artist research help sheet

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Art Lesson Ideas, Plans, Free Resources, Project Plans, and Schemes of Work. An 'outstanding' art teacher in Greater Manchester. Teaching KS3 and KS4 art and design.

GCSE Artist Research Guide

Creating research about artists is a creative and exciting part of a GCSE course. It will allow you to discover new artworks and learn about how artists think and work.

This GCSE artist research guide will help you find an appropriate artist, analyse their work and present your research to a GCSE standard. The purpose of research in GCSE Art is to help you understand the artist’s style , techniques / processes and themes . You will use this knowledge to inform your own artwork.

Researching artists / art exhibitions / photographers / designers is an important aspect of your GCSE Art course and can help you improve your own work and generate new ideas.

Successful GCSE artist research pages are produced by collecting information and images about an artist you are studying or want to study. Your research should include:

• A brief biography of the artist
• Pictures of their artwork
• Analysis of their artwork(s)
• The inspiration behind their pieces
• Your own response

A guide to creating high quality artist research:

• It is important to choose a relevant artist. If your project is about portraits , you shouldn’t really be looking at artists who specialise in landscapes !
• You should also choose an artist that you like . It’s no good choosing an artist if you think their work is boring.
• Use an artist who has similar skills to you. Do you prefer drawing? Avoid painters!
• This will show that you understand the context of their work.
• This will make your research look more professional.
• Artists often use social media to show their processes. Online museums and galleries also share information about the artist’s work or techniques.

How to present your artist research:

Once you have found an artist that you’re interested in and you have started to research them, you need to present what you have found. Use these tips to help show off your research:

• Plan your layout
• Include colours related to the artist
• Have a clear title
• Write neatly, checking spellings and grammar
• Type up annotations if it will help you
• Create a response using the same materials as the artist (eg. acrylic paint)
• Create your research on a computer if it will help you

DON’T:

• Spend hours on a fancy title
• Spend hours on a fancy background
• Feel like you need to write lots and lots
• Copy a full piece of the artist’s work – a colour study, or a section of their work is enough to learn from them

Let’s look at a good example of GCSE artist research :

• The layout is simple and clear; the background lines link to the artworks.
• The student has stuck to black and white, just like the artist.
• The title is clear and reflects the ‘glitch’ style of the art
• The writing is neat, along straight lines
• The drawing is high quality and uses appropriate materials (pencil and white pen). The student has clearly studied the artist’s work carefully.

How to analyse artwork:

You should choose a piece of artwork by the artist to analyse . Writing an image analysis about art can seem strange because there are no absolutely ‘correct’ answers. However, if you’re not sure how to analyse artwork, this guide to analysing art can help.

You don’t need to answer every question, but aim for at least 2 or 3 from each section:

Artist: Janet Fish Title: “Untitled (Two Packages of Pears)” Date: (1969) Medium: oil on canvas Size: 52 1/4″ x 42″

Let’s analyse an artwork using some questions from the “Content, Form, Process, Mood” Guide:

What can you see in the picture? Think about objects, colours, shapes and textures. The painting shows two packets of green pears, there are six in total. They are still in the wrapper and there are a lot of reflections painted to show the plastic covering them. What is the composition (layout) of the work? The pears fill the whole canvas and we can’t see much of the background. There is some symmetry with three pears on each side. Is there a colour scheme? Why or why not? There is a limited, harmonious colour palette of calm greens, blues and yellows. The colours are quite realistic and natural to reflect the subject matter. Is it realistic, or surreal, or both? Why? Overall the piece has realistic and surreal elements due to the sharp shapes of the light reflections that add contrast to the soft natural shapes. The shape of the reflections stand out against the soft round edges of the pears. How was the artwork made? The artist has used oil paints which enhances the glossy, plastic effect. Do you think the artist made any other versions or sketches? I think they would have sketched different layouts and mixed tester colours to match the fruit carefully.

Creating your own artist response:

Your response to an artist or artwork should use the same (or similar) materials to the artist. You might choose to focus on their use of colour or composition for example.

You should always include your opinion about an artist’s work in your research, explaining why you like/dislike their work.

You should also explain how it will inspire you or influence your own work.

In this artist research example the student has studied the artwork of Tjalf Sparnaay. Their response is a good quality drawing of a fried egg, copied from one of the artist’s paintings. The artist is a hyperrealist painter, but the student has responded with coloured pencils, showing skill in the accuracy of their drawing and managing to show some realism in their work through natural colours and a range of tones.

In this example, the student has researched the ceramic artist Mechelle Bounpraseuth . Their response doesn’t use clay like the artist, but the student has used the same idea as Bounpraseuth and chosen to draw a food object that reminds them of their family / friends. The drawing is highly skilled, showing a range of tones and highlights with exceptional attention to detail.

