Art-ology

Artists have always been facinated by the human form and produced figurative based art. The natural curves and features of the human body are a frequent source of inspiration for many artists from Beryl Cook to Banksy. This is some thing that can be seen in the art world to every magazine cover in the country, so there must be a basic intrigue for humans to examine our own and other people’s bodies. Three of the top contemporary artists in this genre are Texan artist Todd White and British painters Darren Baker and Jack Vettriano, although there are major differences between their painting styles. One thing that is the same is their love for painting the human figure and in particular females.

Painter Todd White comes from Texas and has had an interesting career path. He started life working in Los Angeles for Warner Brothers and was part of the artistic creative team behind Sponge Bob Square Pants. This could explain the cartoon looks of the people he paints in his contemporary artwork. Todd White prints often features characters dressed in black clothing, socialising and drinking wine and this could be down to where he is based. It would seem that Todd White is surrounded by Los Angeles schmoozers and social climbers and from his artwork, I’d say he is not a fan.

Jack Vettriano comes from Fife in Scotland and has received a number of awards for his figurative and nude pieces. Jack Vettriano artwork have a film noir feel to them, painting many of his subjects in a 50′s style. He often features women in his paintings often in relaxed poses or in the middle of doing something like leaving a room through a door. Jack Vettriano often paints characters that appear distracted, many of his pieces feature people staring off into the distance or focused on some thing else.

Darren Baker is a young and very promising British artist, who has already commanded a great deal of respect from his peers. Darren Baker has received a number of awards from the art world and has private and public collections in the House of Lords and Downing Street. He has also been approached by many sports personalities to paint portraits, this is probably because he has been appointed official artist of The Professional Footballer’s Association when he was 23 years old. Darren has a contemporary style that combines realism and classics and he is fond of painting human figures. Darren Baker prints frequently female figures often in relaxed, seductive positions and he often uses a mix of black and red colours.