FREE BRETT WHITELEY: ART AND LIFE PDF Barry Pearce,Bryan Robertson | 252 pages | 04 Apr 2005 | Thames & Hudson Ltd | 9780500285480 | English | London, United Kingdom Biography - Brett Whiteley - Australian Dictionary of Biography His mother was Beryl Whiteley. Brett Whiteley began painting and doing other forms of art while he was a child, as most children do. Unlike most children, he was especially passionate about his hobby and was determined from a young age to pursue art as a career. As a teenager, Brett Whiteley took art classes. This helped to Brett Whiteley: Art and Life his artwork. Inhe began attending the National Art School. It was while here that Whiteley produced his first professional piece of artwork incalled The Soup Kitchen. He finished his studies in It was during this time that Brett Whiteley lived in London. While here, he made some of his most famous art pieces, like Bathing. It was Brett Whiteley: Art and Life in this decade that Whitely became obsessed with the English serial killer, John Christie. He also made several paintings of Christie, which was also famous. Also around this time, he made several paintings of animals, like Two Indonesian Giraffes. InBrett Whiteley earned the Harkness Fellowship, which was a scholarship which allowed him to live and work in New York. While here, he made friends with other artists, which no doubt influenced his own art. Much of his Brett Whiteley: Art and Life during this time was also inspired by the American Civil Rights movements and the many protests around the country urging the government to stop the Vietnam War. Between andhe also worked on a painting called Alchemy. This would go on to be one of Brett Whiteley: Art and Life most famous works of art. It was even on the cover of the Dire Straits album with the same title. Here, he spent much of his time painting landscapes. Some of his most prestigious awards are listed below. InBrett Whiteley was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the arts. Brett Whiteley married Wendy Julius in This couple had one child together, Arkie. The couple later divorced in Near the end of his life, Brett Whiteley became increasingly dependent on alcohol. It was also in his later life that he became addicted to heroin. Both of these addictions lead to Brett Whiteley: Art and Life steep decline in his health. Brett Whiteley died on June 15, The cause of death was a drug overdose. He was 53 years old when he passed away. After Brett Whiteley died, his artwork became much more valuable. Many of his paintings sold for millions of dollars. Wednesday, 21st October Brett Whiteley Artist April 7 Education Brett Whiteley began painting and doing other forms of art while he was a child, as most children do. Australian Financial Review From a very young age his drawing talent became noticeable and he won his first art prize at the age of seven. He was born into a middle class family and his parents appreciated the arts and encouraged Whiteley to continue his interest in drawing and painting. InWhiteley attended the prestigious Scots Collage boarding school in Bathurst. Whiteley spent a part of his teenage hood at the boarding school but dropped out in to work in advertising. He also attended a night drawing class at the Ashton Art school in Sydney. The immediate effect was a heightening of reality in that everything I looked at took on an intensity. The young Brett Whiteley felt a strong connection to the art world which was of a very serious nature and mature for his age. InWhiteley left advertising to concentrate on painting. Whitely had a deep interest in painting beauty which is expressed in his works. He had the ability to capture the emotions of the life experiences of himself and other people. He was fascinated in painting his perceptions of the world in a very surreal and abstract manner. The influence of drugs and alcohol heavily impacts his life and art making practice. Many of his Brett Whiteley: Art and Life encompass aspects of his addiction that took control of his mind. The combination of a passion for beauty and addiction led to the creation of some of his most famous masterpieces. These works intrigued the public and led Brett Whiteley: Art and Life Whiteley gaining a reputation as one of the most celebrated artists of Australia. Whiteley evidently has a strong use of the elements of design which is expressed through the technical composition of the works. The work is a self-portrait presented in the form of triptych; each panel reveals a different persona Brett Whiteley: Art and Life himself. The panel to the left represents Whiteley as a wolf that seems to be out of control. There are symbols of a cigarette and syringe which alludes to his drug addiction. The size and placement of this panel is representing the importance of painting as the centre of his life. The third panel is a physical self-portrait photograph of Whiteley himself looking quite normal. The work is initially very unbalanced as it is a form of asymmetrical triptych with each panel a different size. However, Whiteley cleverly disguises the balance within the work by rebalancing it through the warm colour palette and image repetition. The colour scheme is repeated with warm colours of an overall light orange with areas of darker tones. Each persona has been painted with similar colours which it represents a wholesome view of himself by binding each persona as one. Whiteley cleverly composed the work so the eyes would draw this image as it is an important idea addressed in the work. There is a use of negative space in the centre panel which plays a part in the directional flow of the work. If that space were to be filled it would seem claustrophobic and would lose the flow. There Brett Whiteley: Art and Life a faint outline of a head in the middle panel that faces this area of the work. There is a second, unnoticed area of negative space which is the Brett Whiteley: Art and Life above the panel of the wild beast. This space if not painted but left blank yet the eyes are still drawn to complete the square shape of the work. There is a section of newspaper in the bottom right of the work which is symbolic of the intrusion and role of the media. Whiteley has used fragmenting in the work which roughly divides the piece into eight outlined rectangles of different sizes that include Brett Whiteley: Art and Life subjects. The fragmenting is caused by the unpredictable vertical and horizontal lines which create barriers between the subjects. This can be seen through many of his works which incorporate the cultural framework. Visual communication through the form of painting was a way that Whiteley told the story of other people such as Christie whom was specific to a certain period of time through history. The displays of nude females draped across the work acts as a symbol of how women can be dominated by people such as Christie. The nude figures allude to the results of sexual desire and rape that was the fate of his victims. The way the women become captured by Christie is displayed through the Brett Whiteley: Art and Life work and fragmentation of the work. Whiteley comments on John Christies actions with negative connotations. Christie was an evil man and Whiteley captures this view as he paints Christie with dark, rough tones with charcoal and sketchy line work. In the bottom squares it seems as though the image fades as it moves to the left, Christie is placed at the bottom of the work, this is symbolic of how he was seen. This is a form of a direct link to the culture of the time as it has been drawn directly from the media. He does this through the portrait Brett Whiteley: Art and Life his wife as she poses for him in nude. Whiteley addresses the image of women by painting the subject, in this case Wendy, with elongated, exaggerated and obvious curves and he approaches the shape and figure of the nude women. Subjective Whiteley focussed on painting the image of beauty and was widely known for capturing the personal intimacies of his private life. This provided insights into his life through the personal experiences which he painted. Relationships between himself and his subjects were revealed to the audience through the way he painted which took viewing his work to a new level. Aspects of his life experiences, news on beauty and a range of feelings are touched upon within his Brett Whiteley: Art and Life and painting style. Whiteley paints an intimate emphasis of her beauty which reflects his emotional; connection with the subject. Whiteley presents a range of uncontrolled emotions of turbulent passion, graceful allure and desire. The work is Brett Whiteley: Art and Life visual expression of the female body. This emphasis shows the audience the love that Whiteley felt for his wife. The artwork is a tool used to draw the audience into his world. The work shows that wendy sat for him whilst he painted her which implies a strong emotional connection between Whiteley and his subject. This expression of feelings Brett Whiteley: Art and Life emotions of passion he had for her allowed that emotional connection between himself and his audience. Whiteley expresses his personal story and the stories of others through his paintings. His personal voice comes through the work as he paints with such passion and emotion that his Brett Whiteley: Art and Life are expressed within each layer of the work.