Peter Howson - Critical Points Flashcards
Working methods
Howson uses his platform as an artist to comment on injustice. This is a working method as he deliberately creates unease in the images he chooses and the dark haunting surroundings in which he places the characters. The emotionally dramatic image of the brutal men, forces the viewer to look at issues of social class divides and violent culture in Glasgow.
•Howson does not work from photographs or images. Therefore, he uses a working method of creating a huge number of preparatory sketches and small paintings to develop his ideas and compositions. This can be seen in the series of works Game Boys and The blind leading the blind, that he made before finalising all his ideas in The Patriots.
•Howson uses the working method of visiting different places to gain inspiration from first hand experience. He was the official war artist in Bosnia. The horror he witnessed there led him to create a lot of work about violence. This working method was also used in The Patriots as he witnessed the violent scene near his studio in Glasgow before creating this painting.
Style
Howson’s style of work is representational but not realistic. This can be seen in his faces and figures in The Patriots. The faces of the men are almost animalistic with noses that look like snouts and this leads us to perceive the men as less than human.
Howson creates highly stylised almost graphic figures in The Patriots that are powerful and masculine. He was bullied at school but later he became obsessed with body building. This influence can be seen in his style. Figures in his work are often posed in similar ways adding to his recognisable style. His figures often have clenched fists in a side profile and this can be seen in the hands of The Patriots. This adds mood and atmosphere to his work and it makes the figures look more aggressive.
Howson is one of The New Glasgow Boys who graduated from GSA in the 1980’s. The social landscape of the 80’s influenced Howson’s style because many everyday people were suffering due to the closure of industries such as coal mines, steel works and ship yards. Due to this recurring subject matter of social injustice, Howson’s paintings are often perceived as ‘dark’ in style. This can be seen in The Patriots which deals with the difficult subject of sectarian violence forcing the viewer to confront this real-life problem.
Techniques / media handling
Howson uses the same technique to begin each of his paintings in his studio. He uses an umber wash to cover his huge canvas with a large brush, before using a rag to wipe away light areas creating his sketch without heavy lines. Umber is a warmer brown and Howson uses this as many of his paintings include figures bearing a lot of warm skin tones. This technique allows Howson to create his initial sketch for the painting by drawing with light creating tonal range.
Howson started The Patriots by establishing tonal range with a rag from a wash, to create implied form. He then uses zinc white on a brush to pick out strong light hitting the powerful figures muscles. He initially works on establishing the tonal range to create his figures by adding light. Later he introduces the contrasting darks and adds line with a medium sized brush. This allowed him to develop the figures in the painting creating the volume, depth and illusion of form we see in the final painting.
Howson painted The Patriots in oil paint. This can be seen in the thick application of skin tones around the figures and the vibrant orange colour in distance. Oil paint can be blended and it takes a long time to dry. This is particularly useful for Howson who likes to develop his paintings over a long period of time. Howson creates contrast in The Patriots in his application of oil paint. This can be seen in the blended smooth skin tones of the figures which contrast with the application technique used to depict the grass in short visible brush strokes.
Scale
Howson’s uses scale in the Patriots to create visual impact and add to the narrative. This can be seen in his figures in The Patriots. They have oversized exaggerated bodies. In contrast the heads of the men are smaller than a human head normally is and this leads us to perceive the figures as hugely powerful with pumped up oversized bodies and small minds.
Howson uses foreshortening to change the scale of the foot and leg of the man closest to us. By shortening the leg and enlarging the scale of the foot, it appears closer to us. The other figures are noticeably smaller creating a sense of depth as they seem further away from the viewer.
Howson has used scale to add to the narrative of The Patriots by making the dogs around half the size of the men with huge jaws and visible teeth. In doing this, he adds to the sense of fear and terror as these powerful beasts are ready to attack someone
Howson has exaggerated the size of the men’s hands using scale. This is noticeable as they grasp weapons and pose with clenched fists. This is effective as it adds to the narrative, telling us that these men are angry and ready to inflict violence on someone beyond the canvas.
Materials
Howson painted The Patriots in oil paint. Oil paint provides Howson with vivid hues that cannot be achieved with any other paint. This can be seen in the thick application of almost luminous skin tones around the figures, the vivid green grass and the vibrant orange colour in distant sky.
Howson begins each of his paintings, including The Patriots, using a painterly wash. He uses an umber wash to cover his huge canvas with a large brush, before using a rag to wipe away light areas creating his sketch without heavy lines. Umber is a warmer brown and Howson uses this as many of his paintings include figures bearing a lot of warm skin tones. This allows Howson to build up layers of paint adding tone to his figures to create form.
