Response

The works in the Woman series are unspectacular in content. Granted, I have been in art museums and have seen artists whose oeuvre consists of mostly women, so I cannot agree with the critics of ago that they are quite as provocative as they are now. I can rattle off the analysis that their forms are daunting with bold lines, striking colors, and suggestive geometric shapes, but that is honestly quite general. Instead, I am more curious about the technical composition of the piece; as he was an abstract expressionist, I expect De Kooning to be carefree with his paints, yet from what I find, De Kooning was known to be laborious with painting. His meticulousness is expertly obfuscated in this series of paintings; the prominent, bristly brush strokes, splashes of color, and intentional lack of focus on anatomy (I’ve seen his earlier commercial works, which are much more illustrative) definitely gives the paintings a sense of looseness. I suppose only an artist like De Kooning can depict expressionism so professionally.

Product

With these above traits in mind, I have decided to emulate De Kooning’s Woman series using ye old Adobe Photoshop 7 and mouse, perhaps like a newly-discovered addition to the series. Sure, I could emulate one of De Kooning’s simpler charcoal pieces, but where’s the fun in that?

When I planned how to digitally emulate De Kooning’s style, there were reservations to consider:

• De Kooning worked on some of his Woman pieces over the course of years, while I was confined to an hour.

• The nexus of De Kooning’s art is his expressive brush strokes. In digital art, brushes are flawless, so standard brushes do not leave bristle strokes. Even then, it is difficult to convincingly emulate bristles on canvas.

• Layering paint and removing existing paint are elements of De Kooning’s pieces. Digital art programs allow for flawless editing, so we do not have imperfections.

For digital art programs, these reservations can be ameliorated.

• Traditional painting takes physical work and time. A digital environment automates the physical process, allowing us to genuinely work expressively.

• Photoshop brushes decently emulate real brush strokes. It also provides many effects that compensate for the lack of a physical canvas.

• I can emulate imperfections.