Reading & Responding - Invictus, Part XIV - Chuck Close and Super Realism

'Leslie' by Chuck Close, 1972 (White Cube Gallery)
Watercolour painting mounted on canvas. 

One of my Tutors (Bob, - & thanks)  - recently suggested that I take a look at some of the Super-realism work of Chuck Close, which I think he concentrated upon during the 70s / 80s...  I found the work frankly amazing...
An example is

"Leslie - 1972-1973     72 9/16 x 57 in. (184.3 x 144.8 cm)  Watercolour on paper, mounted on canvas"

Courtesy & Credit of the White Cube Gallery, London.  See http://whitecube.com/artists/chuck_close/

 It seems that he created some 'intense' neo-realism works of the 1970s and then moved in to a phase of 'shadowy' pointillism through the 80s.  His latest work consist of a kind of diagonally skewed grid style, and where the negative space is as important as the object being depicted. Again, these are at http://whitecube.com/artists/chuck_close/   and all credit to the White Cube gallery.

President Bill Clinton 2006, by Chuck Close,
Oil on canvas. White Cube Gallery.Photo: Kerry Ryan McFate

I wondered if I could use a similar technique, or even something new as a process on my earlier idea of the turmoil of the rat, and it's continued fight against man....

My chosen final photo for the Reading and Responding / "Invictus" poem that I put into the exhibition still seems to be the one I keep comming back to.  It's suitably abstract, it has no subject per se, and it still holds the greatest interest for me.

How I want to depict this image though I'm still uncertain.

It does have the qualities that I think would ask questions of the viewer... such as,

• What is it?
• Why and where is it?
• What's the green thing in the middle?
• What are the horrizontal stripes?
• Why is red juxtaposed with green?
• What's the perspective in the piece drawing us towards?
• and hopefully, lots of other questions too....

This image is getting stronger and stronger for me to sketch and re-imagine and re-map...