GCSE Artist Research examples:

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Artist research page checklist:

Now that you’re got an idea of what good artist research looks like, download the checklist below to use and help make sure you have included everything you need.

This artist research page checklist is simple to use and will make sure you / your students have included everything they need to make a successful, GCSE standard artist research page!

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3 thoughts on “ gcse artist research guide ”.

Amazing work thanks

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The artist work is really very good and amazing.

Thank you so much.

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Handouts to get great artist research & analysis

• by AMIMAMIM
• February 8, 2017 April 14, 2020

One simple step to improve artist research in your students sketchbooks: give them the material – text information, images and questions – they need to come up with meaningful insights and high quality responses. Easier said than done, possibly… I have long been perplexed at the lack of writing and publishing on the artists that are most inspirational to young people. There are plenty of writing frames out there, and suggested approaches to analysis, but succinct and accessible materials? Not so much…

So, I have started a bank of my own. They are time consuming and take a fair bit of thought, particularly working out practical responses that are more than just copying or pastiche for each artist, but they have proved so useful and versatile in the classroom. I have posted an example below (click on the text below to download the ppt file) on the artist Angie Lewin who makes stunning prints inspired by plants and nature – she is a real favourite with students…

Click to download here : angie-lewin-artist-research-handout

Theses are some of the artists I have produced sheets on:

• Peter Blake
• Georgia O’Keeffe
• Frida Kahlo
• William Morris
• Giorgio Morandi
• Hilma Af Klint
• Ernst Haeckel

All of these are available as digital downloads in the felt-tip-pen resources shop , or you can find them in my Teachers Pay Teachers store . There’s thumbnail of each at the bottom of this post, to give you a better idea.

I hope they are useful to you – perhaps also for cover lessons, extension tasks, or independent learning? Let me know what you think – I’d love suggestions for other artists. You can also find a general artist research template here .

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Find, Find, Choose – Artist Research Hunt

I want to pay in australian dollars ($) canadian dollars ($) euros (€) pound sterling (£) new zealand dollar ($) us dollars ($) south african rand change currency, description.

Artist Research Hunt!  Ideal for home learning.

This two-page art resource asks students to search for artists on the internet.  There are 9 groups of artists they need to collect.  For example 10 artist who paint portraits, 9 artists who paint landscapes, and then it counts down, 8, 7, 6 etc, asking students to find different sorts of artists. Students are asked to send you these lists of artists.  Wow!  They will have looked at so much art.  Finally, it asks students to choose 1 artwork that they like the best and create a research page on it.  It asks them to include facts about the artist, a description of the artwork and why they chose it.  A good example of a research page is include which you can see pictured above.  I would give students 2 lessons to complete this.

There are lots of resources on The Arty Teacher that ask students to analyse art.

The Arty Teacher

Sarah Crowther is The Arty Teacher. She is a high school art teacher in the North West of England. She strives to share her enthusiasm for art by providing art teachers around the globe with high-quality resources and by sharing her expertise through this blog.

By The Arty Teacher on July 23, 2020 at 5:51 am

Hi Jenny, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I'm sorry you feel that the resource is overpriced. When I delivered this lesson to my students as a home learning task, they came back to me with fantastic lists of artists and were able to talk to me about artists they liked over zoom. They then went on to create a research page on their favourite painting (this is what the resource asks them to do) and included the information that was asked for, and using the provided good example for inspiration. Completing this task took them two lessons. The description of the resource states that it is a two-page resource. If there is any way I can improve the description, please let me know. A majority of the lessons on my website are £3/$3. For even better value I can recommend subscribing because when you do you can download 10 resources a month very cheaply. https://theartyteacher.com/downloads/10-resources-a-month-for-year/

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Sarah Crowther – The Arty Teacher

I set up The Arty Teacher because I have a passion for my subject that I want to share with other art teachers around the world.

I have been a high school art teacher for over 20 years, so I understand what it’s like to be in front of a class of students, often with very different abilities and attitudes.

I wanted to develop resources that would help teachers to bring out the best in every student in every class. I also wanted to free-up staff from time-consuming lesson preparation to let them focus instead on delivering exciting, motivating, dynamic lessons, supported by excellent resources.

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How to Research an Artist or a Work of Art

Find articles, contemporary artists, gallery websites, keyword search tips.

• How to research a work of art

This guide walks you through the steps of researching an artist and of researching a work of art.

The following resources can provide lots of great biographical information on artists.  Check for bibliographies on articles.

