This is one of the most influential and expensive artists of the 20th century. He is a painter, graphic artist, master printmaker, theater artist and photographer. He spent a large portion of his life in Los Angeles, where he developed his distinct pop-art style. You might also read about Nikki Reed, an American actress and producer born in Los Angeles. Learn more at i-los-angeles.
Biography
David was born on July 9, 1937, in Bradford, in the Yorkshire region of northern England. He knew he wanted to be an artist since he was a child, so he enrolled at Bradford College of Art, and then at King’s College London, to study art. Since childhood, the artist has had “three homes”: first one in Yorkshire, and then the ones in London and Los Angeles. When he was a child, the family had a beloved dog named Paddy. Since then, the artist has owned dogs as pets. Hockney’s pets have frequently figured in his works. In 1995, he even created the art series “Dog Days”, which depicts a very personal and detailed story of dachshunds Stanley and Boogie. However, David rose to prominence thanks to the works of his so-called “California period”, which he began working on in the 1960s. He first came to sunny California in 1964. Then David was captivated by the richness of colors and the beauty of the people around him. After relocating to California, Hockney began painting using bright watercolors rather than oils.
Work in Los Angeles
In California, the artist enjoyed painting the expanses of private estates perched high in the Hollywood Hills. The majority of them were the homes of his friends. Following the relocation, the artist’s works completely took on a different tone. The paintings were full of vibrant colors and upbeat themes. The canvases reflect the rapid development of the artist’s individual style. He stated that he had never felt more free in his life than he did after relocating to California. He describes moving to the West Coast of the United States as the best decision of his life, without which he would not have become the artist known around the world.
Pool paintings are the most prominent series of paintings from Hockney’s “California period,” and “A Bigger Splash” is one of his most recognized works. He painted it in 1967. The artist sketched the splash element from a photograph in a book that was a pool maintenance manual. Thus, David aimed to depict the splash of water as realistically as possible. To accomplish this, he used a variety of brushstrokes and paint textures. In this work, Hockney attempted to make the painting as close to a photograph as possible. Instead of brushes, he used paint rollers, which made the picture visually flat and devoid of unnecessary volume.
But in the mid-2010s, he decided to relocate from California to France. He also stated that Los Angeles had changed and was no longer the same. The city has been swept up by the latest trends regarding healthy living. Thus, he could no longer smoke cigarettes in or near a restaurant, so this was not his way of life. At the end of 2019, he bought a house in Normandy.
Works of the artist
Throughout his career, Hockney has produced engravings, portraits of friends and stage designs for the Royal Court Theatre, Glyndebourne, La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His distinguishing feature is that he perceives colors when listening to works of art. Later, he used these colors to create the backdrop or lighting for a hall.
Hockney painted portraits at different points of his career. Since 1968, he has been creating realistic portraits of friends, lovers and family members. Hockney’s paintings frequently have hints of his personal presence, as the lines of perspective converge to define the artist’s vision. Another hallmark of the artist’s work is that he frequently depicts the same people repeatedly. The majority of them are his relatives and loved ones.
David Hockney has always shown his adoration for Van Gogh. In many interviews, he mentioned his unique gift of vision and his ability to create highly emotive images from ordinary things. Throughout his life, Hockney has been a popular figure in American high society. He earned enough money to support himself and has always been the center of attention. But Van Gogh’s fate was very different: never-ending poverty, loneliness, misery and serious mental disease. As a result, while artists’ lives appear to be different, their works are somewhat similar, particularly when it comes to the color, movement and space that they create on their canvases.
In 2010, he began working on a special project, filming all four seasons of the year. Together with his assistant Jonathan Wilkinson, Hockney captured 36 videos of the four seasons. Nine cameras moved along the country road, creating the illusion of continuous recording. For the artist, the effect of observation is is very important. However, it cannot be replicated on a photograph or canvas. As a result, he turned to new formats to demonstrate all of nature’s beauty, which he had begun to appreciate as a child.
Experimenting with new formats
David has never stopped experimenting with different formats. He worked in the fields of photography, stage design, print, video and digital art. In the early 1980s, the artist started making photo collages that he called joiners. To do this, he first utilized Polaroid snaps and then photolab-prints. Then he assembled them into a mosaic, resulting in a composite image. Due to the fact that the photos were taken from different angles with a small time difference, the end result was very similar in style to cubism. Another objective that Hockney aimed to achieve was to demonstrate how human vision works. Some collages portray landscapes, while others are portraits.
In the 2010s, the artist developed an interest in drawing on his iPad and created a large collection of landscapes. While most artists frequently stick to one style, Hockney seeks new artistic discoveries and experiments. This demonstrates his confidence and adaptability to different formats and forms. In 2018, he made his debut with stained glass. On the anniversary of British Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, he designed a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey.
In May 2021, the artist released a two-minute video called “Remember you cannot look at the sun or death for very long.” This is an animated video in which the sun gently rises over a plain before flashing and illuminating the entire screen. The sun in Hockney’s picture represents hope for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the return to normal life. Using a tablet, the artist created the video in France on the eve of the publication of his book “Spring Cannot be Cancelled.” The film was shown on street screens in five cities, including New York, London, Seoul, Los Angeles and Tokyo.
In 2022, the artist painted a portrait of famous musician Harry Styles. This painting was part of the artist’s large exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The singer posed for the artist in casual clothes, a striped cardigan and jeans.
David Hockney’s work “Portrait of an Artist” was bought for over 90 million dollars by an unknown buyer. It occurred during the Christie’s auction in New York. Thus, David Hockney became one of the world’s most expensive artists. The painting’s initial price was $80 million, and within 10 minutes, two anonymous auction participants competed for it. However, the artist does not put for auction all of his creations. Hockney did not sell even a third of the paintings he created because he really likes them. He intends for them to be donated to museums after his death.