Category: ART

Funny sign Saturday…

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment
"The Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Painted c.1503-6. Oil paint on wood. Size: 30x20" (77x53cm). This famous painting is now in the collection of the Louvre in Paris.

 Here are some fun facts from www.socialstudiesforkids.com regarding Mona Lisa:

The famous painting done by Leonardo Da Vinci that everyone calls the Mona Lisa is not really called that. Its real title is La Gioconda.

The woman in the painting was the wife of a man named Francesco del Gioconda, and so the painting was titled, by its creator La Gioconda. It was known for a time as the Madonna Lisa, which probably explains why it has its present name.

Leonardo created this painting over many years, beginning in 1503. When he finished it is debated by historians. During this time, he also was painting many other things, building sculptures, and making new inventions.

As for her famous smile, art historians still debate why she is smiling and what that smile represents. Everyone who sees the painting probably has his or her own ideas.

One last thing: Did you ever notice that the woman in this most of paintings has no eyebrows? It’s true. Look closely. Women at that time were considered more beautiful if they had their eyebrows shaved.

Catch you back here tomorrow!!

Artist to watch… Aleksander Titovits!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: EllaRichardson.com

Aleksander Titovits. A Russian artist with such talent. This is an artist that we’ve been following for quite some time now. His snow scenes intrigue me… maybe because I grew up in Michigan, with snow, and for the past 22 years have lived where you can literally count the snowflakes… his snow scenes make you feel as if YOU. ARE. THERE. I love the warmth in this one, that perfect golden light that makes everything look just right. Aptly named WARM EVENING, this painting is another example of the talent that exudes from Titovits. In Charleston his work is shown at the Ella Richardson Gallery. In Austin, Tx his work is shown at the Gallery Shoal Creek, they have a nice bio on Aleksander, very interesting (click HERE to read).

Something I learned while researching for this post… Did you know that Aleksander was commissioned to paint Laura Bush’s portrait for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery? Click HERE to read a fabulous article about the unveiling…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Artist to watch… Guy Corriero!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist4 Comments
Image: WiscassetBayGallery.com

Artist to watch… Guy Corriero! This painting, ROUGE WAVE, is out of this world! The colors of the water are spot on, the movement is fantastic, you can feel it, you can even smell the salt in the air. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a little, but I swear I can even HEAR these waves crashing. What caught my eye on this particular painting was how the light hit the waves and how part of the painting is in shadow. So interesting!  I ran across Guy Corriero’s paintings at Wiscasset Bay Gallery, one of my favorite galleries! Keith Oehmig has such a wonderful selection of art, surely everyone could walk out with something to treasure forever! If you get a chance check out Wiscasset Bay Gallery (www.wiscassetbaygallery.com) and check out Guy’s work!

Catch you back here tomorrow!
If you get a chance… http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Artist to watch… Carol Marine!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: BlueCloudStudios.com

Carol Marine… I found her years and years ago while searching through different painting a day sites. Carol’s blog is amazing, a painting a day… absolutely spectacular! I try to use an image that is still for sale when I post an entry. There are so many SOLD paintings, it was tough! They’re all so good, so happy… if you get a chance, check out her website, http://www.bluecloudstudios.com … Then check out her blog ( http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/ ) you will flip! So many amazing paintings! Oh happy day!

Catch you back here tomorrow!
Http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com for my photo blog…

Artist to watch… Kenn Backhaus!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: KennBackhaus.com

Artist Kenn Backhaus. A lovely surprise!

I seem to have a thing for sailboats lately… It all started with Ken Dewaard’s “Pink Sails”, which I love, love, love, and am happy to say have hanging where I see it all the time! I wasn’t familiar with Kenn Backhaus, but I have to say that I’m thrilled to have found his work! I recently featured artist Sue Stewart and noticed on her website that she had taken a workshop from him, so I thought I would check out his work, and whoa… have to say it was tough picking WHICH wonderful painting to feature! This painting is entitled “Make Ready for Tomorrow’s Voyage” and is at the Debra Huse Gallery. Check out Kenn’s website! Http://kennbackhaus.com . It’s full of wonderful information… Here’s a blip from his site:

In September of 2006 Kenn was filmed, painting up in Alaska as part of a PBS series entitled, “Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape”.  For more information, please visit: www.pleinairamerica.com

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Artist to watch… KEVIN MACPHERSON!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: Kevin MacPherson.com

Kevin MacPherson. Anyone who admires art knows this man’s name. Kevin is a down to earth nice guy as well as being a brilliant artist. My husband and I first met him in Maine, when his wife Wanda was painting in Rockland, in the pouring rain; she was set up in a doorway, out of the weather, but whoa… a trooper indeed! My dad walked over to see what the artist was painting, and recognized her name, then met Kevin and introduced us. My dad has his books and a DVD I do believe… I’ve read the books (click HERE to see books and DVD’s on Kevin’s website) and they are fantastic! The painting shown here is entitled AFTERNOON SPARKLE  and is out of this world. I love the light, the water and the dash of orange’ish red on the sailboat. LOVE. IT.

 Kevin can paint anything, and he does it with a sense of humor which I so admire! He was recently in Charleston, and he painted at waterfront park in the noonday heat. I couldn’t stay the entire time, but learned a few neat things from him in that short time. I just wish I SAW things the way he does. Colors, shapes, it was amazing! Check out Kevin’s website, it’s chock full of great info.

