Archive for October 28th, 2009
Stone Age Landscape Paintings
This is the first in a small series of studies about art history. Why? Whereas history is the story of wars and conquests and power, art history is the story of the every day lives of people, their hopes, inspirations, and beliefs.
Man first began making art in the Old Stone Age, 25,000 years ago. Landscape paintings consisted of pictures on cave walls of bison, deer, horses, mammoths and boars, probably in the hopes of having a successful hunting expedition. Sculptures were made from bone, ivory, antlers or stone and are believed to be an attempt to appease the forces of nature.
It was during the Neolithic, or New Stone Age period that humans became herdsmen and farmers. Architecture, in the form of massive stones, first appeared about 5000BC. The most famous of these, Stonehenge, is believed to have been created about 2000BC. It is amazing to us to think that these ancient people could manipulate stones that large without the help of the equipment we use today.
Oil painting or acrylic?
Acrylic painting versus oil painting. What is the difference? Acrylics dry quickly and can be used straight from the tube, or diluted with water or other medium, and used like watercolors. Often a spray bottle is used to spray a fine mist over the paint on the palette in order to keep it moist. Because acrylics dry so fast, more layers can be added immediately and the painting easily modified as it develops.