I've always been a huge fan of Jenny Saville's work; her paintings are just so powerful and captivating. I find it astounding that her work evokes such realism, yet she uses these loose, expressive brush strokes and vibrant colours. I think one of the reasons the artist has had such an effect on me is this painting style. I have always personally painted very freely, creating loose marks on a large scale so her work provides much inspiration for my own paintings.
I turn to her work often when in need of artist research. She was a major influence for some work I did on the victims of Holocaust (cheery subject I know!) last year. There's just something about the vivid colouring, particular in the image above, that brings out so much pain and anguish. She captures the art of showing physical suffering beautifully.It has such a powerful effect on me.
These are not the best images to show either painting but they demonstrate how I've tried to recreate the effect Saville has using colour and thick brushstrokes.
She is definitely one of my favourite artists. I would do anything to see Jenny Saville's work in an exhibition, I can only imagine what power it would have in person.
