Abstract Art Defined
December 31, 2007
The article below is really about defining abstract art. It is not an easy definition, however the article does provide an introductory guide to this art genre. The Beauty of an Abstract Painting “Have you ever been to an art museum and looked at an abstract painting? Did you find yourself asking what was this artist thinking when he created this abstract painting? What on earth is an abstract painting? Maybe you are just wondering where the art of abstract painting came from. If you find yourself asking these questions then perhaps it is time you learn about the beauty of an abstract paining. The... Read more »
The Purpose of Creativity - Playtime for the Soul
December 30, 2007
By Judith Waller Creativity is an essential part of being human. And your purpose in life is to understand and express the gifts that are uniquely yours. Creative play is one of the most nourishing ways you can do this for yourself. It doesn’t have to be about creating works of art — it’s a process of discovering and reconnecting with your true essence. Are you ready to invite your soul out to play? What is creativity? The great Italian Renaissance sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarroti, once said: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” This principle... Read more »
The ‘Other’ Museums of Paris
December 29, 2007
By Gaizka Pujana These are perhaps the best known and most widely visited of the Paris museums. But Paris is also the home of many other fine museums that often get overlooked by the casual visitor — museums well worth seeing and well worth adding to any visitor’s itinerary Among those that should not be missed are the following: Musee Picasso. (Metro: St. Paul) A chronological collection of more than 3000 works of Pablo Picasso together with the artist’s own collection of Cezanne, Degas, Rousseau, Seurat, Mattisse, and various personal archives. Musee Marmottan-Monet. (Metro:... Read more »
How To Select An Art Piece In An Art Auction
December 28, 2007
By Ricky Lim Nowadays, there are many art auction houses available online such as sotheby and ebay. However, before attempting to bid for a fine art auction, there are some points you need to take note especially if you are a beginner to art auctions. If you are new to fine art auctions, you might first decide what it is you like to collect. Is it abstract art, oil-based painting, impression art etc? You also might want to read up on the art category that you prefer to buy. Take for example, you are into abstract art. It would help you in your art auctions if you knew more about abstract art history,... Read more »
Make Your Art Successful - Create A Story With Your Drawing And Painting
December 27, 2007
By Michael Dale When you draw a picture do you think about creating a story? Would you concern yourself about what your painting says? It doesn’t matter what art materials and tools you use to create your drawings and paintings, unless the picture you create has a history it can never be a success. Many beginners wouldn’t realize that their drawings and paintings should have a message. Drawing can be done with graphite pencils, charcoal and chalks… but unless your sketch weaves its magic story your hard work is lost. Top artists spend a great deal of time and energy weaving magic... Read more »
Why Bother With Art Colleges?
December 24, 2007
If you are pretty talented at art you might not even consider going to Art College. Why should you, anyway? You can draw like the masters: Boticelli, Michaelangeo, Da Vinci. There wasn’t a landscape scene your brushes didn’t like, and there wasn’t any portrait you couldn’t draw. You can sketch anything that exists! But as with any talent, you must have realized that this is one big world we live in. There is always room for improvement, and although your work might speak for itself, a degree behind you may be just what employers are looking for. Therefore, you muster all your reserves;... Read more »
Gaudi’s Barcelona
December 23, 2007
By Mike McDougall The native Catalan architect certainly left his mark on this great city and a visit to Barcelona wouldn’t be complete without taking in some of his greatest works. An architect seemingly without contemporaries, Gaudi’s free-flowing post modern creations were decades ahead of his time. The world has taken note of Gaudi and this is reflected in the fact that the properties mentioned below are all UNESCO world heritage sites. La Pedrera The real name for this building is in fact, Casa Mila – La Pedrera is a nickname and means “the quarry” in Catalan. When Gaudi built this... Read more »
Where to Commission a Portrait
December 22, 2007
When you need a photograph changed to art form, you can commission a portrait. Now what do we need for commissioning a portrait? All you need is a photograph even a fuzzy old photograph will do. The artist tries to make an exact replica of the photograph given. When there are missing elements in the photograph the artist adds those details through active imagination, bringing the image to life. Portraits can be made of headshot, half-length or full length for the same price. The artist makes various changes and shows the work at various stages through digital image of the portrait being made. The... Read more »
The Old Masters - Who Are They?
December 21, 2007
By David Nivala The term Old Master refers to artists or painters that painted between 1400 and 1900. (Some say to 1800) These painters were mainly from Europe. They were people who were fully trained and worked independently. Some of them are household names, even today, like Rembrandt, Leonardo, Rubens, Raphael and Michelangelo. Professional art critiques tend to avoid the term Old Masters, however it is still used by many who admire the works of those painters. When we look at the paintings by these people, we recognize landscapes, people, religious depictions, historical scenes and other things.... Read more »
The Inventor of Oil Paintings
December 20, 2007
By Sara Swansson In comparison to many other art forms, oil painting is still considered relatively new. Oil painting is the use of oil in pigments in order to paint. Oil paintings date back to the 1400’s. Before oil painting, paint was mixed with plaster found in frescoes or egg in tempera paints. The invention of oil paintings occurred because of a new desire for realism in art. Jan Van Eyck is the man credited with the invention of oil painting. The desire for a more realistic look in art started in early fifteenth century Europe. Previously, art was very mythological and decorative, but with... Read more »
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair 2007
December 18, 2007
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair capped off an extraordinary year with its third Miami edition, held December 5-9, which drew substantial crowds and impressive sales. PULSE Miami confirmed the Fair’s role as a leader in the highly competitive art market. It is a pioneering art fair. From Chicago: Carl Hammer Gallery’s Chris Ware - Branford the Bee, The Best Bee in the World, 2003. Pen and Ink Drawing w Blue Pencil Overmarking on Bristol Board With a record attendance of over 16,000 visitors, strong sales from the first day, a new venue that allowed expanded cultural programming and... Read more »
Donating Your Artwork — Makes Sense or No Cents?
