Chuck Close

There is a tradition of emphasizing those key areas of the face which control likeness, while the skin, neck, hair and background are not considered of primary importance in the reading of a portrait. I wanted to make those areas almost as interesting and important as the more symbolic areas of the face.

Chuck close is associated with the style of painting called photorealism or super realism.

This style of art emerged in the 1970’s and was a reaction against minimalism and conceptual art which did not show representational objects.

This style of art created a link between realistic painting techniques and photography.

The Process

Photorealist frequently used a grid technique to enlarge a photograph and reduce each square to formal elements of design.

Each grid was its own little work of art.

Many of the Photorealist used the airbrush technique.

When viewing the work of Chuck Close it is important to note the scale and dimensions of his work, they were often enormous!

Big Self Portrait 1968

This was the first painting Close produced from photographs and it took 4 months to complete.

Close first selected which photograph he wanted to work from and then made 2 enlarged copies.

On one photograph he drew a grid and numbered each square.

Using both the gridded and un -gridded photographs Close carefully transferred each square onto a larger canvas.

This painting was produced using acrylic and an air brush.

Close was interested in how a photograph shows some areas in focus and others not.

Which parts of this portrait are not in focus?

A Change of Style

In 1988 Close experienced a tragedy that was to effect his painting style. He had a spinal blood clot that left him quadriplegic and unable to move either his arms or legs.

Close then painted with a paintbrush between his teeth in a pointillist style.

His photos, canvases and portraits were gridded off by assistants and he then painted each picture with a paintbrush between his teeth.

Close usually takes 4 months to complete a piece of work.

The technique Close uses generates a similar effect as pointillism.

Each small dot creates the illusion of a larger image when viewed from a distance.

The technique Close used of gridding up a picture was nothing new.

This technique dates back to the time of the Italian Renaissance (1450 – late 1500’s)

As Close developed his style of painting his use of colour and how he applied this to his work also changed.

The colour Close applied to his ‘Heads’ were chosen to depict the type of colour seen in a polaroid photograph.

Fragments of colour are laid side by side to create optical illusions of the correct skin colour and pigmentation needed for each area on the face.

This creates a similar effect to that of digital photography.

By the mid 1980’s the work of Chuck Close centred on the very idea of painting and creating colours on a canvas.

Chuck Close born July 5th, 1940, Monroe Washington, USA