I started by watching a documentary I found about Bonestell called Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future.
I found this documentary very fascinating as it gave an insight into his life and work as an artist.I was shocked at the accuracy of many of his paintings to do with space as, when chesley created these pieces we had no evidence or photos of what the planets looked like. So he created these purely from imagining what they look like and how technology may advance so that people may one day explore them.
I am particularly interested in his Mars painting as I am focusing in on this theme. I have chosen 3 of my favourite paintings of Mars, which I am going to analyse. I have added the link to Chesley Bonestell’s website (in the bibliography) where you can see the artwork I have analysed and all of his other incredible pieces.
The first piece of Chesley Bonestell’s artwork, which I have chosen is called “620 Miles Above Mars”. This painting was created in 1953. I could not find the size of this piece. Bonestell has used the colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and white to create this particular piece. This piece is very realistic and detailed. He has depicted Mars with satellites supposedly 620 miles above the surface. This piece looks as if it is 3D, although it is a 2D painting and also the surface of mars in this piece looks very smooth. In 1953, this piece symbolised the future and made people excited about future space exploration. I really love this piece and I think it is really effective and to the people of 1953 this is so much more than a painting.
The second piece of Bonestell’s artwork, I have chosen is a painting called “Exploring Mars” and was created in 1953. I could not find the size of this painting. Bonestell has used the colours yellow, green, blue and silver, in this piece. This painting shows people on the surface of Mars collecting and digging at the rocks, it also shows a rocket and several other vehicles. He has managed to create a realistic texture of sand and rock similar to the surface of mars. However, the bright turmeric yellow is not a realistic colour of Mars as it is more of a dark orange colour. I think this piece is very effective and still quite futuristic as we still have not sent an astronaut to Mar.
The last piece of Bonestell’s artwork, I have chosen is a painting called “Mars seen from Phobos” and was created in 1954. I could not find the size of this piece. Bonestell has used the colours orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, black and white within the painting. This painting shows a smooth Mars with a shadow cast upon it from one of Mars’s moons Phobos, which is in the for front of the painting and represented by rough and uneven rocks with astronauts stood on them looking at the planet. This painting is partially realistic but also futuristic. I really love this painting, I think it is really effective and has been executed well.
Overall, I think that Chesley Bonestell’s work is extremely effective. All of his pieces are not just paintings they represent something more, now and also at the time he created them as it gave people hope and insight into the future that Mankind could achieve all of these moments depicted within the paintings.
I hope to take inspiration from his work by using similar colours and including texture into my final piece.
Bibliography
Amazon.co.uk. 2021. Watch Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future | Prime Video. [online] Available at: <https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chesley-Bonestell-Brush-Future/dp/B08LFYY7ZD > [Accessed 5 March 2021].
Bonestell.org. 2021. Bonestell – Home. [online] Available at: <https://www.bonestell.org/ > [Accessed 10 March 2021].
Bonestell.org. 2021. Bonestell – Image Gallery. [online] Available at: <https://www.bonestell.org/Image-Gallery.aspx#images-25 > [Accessed 10 March 2021].
Unpicking Fashion 