Posts Tagged ‘abstract art’
“Local Color”
“Local Color” is part of the Plein Air – Easton! festivities and features artists from the Delmarva Peninsula, in MD, DE, VA, and Working Artists Forum, sponsors of “Local Color”. These artists are also juried into the competition. Persons who have been juried into the Plein Air – Easton! Competition are not eligible to apply.
The “Local Color” show features studio-finished paintings. Original paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor or pastel are acceptable and must have been done in the last 3 years. Each artist is given a 6′ x 6′ space on which to hang their works for the judging and sale and when one painting is sold, another may replace it.
Their reception and awards will be Friday, noon – 1 PM. Awards will be given for Best in Show and 1st, 2nd and 3rd and range in value from $500 to $100. I’m happy to say, one of my friends was accepted into “Local Color”.
My Studio
My finished garage is my studio. In addition to my car, it contains a table and 4 chairs, several closets, 2 easels and a work table. About half the closets are filled with items for oil painting, and the other half with items for the house, yard and car.
My friends and I have an understanding that Monday mornings are for art. We sometimes agree to meet somewhere to paint, but sometimes meet in my studio, sit around the table and talk about art topics or critique each other’s paintings or open up our paint boxes and work on a painting. It is wonderful to have a space that has easy access for painting, but even more wonderful to have friends with whom to share.
Ocean City, MD
Around here, folks all agree that Ocean City, MD, is the place to be in the summertime. Earlier, the spring breakers flock there, but in the summer, families and couples are more the norm. They come for the weekend, for the week, and for longer periods if they can arrange it.
The Ocean City Art League issued a call to artists. Each artist was allowed to submit 2 large paintings to be hung in the Convention Center and 2 smaller paintings for the Chamber of Commerce, and all were to stay there for the remainder of the summer! There were no entrance fees and only a 25% commission on a sale!
Of course, I was eager to send some oil paintings. So today Betty and I took hers, mine, and Suzanne’s paintings to the Art League to be hung later in those larger venues. I can hardly imagine any greater exposure at such an inexpensive rate!
To Each His Own
Everyone has his or her own criteria as to what constitutes art. For some the work must display some set of talent as prescribed by classical artists, but for others the definition is more obscure. Personally, I ascribe to the school of thought that recognizes a vast range of art. And while I enjoy many styles of painting, abstract oil paintings are my unequivocal favorite.
While I enjoy realism in painting, I feel more connection with the pieces that are abstract. When an artist simply recreates a landscape or still life, I get the same impression as when I look at a photograph; I enjoy the beauty of the subject, but I fail to feel any serious connection to the artist. With abstract art, on the other hand, the artist’s own interpretation of the subject is palpable, which creates more feeling in the piece.
The Roofer
Sometimes life just has plans for you! Take today, for instance. The shingles for the roof came yesterday and today the roofer was coming to take off part of the old ones and put on some of the new. I didn’t really feel like going off to paint with the roofer there, but I did want to paint.
It seems like I always have some oil paintings that need a touch up, or need to have their edges painted. So I worked on those in my studio and every hour or so took out a bottle of water to the roofer whose wife is a friend of mine!
Pemberton Park, again
Today, my group decided to paint at Pemberton Park. I liked that because I could continue work on the large oil painting I started last week.
Since the park is only a mile from my house, I arrived first. Betty wasn’t feeling well, and didn’t want to paint, but came anyway for the camaraderie. Val set up along one of the trails for a different perspective. Finally Suzanne arrived, having to go the long way around because the ferry was closed due to high tide.
Two groups of children came by as we were painting. One group visited a while, the other, now so much. Suzanne and Val each went home with a nice painting, Betty felt better when she left and I got another third of my big painting finished. And we all had a great day!
Expressionism
Expressionism was a cultural movement originating in Germany at the start of the 20th century. It is exhibited in many art forms, including: painting, literature, theater, dance, film, architecture and music. Its typical trait is to present the world from a subjective perspective, violently distorting it to transmit personal moods. In general, the term refers to art that expresses intense emotion rather than physical reality.
A few of the Expressionists were: Klee, Van Gogh, Munch, Kandinsky, Chagall, deKooning and Pollock. Influenced by the Fauves, Expressionists worked with arbitrary colors as well as jarring compositions to capture vivid emotions. Kandinski believed that with simple colors and shapes, the spectator could perceive the moods and feelings of the paintings. Therefore, he make the move to abstraction. ……from Wikipedia
Abstract Art II
Western art, from the Renaissance to the mid 19th century, largely used perspective to create an illusion of visible reality. That all changed with the beginning of abstract art. According to Wikipedia, “abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references to the world.” Abstraction indicates a departure from reality – be it slight or complete.
Artwork that takes liberties by changing color or form that is easily recognizable would be said to be partially abstract – as in the art movement known as Fauvism, popular in the early 20th century, in which color was deliberately changed. (There were a lot of red tree trunks.) Artwork that bears no resemblance to anything recognizable, as in the art movement known as Cubism, popular a little later in the 20th century, would be total abstraction.
The Book
Yesterday, when I went to the mailbox I was pleasantly surprised. In addition to the usual bills, promotions and notices was a small package – a book.
Now, I had not ordered a book and the only return address was the book seller’s. The book: “Starving” to Successful by Jason Horejs, son of a landscape painter who truly experienced the “staving artist” syndrome.
At this point Jason has been a gallery owner for 17 years. He has written an artist’s guide to getting into galleries and selling more art. It contains myriad insights into the business in order to help the artist fine tune every aspect of his/her career. How I would like to thank the person who sent that book to me!
My Daughter, the Artist
My daughter is an engineer by profession, but an artist at heart. She lives in the art district of a large city in the South and opens her expansive living room as an art gallery on the Second Friday Art Walk each month. She has had musical and dance artists as well as 2D and 3D shows.
She has a very creative streak. Her latest was a black light show where she even over-painted a couple of my smaller landscape paintings in fluorescent colors. The featured show was a group of previously purchased used wedding gowns from local thrift shops. She then asked local artists to paint the front of each gown in the style of a of famous artist with fluorescent paint. This was a great hit and even received a write-up on the front page of the local news. Right now the dresses are being housed by the local Arts Council and will be auctioned this summer.