Compare and contrast the work of Alyssa Monks and Henrik Uldalen.

Consider why

these artists distort their portraits and what purposes this serves.

Alyssa Monks is a contemporary fine artist from America. She has made an exceeding

career from portraiture paintings. She creates paintings from her own photo reference,

using traditional and non-traditional techniques from a range of brush strokes. The

most important technique is using a camera to take a photograph. She blurs the

meaning between abstract and realism, leaving it an open question for people to

answer for themselves. All her work has deep connotations, and tells the truth about

what shes experienced and how she felt at

the time of creating her paintings. Monks did

a few paintings with women and water, she

believed that working with water was a

complicated challenge that she was willing to

take. The reason why Monks photographs an

image and then paints it the exact same way is because its almost impossible to try

and paint a picture of someone in the bath or shower. This is because the water

droplets on the shower screen, reflections on the bath water and facial expressions on

the model would constantly be changing. There was a reason why Monks wanted to

work with water, she said you cant predict what water will do so theres no

expectations of what you will see. [1] The end result is always a surprise and a unique

piece of work. Monks paints people in bath tubs and showers, when you see her

paintings of women drowning in the water and being captured behind the shower

screen, it gives the sense of vulnerability and exposure. However, all of her paintings

seem peaceful and calming, the women dont appear to be trapped or concerned.
How loss helped one artist find beauty in imperfection [1] Alyssa monks lost her mother

to cancer. She expressed her pain through her work. She had to grieve in her own

way and applying her feelings and emotions to a canvas felt like the right thing to do.

She could be honest, there was no reason to fake how she was feeling as it was only

her, the paint brush and the canvas. Painting could make her feel cathartic, a way of

putting her mind at ease. The concentration that goes into her paintings will divert her

thoughts else ware. She said in an interview our vulnerabilities can be the doorway to

deep connection and belonging with others [2] All of her pain, remorse, agony and fear

can be poured out onto a canvas instead of bottling it up inside. Her paintings are very

natural, quiet and elementary, suggesting her sympathy. In the painting labelled loss

she drew a portrait of herself looking fatigue and drained. The black painted

background implies her dark state of mind and the absorption of all light and hope.

Creating a barrier between herself and the outside world.

Henrik Uldalen was adopted from South Korea at the age of five months old. He then

grew up in a small town outside of Oslo, named Asker in Norway. His paintings have

a sense of loneliness, hopelessness and defenceless. He portrays these strong feeling

throughout the majority of his paintings. Uldalen is a self-taught oil painter whose

projects are based around classic figurative painting. He combines realism with

surrealism, using distortion. Uldalen uses a painting technique known as Alla Prima

which is the Italian meaning for First attempt. This is a common painting technique

used with oil paints where you apply a layer of wet paint to a previous layer of wet

paint. Uldalen said before painting, I even sand down the surface, making it feel
 [3]
almost like marble. Uldalen likes the smooth feel to the paint as its applied to the

canvas, by sanding down the canvas it will give it a glossy and silken surface, making

it easier to apply the paint. Uldalen pre plans his ideas before producing his paintings,

some of his ideas just come to mind when hes asleep or out and about, however the

majority of the time he photographs models. This enables him to picture the final piece

and experiment with different compositions and lighting. Most of his paintings are

somber and obscure, he explores the dark side to life, expressing loneliness, solitude,

vulnerability and fragile beauty. This is expressed through his choice of colour palette,

which consists of cold colours, such as whites,

blues, purples and greys. The blue under tones

bring a calming and easing effect to the majority

of his paintings. The atmosphere is often

presented in a dream or limbo-like state. [4] The

particular choice of brush strokes, gives the

impression that they are being wiped away,

making them look obscure and mysterious. Its as if Uldalen is trying to erase their

memory, leaving them floating around in an empty environment, making them feel

disconnected from their own feelings. The image to the left, has young women wearing

a white dress implying purity and perfection. Its associated with light and hope

however, them thoughts and feeling are absorbed by the black background as its

overwhelming and powerful. It creates a sense of fear and a barrier between the

women and the world, signifying that theyre trapped within a confided space. Uldalen

exposes the models within his painting, the same way that Alyssa Monks does.

