Patrick Caulfield studied at Chelsea School of Art as well as at the Royal College of Art, where he was working alongside students including David Hockney and Allen Jones. Caulfield is known to portray ordinary, everyday objects through simplified forms and use of line alongside saturated colour. He screen printed his graphic art, creating minimal prints that have since been associated with pop art.
In his early paintings he already found a love of combining flat images with objects in the foreground as well as geometric shapes (Portrait of Juan Gris). He later undertook techniques including sign painting combined with distinguishable brushwork. By leaving out the detail of an object, Caulfield was able to make the objects look more iconic through only depicting a basic black outline. Purposefully choosing objects that appear banal and mundane he still managed to turn them into eye-catching prints.
Later on in his career his work centred more on the architectural elements of an interior (Inside a Weekend Cabin). He began a series of interior paintings, in which the atmosphere and feeling of a place is portrayed through only one flat colour that covers almost the entire print. This allowed him to picture interiors that give off introspective and melancholic moods.
With my curiosity in exploring what a home can mean to individuals, Patrick Caulfield’s screen-prints are especially of interest. Wanting to portray the emotion that objects and spaces can have towards a person is something I’m aiming to depict, both of which Caulfield has explored. His choice of colour is especially something that is appealing to my work. Where I’m looking to portray the transitions of one place to another and the difficulties of adapting to a new place I will be focusing a lot on: light / shadow / emotion / distance / separation / transitions / comfort - discomfort, so I will need to choose my colours accordingly.
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