ILLUSTRATOR CLASS ASSIGNMENT 2

By Matisse

                buensuceso_ai2_class
                TRACE FAMOUS ARTIST ARTWORK
                                   

                            STATEMENT     OF     PURPOSE

By Matisse

        As I browsed over the gallery of artwork from where we are asked to choose one for this project,  Pablo Picasso was the artist whose work had greatly attracted me to deal with. I have been inclined to study artworks by Pablo Picasso as I thought of the word Picasso is a person with a joyful and comic personality as his name sounds like "Payaso" meaning clown in Filipino, the Philippine language. A week before the exciting random drawing of lots of who is to be assigned to each one of the forty artworks, Picasso's numbered 8 artwork had given me the groundwork on what I could expect doing this project. I tried it, then, came to realize, Picasso was not "Payaso" (clown) after all, I could not afford to laugh but express sighs of relentless frustrations. His  painting color texture and gradient combinations are illusive   and scared me fitted for the Halloween.

 

Artwork by Picasso

        So when the random drawing of lots called me to choose, I chose  not Pablo Picasso but a simple looking number 25, by Henri Matisse. This one would be easy as I contemplated while we are given a chance to select an artwork during that time. However, like Pablo Picasso's number 8,  Henri Matisse's number 25 is equally intriguing. I constantly agree to writer, Shelley Esaak, when she wrote that Matisse's works are characterized by big blocks of bold , vibrant colors, and a deceptive simplicity. She added farther, Matisse and Picasso are probably the two artists who had the greatest influence on the course of 20th century art. Yes, deceptive simplicity is the term aptly described  Henri Matisse's numbered 25 artwork. He made his paintings in a manner looking effortlessly naive, where unsuspecting art enthusiast would render the art piece as easy as eating peanuts. This reaction is what Sir Henri Matisse purposely wanted his audience to exude. From the words of Sir Henri Matisse, he himself said, "I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have the light joyousness of springtime, which never let anyone suspect the labors it has cost me...".

     Moreover, he said, "What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter, an art which could be for every mental worker, for the businessman as well as the man of letters, for example, a soothing, calming influence on the mind, something like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue."  I,  being an audience, there is no doubt Henri Matisse achieved his intentions to provide me a soothing, calming influence on my mind something like  a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue but I, being an artist, while doing the trace of his painting is like having an armchair slump upon my shoulder. I could feel the burden these artists loaded upon their shoulders while producing their own masterpieces.

      Anyways,  I took pride in having the chance of tracing his artwork as this exercise exposed me to know my handicaps and learn ways to overcome them. Later, when others or myself would be able to copy Matisse's number 25 in all its entirety,  it is paramount to remember that aside from his art, he had his wisdom to share in his own words, "Exactitude is not the truth." .

        Thank you very much.

         Antonio L. Buensuceso

                   ORIGINAL   IMAGE                                                  TRACED  IMAGE             

The TRUTH will set you FREE.