Artist: Kayley Boehm
Title: Growth
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 60 x 50 cm (each)
My series titled ‘Growth’ comprises of three oil on canvas portraits featuring myself at different stages throughout my life. I have always been fascinated by textural paintings, specifically the use of pallet knife to create portraits that portray emotional connection to life. I investigated and was influenced by Australian contemporary artist Ben Quilty as well as Iranian artist Salman Khoshroo. Quilty’s piece ‘Man Cave – 2007’ proved inspirational. His focus on composition when creating the series was integral to the success of the artworks.
For each portrait, I used Winsor and Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Paints. I believed that removing the facial features and focusing heavily on composition and structure would allow for a strong connection to emotion and personality. I used a 1028 and 1046 pallet knife to create this piece and a 2B pencil when sketching. I focused heavily on dark and light tones to create shape and depth.
My decision to leave the vast amount of negative space followed my desire to push the viewers focus onto the texture and tonal variation within. It also created a higher contrast when the paintings are hung across a dark wall that was eye-catching and enhanced the colours of each artwork.
The restriction to primary colours within each piece relates strongly to Khoshroo’s Multi Coloured Portrait Series that only consist of red, blue, and yellow. This allowed for the separation yet unity within each piece that strengthened the series overall.
The composition of this piece was very important if it was to be successful. The series ‘Man Cave - 2007’ by Quilty was explored to gain insight on the importance of composition. The different sizes of each canvas only work together as they have been placed in a manner that allows them to sit together seamlessly. The composition of each painting on the canvas was also integral to this piece. The portraits are not central to the canvas which articulates that Quilty had already considered the layout in which they would be placed when displayed in the gallery. This emphasised to me the importance of placement of each canvas when hung in gallery. Another important takeaway from this series was the subtle connections between each piece. Whilst they could easily be separated into ten singular paintings, they have subtle strokes and drops of paint that slip off the canvas and connect them. I incorporated this technique into my artwork through the bold stroke of white that can be found within each portrait. This flowed through each and provided relationship within. Similarly, the thick shadowing continued throughout each piece and subtly connected them. Incorporating this into each painting allowed them to work together instead of appearing as stand-alone pieces.
I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this series. I feel as though I have developed greatly as an artist throughout the creation of each piece and have portrayed my younger self in a way that depicts my character and personality in a style inspired by the artists Quilty and Khoshroo.
Title: Growth
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 60 x 50 cm (each)
My series titled ‘Growth’ comprises of three oil on canvas portraits featuring myself at different stages throughout my life. I have always been fascinated by textural paintings, specifically the use of pallet knife to create portraits that portray emotional connection to life. I investigated and was influenced by Australian contemporary artist Ben Quilty as well as Iranian artist Salman Khoshroo. Quilty’s piece ‘Man Cave – 2007’ proved inspirational. His focus on composition when creating the series was integral to the success of the artworks.
For each portrait, I used Winsor and Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Paints. I believed that removing the facial features and focusing heavily on composition and structure would allow for a strong connection to emotion and personality. I used a 1028 and 1046 pallet knife to create this piece and a 2B pencil when sketching. I focused heavily on dark and light tones to create shape and depth.
My decision to leave the vast amount of negative space followed my desire to push the viewers focus onto the texture and tonal variation within. It also created a higher contrast when the paintings are hung across a dark wall that was eye-catching and enhanced the colours of each artwork.
The restriction to primary colours within each piece relates strongly to Khoshroo’s Multi Coloured Portrait Series that only consist of red, blue, and yellow. This allowed for the separation yet unity within each piece that strengthened the series overall.
The composition of this piece was very important if it was to be successful. The series ‘Man Cave - 2007’ by Quilty was explored to gain insight on the importance of composition. The different sizes of each canvas only work together as they have been placed in a manner that allows them to sit together seamlessly. The composition of each painting on the canvas was also integral to this piece. The portraits are not central to the canvas which articulates that Quilty had already considered the layout in which they would be placed when displayed in the gallery. This emphasised to me the importance of placement of each canvas when hung in gallery. Another important takeaway from this series was the subtle connections between each piece. Whilst they could easily be separated into ten singular paintings, they have subtle strokes and drops of paint that slip off the canvas and connect them. I incorporated this technique into my artwork through the bold stroke of white that can be found within each portrait. This flowed through each and provided relationship within. Similarly, the thick shadowing continued throughout each piece and subtly connected them. Incorporating this into each painting allowed them to work together instead of appearing as stand-alone pieces.
I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this series. I feel as though I have developed greatly as an artist throughout the creation of each piece and have portrayed my younger self in a way that depicts my character and personality in a style inspired by the artists Quilty and Khoshroo.