EXAM: Brett Smith Artist Analysis

Spring Fireworks 002 Oil on canvas 4ft x 6ft
http://www.brettlsmith.com/archive/index.php?album=spring-2007/

Brett Smith was born in Durban, South Africa in 1972 and lives and works in Atlanta, GA. He attended the Georgia State University, Atlanta, between 1991 – 1995 and is not a self taught artist. Brett Smith says in his artist statement, "My goal as an artist is to distill that which has been observed into a simple mark or gesture so that each dot and each line will possess a life of its own. I tend to filter the botanical world through my conscious and sub-conscious mind, meditating on the various forms and images, finally drafting a new reality through a process of automatic drawing and painting. Experimentation, invention and accident play a pivotal role in my quest to achieve visual poetry. As a child I remember being fascinated by the forms and shapes of trees, flowers and leaves, being amazed by the endless combinations of form, texture and color. Therefore it is not a surprise that these are the same images and themes that move through my paintings and drawings now. By observing the constant change as things grow, flourish and finally decay, I find that I am able to examine that fine line between beauty and destruction." 

Each of Smith's bodies of work revolve around a different medium, for example Spring 2007 is based around using Oil on Canvas. 
In this piece of work I can see clusters of blotches dotted around the right hand side of the canvas. Within the blotches there are lines which have been made, possibly with a pointed end of something.
This 2D painting is 4ft by 6ft, which is 121.92 x 182.88 cm. There are variations of shade in this image as behind the dark blotches there are some light grey marks. They look like shadows put behind the blotches to make the painting look slightly 3D. It also looks like these marks have been made by Smith dragging his finger over the blotches whilst drying to create a smudged effect. There is very little, if not no colour in this piece of work as there are only two shades of black and grey. The oil paint that Smith has used in this painting create the 'blotched' effect which can be seen in the marks. As stated before, I think that the 'blotches' of paint have had something like a pointed end (eg. the end of a paint brush) pulled through them as there are lines of paint coming off the blotches and lines going through them.

As soon as you look at the piece, you immediately look at the centre of the blotches where there are more of them. This then leads the viewers eye to the trails of marks facing towards the four corners of the painting and leading outwards slightly. Finally the viewers look at the small cluster of marks below the main body of blotches. In his artist statement, Smith states that he has always been fascinated by the form of flowers therefore the blotches in the painting may represent flowers, especially as this body of work is called Spring 2007. I like this piece of work because I think that although it being very simplistic, I think it is very stunning to look at.

I am influenced by this body of work because it makes me think of using this blotching method to create layers which I can use to layer up over other paintings or art forms. The main idea I have with this is to use this method to add layers of paint on top of old film posters. This then relates to my exam question of weathered and worn as these film will be films that people have forgotten about or have been remade.