If You're Interested In Knowing More.....

be sure to check out some of the following books!

Chuck Close: Life by Christopher Finch
Chuck Close: Work by Christopher Finch
Chuck Close Up Close by Jan Greenberg
Close Reading: Chuck Close and the Artist Portrait by Martin L. Friedman

Resources

Here is a list of resources I used to create this blog about the photorealist artist Chuck Close.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Close
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Chuck_Close.aspx
http://www.chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/process/self_p.htm
http://calendar.walkerart.org/canopy.wac?id=1528
http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/june97/close2.html
http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa50.htm
http://www.arcadja.com/artmagazine/en/2008/06/12/kate-moss-chuck-close%E2%80%99s-inspiring-muse/

Dalai Lama (2005)

                                                                    Dalai Lama (2005)

This portrait of the Dalai Lama is one of Chuck Close's more recent works, being completed in 2005. It is a digital pigment print on Hahnemhle photo rag paper and is 49 by 41.5 inches wide. I really like this portrait that Close created. I think the colors on his robe really pop in comparison to the background and it grabs your attention. The detail in the painting is also very good when it comes to the wrinkles on the Dalai Lama's forehead and on the neck. I think Chuck Close is extremely talented for being able to show detail such as that so well.

Big Nude (1967-1968)

                                                                 Big Nude (1967-1968)

This work of art was Chuck Close's first large format figurative painting, and in fact it's the only work of its kind. Close never painted a full body on this scale again. It is 10 by 22 feet long. The model used was an attractive woman but according to Close not an exceptionally beautiful one. He painted her very realistically, including things such as tan lines, pores, and stretch marks. When asked about this Close replied, "I was trying to be very flat-footed and effect this translation (of a photograph) and not editorialize and not crank anything up for greater effect." Personally, I think that this piece is interesting because it seems so different from what Close usually paints.

Art Lesson Video

In this video Chuck Close discusses how he goes about making a portrait. When Close discusses how he makes his paintings he says that the technique he uses or the building blocks of his paintings don't really stand for anything. He describes his squares as being similar to an architect and their use of bricks. My favorite part of this video was when Close was talking about the faces of the people he painted. He says that a person's face is like a road map to what their life is like. I agree with Close, and I think that by believing that he makes better portraits. The video then goes on to talk about how Close began painting agan after his accident, which is truely inspirational. Since the accident he describes his work as more celebratory, because he is happy just to be painting.

Lucas

                                                                     Lucas, 1987

This particular portrait is of Lucas Samaras, a photographer and sculpture. Similar to many other portraits Close has done this is an oil on canvas and was completed in 1987.  The inspiration for the style of this portrait is Byzantine mosaic. This is one of my favorite portraits that Close has painted. The mosaic style adds a different element than many of his other portraits don't seem to have. The circular movement of the portrait is also a quality that makes this portrait unique; it works well with the shape of Samaras's head.

Kate Moss

                                                             Kate Moss (2008)

Throughout his career Chuck Close has done several portraits of famous people. I like this particular one of Kate Moss because it looks very realistic and it is nicely done. I think this portrait turned out so well because Close has said that he considers Kate Moss to be a muse of his. When asked about why his portraits all have a cold, distant feeling to them he said, "creates cold and distant portraits, void of useless tinsels, very meticulous in the details, which are dominated by the love for physiognomy rather than the intent to show the model’s personality". All of his portraits are created in a similar way as well by capturing the subject with a Polaroid picture and the "squaring it off".

Self Portrait, 2000

Self Portrait, 2000

This is a self portrait that Close created in the 2000, and is an example of one of his portraits after his accident. In this portrait he uses color separations to create the image. This was one of the first times he created something like this. Color seperations are using different variations of the primary colors. This particular part of the painting is a close up of the eye. I thought that it was a good example of how he used color in the portrait.

Chuck Close: Why Portraits?

In this inteview from 2010 Chuck Close discusses why he chooses to paint portraits. Close talks about how in the 1960's when painting was dead he decided that that would be the best time to do it; and when the art critics said that portraits were the one type of painting that really couldn't be done, Close decided to take a stab at that too. We should all be very happy that he did because Chuck Close is fantastic at making portraits of himself and other people.

Mark (1978-1979)

                                                                 Mark (1978-1979)

Mark is a photorealist painting that took 14 months for Chuck Close to complete. It is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is an acrylic on canvas. The picture on the left is a full view of the painting and on the right is a detailed view of the eye. Mark was made from a series of airbrushed layers that imitate CMYK color printing. CMYK is the use of four colors of ink used in some color printing. After looking at the detail on the eye of this painting it is amazing to know that it only contains four different colors. From this painting you can see that Chuck Close is very good at taking a photograph and turning it into a detailed portrait.

Chuck Close: Self Portraits

Self Portrait 1983

Over the years Chuck Close has completed many self portraits of himself. The majority of his self portraits have been either oil on canvas or acrylic on canvas. This particular self portrait from 1983 is a 37 x 37 handmade paper pulp in 24 gray values and string. This sets it apart from many other portraits that Close has made and makes it truly unique.

Chuck Close- A Brief Biography

Big Self-Portrait 1967

Chuck Close is an American painter born in Washington state in 1940. He was an attendee of the University of Washington as well as Yale University. Close studied for a brief time in Vienna, and then moved to New York City in 1968. He is known mostly for the portraits he does based off of his own photographs of friends, family, and himself. Close's paintings are known for characteristically being cool and showing his subjects with expressionless faces. From the 1970's to today Close has experimented with media's such as mezzo tint, aquatint, linoleum cut, woodcut, screen print, paper pulp, and daguerreotype. In the year 1988 Chuck Close suffered from a collapsed spinal artery. Even though he was almost completely paralyzed Close is still able to paint to this day with the help of aids such as brace devices and wheelchairs.