I never thought of lists and self-rating charts as being artistic but they give you great insight into the creative minds of some artists.
While on vacation last weekend, I will be doing some sketching and reflecting so maybe these artistic charts will provide some inspiration — of course I’m writing this post in advance so we’ll see if ideas actual get enacted.
Adolf Konrad's graphic packing list, Dec. 16, 1973. via The Atlantic
Harry-Bertoia_Sefl-rating-graph via The Atlantic
Well, some sketching did get enacted and how appropriate that this post with this title would be my 500th. I don’t know but that’s a lot of posts and maybe worthy of retirement soon…
This is a pretty good instructional video on how to paint a cloud. Realistic looking clouds are actually harder than you would think to paint without looking animated. This video simplifies the method and makes it look easy to do.
We’re flying high on a cloud this week with some recent press for my business, so much so that’s it’s been hard to write posts, so this one is short and sweet, with music to match. I always thought this song, No Rain, by Blind Melon was a happy song and a fun one to Kick Start the Weekend.
I believe there is a direct connection between art, math and science. Why, not because my last post proves the point on another level, but because artists think analytically, from how to get to point A (blank canvas for instance) to point B (painted artwork) and construct this process and composition for getting there. This often requires subconscious, abstract mathematical and scientific thinking.
The following articles further explain this interesting concept. Jesse Rosten explains using his fascination (mine too) with butterflies as an example in his article, Art & Science, that art would not exist without science and conversely, new scientific discoveries happen through creativity. [Love these butterflies. They remind me of some that I've painted.]
Jesse Rosten, butterflies - Art & Science
Interesting that I found this next post, Math and Art in Education, from the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate, a “liberal perspective on world, national and local politics.” I normally pass on political blogging because I’m surrounded by it daily in DC. I’m progressive enough, however to reflect on what might be views contrary to my own. I agree with this perspective, however, and there’s a lovely drawing of Waikiki Beach to view here, as well:
We tend to view students in two very broad categories: “artistic” kids and “intellectual” kids. This is a crass generalization, but it’s true. Society, by and large, expects people to be one or the other. Rarely both.
Which is to say that there is not an expectation that an artistic kid will be any good at math, science, or engineering. Nor is there any expectation that intellectual kids should have any interest in or aptitude for art.
Frankly, I think that’s crap. I think that every kid has a creative side regardless of their skills in the sciences. And I think that every kid has an analytic side, regardless of their skills in the arts.
And I know, because I’ve lived it myself, that math and art can reinforce one another. Math can be used to teach art and strengthen one’s creative side. The desire to make art can be used as a springboard from which to teach math.
The Secret Art of Math is discussed in The Irish Times. I’ll have to check out the book The Secret Mathemaeticians as well, which describes how artists have used math in their creative process. You can watch the webcast of the presentation here.
The Chicago Art Magazinealso explores the relationship between scientist and artist. Daniel Nolan was a nuclear engineer before he decided to become a resin painter, for example. He describes the original idea can be obtained by both artists and scientists but the difference is how it is applied in their work. Why, even the Lego exhibit is discussed in this article, which brings me full circle back to my belief that Legos have built the foundation for my son’s engineering career path.
I am so pleased that Karen Winters agreed to let me post some of her prolific paintings here to show how beautiful daily artwork can be. Thank you, Karen.
Karen creates a miniature oil painting a day, similar Daily Creative concept mentioned in my previous post, as can be seen on her Creative Journey blog. Her works below range in size but are roughly 6 x 6″ to 11 x 14″. Hope you enjoy these daily treasures as much as I do. She lives in a gorgeous, sunny California location and fortunately for us she has the talent for capturing its beauty on canvas.
Gaviota Springtime by Karen Winters. Presently in an historic centennial museum show at the Pasadena Museum of California Art with the California Art Club
When Sunrise Fills the Sky
Malibu Pink Clouds
Back Bay Sunset
Big Sur Beauty Seascape
Heaven at Devils Gate Dam
Sierra Daybreak
Here’s a sense of her easel set up, all the gear an artist needs to have on hand, not making it easy to paint outside — especially when an unexpected breeze might pick up and scatter you wares to the wind.
Karen Winter's au plein air easel set up
Karen Winter's Easel set up at Burtt Ranch
Karen’s depiction of white cactus flowers below in Come Hither is just stunning. Their sense of glowing light just beckons you to come closer.
Come Hither (white cactus flowers). 16 x 20 oil by Karen Winters
I find it intriguing that prior to her art career, she was involved in the very corporate world of media/ entertainment as and Emmy award winning producer, writer for ABC’s 20/20, as well as sales and marketing programs for businesses and advertising agencies. Just goes to show you that your second career can be just as successful and rewarding and maybe even more so than the first.
Speaking of second comings and starting over, Happy Easter everyone!
