Voka

Voka

Voka is an Australian artist, born in Australia in 1965. His trademark is his “revival of the significance of contemporary art and his work is often described as having a “spontaneous realism” effect. This may be due to his use of spontaneous snapshots in time which make his work feel more natural, realistic and atmospheric for the viewer. It also allows his artwork to have a personal and emotional quality to it. He explains how he is “ever searching for the perfect painting. But always hoping not to find it because it’s the search that [he] really loves so much”.

“A valued tradition in a new era”

When creating his paintings, Voka video’s himself and uploads it onto YouTube, as he uses a ‘digital camera to capture a time’. He talks about his work being a “walk through memory lane”, and then he modifies his memory. Voka uses acrylic paint, however he describes his technique as a combination of the “meticulous and ‘heavy’ of oil painting” with the “light and rapid” movements used when painting with water colour. Voka explains how he enjoys the way watercolour dries quickly, resulting in bigger, quicker, more expressive brushstrokes and tries to mirror this in his work. Voka believes the vigorous, quick marks allow the brush to “dance”. He depicts his art as “a dialogue with colours” due to his use of intensely bright colours, mixture of warm and cool tones, and his visible shading. Voka uses acrylic brushes so that the brush marks are visible and a palette knife to make marks visible. I really love Voka’s art work as it is undeniable that he paints with his heart and soul. This could be because as he paints, he remembers a situation, through the smell, sights and sounds. 

Voka’s acrylic painting of Marilyn Monroe was made in Australia in 2011 and this particular painting is 75 by 75 inches. His painting is an exact likeness and a realistic depiction with no exaggerations or distortions. Voka used an iconic film star as “his inspirations are the everyday events of daily life”. I believe the use of Marilyn Monroe also creates a positive and nostalgic atmosphere due to her recognisable face and is enhanced through the bright colours. However, her eyes are slightly closed and appear sad in the portrait which could represent her own personal sadness, to be thought provoking or to create a personal relationship between the art and the viewer. To make this painting, voka used improvised strokes, including, dabs, blocks, splatters and jabs to create a rough and smooth surface texture. He uses quick marks with colour to accentuate the light and shading of the face. The texture and expressive marks lend animation and vibrancy to his subject. Voka always portrays enthusiasm and emotions in his work. His portraits are all   realistic and have a clear likeness, however, his more scenic, landscape paintings are often distorted and less realistic and detailed.