In many databases you can narrow your search to certain "content types." Look for:

• Biographies
• Exhibition Catalogs
• Periodicals

Off-campus access is limited to SIA faculty, students, and staff, unless otherwise noted. 

The more traditional resources in this guide may not cover contemporary artists. A few suggestions are listed below for locating information on contemporary artists. Cleveland Institute of Art's Contemporary Artist Index is a database that lists over 31,000 artists appearing in more than 1,800 exhibition catalogs and art publications.

Gallery websites will often contain some basic information on the artists they represent. A simple Google search may lead you to an artist's gallery.

If not, try searching for the artist in the  ArtNet Artists A-Z list .  Artist information will often include a link to a list of dealers representing the artist as in the example below from ArtNet for the artist Rashaad Newsome

One of the dealers listed is Marlborough Gallery. If you go to the Marlborough Gallery website, you will find a lot of biographical information provided on the artist's page. 

Selected examples of subject search terms to use in databases and library catalogs. Terms can all be modified by place names, e.g., Expatriate artists -- United States . You may also search by the name of an artist, either as an author or as subject. 

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Artist Research

Ai generator.

Work of Art and Artwork

Some people use words they already understand may have a different meaning when used through a different perspective. In common usage, the terms’ artwork’ and ‘work of art’ are interchangeable. But in the world of art studies, they mean different things. ‘Artwork’ is the production and its outcome. This term refers to the performance, painting, drawing, poems, etc. ‘Work of art,’ on the other hand, is said to be the work that art does. Whatever movement in concepts, methodologies, material practice, sensorial and work experience , and other epiphanies that arise while making art is ‘work of art’ of art. Artistic research analyzes these two to report new knowledge.

10+ Artist Research Examples

There is no one correct meaning to art. There are untold truths hidden within the product and process of making art. It would have to take a non-traditional way of thinking to assess and analyze an artist’s performance and work. This is where artistic research comes in. To give you more insight on how artistic research is conducted, here are 10+ artistic research examples you can check out.

1. Artist Project Report Example

Size: 52 KB

2. Artist Research Questions Worksheet Example

Size: 43 KB

3. Famous Artist Research Example

Size: 185 KB

4. Artist Research and Development Grant Budget Form

Size: 32 KB

5. Interdisciplinary Artist Research Program Example

Size: 40 KB

6. Simple Artist Research Example

Size: 65 KB

7. Teaching Artist Research Example

Size: 991 KB

8. Artist Research and Residency Program Example

Size: 694 KB

9. Independent Artist Research Example

Size: 47 KB

10. Artist Leader Research Example

Size: 186 KB

11. Internet Artist Research Worksheet Example

Method to the Madness

Artistic research requires a firm understanding of art and its theories. You also need to have had an artistic experience that you can analyze in your study. This means that it requires a solid strategy to help accurately conduct it. As with any research, there are several different research methods researchers can utilize to accomplish their artistic research project. Below is a list of a few techniques you can choose from.

Action Research

After finishing the artwork, the artist or researcher looks to see if there is anything that needs improving. Action research focuses on analyzing the actions of the artist to help him grow and refine his work. Although there is no correct way of making art, researchers always assumed that it could be better. By using the action research method for your research project , you can formulate an effective improvement plan for your work.

Content Analysis

As discussed, art holds many various insights. Looking into every little detail of the artwork is called content analysis. Since art is used for infographics and marketing flyers , studying its content could help in understanding the whole document. Color schemes, figures, and movements could represent something more profound; that’s why researchers use content analysis to figure them out.

Critical Discourse Analysis

In the literary arts, what is said can mean something different. You need to be able to analyze the art history , figures of speech and positioning of the text. This type of data analysis is done with critical discourse analysis. This method studies social relations, knowledge, and identity, and how they are constructed in written text. Literary artistic research relies on this method more often than not.

Media Analysis

For those making formal essays in the art of film, plays, and television, media analysis might be the one you need. This analysis is a subset of content analysis that focuses mainly on mass media. This analyzes film transcripts and whatnot. Media analysis gathers and examines quantitative and qualitative data. This type of analysis studies and evaluates data from various kinds of media.

Usability Studies

Art often represents a particular scene, era, phenomenon, or demographic. Some also use visual and performing arts as tools to depict the behaviors of specified groups of people. This technique is why usability studies are one of the many methods of artistic research. This method looks at art as tools and reviews their uses for reasons lie lesson and study plan .

Behind every painted picture, every spoken poem, every song, and every dance lies the secrets of the universe. Not everyone can see it, but some are lucky enough to get a glimpse.

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Guide to completing artist research at A Level

Subject: Art and design

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Visual aid/Display

Last updated

22 February 2018

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