July 4th, 2008
John Opie was once known to have said,
“Art is more godlike than science. Science discovers but art creates.”
This quote tries to answer the question that most artists are asked. What is it that gives them their inspiration? Sometimes we can easily see what the inspiration is. Sometimes the answer is as simple as the people and situations that surround the artist become his inspiration. But other times we don’t really know how the artist got his idea. Did Jesus and his disciples just appear to Da Vinci? Of course, not! So how did he come up with the idea?
Most artists use people, surroundings, and areas they are familiar with, even for works that are abstract or fantasy art. Sometimes the people in an art work are even a composite of many different people. Some artists are inspired by their dreams and even their life goals, that’s why I say that each piece is a part of the soul of the artist. So to really understand what inspires the artist, you need to know about the artist, his history and what interests him as a person.
It is really difficult to understand what inspires creativity, and that may be what makes it so interesting. Artists use many things to inspire the, a conversation, another piece of art, nature, and many different things.
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July 2nd, 2008
The Baroque period affected Architecture in the 17th century and began in Italy. This style developed from Renaissance architecture, and developed into a more theatrical style. The objective was to express the triumph of the Catholic Church. Architects became concerned for color, lighting and grandeur in the Baroque style.
The Baroque came about because of the Catholic Church reformation in response to the protestant reformation. The point was to be more emotionally accessibly and yet, portray the grandeur and the power of the Catholic Church. Later this architectural movement went on to affect the architecture within the nobility too. First it affected the grand palaces of France, and then followed throughout Europe.
Features of Baroque movement include, dramatic use of light, chiaroscuro effects, large scale ceilings on which frescoes are painted, long narrow naves, Ostentatious decorations including gilded ones, and the use of marble, and other faux finishes.
Often the interior of Baroque building were just large areas, which were only to be used to house more painting and sculpture of the period. The Baroque movement spread quickly throughout Europe and Latin America. This movement was a way of presenting grandeur for both the church and for the nobility, and today we have many beautiful representations that still exist of the movement.
Photo: Courtesy of R.Duran
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June 30th, 2008
One of the most noted portrait artist of the Baroque period was Anthony van Dyck, who was born in 1599 and died in 1641. This artist was Flemish by birth but became the leading court painter in England. He is best known for the portraits of English royalty like King Charles I and members of his family. Van Dyck, and other portrait artists of the time changed and influenced the art of portrait work for the next 150 years. His paintings were noted for the relaxed style in which the subject was placed, and the contrast between the shadow and the light on the subjects faces.
Each individual is painted in a way in which their personality stands out, The Baroque artists that worked in portraiture were concerned with the inner being and soul of the subject, and tried to portray that in their painting. Paintings were more intense and every detail was observed, and you can see this in the way cloth is rendered and skin is painted with the very texture being seen. This was a very compelling period of art.
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June 27th, 2008
Romare Bearden Famous American Modern Artist Inspired by Music, Sounds in Nature
Artists are inspired by many different things. I want to talk a little bit about Romare Bearden, an unusual American artist. Bearden was an African American born in the first part of the 20th century. He came from the Bronx and graduated from New York University with a degree in education. What makes Bearden so distinct is his interests in so many different things.
He was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues, but in between his sports sessions he always found time to take courses in art and became a lead cartoonist for the Eucleian Society. He was also a writer, a costume designer for the theatre, a composer.
He became well known as an artist for a piece he did in 1970 where he combined polymer paint on composition board, with cloth and paper. The piece called Patchwork Quit stands today in the museum of Modern Art.
He studied art in Germany and took much of his influence from Mexican Muralists Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. When the war broke out, he joined and afterward went to France to study philosophy. He also took up composing and helped write “Sea Breeze.” This artist took his inspiration from many different interest and many different things, but primarily form music, and sounds. His art was universal, because he was well read, well educated and his friends were artists, poets, musicians, and writers.
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June 26th, 2008
When people have a weak sense of what they like or dislike in as far as art, and these people tend to go with fads, styles, popularity or color schemes, this is known as the meme factor. The meme effect can take away an individuals’ true taste and can be so powerful that even true art connoisseurs decide that any art piece and loves anything and everything. This is the inability to decide between a piece of work that is appealing and one that is not. This is where the fads, fashions, and symbols begin and true art appreciation ends.
This creates the subjectivity of art, where the greatness and liking of art have nothing to do with whether the piece is actually good, but with popularity, consensus, and the market, all facets that are moldable in our society.
The truth is that famous artists, musicians, novelists, painters who have created a large quantity of art work , will in all likelihood create a great deal of work that is not up to par, after all it is illogical to think that all of their work will be masterpieces.
