My new favourite artist: Paul Wright

I went to Suffolk at the weekend, and on a trip to a seaside village happened across a painting in a little gallery, and fell in love. It's funny how you can see a hundred paintings and not be interested, and then you see one that makes you think, "Damn, that is amazing."

I tend to like paintings that use thick oils in an expressive way, but still have precision. That's why I'm a big fan of Lucian Freud, particularly his portraits. Paul Wright has some similarities to Lucian, and uses thick dashes of paint, yet captures precision, detail and emotion better than he could have done by using a fine brush. That's what's so amazing about his work.

 

 Alica and Okie - Lucian Freud

Lucian has a smoother texture, and more realistic style. However, many of his paintings have a patchy texture and use thicker oils to create movement. Paul Wright takes this one stage further, and uses sweeping strokes to create a face both alive, and expressive.

 Head of a Young man - Paul Wright

 The Boy - Paul Wright

Studio Boots - Paul Wright

What do you think? What kind of art do you like?