Artists are often told to work from experience, to relate what we know. There is more to knowledge and experience than physical reality, however. When it comes to inspiration, the inner life of dreams and fantasies is as valid as our external story, and often more striking. It is the play between our perceived reality … Continue reading Picturing Wildness: The Beasts of Henri Rousseau
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Picturing Woman: Paintings of Jules Breton
Many painters have taken their inspiration from the female form, but Jules Breton is unique. Trained in the European classical tradition, or "grand style" as he called it, he returned home to rural Brittany to produce his masterpieces. His subjects were not grand dames or famous historical scenes as was usual for the period and … Continue reading Picturing Woman: Paintings of Jules Breton
Picturing Healing Energy: Paintings by Agnes Lawrence Pelton
I've recently returned to painting and, searching for inspiration, ran across Agnes Pelton's extraordinary transcendental paintings, images full of energy balanced with a cool serenity. She has quickly become one of my favorite painters. Agnes Lawrence Pelton was born in 1881 to American parents, William and Florence Pelton, in Stuttgart, Germany. She spent her early … Continue reading Picturing Healing Energy: Paintings by Agnes Lawrence Pelton
Originals by Synkroniciti: Outgoing Tide
After a few years and two floods, I'm finally painting again. Nothing calms me down better than putting some color on canvas and seeing what crops up. The section of wall to the left of our fireplace has some damage from whatever hung there in the past. It's a rather tall footprint, and I didn't … Continue reading Originals by Synkroniciti: Outgoing Tide
Quote for Today: Paul Cézanne
I could paint for a hundred years, a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing. --Paul Cézanne Image: A Painter at Work, Paul Cézanne, 1875
The Hidden Feminine: Examining the Female Image in Yemeni Art
Muslim women are frequently shortchanged by stereotypes. How do artists help to change minds and destroy prejudice? I have selected the work of two female photographers, Boushra Almutawakel and Yumna Al-Arashi, and two male painters, Hakim Alakel and Mazher Nizar, to show us the face of Muslim women. All of these artists are of Yemeni … Continue reading The Hidden Feminine: Examining the Female Image in Yemeni Art
Quote for Today: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness. In fact, he creates new appearances of things. ―Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Image: Archers by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1935-37
