reason printed my image with slightly cooled down flattened tones in the face. In real life Changeling has much more depth of tone with more reds and pinks. On my web site I kept the saturation higher as if the painting is observed in subuded light. Go and see the real thing. The painting is beautifully lit in the NPG and often spectators feel it is much better in the flesh.
Watch out for Changeling 3 which is being exhibited at the Mall galleries 2nd – 19th september as part of the threadneedle prize exhibition….also Changeling 4 at OVADA Oxford through July – August.

All the best ,

Peter Monkman

By: Hal

Hal — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:53:47 +0000

Peter – I am over the moon that you came here and took the time to comment on my observations! For me you have created a lovely image, which I will make a point of looking at ‘in person’ because I believe it would reveal so much more than I get from an electronic reproduction.

Your explanation also helps a great deal – it is very hard to know from a news web site what is taken verbatim and what has been distilled from a wider narrative. I am pleased to say I saw the ‘acting out’ in your portrait, making it harder for me as a viewer to understand precisely who the person is. As I said, she looks as if she could be 12, or she could be 30. The response I wrote after seeing it confirms your point about interpretation.

It remains a beautiful piece of work for me, too. Thank you for creating it.

One thing I notice from the image the BBC shared, compared to that on your own web site… there is a distinct lack of red in the BBC image!

By: Peter Monkman

Peter Monkman — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:56:37 +0000

Thank you for the very thoughtful comments on my painting, I am pleased it has provoked a response. Art remains a mysterious thing to me as well and often the written language and explanation arises after I have made the work. The work grows intuitively using a visual language and a gut response to the subject; in this case my daughter (age 12) ‘Challenging idealised images of childhood’ comes from my research into the sentimental images of Victorian children in photography and painting (think Singer Seargent and G.F.Watts ) My work takes this genre and gives it a slight twist making the image more ambiguous. In other words it is not a straight forward portrait of my daughter, it is as if she has taken the stage and is acting out an new role for anyone to interpret.
More could be written, but in the end it is important to not read too much but enjoy the more emotional response.
Peter Monkman (BP Portrait Award exhibitor of Changeling 2)

By: Art awards, BP Portrait Awards, Art for Art’s Sake | WhoSayWhatWhen

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:33:39 +0000

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By: Posts about Painting as of June 17, 2009 | Tatuaj.org

Posts about Painting as of June 17, 2009 | Tatuaj.org — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:34:28 +0000

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