ENJOY! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Artist to watch… Sue Stewart!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: SueStewartPaintings.com

The artist to watch today is Sue Stewart. Love her paintings. It amazes me how so many people can paint well and some people can paint so differently (in a good way!). You can recognize their style anywhere. Sue has a nice website, check it out www.suestewartpaintings.com! She’s got a diverse collection of subjects, I love that! After reading about her on her website I see that she has taken workshops with Kevin MacPherson, Charles Sovek, Kim English and Kenn Backhaus… Whoa! A pretty impressive list! Locally Sue shows her work at the Wells Gallery in Charleston, SC, stop in and check it out!

 Catch you back here tomorrow! If you get a chance check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Artist to watch… Jane Ryan!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: JaneRyan.com

I remember the first time I saw one of Jane Ryan’s acrylic paintings… at Maine Cottage in Charleston, SC. Maine Cottage has since shuttered it’s doors, but the one painting that we saw years ago lives on in my mind. It was facinating… a very different woods scene. The painting in the post is from the artists website, it’s entitled LAST LEG. I like her work, it’s so different. Very refreshing. If you get a chance, check out her website. You will also notice a list of galleries, so I would check those out as well!

Check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – catch you back here tomorrow!

Artist to watch… Bradley Hendershot!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist4 Comments
Image: BradleyHendershot.com

Bradley Hendershot. Nice guy… met him a few years ago on Monhegan Island. He does fabulous watercolors mainly of Pennsylvania, Maine and Maryland’s eastern shore. If you aren’t familiar with his work, check him out! He has a website with paintings, gallery information and upcoming exhibitions. Brad’s work reminds me of some of Andrew Wyeth’s work.

 
Funny thing, when I think of Brad I think of blueberry Pop-Tarts. Ha… He had a studio set up on Monhegan across from the Island Inn (the John Sterling House for those of you who are familiar), Fred and I popped (yuck, yuck) in to introduce ourselves and check out his work and there were boxes of blueberry Pop-Tarts on the counters. Not just a few boxes… MANY boxes. Too funny… what’s any better than an unfrosted blueberry Pop-Tart? Too bad it’s not health food…! So if you haven’t seen Brad’s work before, click on the website link above!
 
Catch you back here tomorrow… if you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Are you an artist? Do you have a website?

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment
Image: FASO.COM

Are you an artist? Do you have a website? In this day and time it’s pretty much a necessity to have a website. You need a website that is up to date that provides information to potential art collectors. Problem is… we aren’t all well versed in creating a website, especially one that may also include a blog, email newsletter, “buy now” button, the ability to add images, etc. Well LOOK NO FURTHER… with Fine Art Studio Online   you can create a website so easily it will make your head spin, AND if you need help, they have wonderful “artist support agents”. Pricing is low compared to paying a webmaster. You have a few options and the pricing varies. Their most popular plan (the Gold plan) is only $28/month and allows you to add up to 750 images! Check it out HERE.       

Many wonderful artists use the http://faso.com  site to create their own sites… Brian Blood, Glenn Dean, Logan Hagege, Bridget Jennings, Brian Kliewer, and Kevin Macpherson, just to name a FEW…

 A blip from FASO.com website: Enjoy quickly designing, maintaining, and updating your site, blog, email newsletter and more. You won’t have to wait for a webmaster every time you want to make a change. (Say goodbye to your web developer’s change fees too!) If you can surf the web, you can use our software! Plus, if you run into an area where you need help, you can always turn to our professional Artist Support Agents and take advantage of our Positively Remarkable Customer Service.

 So if you need a website, but have been putting it off, check it out! They offer a 60 day free trial, can’t beat that! Check them out, you’ll be glad you did!

 Catch you back here tomorrow… if you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com!

Artist to watch… Keith Oehmig!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment
Image: WiscassetBayGallery.com

Wiscasset. LOVE that little town… “Maine’s prettiest Village” also has a pretty fantastic gallery, Wiscasset Bay Gallery. Keith Oehmig, the guy who established Wiscasset Bay Gallery, just happens to be a fabulous artist as well as a really nice guy. The kind of guy you WANT to buy a painting from. The piece above is entitled “Camden Waterfront” (oil on board/24×30) is an excellent representation of his work, AND while I already had him scheduled to be a post on this blog, an art card arrived in the mail with this very painting on it! Whoa…! It’s wonderful receiving those cards, and THANK YOU to the galleries who still send them. I have a bulletin board full of artists that we would like to collect from one day… This card is now going on my bulletin board!

If you haven’t been to Wiscasset, what a fabulous place to stop! If you haven’t been in Wiscasset Bay Gallery… hoof it on over there! You’ll be SO GLAD you did! It’s a treasure of paintings!
Catch you back here tomorrow… if you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Artist to watch… Margaret Petterson!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments
Watching the Tide Roll Away by Margaret Petterson

Isn’t this fabulous? I LOVE the light coming through on the adironack chairs! This is one example of Margaret’s wonderful work, a mixed media monotype entitled “Watching the Tide Roll Away”. My husband and I have loved Margaret Petterson’s work for many years. She’s versatile, paints in watercolor, oil and does monotypes. Margaret’s work is shown at the John C Doyle Gallery  (John, another wonderful artist and future blog post!). Margaret can paint large paintings so full of color, they truly are special. If you haven’t seen Margaret’s work before be sure to check it out (click HERE)…

 
Have a wonderful week, I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!
If you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !
 
Image via www.margaretpetterson.com
 

Art quote: Pablo Picasso – Interior With Girl Drawing…

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment
Interior With A Girl Drawing – Pablo Picasso 1935

Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.

  -Pablo Picasso

Ruh roh… mental note… once I ever get painting again… although I do believe if I master anything I would stick with it for at least a little while!

Enjoy your weekend… catch you back here tomorrow…

If you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Image and quote via artquotes.net