December 17, 2007
This article explores the topic of donating work for fundraisers or charity groups. At first glance, you may wonder how giving away your work for free can make you money! Well, it may make more sense “and cents” than you might think! And it doesn’t apply just to artists…. any artist, artisan or crafter, any one with a product, could benefit from this. We polled some artists, artisans and crafters who do donate to fundraisers to get some “real world” experience on this subject. There are 3 major reasons why to donate your artwork: 1 — Advertising — to generally... Read more »
Art - Rembrandt’s Life
December 16, 2007
By Michael Russell Rembrandt is an extraordinary Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman of the 1600s. He is most well known for his chiaroscuro, his brush work and the way in which he connected with the human soul. His life, however, was not a happy one. Rembrandt’s full name is Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn. He was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands and was the son of a miller. His dad wanted him to have a real, learned profession but Rembrandt left the University of Leiden after becoming bored to study art. He began studying under a local teacher but soon left and studied... Read more »
Exploring Careers in the Arts
December 15, 2007
Perhaps you are trying to figure out what kind of career is best for you in the future, or maybe you even are looking for a career change in your life. If so, one very fun and stimulating field to consider is the arts. A career in the arts can be very exciting and there are many different career choices to consider within the field. If you find yourself enjoying and excelling in artistic pursuits such as painting, drawing, or even photography, then it may be time to explore what this career field can offer you. Before you make a career decision, it is usually a great idea to take a closer look... Read more »
Los Angeles Art Show Joined by Annual Los Angeles Fine Print Fair
December 14, 2007
The Art World Comes to Los Angeles The Los Angeles Art Show, one of the most prestigious expositions in America, is proud to present the 13th annual exhibition showcasing a myriad of fine art from the 17th century to the present. In addition, this year the Los Angeles Art Show will be joined by the IFPDA’s 23rd Annual Los Angeles Fine Print Fair. Over 125 distinguished international and US galleries will come together to showcase the finest examples of works in the year’s most anticipated art show. In addition, the show features works five local participating Californian museums: Autry National... Read more »
Leonardo da Vinci - A Biography of the Renaissance Man
December 13, 2007
Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy. It is uncertain that Vinci, just west of Florence, was the actual birthplace and it is often debated that perhaps he was born in a farmhouse in Anchiano. Nevertheless, Vinci claims the prestigious title of the birthplace of Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo did not author an autobiography; therefore, what little is know of his early life has been gathered from tax records and other documents of the period. What is known is that he was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci and a woman who is only known by her first name, Catrina. It... Read more »
Impressionism: The Lasting Impression!
December 12, 2007
By Nadeem Alam A style that turned into a movement and then brought about the change at a great level in technique along with the ideology of the painting during the last third of 19th century that emphasized the perception of an artist up to an extant where it was adjacent to the importance of the subject itself. Although Impressionism is taken chiefly as a movement of Fine Arts, but it also influenced other forms of artistic expression, as literature and music also got a slight change and new emergence under this movement. In literature; it emphasized more on immediate aspects of objects or actions... Read more »
Art and Its Power to Transform
December 11, 2007
The artist Wassily Kandinsky writes in Concerning the Spiritual In Art that “the artist must search deeply into his own soul, develop and tend it, so that his art has something to clothe, and does not remain a glove without a hand…The artist must have something to say, for mastery over form is not his goal but rather the adapting of form to its inner meaning.” What we have to say with our art runs the same gamut of possibilities as what we have to say in our conversations. Our art may reflect the idle chatter of a cocktail party or the revealing insights of an intimate conversation. We... Read more »
Botticelli: From the Birth of Venus to a Bonfire of the Vanities
December 10, 2007
Most of the Western world is familiar with the image of Venus rising from the sea on a clamshell in the famous Italian Renaissance painting by Sandro Botticelli. With its lyrical, graceful beauty, the work we know so well is properly named The Birth of Venus and sometimes affectionately known in contemporary culture as “Venus on the Half Shell”, Botticelli’s work continues to inspire contemporary art, literature, and film. Botticelli’s mythological painting and its sister painting, Primavera, were commissioned by Lorenzo de’ Medici for his villa in Castello in 1485.... Read more »
The Life of Diego Velasquez
December 9, 2007
Diego Velasquez is one of Spain’s most celebrated and influential painters, born in 1599 he rose to become the leading artist in the royal court of Phillip IV. Velasquez came along during the contemporary Baroque period and went on to become one of it’s leading exponents alongside the likes of Peter Paul Rubens. Baroque was an elaborate style of painting and was especially good a depicting religious scenes; for this reason, its use was encouraged by the catholic church, its dramatic and direct style perfectly captured the drama of religious imagery. Born in Seville, Velasquez was the... Read more »
