Awareness: Mark Demsteader

    Mark Demsteader is a British figurative artist. According to The Daily Telegraph, he is "one of Britain's best-selling figurative painters,” most well known for his series of 34 portraits of Emma Watson. He took a short course at the Slade School of Fine Art, and then shortly after acquired his first studio space in Blackheath. In 1997 he became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group founded by Guy Denning. This group seeks simplicity in response to modern and complex art and architecture. Demsteader’s work is almost exclusively portraiture, some of only the face while others are more figurative. He paints with a grey scale, occasionally adding subtle blues. His style uses smooth yet visible strokes to paint incredibly realistic faces, often fading or dripping out into rough lines melting into the negative space. The reason Demsteader stood out to me so strongly is that his work is essentially where I want to get with my own. His expert use of mark and negative space, uniquely combining abstracted marks with realism. And his use of shadows and light on the planes of the face are so beautiful.