Monday History

Claude Monét

Haystack, End of Summer 1891

Oil on Canvas, 24" x 40"

Making an Impression

Impressionism is considered by most to be the turning point in Art History - a time that evoked the greatest continual change in art and the constant progression that artists work towards today.

(From Wikipedia) Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s. The name of the style is derived from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satiric review published in the Parisian newspaper Le Charivari.

Characteristics of Impressionist paintings include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes; open composition; emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time); common, ordinary subject matter; the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience; and unusual visual angles.

The image above represents one of a huge series of works by Monét called "Haystacks."  
Follow this link to learn more about the series of works and then respond to the following:

1. Why do you think Monét devoted his time to this series
2. Investigate the work of the Impressionists and find another artist from the movement that you like
3. Include a brief bio of the artist, 3 examples of their work, and why you chose the artist


Happy Monday!
-Denner

Check This Out!

Will Wilson

Pollination / 2007 / 22 x 34 inches / Oil on canvas

 

Hardwired / 2008 / 15 x 18 inches / Oil on canvas

Will Wilson is a painter who has a diverse body of work with many interests ranging from illustration to portraits of dignitaries. His strengths include rendering, composition, and concept - all of which he executes at a master level. 

Both pieces shown here demonstrate his ability to paint things with an element of realism, but they also juxtapose the imagery to add meaning to the piece. 

What is your impression of these pieces? What is the message behind the work? Check out his gallery to see more of what he does.

So what are you waiting for? Check it out!

Happy Friday,

Denner

Technical Tuesday

Alexa Meade

Blueprint

Just when you think we've run out of ideas something like this comes around. What we have here is something that appears to be a moody portrait of a man seated in a drab interior setting. The monochromatic blue color scheme offers a somber tone and the artist has applied the paint in an aggressive manner that offers movement and a painterly style. But as in life, things aren't always what they seem. Alexa Meade uses people as her canvas and her final medium is photography.  

Rather than creating representational paintings on a flat canvas, Alexa Meade creates her representational paintings directly on top of the physical subjects that she is referencing. When photographed, the representational painting and the subject being referenced appear to be one and the same as the 3D space of her painted scenes becomes optically compressed into a 2D plane.

 The image below shows the artist at work on her model. 

Just another artist who is stretching the definition of art for those of us who love the possibilities.
Keep those pencils sharp and ideas fresh!
-Denner

Technical Tuesday

Philip Burke

"Ray Charles" 2004

Oil on Canvas 48" x 60"

More Than Peachy

Philip Burke is an illustrator from Buffalo who is known for his caricature portraits of rock stars and celebrities. His work is expressive, colorful, and exaggerates his subjects in a way that captures their personalities. The technical aspect that makes his work impressive is the way he treats color in his figures. Study the shadows in this piece carefully and you'll see a rainbow of colors utilized in a way that emphasizes the highlights and shadows. Try it for yourself - draw a hand, a nose, or some other figure-based subject in color and get inventive in the shadows.

 

A quick tip - use cool colors for shadows and warm colors for highlights. Sure, peach works - but it's flat and boring. Punch it up and get inventive! Don't forget to check out Burke's work and see more examples of how he stretches color for ideas. 

Keep your ideas fresh and your pencils sharp...

-Denner

Monday History

Gustav Klimt

"The Kiss"1907-1908

Oil and gold leaf on canvas - 70" x 70"

The work of Gustav Klimt deals heavily with romance - something that is clearly evident in "The Kiss" and most other works he created in his illustrious career. A man who painted at the time of the expressionists, Klimt was the founder of the Vienna Secession - a group that had no signature style but promoted young artists and members of the movement through print media and gallery shows from 1897 - 1908. When you look at a piece by Klimt, especially from his "Golden Phase," it is easy to lose the figure amongst the lavish pattern work. I've always wondered - where did this style come from? - it was so unique to Klimt and something that makes his work immediately recognizable. I found this description on the good ol' wikipedia that brought some insight to my wonderings:

Art historians note an eclectic range of influences contributing to Klimt's distinct style, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, and Byzantine inspirations. Klimt was also inspired by the engravings of Albrecht Dürer, late medieval European painting, and Japanese Rimpa school. His mature works are characterized by a rejection of earlier naturalistic styles, such as The Glasgow School, from which he was heavily influenced, and make use of symbols or symbolic elements to convey psychological ideas and emphasize the "freedom" of art from traditional culture.

So what does that have to do with you might you ask (at least I hope you do)? Find the connections between the work of Klimt and the cultures listed above. I look forward to your results and encourage you to compare and contrast your conclusions.
Happy Monday!
-Denner

Check This Out!

Dan Witz

Big Mosh Pit, 2007

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas - 46" x 70"

So you don't know what to paint about? Where do you start? Although the answer is an easy one - it's a challenge to execute: you can paint about anything and start anywhere (insert "YIKES" comment here). Dan Witz is an artist I stumbled upon on the Internet and at first I was not impressed. When you visit his home page you learn that he is a street artist - and there's no shortage of them in the art world these days. What I found blew me away though. This guy can flat-out paint and his subject matter is one you wouldn't normally think of because it's so crazy challenging.  Check out his gallery work and here you can see what makes him exceptional in my opinion.

I chose a piece from his most pit series because they are so intricate, effective, and flat out interesting. Although you find people everywhere they are still balanced and provide points of emphasis - often times focusing on the center of the pit. If mosh pits aren't your thing then check out his lamps and interiors, Night Landscapes, or his Figure work.

So what are you waiting for? Check it out! and Happy Friday
-Denner

Technical Tuesday
Too Good To Resist

Remember this from Primary and Intermediate school? Take a white crayon and draw a design on a sheet of paper, then go over your design with watercolor paints. Although this technique seems a bit primary - does it hold value for a more "refined" style of art? Of course it does! I want to challenge you to try and take this "basic" style of art and create something more aesthetically mature like the image below.

So do you have it in you? Test it out and have fun!
Keep those pencils sharp and ideas fresh
-Denner