I’ve never seen this video before and I’m not quite sure what to make of Sting’s humoristic (?) portrayal as the Messiah, which I think it is supposed to be but since I like the song Brand New Day and his video theme works in a timely way for Easter, here it goes for Kick Starting the Weekend:
I thought this was an inventive idea to create a mural using over 6,000 painted bottle caps. Interestingly though, when I went looking for the link to this story about a Burlington art teacher creating this mural with her high school students, it was no longer available. Instead, I found a link to another story in the Westminster Eagle about, Rosemary McCann, an 18 year old who approached her local library to ask if she could create the same subject mural for them as a part of her Girl Scout Troupe project. This mural now hangs in the Finksburg Library, in Carroll County, MD.
Another link popped up to Karen Phillips Shutterstitch site where she has posted the same subject mural that she made with her elementary art students in Athens, GA.
Starry Night via Shutterstitch
Come to find out there is a recipe for this mural in Michelle Stitzlein‘s book, Bottlecap Little Bottlecap, which gives the instructions for completing this Starry Night mural made of bottle caps along with other types of bottle cap artwork. Here’s the original version.
Michelle Stizlein's Starry Night vit Bottlecap Little Bottlecap
So not only is this mural creative, the concept for reproducing it is ingenious as an educational “recyclable” art project for children. It’s also interesting in that these all look a little different, just going to show you can take a great idea, be creative and still make it unique.
Artists create daily — constantly thinking, collecting, adapting, producing and reviewing for their artwork. Here are some examples of one artist who exhibits this creative journey.
Jeffrey Hayes describes and shows how his sculptural mouse and buddha painting came to be. Clicking this link will bring you to his step-by-step progression but here’s how he begins his process:
Paintings always begin with ideas. To start a painting, any painting, requires some sort of theme. It could be an object you wish to paint, some idea you’d like to express, or a particular light effect you want to explore. Anything.
Sprightly. photo via Jeffery Hayes
Jeffery Hayes' display for painting
Jeffery Hayes' drawing for painting
Jeffery Hayes grisaille underpainting
Jeffery Hayes - final painting, oil on panel
I started following Jeffrey Hayes’ work on his other blog, Watching Paint Dry, about 2 years ago but he’s given this one up in order to put more focused effort on one blog and his paintings, which I really like. They are remarkable miniature treasures about 8 x 8″ or so, which allows him to create several a week. The style and details in his work resemble such Dutch Masters as Vermeer.
Still life with antique knife framed by Jeffrey Hayes
Speaking of daily artwork, The Sketchbook Project is at it again. I just learned that their exhibit happens to be in DC this coming weekend at the Hillyer Art Space and it’s that time of year for new registration starting this Friday for the next year’s Sketchbook collection. Click here to see my previous post on this.
It’s interesting that I ran across this alert about a high school mural painted by students and then a separate posting about how creativity, if taught in schools, also teaches critical thinking.
This mural was painted in the lobby of Grandview High School in Missouri by students on their own free time. The subjects relate to academics as well as culture and creativity. If you listen to the video link, you’ll see that the students involved received more than just a pat on the back for the finished product. They also gained self-confidence through the creative process of creating and then painting the mural.
On a side note, this is the very first mural that I painted, I’m guessing when I was about seven years old. I’m the one in the pig-tails (at the time). I keep this photo in my Art Portfolio so my prospective clients can see that I got an early start to my painterly profession.
First Mural painted by Ashley Spencer and fellow students @ STM
The clarinet in the high school mural reminds me of the wonderful one painted on the side of the hotel in New Orleans that I posted a while back.
This article, Is our Education System Promoting Critical Thinking, Creativity, Innovation in Students in IPP Media as sourced from The Guardian caught my attention when it suggests that if creativity was encouraged as a method of teaching, then it could help promote “growth and sustainable development” through the process of critical thinking that leads to innovation and expression.
I’ve been having many discussions with my younger son about the importance of traditional education. I’m accepting of a creative and experiential method but I also believe that this can be instituted within traditional learning — if taught and encouraged by the teacher and applied by the student. There has to be production and or an assessment of the outcome of these efforts so there can be review of knowledge gained and progression of performance. My son and I are in agreement that it does him well to learn the value of working within the “real world” or a while so he can better appreciate his education. He’ll have to be pretty “creative” however in how he’s gonna get that job.
Here’s an opportunity for artists as mentioned on The Daily Pilot — a worldwide competition to select artists of multiple fields to provide ideas and artistic labor to for Great Park in Irvine, Orange County, CA. The prize is free studio space in exchange for ideas and work within this “living park”:
[Four] Artists will be considered from anywhere in the world and from all artistic backgrounds — visual and performing arts, architecture and design, film and cinematography, literature and poetry and others. They can apply through Friday at the park’s website, http://www.ocgp.org.
The artist will be given a $7,500, six-month stipend paid from the Great Park’s Arts, Culture and Heritage $850,000 annual budget.
In exchange, the artists will hold open studio hours in which they will interact with the public and host workshops, seminars and lectures, Korn said.
Appropriately enough, right after my Cherry Blossom post, I remembered seeing this beautiful floral glass-blown artwork by Eric Edner as described in the Sierra Mountain Times. Clicking the first picture link will bring you to his interesting interview where he describes his creative process and gives a brief history of the fire and ice art of glass blowing.
