David Hockney frequently paints or draws from his immediate environment with his works being imbued with a celebration of form and colour. Hockney’s work often explores the perception of space, colour and composition.
In Hockney’s “Jade Plant” above, we can see the influence of cubism in the strange distortion of what appeared to be a table that the pot is sitting on, and in the floor below. We can also see the influence of Vincent van Gogh, both in the boldness of colour combinations and in the way the lines are rendered around the plant stems in those curved stroke that describes form. The strong pinks of those stems stand out against the cerulean blue of the background. These colours sit opposite on the RGB, Red/Green/Blue colour wheel as complementary colours. Note that artists most often use the RYB Red/Yellow./Blue colour wheel for mixing paint.
The graphic power of Hockney’s work comes from:
clever placement and composition within the picture plain,
limiting of unnecessary detail,
broad use of marks used to describe form and texture,
the use of bold colours in clever combinations,
and a constant experimentation without over working.
This project is the drawing or painting of a plant while being mindful of the powerful graphic qualities that Hockney uses.
David Hockney, Plant on Yellow Cloth, 1995, Oil on canvas, 66 × 45.7 cm
Children’s text
David Hockney often paints or draws from what he sees around him. He paints in bright colours and with strong simple shapes.
Hockney’s is good at:
clever placement and composition,
limiting of unnecessary detail,
broad use of marks used to describe form and texture,
the use of bold colours in clever combinations,
and a constant experimentation without over working.
This project is the drawing or painting of a plant in the style of David Hockney’s work.