Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint is a fast-drying, water-based paint made with pigment and an acrylic polymer binder. It is widely used in art and decorative projects because it is versatile and durable.
Painter
Chuck Close
Chuck Close was an American Photorealist painter whose monumental portraits grew from photographic grids, airbrushed tones, and later colored cells.
Chuck Close quick facts
Close enlarged photographs into monumental painted heads, developing from nearly photographic sprayed tones to colorful, mosaic-like grids.
| Born | 1940 · Monroe, Washington, United States |
|---|---|
| Died | 2021 · Oceanside, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | Photorealism (early portraiture) |
| Paint types | Acrylic Paint · Oil Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas |
| Painting methods | Enlarging photographs with penciled grids, spray-gun or airbrush applications, and layering patterned oil-color marks within cells |
| Common subjects | Faces, self-portraits, fellow artists, musicians, friends, and family members |
| Notable works | Big Self-Portrait · Phil · Robert/104,072 · John II |
| Other practice | Large-format Polaroid photography and printmaking, separate from his paint materials |
Sources: Whitney: Phil, acrylic and graphite on canvas, MoMA: Big Self-Portrait, acrylic on canvas, MoMA: Robert/104,072, acrylic and ink on canvas, The Met: John II, oil on canvas, Smithsonian: Chuck Close biography.
Paint types used
Close used acrylic paint for early Photorealist portraits such as Phil and Big Self-Portrait, and oil for later grid-based portraits such as John II.
Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Surface types used
Whitney, MoMA, and the Met document acrylic and oil portraits painted on large canvases, sometimes prepared with gesso and graphite grids.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Painters similar to Chuck Close
Estes and Flack also translated photographic sources into detailed paintings, although Close concentrated on human faces and changing grid structures.
Richard Estes
Richard Estes is an American Photorealist painter known for detailed city streets, glass storefronts, mirrored reflections, and bright urban daylight.
Audrey Flack
Audrey Flack was an American Photorealist painter known for luminous still lifes, symbolic objects, religious imagery, and richly detailed surfaces.