Born in 1962 in Philidelphia, Lisa Yuskavage is a figurative painter who takes major influence from classical painting techniques. Techniques that were in use during the Italian Renaissance as well as Colour Field techniques by such artists, of whom she also took inspiration from, such as Giovanni Bellini, Edgar Degas, and Johannes Vermeer. However, her depictions of her figures within the paintings are done in such a way that I personally like.
In Johannes Vermeer’s work, we typically see strong shadows that are cast on the central subject of the painting. This can be seen in One, Two, Three, the painting displayed above. Over half of the figure is shrouded in shadow with a dim light source coming from the opposite end to illuminate just enough of the shadow for us to see the rest of the body. Unlike many other painters I have examined in the past, I very much like hers just in terms of how she makes her subjects look and how she handles light and colour.
I may be biased in this opinion as I draw my figures in a style that’s very similar to hers, but I still think they’re handled beautifully.
