Across a seven-decade career, David Hockney, who died earlier this month, created a singular body of work that encapsulated the feeling and the sensibility of the places he called home. Among the most famous of these are his images from the late 1960s and early ’70s of Los Angeles, capturing the sun-drenched pools of wealthy homes and the collectors who lived there. Later on, he would paint vistas of the Grand Canyon, East Yorkshire, and Normandy, to name a few. Hockney would also become known for his portraits, infusing his subjects with a rare pathos. His double portraits of couples, effused with the tension and tenderness of love, stand out.
Hockney’s art would go on to inspire generations of artists. Below, three artists share what David Hockney meant to them.
Jay Lynn Gomez
I woke up to the sad news of David Hockney’s passing. His influence on my work has been constant ever since my art mentor, Mr. Brockie, first showed me a book of his work in high school. When I took the live-in nanny job in the Hollywood Hills, I realized the house I was working in was very similar to the one he featured in his iconic A Bigger Splash. Little by little I made that series [“Domestic Scenes”] with a lot of respect and admiration but also necessity to expand the meaning of those paintings that have influenced the image of Los Angeles.
I was always worried about what he thought but once I decided to finish that series, the writer Lawrence Weschler, who was a close personal friend of his, unexpectedly took me up to his Hollywood Hills home to meet him. I was able to talk about my paintings with him that day and hear directly from him that he admired and appreciated my versions. I will never forget his words, his jokes, and even his randomness like getting up during lunch to show me the physical Fra Angelico book he had.
He often spoke about the influence Picasso had on his work. When I heard about the news [of his passing], I decided to recreate one of his Artist and Model prints he made in 1973 because I wish I would’ve gotten to sit for a portrait for him as Jay Lynn. I will carry his memory with me. May he rest in eternal peace. 🕊️