Artists have always been intrigued by the human form and produced figurative based artwork. The natural curves and features of the human body are a constant source of inspiration for many artists from Beryl Cook to Banksy. This is something that has spread from the art world to every magazine cover in the country so there must be a natural intrigue for humans to examine our own and other people's bodies. Three of the top artists in this genre are Texan artist Todd White and British artists Darren Baker and Jack Vettriano although there are major differences between their painting styles. One thing that is the same is their love for painting the human figure.
Artist Todd White comes from Texas and has had an interesting career path. He started life working in Hollywood for Warner Brothers and was part of the artistic creative team behind Sponge Bob Square Pants. This could explain the cartoon looks of the people he paints in his contemporary designs. Todd White's artwork often shows people in black clothing socialising and drinking wine and this could be down to where he is based. It would seem that Todd White is surrounded by Hollywood schmoozers and social climbers and from his artwork I'd say he is not a fan.
Darren Baker is a young and very promising British artist who has already commanded a great deal of respect from his peers. Darren Baker has received numerous awards from the art world and has private and public collections in the House of Lords and Downing Street. He has also been approached by many sports personalities to paint portraits, this is probably because he was appointed official artist of The Professional Footballer's Association when he was 23 years old. Darren has a contemporary style that combines realism and classics and is fond of painting figures. Darren Baker frequently paints female figures often in relaxed, seductive positions and he often uses a mix of reds and blacks.
Jack Vettriano comes from Fife in Scotland and has won countless awards for his figurative and nude pieces. Jack Vettriano pieces have a film noir feel to them painting many of his subjects in a 50's style. He often features women in his paintings often in relaxed poses or in the middle of doing something like leaving a room through a door. Jack Vettriano often paints characters that appear distracted, many of his pieces feature people staring off into the distance or focused on something else.
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