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Any surrealist painters out there?
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Message
Posted
Hi all,
I'm fairly new to painting on canvas. Well not entirely new because I have been painting figures for years, which you need a base level of artistic ability for. I like surrealism and abstract art, I have upload a few of my compositions, they are very deep and can be explained by me If requested! I just wondered if there are others on here that paint the cryptic side of art? Most of what I've seen uploaded is 'as is' art like landscapes etc. I'm by no means a natural artist but enjoy this nonetheless. Also I've noticed there are some truly exceptional paintings on here, I do feel a bit out of my depth! I endeavour to improve though!
Kind regards,
Gavin.
Posted
Hi Gavin,
On occasion surreal art does appear in the gallery, but as you say most artists on POL follow a more traditional route. I admire most types of art but have a particular liking for off-beat, idiosyncratic art...and surrealism is in that category. Apparently the name literally means 'beyond realism', but in art it gets described in many ways. I also like cartoons and many of the ideas expressed in cartooning have a surreal element, but that's not what you're after, I guess.
In case you don't know this...if you click on the gallery, on the left is a SEARCH GALLERY facility. Typing SURREAL in there will produce any examples of surreal art posted by members. To be included, the artist must have included the word 'surreal' somewhere in their description when uploading the art...so there may be others not shown.
I've tried surrealism a few times, I find it difficult, but that's not a reason not to try.
Can't help you with Abstraction. Don't understand it, although I often like some of it.
Posted
Hi Gavin, On occasion surreal art does appear in the gallery, but as you say most artists on POL follow a more traditional route. I admire most types of art but have a particular liking for off-beat, idiosyncratic art...and surrealism is in that category. Apparently the name literally means 'beyond realism', but in art it gets described in many ways. I also like cartoons and many of the ideas expressed in cartooning have a surreal element, but that's not what you're after, I guess. In case you don't know this...if you click on the gallery, on the left is a SEARCH GALLERY facility. Typing SURREAL in there will produce any examples of surreal art posted by members. To be included, the artist must have included the word 'surreal' somewhere in their description when uploading the art...so there may be others not shown. I've tried surrealism a few times, I find it difficult, but that's not a reason not to try. Can't help you with Abstraction. Don't understand it, although I often like some of it.Thanks for your reply. I shall have a search for what you've suggested. Regards, Gavin.
Posted
Hi Gavin. There's no surreal option to tick in the Painting Style options so they may be hard to find in the gallery. It does appeal to me too. I've ventured in that direction on occasion. I'm not sure how surreal you'd consider them but there's a lady in a jam jar in my pastel gallery and in my oil gallery an apple surrounded by barbed wire bleeding. I still have one in my head that I'd like to do but I've gone off in a different direction now. I'm looking forward to seeing your abstract work too.
Posted
Collette is right, the gallery search system isn't perfect. Put 'surreal' in your title or description and the painting WILL show up in a search. Likewise, if an artist casually uses the word in his description for a painting that ISN'T surreal, it will also show up in a search for 'surreal'.
I've just checked Collette's gallery, two excellent surreal paintings that I've missed. Sometimes the art posted just whizzes through and it's easy to miss stuff.
Maybe on the next website upgrade they could add a 'surreal tick-box'.
(There's not one for CARTOONS either, I have to make-do with 'illustration'. Perhaps 'surrealism' and 'cartoons' are niche genres??)
Posted
Hi Gavin. There's no surreal option to tick in the Painting Style options so they may be hard to find in the gallery. It does appeal to me too. I've ventured in that direction on occasion. I'm not sure how surreal you'd consider them but there's a lady in a jam jar in my pastel gallery and in my oil gallery an apple surrounded by barbed wire bleeding. I still have one in my head that I'd like to do but I've gone off in a different direction now. I'm looking forward to seeing your abstract work too.Collette, I have checked out your gallery and indeed, the woman incarcerated in the jam jar is a brilliant piece of surrealism! The hardest part is thinking of something original and bizarre to paint, which is as much a challenge as the painting itself. You are very talented by the way, the portraits are exceptional in my opinion. G
Posted
Collette is right, the gallery search system isn't perfect. Put 'surreal' in your title or description and the painting WILL show up in a search. Likewise, if an artist casually uses the word in his description for a painting that ISN'T surreal, it will also show up in a search for 'surreal'. I've just checked Collette's gallery, two excellent surreal paintings that I've missed. Sometimes the art posted just whizzes through and it's easy to miss stuff. Maybe on the next website upgrade they could add a 'surreal tick-box'. (There's not one for CARTOONS either, I have to make-do with 'illustration'. Perhaps 'surrealism' and 'cartoons' are niche genres??)Yeah there is so much art to see on here that's its impossible notice everything. I agree that cartoons are also another specialist genre too. Your work is very original and top quality by the way! Regards, Gavin
Posted
Gavin: Thank you for your kind comment. I agree that thinking about something is the hardest part. I often overthink and then abandon my ideas. About 2018 I had this idea to do a literal take on phrases people use: hanging on by a thread, holding herself together, coming apart at the seams, unravelling. I wanted it to look very realistic, along the lines of Joel Rea's work. I just couldn't pull it off. I bought a book by James Gurney called Imaginative realism that I thought would help me. It's a good book but basically he creates the scene for reference in advance, a mockup. I can't afford to have someone build me a diorama, hire models and so on, so I thought I'd try doing a mockup in Photoshop. Lighting was the real problem, no way to switch direction realistically. What I needed was a 3D program so I'd tried Daz studio and that nightmare of a program is where my journey ended.