Chuck Close

For process and scale

I started to get into pointillism in High School and found this amazing artist Chuck Close, who is what I would call a modern pointillist, though most call him a photorealist. I personally was amazed and stunned by his work. Close achieves his work through a grid. He takes a photo, almost entirely large portraits, then puts a grid on that photo. He also draws a grid on his canvas and copies it cell by cell. In 1988 he suffered a spinal artery collapse which left him paralyzed from the neck down. He spent months in physical therapy, but still relies on a wheelchair. He has continued to paint by strapping a brush to his wrist and through the help of an assistant to create the grid.

I hope you enjoy him as much as I do.

Phil, Fingerprint 1978

Pastel and watercolor on washed paper mounted on paper 1978 

John, 100 color silkscreen 1997

Lucas, Oil and graphite on canvas 1986-87

Emma, woodcut 2002

Bill Clinton, Oil on canvas 2006