Paul Wright Analysis | Picture 3

1. My first impression of this piece of art that it is very full of life. There are a lot of different strokes of paint across the whole painting and I think that overall, it is a very busy piece of art. It does not look peaceful at all and Paul Wright has used a wide range of colours which are mainly quite dull with a few warmer colours in his face. I was first drawn to how the background colours are very different to those used in the face as it creates a strong contrast. It makes his face stand out much more as the colours are so different. Like a lot of Paul Wright's paintings, he has applied the paint very thickly and with what I would imagine being a palette knife.

2. I see in this painting that there are a lot of darker colours than some of his other paintings. The main colours are green, blue and orange/red which is mainly in his face. I see a lot of harsh shapes in the background which help to form the face. There are triangular shapes which cut into the face. Around his lips there is a dark semi-circle which represents his moustache and then the darker blue/navy colour around his chin could represent his beard.

'Whilst I appreciate the importance of the subject being recognisable, they are glimpsed rather than exposed, their inner selves hinted at but ultimately inscrutable.'

3. I think that like all of his other paintings, Paul portrays a lot of emotion. This was is a lot darker than some of his other paintings. The face itself looks very down and the features are positioned in a way that makes the figure look like it's hurting. The paintings always tell a story and it is much more than just paint on a piece of paper. The darker colours also have negative connotations. I look at the eyes in this painting and I notice that the eyes are painting green. This could have connotations that he is envious of something, which links back to the idea that Paul wright likes to convey a story/message in his paintings. Although there are different sizes of strokes, lines and textures, all of the features are quite clear and distinguishable, apart from the face which blends in the face really well. I will use this in my own work by using a variety of colours which are all quite dark and I will also try to show emotion through my artwork.