David Hockney: Artist

By Lokiiloki at clker.com

David Hockney studied at the Bradford College of Art from 1953 to 1957; he continued at the Royal College of Art from 1959 to 1962. Like other prominent Pop Art artists, he participated in the" Young Contemporaries' exhibit. Though considered a Pop artist, his work was influenced by expressionism.

His swimming pool art done in Los Angeles in the 1960's garnered attention. He painted these in vivid acrylics. He designed fantastic sets for stage used in ballet and opera during the 1970's.  His set designs brought cosmopolitan attention to his art. Hockney created photo-collage in the 1980's that consists of many photos taken from various angels and at disparate times which supports his aim of producing a cubism effect. Pearblossom Hwy is an industrious example of Hockney's photo-collage.

Hockney likes to do self-portraits and casual designs of his milieu with friends. He has produced several books including Travels With Pen, Pencil, and Ink (1978) and Hockney Paints the Stage (1983). A more recent work, Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Techniques of the Old Masters (2001) supports the idea that the old masters utilized optical gadgets to help them create their paintings.

Hockney received the John Moores Painting prize in 1967 and the Companion of Honor in 1997.