Artists have always been facinated by the human figure and produced figurative based art. The natural curves and features of the human body are a frequent source of inspiration for many artists from Beryl Cook to Banksy. This is some thing that can be seen in the art world to every magazine photoshoot in the country, so there must be a natural intrigue for humans to examine our own and other people’s bodies. Three of the top contemporary artists in this genre are Texan artist Todd White and British painters Darren Baker and Jack Vettriano, although there are major differences between their painting styles. One thing that is the same is their love for painting the human figure and in particular females.

Painter Todd White comes from Texas and has had an interesting career path. He started life working in LA for Warner Brothers and was part of the artistic creative team behind the SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon. This could explain the cartoon like features of the people he paints in his contemporary artwork. Todd White’s artwork often features people in black clothing, socialising and drinking wine and this could be down to his location in LA. It would seem that Todd White is surrounded by LA schmoozers and social climbers and from his artwork, I’d say he is not a fan.

Darren Baker is a young yet established British artist, who has already commanded a great deal of respect from his peers. Darren Baker has received numerous awards from the art world and has private and public collections in the House of Lords and Downing Street. He has also been approached by many sports stars to paint portraits, this is probably because he was appointed official artist of The Professional Footballer’s Association when he was 23 years old. Darren has a contemporary style that combines realism and classics and he is fond of painting human figures. Darren Baker frequently paints female figures often in relaxed, seductive positions and he often uses a mix of reds and blacks.

Jack Vettriano comes from Fife in Scotland and has won countless awards for his figurative and nude pieces. Jack Vettriano pieces have a film noir feel to them, painting many of his subjects in a 50’s style. He often features women in his paintings often in relaxed poses or in the middle of doing something like leaving a room through a door. Jack Vettriano often paints characters that appear distracted, many of his pieces feature people staring off into the distance or focused on some thing else.

 

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