Oil paint can be blended and it takes a long time to dry. This is particularly useful for Howson, as he does not work from life so changes are often required in his paintings. In creating The Patriots, he was able to slowly develop his figures from sketchbook studies, applying light to define the muscular figures in action.
Howson creates contrast in The Patriots in his application of oil paint. Oil paint is a material that can be applied in different ways to create implied texture. This can be seen in the blended smooth skin tones of the figures which contrast with the application technique used to depict the grass in short visible brush strokes.
Howson has used oil paint to create The Patriots. Oil paint can be mixed in different ways to create a variety of effects. In the sky Howson has added different mediums to his paint such as spectra flow and liquin, to create opacity and movement in the rolling fluid clouds. This has been achieved by creating layers of thinner paint with different consistency’s working from dark to light
Subject matter
The subject matter of this painting is violence. This can be seen in the imagery of the weapons held by the men. This is effective as we see the middle man about to throw a broken bottle at someone, creating a violent aggressive mood.
The subject matter of this painting is sectarianism. This can be seen in the imagery of of the scarfs held by the men. This is effective as no team names or marks are on the scarfs, suggesting these thugs could be for any team.
The subject matter of this painting is false patriotism. This can be seen in the title and the fact all the men look identical. They are all dressed in the same clothes. This is effective as this suggests they all think similarly and are intolerant of anyone who does not look or think like them.
Howson is a figurative painter, his paintings usually portray stylized and slightly unrealistic figures. He develops his ideas from initial drawings. He does not work from a photograph. Figures often look masculine, heavy set and tense in his work. Howson creates his own world to which we are simply onlookers however much of his subject matter is familiar to us; bigotry, religion, politics’ and social injustice.
Colour (not fully developed points here)
Relationships- Howson uses contrasting colours to create visual impact. This can be seen in the use of red and green. This is effective as our eyes are drawn to the advancing red hats of the figures.
Temperature- Howson uses a mixture of hot and cold colours. This can been seen in the pale green grass which contrast well with the burning orange sky. This is effective as it suggests violence on the horizon.
Energy- Howson uses highly saturated colours in this painting. The varied intense hues of green used create unity and contrast with the warmer skin tones. This is effective as it encourages the viewer to focus on the the bounding strong figures in the central area of the painting.
Emotional Connections- Howson uses red in the caps of two of the men. Red has an emotional connection with danger and anger. This is effective as it could symbolise the aggression and danger posed by the gang.
Composition (not fully developed points here)
Focal Point- Advancing red
Movement- Pose creates motion, feet
Unity- Largely green, imagery clothes
Balance- Imagery clothes, Analogous colour scheme, Placement of figures in a row
Contrast- Central figure higher, no hat. Red/Green
Viewpoint- Low down close up bugs eye
Leading Lines- Pointing finger, dogs lead, line of sight.
•Howson uses viewpoint to enhance this composition. This is low down and close up. This is effective as it means that the viewer is at ground level with the image, making it more engaging and drawing the viewer into the heart of the scene. This is often called a bug’s eye view.
•Howson uses contrast to enhance this composition. Green and red are contrasting colours that create a sickly intense atmosphere. This is effective as it suggests that something bad is about to happen.
Tone
Howson uses tone to make the figures seem powerful. He uses a range of tone to depict their tense muscular arms and bodies. This is effective as it makes them seem more menacing and strong.
Howson uses tone to show the light and dark of the ominous rolling clouds. This is effective as the apocalyptic scene suggests something terrible is about to happen.
Howson uses tone to depict shadows around the feet of the running men. This suggests a light source coming from behind. This is effective as it allows the story to go on beyond the canvas. The light could be car headlights or searchlights adding to the dramatic mood of the painting.
Mood and atmosphere (might not be the best since you made them)
Peter Howson creates a violent mood and atmosphere in the painting “the patriots” by using pose. This is seen in the violent body language of the men and the dogs. The men are holding broken bottles and are running towards something or someone and the dogs are snarling and pulling at the leash. This effectively creates a violent mood and atmosphere by because you can clearly see that they are looking to fight something.
Howson also makes the mood and atmosphere of “the patriots” very imposing using scale. The painting was done on a very large canvas, this means that a person viewing it in person will be small in comparison and especially to the men depicted in the painting. This technique has been used because the scale overwhelms the viewer and makes the subjects of the painting seem scarier making it imposing.
Howson also gives the painting an apocalyptic mood and atmosphere using tone. This is seen in the sky in which Howson depicts stormy clouds and in the corner of the sky its red making it seem like fires are raging in the distance. This is effective because the dark sky is very ominous and implies that a storm is brewing, not just in the sky but in the lives of the men in the painting.
Rest of visual elements
