The Work of a Favorite Artist
The Artist I choose is Andy Warhol. I chose him because he is an Iconic figure in the Pop Art world. I feel he did things his own and was a very creative artist of his time. Here is a little background information on him. Andy was born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a successful magazine and ad illustrator. He became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop art movement. He ventured into a wide variety of art forms that included, performance art, filmmaking, video installations and writing, and controversially blurred the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. Warhol died on February 22, 1987. Andy Warhol graduated from college with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949. He moved to New York City to pursue a career in commercial art. His first stuff was published in Glamour Magazine. He went on to become one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950s. He won frequent awards for his uniquely whimsical style, using his own blotted line technique and rubber stamps to create his drawings. He debut the concept of "Pop Art" the paintings focused on mass-produced commercial goods. He exhibited the now-iconic paintings of Campbell's soup cans in 1962. These small canvas works of everyday consumer products created a major buzz in the art world. This brought both Andy Warhol and Pop Art into the national spotlight for the first time. Warhol quoted, "Once you 'got' pop, you could never see a sign the same way again. And once you thought pop, you could never see America the same way again." Some of Andy Warhol's famous pop paintings depicted Coca-Cola bottles, vacuum cleaners and hamburgers. He also painted celebrity portraits in vivid and garish colors. In the 1970s and 1980s, Warhol continued to paint and he also began to publish a magazine called Interview and several books about himself and pop art. He also tried the television scene.
Andy Warhol is associated with the Pop Art style. This is with which the majority of the work is associated with. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement. His techniques which the majority of his work is produced? In his college years Warhol discovered the blotted-line technique. The technique required him to tape two pieces of blank paper together and then draw in ink on one page. Before the ink dried, he would press the two pieces of paper together. The result was a picture with irregular lines that he would color in with watercolor. He then switched to the process of silk screening. In this technique he uses a specially prepared section of silk as a stencil, allowing one silk-screen to create similar patterns multiple times. This is when he began making paintings of celebrities, most notably a large collection of paintings of Marilyn Monroe. Warhol would go on to use this style for the rest of his life.
What I like about Andy Warhol is? His artwork is about consumer products. I like how fast his reputation grew fast. He was known as reliable artist with a good work ethic. I like how he went the extra mile to present clients with multiple versions for the art work. I like how Warhol did magazine illustrations; he also designed store displays, and greeting cards. He also design album covers for bands. I also like that later in his career he collaborated with other artist. He also opened up his own art studio called “The Factory”. His work inspires people to think deep and creatively. The most intriguing thing about Andy Warhol is he was always vague about the details of his life, he was private and that created an air of mystery about him. The qualities that I find most attractive in Andy Warhol work is? Andy displays his own distinguishing quality. Andy Warhol depicted his abstract and non-traditional ideas through the use of various media. He strived to depict everyday life while employing the techniques of commercial art through his drawings, paintings, and his films. Warhol introduced the concept of silk screening; this pioneered a new form of art that set a trend for years to come. In taking an interest in controversial pop art, his variations of various popular mass media images into a whole new realm of the art world, allowing art to take on a whole new perspective, opening many different interpretations by the American culture. He did his own thing and it made him an icon in pop art.

References:
"Andy Warhol." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Dec 01 2013, 12:03 http://www.biography.com/people/andy-warhol-9523875. http://history1900s.about.com/od/artists/p/warhol.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/andy-warhol/a-documentary-film/44/