Uldalen has pictures of women falling, unable to control their own bodily actions

implying they are defenceless. Uldalen creates a sense on lonesome, portraying his
models in a near death like state. He separates his subjects from his viewers by closing

their eyes.

Both Alyssa Monks and Henrik Uldalen have their own ways of distorting their

paintings to make them individual and unique. Alyssa Monks paintings are abstract.

She takes a photograph so that she has a photo reference to paint from. For one of

the 200 shoots, she poured baking flour in the water and added cooking oil so that it

floated on top making the water look thick and viscous. This made it look like the model

was trapped under a sheet of ice, creating a barrier between the model and the

viewers. The baking flour made the water go white and cloudy. Monks used the colour

white as it offers a sense of peace and protection, purifying your own thoughts and

emotions. For another shoot she applied Vaseline to her hair to see how it reacted

with the water, experimenting to see what textures would be most effective when she

was to use oil paints to recreate the photograph. Monks has worked with a series of

filters to vary her paintings, applying semi-transparent filters of glass, vinyl steam and

oil paints to distort her work. The glass shower screen was used in a few on her

paintings. Monks said, the glass also goes back to this idea of having these women

be involved with conversation. They are confident enough to confront the viewers. [5]

Monks works a lot with women, having them over exposed in a shower could be quite

intimidating however, she is implying that women have grown the confidence to stand

up to their viewers. The water used, distorts her paintings in such a beautiful way. The

water works well with the flesh, acting as an elegant but also a destructive layer. It

added distortion and abstraction, creating a new texture to her paintings. Alyssa

Monks takes time when painting, her paintings are working projects that could take

weeks to complete. She focuses on perfecting her working making it the best it can
possibly be, taking pride in every stroke of paint she applies. She aims to make her

painting look like photographs.

Henrik Uldalen distorts his paintings in a different way rather than distorting them in

his pre planning stage like Monks does. He distorts them whilst hes painting using a

famous painting technique called Alla Prima meaning First attempt where you apply

a layer of wet paint onto another layer of wet paint. Normal oil artists would paint the

first layer on and allow it to fully dry before adding another layer. He doesnt make his

work precise, he thinks of the idea and gets in down on the canvas as quick as

possible, making it his first attempt. He doesnt want it to be a time consuming process.

He allows his mind to wander and then pours his thoughts and feelings onto the

canvas. Once he has finished he then allows the paint to dry. Sometimes the paint is

risen off the canvas due to it being thick however this adds texture to his work.

Uldalens doesnt want to make his work look like photographs, like Alyssa Monks

does, he wants his work to look unusual.

After looking at both artists I have to conclude that I am more drawn to Alyssa Monks

work rather than Henrik Uldalens work. I love how shes precise, and how she takes

a lot of pride in her work. I love how she paints on a large canvas, it shows that shes

proud of her work and it willing to show it off. The larger her canvas is, the more time

it will take for her to complete, meaning she enjoys time consuming projects. Henrik

Uldalen paints on a much smaller canvas, as he works quick and efficiently and wants

to get it done. His first thought is painted onto his canvas and then thats his final piece,

he doesnt go back to edit his work. I love how Alyssa Monks takes time to complete

her work, it seems more personal than Henrik Uldalens work.

Bibliography:

[1]..www.ted.com/talks/alyssa_monks_how_loss_helped_one_artist_find_beauty_in_
imperfection
[2] http://combustus.com/women-under-glass-the-paintings-of-alyssa-monks/
[3] http://www.1883magazine.com/art-features/art-features/henrik-uldalen
[4] https://www.henrikaau.com/
[5] www.flavorwire.com/17668/exclusive-alyssa-monks-talks-about-her-bathing-
beauties

http://www.bloginity.com/2010/07/interview-alyssa-monks-photo-realistic-painter/

https://noeyeddeer.net/2014/02/06/interview-with-henrik-uldalen/

http://411posters.com/2012/05/weekend-features-henrik-aarrestad-uldalen-artist-
interview/
http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/