Jane Chen - Art Analysis of Shirley by Chuck Close 2007

    

    This is an artwork by Chuck close, who does many close-up portraits. This work, Shirley, shows a wonderful blend of shapes and patterns, as everything is in a grid pattern and gives off a very flowery affect. The use of color here is also incredible. The colors all have this sense of unity where they tend to be mostly light and dull with the girl's skin and clothes contrasting from her dark hair and background. The grid pattern also makes it look like there is some interesting texture. It almost looks like if you touched the painting, it would be very bumpy rather than flat. Lastly, the spacing on this painting is very well planned. There is not too much crowding the portrait, but there is not too little either. I think art should be judged based on creativity, color balance, and variation. Based on these judgements, I would say that this is a wonderful work of art. There is a lot of variation in the color due to the pattern and the colors all looks very nice together. There is no one color overpowering another and they all sit very nicely. Also, the creativity in this piece is pretty good as well. It is not everyday that you see a portrait of a person with a cool pattern over their face.