Eric Edner's glass blow flowers via Sierra Mountain Times
These Skin/Glass trees by Beth Rekow are quite stunning with their LED lighting spotlighting their etched surfaces. They were on exhibit in Alberque, NM last summer but seem appropriate to post because they appear to me to bridge the gap between our cold winter and spring, which has yet to fully get here weather wise.
Skin Glass Scupture by Beth Rekow via abqArts, in New Mexico
Going to Beth Rekow’s website, I was surprised to discover not just artwork but artistic home furnishings from consoles, to beds to feather lamps and entry doors.
Beth Rekow feather lamp
Beth Rekow Circular Door
Choosing music to Kick Start the Weekend that ties in with this could be difficult but how about a Shirley Bassey interpretation of The Doors, Light My Fire. I can see this version being used in a James Bond movie. This is a pretty sharp version but if want to see her perform, go to the second link:
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I am inspired by anything associated with the National Gallery of Art. If I could decamp there overnight or longer, I would in a heartbeat.
I received what I’d like to think was a nice birthday present a few weeks ago, when I woke up to read this article about Mark Leithauser, Chief of Design at the NGA, my former boss and exceptionally talented painter and exhibition designer. Fortunately, we’ve stayed in touch over the years. I can really relate to how Mark describes his work at the NGA:
“I think what you want to do as an exhibit designer is to make the work feel at home. Some of the modern art, if you put them on a white wall they look old. Some Picassos are almost 100 years old, and if they only have white walls, they look like they are in a laboratory.”
The Washington Post calls him, “The Invisible Museum Artist” who “spends a lot of time focused on the background.” There is definitely a talent to making all aspects of the exhibition work together in order to give the viewer an intimate experience with the art. As an artist and academic, Mark can bridge all these components seamlessly together, sometimes without much notice but that’s the magic and the illusion of not showing what goes on behind the scenes that makes it work.
I guess since I couldn’t stay in Exhibition Design, I’m finding ways to execute what I love with painting, Art History and Design with Casart coverings:
“This is what we are trying to do with the types of wallcovering designs that we offer for Casart coverings. They are supposed to make one’s furnishing feel at home. We don’t want to compete but complement with what someone already has in their home. Therein the reason for some of our subtle decorative finishes like faux-linen and colorwash. As a decorative painter, I typically do not do finishes that are over-the-top but rather enhance a client’s decor. The patterns that we offer give some figurative styling to a background but unlike traditional or more busy patterns that appear as definite manufactured repeats, ours are meant to look hand-painted or illustrated and randomly placed, as if they were painted directly on the wall.”
I’ve seen countless Mardi Gras costumes, so have you probably, but growing up in New Orleans, this was not uncommon. Of these, the most recognizable referring to New Orleans tend to be The Mardi Gras Indians. I recently learned that up until now there hasn’t been a copyright on their costumes but they are starting to see what benefits this could bring. Having people pay to use photographs of their images would bring a hefty sum. I agree that their suits are creations of art, so it stands to reason that if pictures are being used with these artistic images, then their creators have a say in how those images may be used. This goes the same for any artist who’s work is being represented in a gallery and photos of it are being published in a book. One would have to get permission first if that book is for sale. Once that picture is out in the public domain, however, it could be used on blogs, etc. without proceeds involved and this would actually help to promote and gain that artist exposure. That should be a welcome thing, but I understand the lack of control involved over how these images are used without a copyright, which would provide a basic layer of ownership and protection. A little side note: Why just last week a reader wrote to ask me for permission to use one of the images I used in blog post about coffee art. I usually go to great lengths to always give the source of where I find my blog photos but for some reason, I could not find a source for this one. I thought it was very thoughtful, nonetheless, that she even took the time to ask, but it wasn’t originally my picture. Here’s more about the Mardi Gras Indian Costume story on NPR. Until this is resolved, I better use this photo of the Mardi Gras Indians pretty quickly…(odd that I found it on Houston Institute for Culture…maybe when there was a mass exodus from New Orleans during Katrina, the Zulus have set up camp there and are now parading in Houston?).
Here are two classic Mardi Gras tunes from Professor Longhair for Kick Starting your Mardi Gras weekend. I’m envious because my son is there but I’m not envious of my mother who is gracious in letting him crash for a night or so with his fraternity brothers. Maybe Piers will remember to bring a King Cake back for his parents? The Washington Post just named these places as having the best for their taste test. I haven’t tried the top two but have heard good things about them. I like Gambino’s and they rated this third on their list. They should have chosen the Bourbon Cream Cheese or the Pecan Praline filling.
Ahhhhh, I remember the days — just let this music course through your veins and you’ll be transported right there.
For some reason, I cannot get the following videos to embed, so please click on their links.
I did see Marc Broussard in concert last night, however, which was great. I could only find a 2009 version of him playing, Home, while at the Birchmere and last night’s version was more intense, including an unexpected and surprise version of Led Zeppelin’s Dancing Days. Fantastic! I was also impressed with Drew Holcomb and Neighbors, the warm up band, who’s bassist also played with Marc Broussard.
Regarding Images used: I do not claim ownership of any of the images posted on this blog (unless stated otherwise). I try my utmost best to give credit from original sources. If you have ownership rights of a photo and wish for me to remove it, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
