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Winners of the Online Caption
Writing Competition
Here are the ten winners, in
no particular order, of the BP Portrait Award 2007 online caption
writing competition for ages 11 to 21. The winners will
receive a BP Portrait Award 2007 catalogue and a pair
of tickets for the current Pop Art Portraits exhibition.
Congratulations to everyone!
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Michael Healey on Pugnis et Calcibus by Jill Hooper
Very powerful portrait.
The right eye is so penetrating as a viewer I felt forced to
return it. The power of the woman's stare is emphasised by the
fact the other eye is concealed by the hair. I like the realism
achieved despite the apparent slapdash, hastily applied brushstrokes.
It looks quite a skilful painting yet at the same time looks
quite accessible; not too intimidating like the hyperrealist
paintings of the prizewinners. Colours are deliciously dark,
brooding and moody, perhaps reflecting the inner state of the
artist's mind. The brushstrokes imply a sense of disorder, confusion
or instability.
Click here to view entry
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Louise Cross-Bone on Pugnis et Calcibus by Jill Hooper
This is how I always
look a shade of murky brown,
Every time you look at me your eyes just look around,
Is it just my startling eyes or my shaggy hair?
Is it that terrifying look that gives you such a scare?
Or perhaps it's just a simple thing like the fact that I don't
blink?
Or maybe it's even simpler, that it's just that I make you think?
Click here to view entry
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Sami Anjum on The King of Spain by Diarmuid Kelley
Kelley's The King
of Spain was my favourite piece. The portrait immediately
provokes the viewer to delve into sympathy and explore empathy
for the woman in the painting. Kelley enables the viewer to think
in this way because of the position of the woman. Her face is
concentrating to her left, while her left shoulder is curling
inwards, which suggests that the figure is uncomfortable and
portrays how she is uneasy.
I find emotions are portrayed
more accurately in Kelly's painting than some others I had seen
at the exhibition. If one were to look at the blurred touch at
the bottom lip of the woman, and the 'unfinished' aspect of The
King of Spain then it can be realised that there is a theme
of movement here. It's this movement or transition shown by Kelley
which best depicts human feelings, because these only last for
moments at a time. As opposed to other works in the exhibition
that are relatively still and fixed. For example a person cannot
sustain an ecstatic smile for minutes on end. It is for these
reasons among others why I found Kelley's The King of Spain
accurate and engaging.
Click here to view entry
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Clare on Only for a Fiver by Edward Sutcliffe
I have been to see
this and I love the way that the painting is slightly larger
than life size and has no frame. It means you can identify with
him more And I love the blue in his eyes - there is a twinkle
in there that must have been really hard to capture.
Click here to view entry
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Greg Williamson on Annie by David Tebbs
With both your eyes
closed it is still possible to recall exactly how this woman
looks and contemplate how she felt in that exact moment of thought.
Because her eyes are closed her character is shown through the
physiognomic expression, tiny details that shape our reaction
towards her. Stunning.
Click here to view entry
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S Drake writing on William Packer by Daphne Todd
The texture of his
face is the same as his jacket. It's as though they are both
well worn but soft and warm inside.
Click here to view entry
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Rachael writing on Self-Portrait by Ana Maria Micu
I think this painting
is very striking - the light and the angle at which her face
is turned. The sitter here has a sense of nervousness in her
eyes and this almost seems to reflect to the viewer. Her angle
at which she is sitting implies movement or a noise being made
from behind her. The lighting amplifies this as it exaggerates
and draws the eye to that part of the painting, the harsh contrast
from the dark to the light seems to make the viewer wary and
the painting has a sort of uncertainty about it. However, the
reader seems reassured by the beauty and softness of the eyes
and shoulders - the smooth shoulders seem simple and appear to
distract the viewer from the harsh contrast of colours and the
apprehension in her eyes.
Click here to view entry
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Jessica writing on Nisha by Darvish Fakhr
To me this child
has a look of ambition to proceed into a woman rapidly and use
her beauty and dancing to influence many to get the things she
desires. It is by growing up and passing the years she believes
that this will come and not through experiences. Maturity she
thinks will come with each year that passes. With this in mind
I thought of this quote;
"Her eighteenth birthday will not be the day she acquires
a woman's status, it is by her actions that this will be established."
Click here to view entry
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Marc Gevers on Michael Simpson by Paul Emsley
Wrinkles of Time:
every crease and fold holds a different story, one of war, one
of love, one to tell his-story. The eyes so deep - full of memoirs,
pain, suffering and tears. His lover lost yet not to him, she
lives within - the memories of wrinkled time.
Click here to view entry
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Carmen Sanchez on Zuzana in Paris Studio by Hynek Martinec
So many people look
at a piece of abstract work and absolutely hate it because 'they
don't understand it', or because 'it doesn't look like anything
in real life' and other such statements. Yet when someone actually
makes a realistic portrait, people again complain that it's pointless.
Art is a way for an individual to express themselves (sorry for
stating the blindingly obvious) and it's perfectly fine. I encourage
people's opinions because it is there on display for everyone
to look at. However, why do we have to insult the artist and
say they are merely showing off? Why is showing off a bad thing,
surely if one could paint so skilfully, then it would be a loss
to lock away such talent in the depths of your mind and never
share it with anyone else. Sharing talents such as these is what
helps society to develop, and insulting the artist and saying
it's purely for vanity I just don't think is useful. On a lighter
note, I love it and it's helped me a lot as I now know what I'm
going to be doing for my A2 art project.
Click here to view entry
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