The meme factor explains why artists such as Van Gogh, were not appreciated at all at certain times. Today they are considered among the best artists of humankind. It is interesting to see that during his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, while today, his painting Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1905) has sold by as much as 82,5 million dollars.
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June 25th, 2008
Edward Hicks was a famous American Folk art painter that took his inspiration from stories, mostly biblical stories, but many of local stories, farms and landscapes of New York and Pennsylvannia. Hicks was a Quaker and believed in the prophecy of Isaiah, and many of his paintings reflect that. His paintings reflect justice and gentleness of men and beasts, just as prophesied.
What is strange, that as well known as his paintings became, art was only secondary to Hicks. He considered himself more of a preacher than an artist and only started painting late in life. He started painting when he was mid aged and at one point almost thought that it was contrary to his religion, but at the same time he felt that it brought meaning to his life. When he passed away, those that mourned him mourned him as a preacher, and not as a pastor. It wasn’t until much later that his art became sought after by great collectors. This is a man that took his inspiration from the life around him, from his natural surroundings and from his strong religious beliefs.
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June 24th, 2008
llustration, and especially referring to the world of computer illustration, has brought aspects of many different styles back to life, including that of primitive art. Many computer illustrators use a lot of principles from primitive, or folk art. Primitive art, or naïve art is best known for its bright colors, and simplicity, almost as if a child had done it. The form is known for its two dimensional drawings, no single principle of composition, and usually colors are placed simply as they come with little or no shading. Most primitive art is done by artists that had little or no art training.
It is contrary to every principle in the art world, and yet many of today’s artists are relying on some of the principles of naïve art. For instance in naïve art color is not shaded or used in hues, it’s generally applied directly without much mixture. It is known for it’s almost stick like figures and strong colors. It is so different and much simpler than regular art that, many artists have taken qualities from this charming art and integrated it into their work as you can tell by the work of Emila Yusof.
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June 23rd, 2008
I recently came across a gallery with an exhibition I thought quite interesting. It was a collection of different artists work, but what made the collection interesting was that it was a collection of fine art photographs of cemetery and memorial art from different parts of the world.
Some of the cemeteries were in Paris, others in the United States, in Milan, Genova and even from Moscow. The photographs were truly emotional and believe it or not, I did feel inspired. You would think that it would be morbid, but it is more nostalgic, beautiful, sensitive, solitary and awe inspiring.
What makes an artist look to portray this type of art? It may be his need to portray the solitary existence of man, and the knowledge that in the end we all face the same fate. It is a form of poetry, and of salvation, and maybe even transcendence. Whatever it is, it is beauty. Although this type of exhibit may seem morbid, it is more of a sentimental journey and should be witnessed by all.
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June 20th, 2008
Life takes you through many ups and downs, and all of us learn from the lows and enjoy the highs, but most of us don’t know how to express these emotions. But artists have a knack for being able to express their emotions through their paintings. You can tell when an artist has suffered in his life, when he experiences sheer joy, even what things he likes and dislikes. Some artists even transpose their very political or religious views in their art. You can tell, because the work becomes passionate, and the subjects, composition and poses are personal.
When artists are parents, their work becomes even more passionate, especially for those artists that either work in figure drawing, portrait work, or anything that has to do with emotions, as you can tell from the above portrait.
In this case the artist (Don Gray) has created a portrait of his adult son at work. In the painting he expresses the love, the regret of having him grown, his passion and his own. In each brush stroke you can visualize his reminiscing about years gone by, and yet loving the now, adult relationship he has with his son.
He also expresses his dedication, concentration, and love for his work through this painting, while at the same time you see a regret for the child that has grown into the man.
Posted in Oil Portraits, What is Art | No Comments »
June 19th, 2008
Today many artists get their inspiration from life, from emotions and the emotional turmoil we go through on this road we all take. As an example Artist Sandra Schimmel never could relate to her artwork as much as she can today. She creates portraits of famous people and sometimes not so famous people using a method called acrylic mosaic fusion, which was created by the artist herself when she was looking for a way to be environmentally kind and recycle. Then one day a freakish accident occurred which made her identify even more with her unique art style.
Her dog a Labrador attacked her, and bit her nose off. After several plastic surgery operations, her nose returned to normal, but she did not feel like it was the same. Similarly the faces she paints are put together. She began to question who she was? Was she the person that people outwardly saw, or was she the inner being she knows herself to be? The point is her artwork has also begun to reflect these questions she asks of herself.
In her artwork she incorporates all kinds of materials from postcards, greeting cards to photographs and advertising in her portraits.
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