1. Take time to study the entire painting. One glance gives no insight. 2. Just as in reading let your eye travel from left to right. 3. Divide the painting into thirds and 4.Start in the upper left corner. 5. Slowly let your eyes move to the right . 6. When you get to the end of the upper 1/3, begin slowly moving your eyes back to the left allowing your vision to take in the middle third of the painting. 7. Use the same process going from left to right while viewing the bottom third of the painting. 8. Now step back and view the entire piece. 9. Notice the brush strokes and texture within. 10. Study the subtle colors not obvious at first glance. 11. Ask...
Every emotion imaginable plays out in art. I believe I express multiple emotions in one painting. I have cropped details from paintings to express a few of my daily emotions. This first one expresses gentleness. FEAR DESIRE!!! Title of painting is "So Hard Not To Want" and let's face it, once you get what you crave, you just crave more. ANXIETY ANGER HOPE PEACEFUL LOVE
Recently, I watched two videos by visual artists that promoted nudity more than art. One video recorded a nude woman painting on the street in downtown London. The other was a video of a male artist who uses his penis as his paint brush. I can't imagine what the chemicals are doing to his penis? I have nothing against nudity in art. I KNOW living nude models are the most effective way to develop the skill of draftsmanship. The nude model is the best form from which to learn how to draw. In fact I was a nude model for art groups. Therefore, when I judged the videos mentioned above it was not about nudity. Rather, I felt offended and tricked into watching something that was...
One of my favorite minimalist artists is Anne Truitt. She was considered a leader in the minimalist school of art. I was fortunate to have her as one of my professors at UM. I loved her class. Her way of teaching was to give insights along with exercises. She was filled with words of wisdom not just about art but about life. Trained as a psychologist and with only one year of formal education in art, Truitt made a decision to “ride out the jeopardy of art with as much courage and faith as possible." She was largely known for her richly hued columnar sculptures. She explained in her "Daybook": “It’s as if the outside world has to match some personal horizontal and vertical...
Eyes, Shattered Glass When I happened onto the website of Mark Raymond Mason, I was mesmerized by his abstract photography. As my readers know, I adore abstract art and am especially drawn to black and white. Mark shoots black and white as well as color images. He writes: Since the beginning, I've always photographed temporary things, threatened things, and hopelessly out-of-the-way things. I create when I feel a connection. A subject's shapes, colours, and textures are only vessels, like words in a poem, to help explain what I feel. To this end, I work with my subjects spontaneously, as I find them, and do all of my creative manipulation with traditional optics, in the field." Stained Bark Shadows Besides Mark's creative photography, his writings about his images...
Ms. Kochenderfer writes she is "fascinated with the concept of looking at the world in a different way through the lens of a camera. Through the lens, I see joy and feel a sense of zen." Laguna Beach Kay and her husband live in LA and have travelled extensively throughout the world as well as within the USA. I met Kay several years ago when she purchased a few of my paintings. we recently reconnected and I learned of her photography. Though she has not been shooting photos for more than a few years, she has a natural artistic ability and I have loved viewing her work online. Colorado Spain Mediterranean Click here to view more of Kay's work.
"Listen With Compassion to the Wounded Child Inside" Thich Nhat Hanh writes: In each of us, there is a young, suffering child. We have all had times of difficulty as children and many of us have experienced trauma. To protect and defend ourselves against future suffering, we often try to forget those painful times. Every time we’re in touch with the experience of suffering, we believe we can’t bear it, and we stuff our feelings and memories deep down in our unconscious mind." The wounded child suffering alone because he/she has been ignored by her adult counterpart. We are busy with our lives, involved in survival. "But just because we may have ignored the child doesn’t mean she or he isn’t there. The wounded child...
"Reemerge" "I have to paint reach inside risking to show you" I met Michelle on Twitter. I fell in love with her art and when I visited her website I felt a kinship with the poetry she wrote under her paintings. I have learned she does yoga and meditates and works to stay in what I call emptiness. "Changing Perspective" "time is a possession feel dizzy time is wrapping me up I am not sure was it my choice" Michelle was born in Munich and grew up in Innsbruck, Austria. She now lives close to Milan. She works in her studio there when she is not travelling. To view more of Michelle's work visit her website.
14 years ago I painted a series of abstract female clowns. They had bald heads and their faces were white with large colored eyes and red lips. Several of the paintings showed women hanging from crosses. I no longer create art with messages. But these women clowns did have a message. They were about women feeling persecuted in our society. The point of my blog is not to go into a tirade about inequality.. My clowns are really about a wholeness. I have acted as a clown and have felt persecuted when not understood. But that is only part of who I am. "The Pink Cross" above shows a very sweet face. She is dressed in wild colors. The dominant color is pink which is accepted...
Feature artist of the week, Eduardo Terranova creates gorgeous abstract minimal paintings in using precious metals. Alchemists have always sought to possess the power of the philosopher’s stone, believed to contain a magical substance that would transform base metals into their noble counterparts. Eduardo says: "I am interested in exploring non-traditional formats of alchemy because of their artistic possibilities and place in contemporary art. Eduardo states: "The moonness of silver creates an electrifying elegance and transient softness. In this embrace, the reflection of silver is both balance and filter, allowing insight into who we are and what we feel. It is through this silver lense that we understand calmness, purity and essence" He says: "I believe the magic of gold contains an energy that is the...
