David Hockney

Well I think you can be inspired by other artists and produce something that is all yours - we're not talking "copying" here. I believe most artists - and writers, musicians etc - all take something from others, don't you think? There's nothing wrong in that, inspiration is a wonderful feeling and then going on to try and put it into action and produce something new is very satisfying. I remember reading ,years ago, that Cat Stephens ( as he was then ) , never listened to anyone else's music because he wanted his to be original. Mmmm..don't think it's possible. I visited the Paul Nash exhibition yesterday and that certainly got me thinking, but whatever I paint soon, it may have been triggered by the exhibition but it certainly won't seem so I don't think. So, AG, my view is, let others inspire you but go off in your own direction - I'm sure you meant that anyway. What do others think?

I read a good deal about other artists and look at their work to see what I like and don't like. Some of it is inspiring and some forgettable and hopefully the inspiring bits motivate me to try new ideas and methods...even if not always successfully. It is not a matter of copying but more a process of learning, and I have often learned from artists I thought I didn't like before I looked carefully at their work. I will never paint like Hockney, and don't really want to, but reading his biography and prints are illuminating and I have a greater appreciation of his work as a result. Maybe something will subconsciously find its' way into my work but who knows. Incidentally my favourite Hockney anecdote is told by an artist friend of mine, Brian, who was at college in Bradford with Hockney. One morning Brian got off the bus in the centre of Bradford to walk up the hill to the college and it was pouring with rain. Hockney was walking up the other side of the road holding up an umbrella and he called loudly to Brian to join him until Brian reluctantly crossed the road and continued up the hill under Hockneys' umbrella, which consisted solely of bare spokes with no fabric. They both arrived at college soaking wet!

One of my favourite descriptions of a painting is "after Rembrandt", or whoever. It does tend to prompt the sarcastic quip "yes: and a ruddy long way after...". But then I do have a nasty streak - no no, it has to be admitted...... I have always enjoyed Hockney's work - but have no desire at all to paint like him; for one thing, I couldn't; for another, I don't see the world, or wish to represent it, through his eyes but, for better or worse, through my own. To be inspired by him, though - or any number of other artists - yes; I can understand that and identify with it. Copying also has its place - generations of art students were encouraged to copy classic paintings (I don't suppose they are now, but can't pretend to know) - but that hasn't necessarily anything to do with inspiration. I'm inspired by Hockney's sense of scale - I don't think it's possible to really appreciate his work at all if you're not aware of the spaces in his paintings: sometimes, they're accused of being rather flat (and sometimes, they are!) but the lateral space is what has always impressed me - he doesn't just focus on what's directly in front of him, he seems to see the whole landscape and is able to represent it as something that unfolds before you and even envelopes you. Breadth of vision, in other words. One can certainly aspire to that, without in any way seeking to mimic Hockney. You might also be inspired by the rich colours of Howard Hodgkin; or the more sombre, yet to me hypnotic tones of Rothko; the textures of Rembrandt or (I think this is the boy I mean) Greuze - just using sculpted brush strokes to make a shape that stands out and looks right at you; the ghostly, transparent draperies of Fuseli; the sheer energy of Turner. I think, like Marjorie, that we all absorb these influences and that it would be strange if we didn't - I can understand if Cat Stevens didn't listen to contemporary pop music, but he couldn't have avoided hearing all sorts of other music, and no painter that I know of could credibly claim to have been unaware of, or unexcited by, at least some of the painters of the past: would you paint at all without some reference point in the past application of paint - I suppose that once upon a time, someone did. I wonder who the first person was who made a painting just for the sake of the painting itself, not as an allegorical or symbolic piece, or a guide to which animals were best to hunt......?

This topic has moved on from 'in the style of' to 'copying'. But it's all about inspiration, I guess. Clearly you have to be influenced by artists you admire, and the influence could run pretty deep. I've tried a few 'in the style of' pics...with mixed results. My 'method' is to study the artist's work, then put all references out of sight, and try to paint my own picture in his style. Except, of course, it won't really be 'my own.' Most I binned. Those that survived were a kind of hybrid...not really mine, and certainly nothing like the artists. But it was interesting and fun, and that's the only reason I put marks on paper. I've also copied a few paintings...not many considering how long I've been doing this. Renoir, Alphonse Mucha and the great Manet. Copying the masters is supposed to be a good learning tool. The last was Manet's 'A bar at the Folie Bergere'. I love his work, and this painting would be in my personal TOP TEN great paintings. I've seen the original a few times...not nearly often enough. It's a fascinating painting with a number of supposed 'errors' in it, if you know the painting you'll know what I mean. The only thing that I can say about my copy is that everything is in the right place because I used the grid-system. The main thing it taught me was what I already know...I'm not Manet...some sections were impossible to do. Curiously, it's the best painting I've ever done. Equally curiously, it's not my painting. I'd never exhibit it anywhere...I guess it's a poor homage to an artist I admire. I think it's a great idea to do an 'in the style of', or even a copy. Good luck with your Hockney inspired picture.

Sylvia, thanks for mentioning the Van Gogh competition, I haven't really looked at the competition guff. I associate Van Gogh with lovely thick wedges of oil paint...I don't do much in oils or acrylic. I know he did some watercolour work, but somehow that seems less Van Goghy. So I'll give that one a miss.