Saturday 11 May 2019

Peter Saul. Funk Artist.


I have a particular liking for this type of disjointed, stream of consciousness, painting. Rather than looking at a subject and recreating it in 2D, the subject is invented, images amassed, and the resulting combination brought together to create a whole.

                                Résultat de recherche d'images pour "peter saul"

85 year old American painter Peter Saul was the first artist I encountered who took this to extremes, and, as a student, I found it very exciting. I later discovered Ron Kitaj (also American), who did much the same thing, combined with philosophy and exquisite draughtsmanship.

                                Résultat de recherche d'images pour "peter saul"

Saul's work later became highly coloured, political, and cartoon-like, and (for me) it lost much of its cutting edge.

His work is socially aware, insolent, and punchy. Another painter whose work I'd very much like to see hanging on my walls.


12 comments:

  1. I'd paint over them if they were on my walls. Although I suppose that I would try and sell before and buy something more to my taste!

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  2. I looked him up. The images you show here appeal to me well enough but the rest of what I saw I didn't like very much.

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    1. Yes, his later work is very tight and Disney-ish. All those highly coloured portraits of Reagan and Trump leave me cold.

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  3. Yep...I think even I could do one of those! Paint one I mean, not have one on my wall....

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    1. I can see that these are not to everyone's taste, but I think that we painters see things very differently.

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  4. Some of the Gugging artists paint in this collage like fashion. I quite like it.

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    1. I find it joyful colourful and lively; it makes me smile.

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  5. The top piece really catches the eye. I looked up Saul's later work and it has a sort of bubble-gum, psychedelic-like quality to it.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, his later work is quite different; it becomes slightly 'manic'. His development rather reminds me of Louis Wain.

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