Comparison - Andrew Tift and Mark Powell

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Eric Sykes by Andrew Tift, (2011) 35 in. x 26 3/8 in. Graphite, charcoal, carbon and ink,
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw220125/Eric-Sykes?LinkID=mp59010&search=sas&sText=andrew+tift&role=art&rNo=1

Untitled (2013) by Mark Powell, biro on envelope
http://www.emptykingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mark-Powell_web14.jpg

Similarities:

Both Andrew Tift and Mark Powell focus on portraiture in their work, and for both, the individuals they produce their work on are elderly. They both also produce work that is realistic and that creates meaning, and true life representations. Also, they both present most of their drawings with an incomplete look, finishing it with simple construction lines, with no tone or detail.

Differences:

Tift's drawings are hyper realistic, whilst Powell's are true to the individual, however they do not have as much specific detail to what Tift's has, which makes them look like the drawing is a photograph. The two artists also work on different scales; Tift works on a significantly on paper and on a larger scale than Powell, who draws on small scale envelopes or historical documents. They also use different mediums on their work; Powell only uses biro pen, whereas Tift, uses mixed mediums on his pieces, usually being graphite, charcoal and carbon.

Artist Analysis: Mark Powell

Mark Powell

Powell is a London based artist who was born in Leeds. He studied art at high school but did not achieve the best grades, he did not intend to enrol into a university but accidentally did so, however since graduating he has had shows across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
He primarily specialises in portraiture of the elderly, all of his work/sketches are done in bic biro pen and are on a recycled envelopes that act as a canvas.This is important in his work, as he believes that history is preserved and as a viewer, we have an insight in to the history of the letter and an insight into the senders/persons history, he says that a story can be told through the wrinkles and creases on their face; layers and layers of a persons story in one piece.
His work inspires me through the fact that the detail in the piece that has been put there by only one medium, it shows that the most detailed of things do not need to be the most complicated.

Examples of Mark Powell's work:

Untitled (201, biro pen on paper.
http://www.emptykingdom.com/featured/mark-powell-and-his-biro-pen/

Untitled (2013), biro on 1915 envelope
http://hanguppictures.com/urban/artists/mark-powell/untitled-12

Untitled (2013) biro on envelope
http://www.emptykingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mark-Powell_web14.jpg

This piece shows a drawing of an elderly man with a happy expression and wearing spectacles, however the spectacles are not compete, they are only filled with the existing writing on the envelope and a few simple lines. Also only the main part of the face is complete, and the surrounding areas are filled in with simple construction lines that show where the rest of the man's features. These simple lines add simplicity into the piece, and like I said in my previous post, I would like to incorporate this unfinished look into my own work.
The formal elements used in this piece are tone, the light and dark marks contrast and create shadows; tone is essential in this piece due to showing the creases and wrinkles in the man's skin. Also form; the form used on this piece is different to a larger scale piece due to the drawing being conducted on a larger scale, having to fit on an envelope; this could mean that their could be less detail in a smaller scale piece than on a larger scale piece.
This piece inspires me because it is not perfect, but at the same time, eye-catching and magnificently detailed.

http://www.markpowellartist.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/stevenhart7/mark-powell/
http://markpowellartist.tumblr.com/www.markpowellartist.tumblr.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ben-j-cotton/mark-powell-artist_b_3477697.html
http://hanguppictures.com/urban/artists/mark-powell

Artist Analysis: Andrew Tift

Andrew Tift
Tift was born in 1968, studied at Stratford College of Art and the University of Central England. This was where he graduated with a first class degree and a Master of Arts degree. So far he has been exhibited in the B.P. Portrait Gallery ten times; he has also won various awards, including The European  Painting Award and the Emerson Group Award, he has also done many notable commissions, for example, the portraits of Neil and Glenys Kinnock.
He describes himself  as a figurative realist painter and that specialises in portraiture. His work is aimed to convey people in a highly detailed and realistic way that is understanding, sympathetic and intimate towards them.
Instead of his paintings, I am going to focus on his drawings, which are mostly the mediums charcoal and graphite on paper. Tift's drawings/work is inspirational to me and they are pieces of work that I aspire too, I believe that they will help me to improve my skills and techniques.

