John Virtue London Documentary

1. where is john virtue from and what type of  art training did he do ?
john virtue is from the north east of lancashire in accrington.
He trained at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1965 to 1969.

2. what are the various subject matters of his work?
he did landscapes of where he lives and the places he visits.

3. how did his career as an artist develop?
in 1978/1980 he abandoned painting and developed with acid free board and moved onto pen and ink.
in 1980 he became a full time artist.
he then maintained a studio in exeter until he accepted an offer in the national art gallery in trafalgar square london.

4. what is the gallery that commissioned him to produce the art works?
 the national art gallery in london commissioned him as Associate Artist at the National Gallery .The scheme engages contemporary artists to produce work that connects to the National Gallery Collection.

5. what type of work did he dicide to make for the gallery and in what way did the works of art relate to the exibition space he was making them for?
he decided to focus on the skyline of london.
marking out landmarks from the city like the gherkin,the natwest tower and st.pauls cathedral.
he did this in an effort to familiarise his audience with the hazy and smoggy drawings much like london. 

6. what scale were his works of art and what are the materials and tools the he used to make them?
his canvases ranged from 3 by 4 inches to 12 by 9 feet
he used a number of materials such as :
shellac
black ink
white acrylic paint
earth
gouache
emulsion
and also tools like:
chinese brushes
kitchen utensils 
pallet knifes
jade clothes
garden sprays

7.what processes and techniques does he use to make his work?
he uses ink in the garden sprays to create a smoggy effect to his painting and then adds an outline with the pallet knifes and jade cloths.

8. what style of work does he create?
he creates a contemporary style of work

9. how effective do you think the final outcome was?
i think the final outcome of his gallery was very effective because his canvases were and a very large scale 
this allowed the audience to see the city how the artist sees it.
to go back from the paintings and see each one as a whole.
 it allows his audience to see the murky smoggy perspective of the city .