“A photograph is a frozen moment,” says the painter
Artist Jonathan Yeo is one of the UK’s best known portrait painters. An art form, as he argues, which is as important as ever and especially in a time when we are “overwhelmed” by… selfies.
Yeo is best known for his portraits of figures from the worlds of entertainment, royalty, politics and activism, including Sir David Attenborough, Idris Elba, Nicole Kidman, Malala Yousafzai, Helena Bonham Carter and Sienna Miller.
A portrait, Yeo says, has the ability to capture more aspects of the subject’s personality than a regular photograph.
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“A photograph is a frozen moment,” the famous painter tells BBC News. “Your relationship with the subject evolves as you get to know it,” he continues. “You see them on different days and people act different, look different on different days, so you can bring different elements of their personality mixed in an interesting way.”
Yeo’s entry into the world of portraiture was unconventional. “I’ve been doing portraits for almost 30 years,” he explains, “but I never went to art school, so I never had any formal training.”
The artist developed his own techniques and his own style. “Portraits aren’t easy and it was quite a training because it forced me to figure out how to do it.”
His self-taught methods led to a successful career, including an exhibition of Yeo’s work at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) and numerous museum exhibitions around the world. Many of his portraits are of high-profile figures, which he says can be both a blessing and a curse.
“In a way, if people are known, they’re a little more used to being scrutinized and photographed,” he notes. “That can be an advantage because they’re not as awkward at first, but it takes more work to ‘take’ the public face off them…”
Here is a selection of Yeo’s works:
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Taron Egerton
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Jonathan Ive
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Nicole Kidman
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Malala Yousafzai
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Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
