Leading to Adventure

So I am curious.  Does this interest you more as an artistic piece or as a literary piece?  In other words, do you admire it for being a work of art or does it make you want to curl up with a good book and lose yourself into the story?  Would you pick up this book if this was on the cover?  What do you think the story would be about?  Does it remind you of any books that you have read?

Can you feel it?

If you have done any searching on this blog you will figure out that I enjoy paint that has texture to it.  Basically that means that someone applied a really heavy layer of paint to create their work of art, and this flower painting is no exception.

For me, I am in love with not only the texture but the color (blue is my tone).  I even love how they photographed it next to the fluffy white pillow.  It is such a contrast, and I just want to sit there and touch both of these items.  I am really intrigued by how they achieved the texture and the mixing of paint.  If you look at the corners towards the center and see how the color changes, but the petals feel fairly uniform in size and shape at the same time.

What do you think about this piece?  Is it too simple?  Is it something that you would like to try to do?  If so, what color would you do this piece in?  What is your color tone?  Would you pay $600 for this work of art?  (Actual price)

Doing a Double Take

An artist is supposed to find ways to make the viewer think about the world in a different way.  Sometimes that can be simple and sometimes that can be very tricky or at least tricky on the eye.  I am in love with visual images that create optical illusions.  It's not hard to find these images on the internet because so many people are playing and working with Photoshop now days.  Here are a few really good ones that I found.

So what do you think of these images?  Do you have a favorite one?  Or would you have done something different with one of the images to make it better?  Can you think of a really cool photo combination that you would like to try?

Working simple

Sometimes we try to do the most intricate and fanciest thing we can come up with, but sometimes it is better to just do something simple and master it.

I know what you are thinking, these are just bananas, what is so special about them?  And why the subject matter is simple, I really want you to stop and look at the coloring.  Do you see all of the colors that were used to create the different tints and shades?  Do you see the brush strokes?  What colors were used in the shadow?  Do you think that this takes talent or can anyone do this?  Could you sit down and paint a picture just like this?  If you are not thrilled with the bananas then what simple subject would you paint?

Lace and Metal?

Okay those are two things that I know you would have never put together, but then again you are not Canadian artist Cal Lane.  Cal is a world renowned sculpture artist that takes sold, cold, manly objects and cuts them into delicate and intricate lace patterns and designs.  She gives a feminine touch to some very masculine objects that I think is very beautiful, but I would love to hear your thoughts after you check out a few of her works.

So what are your thoughts?  Would you love to have one of her massive pieces in your house?  Obviously I don't think the shovel would do you much good as it is intended anymore, but would you hang it on your wall?  Can you think of an object that she should use for her next work of art?  If you could do this what would you use?

Welcome back!

I hope you have had a fun and relaxing summer and are ready for some fun and learning!  I have had a very full summer with travel, food, family and friends.  We spent time learning to kneeboard on the lake and running to baseball games.

Hopefully you didn't forget who you are or why you are here!  Like any class, this will be as fun as you make it.  I love the projects that I have planned for you, but if you dread them then this will be a very long year for you.  

So all I ask is that you come in everyday with a positive attitude.  Even if that means you have to walk out the door and try again.

I am curious what you are looking forward to as you start a new year?  Are you looking forward to this class or one of your other ones?  What are you hoping to try?  What do you feel will be the highlight of your school year?

This is not a Photograph!

So have you ever been flipping through things on the internet and you come across an image that you just assume is a photograph and as you scroll down you see that it is actually a painting.  Well that just happened to me.  So I just had to share it with you.

I am always amazed by hyper-realistic art.  I think I have plenty of patience when it comes to creating art, but these people seem to have unreal amounts of patience and dedication to create these life like works that look like they could just walk off the page.   But I will let you decide what you think of this artist.  Unfortunately I can't find her name.

Any thoughts?  What do you think of it?  Who would you draw or paint if you had this talent?  Or do you think she could do better?