Looking at artists

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Looking at artwork

One of the most important aspects of developing as an artist is to look at others work.

This guide will help you make the best of every image you look at, train your visual awareness and develop your visual skills. Your growing knowledge will enable you to discover and expand your intellectual and observational skills through intuition, experimentation and research.

Here are some suggestions for different ways of thinking about an artwork.

Describe it, relate it, analyse it, interpret it and evaluate it.

Joe Clarke, sketchbook studies of artists work

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Describe it and relate it

• What kinds of things do you see in this artwork?

• What words would you use to describe this artwork?

• What first attracted you to this artwork?

• What is it that holds your interest?• How does the artwork make you feel?• Does it remind you of anything? E.g.

another artwork, a place, person, story, idea or memory?

• What is it about the artwork that sparks these memories and associations?

Stephen Powell, sketchbook studies of artists work

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Analyse it

Look at compositionWhat is your eye drawn to first? What are the different elements in the artwork? How have they been put together?

LinesLook at the directions of lines, the edges of shapes. Are the lines horizontal or vertical or at other angles, straight or curved, continuous or broken, thick or thin, long or short, heavy or light, smooth or jagged, aggressive or delicate, fuzzy or crisp?

ShapesAre the shapes rounded, rectangular, triangular, regular or irregular, symmetric or asymmetric, fat, thin or tapered, convex (bulging) or concave (hollowed out)?

TonesLook at the light and dark, shadows and highlights. Are the tones pale, murky, dazzling, dim, harsh, subtle? Is the contrast high or low?

ColoursAre the colours natural or exaggerated, intense or soft, dull or bright, warm or cool, complementary (opposite on the colour wheel) or harmonious (near each other on the colour wheel)?

PatternsAre the patterns bold or subtle, simple or intricate, geometric or regular, rich or sparse?

TexturesWhat is the surface texture like? Is it even or uneven, smooth or coarse, shiny or matte?If it’s a painting, can you see the brushstrokes?

Process and technique• What type of artwork is it? E.g. a painting, drawing, sculpture, photograph, video,

sound work, installation or textiles piece.• How do you think it was made?• If it is a painting, drawing or sculpture, can you see evidence of how the artist’s hand

moved? Do you think it moved slowly and carefully or quickly and energetically?• How long do you think it took to make?• Do you think other people may have helped the artist make it?• How is it displayed? If it is in a frame, what is the frame like? !

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Interpret it and put in into context

• What do you think is happening in this artwork?• Where and when was the artwork created? What do you know about the place and

that period in history? What was life like? What was happening socially, politically, culturally?

• Do you think the artwork is influenced by this?• What do you know about the artist, their life, influences and art practice?• Was the work originally created as a piece of art or do you think it had some other

purpose? E.g. religious, ceremonial, practical• Do you think it was originally intended for display in a gallery or for another space?

E.g. palace, temple, church• How does it compare to other works? E.g. by the same artist, or by someone from

the same place and period in history, or those displayed in the same room. In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?

• What part of the Gallery is it in? Why do you think it is in that particular location?

Jane Horton, sketchbook studies of artists work

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Evaluate it

• Can you classify the artwork and its subject according to a type? E.g. landscape, portrait, still life.

• Does it depict something recognisable like a person or an object? Is it realistic or more abstract? Natural or unnatural?

• Could it be a symbol for something else?• Does it tell a story?• Is the subject familiar to you? What other examples can you recall? E.g. in other

artworks, literature, music, films.• Can you see people in the artwork? If so, what are they doing? What might they be

thinking? Look at their expressions, gestures, clothes.• What do you think the artwork is about?• What you can’t see.• What difference would it make if something about the artwork changed? E.g. if was

a different colour or size or made of other materials or in a different frame.• What difference would it make if the artwork was in a different setting? E.g. a

temple, outdoors.• Can you extend the artwork in your imagination? If it shows a scene, what might

have happened before or after that moment? What is happening outside the frame?• What part of the Gallery is it in? Why do you think it is in that particular location?

MUMOK, Vienna

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At the gallery

When looking at artworks at the gallery, you can expand your knowledge and enjoyment of art. Read the information provided – look for labels and text panels on the walls, room brochures, information boards that you can carry around the room.

Take advantage of our tours, exhibition talks, lectures and symposia, courses and publications. Visit again. Even seemingly simple artworks will reveal new things on a second, third or fourth viewing. Looking closely at paintings, sculptures or photographs can reveal information about techniques that you would never get by looking at a poor scale reproduction of the work.

