![]() ![]() He continued to receive a steady stream of high-profile commissions, but was propelled into the public limelight in 2007 due to publicity surrounding his controversial portrait of, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair wearing a blood-red poppy. Yeo’s first major portrait commission came in 1993 from anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Trevor Huddleston. Truly a portraitist for the modern age, he employs a variety of media including photography and collage, while exploring contemporary themes such as social media, cosmetic surgery and pornography. Among these, notable sitters include David Cameron, the Duke of Edinburgh, Malala Yousafzai and Damien Hirst. He has painted politicians, activists, actors, writers and artists. This mini research project has been an enjoyable diversion and I know I will return to Yeo’s work for inspiration in future.Jonathan Yeo is a self-taught figurative artist, often credited with reinvigorating British portraiture in the twenty first century. I was definitely trying out something along these lines in my portrait of Adrian Lester… and now I can see these techniques in the hands of a pro.Īnd following in the fine tradition of portraying actors in character I notice that Yeo has painted Kevin Spacey as Richard III ! This contrasts with more photo-realistic painting of the face causing the features to appear in sharp focus ( like the light and dark impact of chiaroscuro). I’ve put together a Pinterest board here…īelow I’ve tried to define the characteristics of Yeo’s painting that appeal to me…ĭifferent weights of paint / styles of painting for different areas of the canvas including chequered lines, loose, fluid drawing lines and transparency applied to hair, clothes and backgrounds. You can read more about him on his website here. Having always drawn people’s likenesses as doodles and sketches, this interest became formalised as he began to work in paint, drawing inspiration from artists such as Picasso, Wyndham Lewis and Lucian Freud. ![]() His journey into art and portraiture is an interesting one. Whilst studying film at university, he developed Hodgkins Lymphoma, which ended his formal studies but led him to paint during his recovery. Yeo talks of a “wonderfully casual savagery…a squiggle here and there, then minutes later they’re going to be putting a knife through those lines.” He is perhaps drawing a parallel between the lines of the artist and the marks of the surgeon. He presents the faces of women in pre and post-op states, and bodies marked up with incision lines ready for the knife. His work includes paintings of women having cosmetic surgery procedures challenging the notion of beauty and the endless search for perfection. ![]() a weary Tony Blair wearing a bright red poppy firmly linking his legacy to the Iraq war and an unauthorised collage portrait of George Bush made up of pornographic images, referencing, in Yeo’s words, “the warped moralities of George Bush’s policies”. His political portraits have caused controversy e.g. He has painted many famous politicians and celebrities and also had his own exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery – that surely must be as high as you can get as a portraitist?. He is an extraordinarily accomplished contemporary portrait artist (portraitist?) who works in paint, collage and print. Stella picked up on what I was trying to do and pointed me towards Yeo. In my portrait of Adrian Lester as Othello I was trying to introduce fluid drawing lines into my work in acrylics and play with mixing different styles of painting. I have friend and fellow OCA student Stella Davis to thank for introducing me to the work of Jonathan Yeo. Photobooth Selfie, Jonathan Yeo (part) From:
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