Examples of Andrew Tift's work:

Absorb 60 cm. x 44 cm. Graphite, Charcoal and Carbon on paper
http://www.andrewtift.co.uk/drawings/absorb.jpg

Unfinished Memory 30 cm. x 20 cm. Graphite, Charcoal and Carbon on Paper
http://www.andrewtift.co.uk/drawings/unfinished-memory.jpg

Eric Sykes by Andrew Tift, (2011) 35 in. x 26 3/8 in. Graphite, charcoal, carbon and ink,
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw220125/Eric-Sykes?LinkID=mp59010&search=sas&sText=andrew+tift&role=art&rNo=1

When I visited a few art galleries in London a couple of years ago, I came across this piece of Tift's in the British Portrait Museum; I can remember being in ore of this striking piece and standing and in front of it and staring in amazement.
The piece show Eric Sykes, who was an actor, comedian, writer, director and producer, who in the piece comes across as happy through his grinning expression and quirky, shown through his slightly off balance spectacles.
The artist has used many formal elements in this piece; personally, the most striking is the tone used, it is strong and there is a lot of contrast between dark and light tones, it is very layered, which creates lots of depth and texture in the piece. The line used gives the piece more shape; also, the simple lines at the bottom that create his shirt, add simplicity to the piece. I am fond of the unfinished look to a finished piece.
I am going to make this piece relate to the work I want to make through including more depth and tone into my work, I also want to incorporate the unfinished look into my work, it makes the pieces more dramatic as more attention is drawn to the bolder parts of the piece, but at the same time, adds simplicity to the piece because of the simple lines.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/andrew-tift
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp59010/andrew-tift?search=sas&sText=andrew+tift
http://www.andrewtift.co.uk/drawings.shtml

Collage

This was my starting point, I decided to make the piece entirely from little pieces of paper which built up to resemble a mosaic, as seen in the pictures below.

After this, I decided that I would approach collage in a different way. I started to tear bigger pieces of paper and layer them which created a completely different texture and look to the piece.

From different perspectives you want see the different layers on the piece and how the shapes are formed.

Charcoal drawing on A1 paper

Similar to the graphite drawing previously, this charcoal drawing is done on an A1 sheet of paper. It is from a small section of a photograph taken by myself. To begin with, I struggled and found the charcoal difficult to work with. Over time this faded away and I adapted different techniques to suit the material. To improve this piece of work more tone could be added in certain areas to bring the composition together.

Graphite drawing on A1 paper

Drawing on a sheet of A1 paper in graphite. This drawing shows tone, shape and line. I drew this from a section of picture, of a tree in my house. It shows layers through the use of graphite - layers of graphite that form different tones and shapes. Also the layers of the tree - the leaves overlap and almost get entwined, creating layers of leaves. I found the graphite hard to use at first, however over time my style of drawing adapted and I found that it did not have to be perfect and smooth, and I could infact use rough and sketchy marks.

Images of 'Layers'

A wooden structure in my house, the form of the object is interesting and intriguing. It conveys layers through the overlaying of the spikes and the way the light catches it. Layers of light are created due to the different shapes on the structure, it adds intensity to the creases and folds on the object because of it creates more tone in lighter and darker areas. 

These photos show the Yucca tree in my house. The leaves on the tree seem to overlap and intertwine creating a layered effect.  

Pavement that has worn away showing layers through revealing the inside and the surface of the pavement.

                                                                    

These wooden balls show layers due to the pieces of the wood overlaying over one another.

An orchid plant shows layers through the overlapping flowers.

Different creased and scrunched materials illustrate layers through the creases they create and the Layering of the different colours and materials.