Try to see as many exhibitions as possible. It doesn’t matter if the work isn’t of the highest order. There is much to learn even from not-so-good art. In many images even if the whole picture isn’t completely successful, a part of it may be interesting. In others the idea behind the art may be a revelation even when it hasn’t been successfully carried out. You may see images where artists/photographer have been struggling with the same problems that you are experiencing and through their failure see possible solutions. In an exhibition by local artists or photographers you may see local subjects to paint or photograph whose possibilities hadn’t occurred to you before.

When you visit a gallery or museum, decide whether to look at everything, tiring yourself and as a consequence taking nothing in, or whether to be selective. If you are going to a large exhibition, it is often better to quickly walk round the whole exhibition and then go back to focus on just the few that really drew your attention.

MUMOK, Vienna

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Be prepared to be surprisedYou may go to look at paintings but find the sculpture or the garden every bit as rewarding. Don’t in any case ignore the building in which the work are being shown.

Ask yourself how well the works of art relate to their environment.

Don’t forget to take a sketchbook and notebook with you whenever you make a visit. It is also a good idea to take a friend who may be able to give a valuable second view on what you see, and discuss the exhibits with you.

A page or two of notes about each visit will be a valuable addition to your learning log.

OCA Student Stephanie Cussons’ Sketchbook

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Annotating images

Make judgements• First describe the art work; this will make you focus on it. You can do this in your

head or make notes on paper.• Then analyse it, using the questions at the beginning of the guide.• Once you have analysed the elements, try to second guess what the artist intended.• What do you think the artist was trying to convey? This is the most challenging part

of looking at art, and is called interpretation.• Finally, draw your conclusions. This is much more to do with your personal response

to the work. How does it make you feel? What reaction do you have to the elements and composition? Does the work feed your imagination? Does it intrigue you or does it leave you cold?

A very useful activity after a visit to a museum or gallery is to annotate postcards or your own sketches of images that interest you. This simply means adding explanatory notes to the pictures.

Put notes around the edges of the pictures rather than obscure them with writing.

One way of annotating a postcard is to stick it in the top half of an A4 sheet and draw a line across the page about two thirds of the way down. Above this line and around the postcard there is space to make comments about the card. You may wish to comment on the accuracy of the reproduction, the way something has been depicted, the use of a particular colour, or the way the painting has been composed for example. Comments can be made in the form of sketches as well as words.

Below the line jot down anything about the painting that can’t be worked out from looking at it but needs further research- things like its date, whether it was commissioned, whether there are other similar examples by the same artist, where they are, and so on.

Annotated postcards and drawings of images can be included in your learning log.

If you keep your learning log online you can copy and paste images into your blog, but make sure you acknowledge the sources for copyright reasons. Please note that you may not use Bridgeman images on your blog.

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Selecting art books

How should you go about selecting what books you should choose?

Your individual tastes, your tutor’s advice and the availability of books will be determining factors. Modern art books nearly always have great quality illustrations in them, and the books you will want to keep will almost certainly be those packed with large good quality illustrations that you can use for reference for many years. In that sense art books are great investments. Don’t feel that any book you buy or borrow has to be read from cover to cover. If you do read a book on art, make notes about it in your learning log to remind you of the key points. Don’t forget there are several good sources of second hand art books to buy on the internet.

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Online

The internet has become a wonderful forum for art. Even if you live in an area that makes it difficult to get to exhibitions, or if you are disabled or confined in some way, the internet opens a world of opportunity to discover artwork. For instance the major public galleries not only publish samples of exhibitions on the web, but often have the whole exhibition on the web available as well as in the gallery. Many have virtual tours, audio and visual resources available. For example Tate Britain. Through the student site you can access online libraries such as Oxford Art online and others.

Don’t think that basing your work on other artists or photographers work, or consciously using ideas from others is cheating. Watch this video - Steal Like an Artist online. https://youtu.be/oww7oB9rjgw

All forms of art practice have histories which inform and contextualise them; it is important that we, as artists, understand where and how our art practice fits into the overall picture, so that we can learn from the past in order to find new ways into the future. oca-student.com is your first stop for access to help, support, advice and tips from tutors and other learners. Browse the available resources on the student site, upload work for peer-critique, and get chatting to other students via the forum. Find out about exhibitions and books recommended by fellow students, discuss the state of contemporary art or the music industry, share tips on techniques and processes, and share your thoughts on studying from home.

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