Saturday, April 11, 2015

Eye Candy for Today: Adolph Menzel’s Balcony Room [feedly]



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Eye Candy for Today: Adolph Menzel's Balcony Room
// lines and colors

The Balcony Room (Das Balkonzimmer), Adolph Menze
The Balcony Room (Das Balkonzimmer), Adolph Menzel

Link is to zoomable version on Google Art Project, downloadable file on Wikipedia, original is in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin.

In addition to Menzel's wonderfully casual, painterly brushwork, this piece is noted for its interesting composition, in which a large portion of the image is "empty".

To me, it's a fascinating series of contrasts: the full and empty of the composition, as well as the dark-within-light values of of the chair in front of the open French door contrasted with the light-within-dark of the reflection in the mirror against the dark wall — repeated in the dark rug against the lighter areas of the floor, and the patches of bright sunlight against the darker area of the floor.

Even the two lamps aside the mirror are opposite value contrasts. Whether intentional or not, the two chairs facing opposite directions seem to reinforce the idea of opposition.


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Brian Robinson [feedly]



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Brian Robinson
// lines and colors

Brian Robinson, watercolor landscapes and townscapes
After a successful career as a graphic designer, during which he painted when possible on the side, UK artist Brian Robinson transitioned into full time gallery art.

His crisply realized watercolor landscapes and townscapes glow with vibrant but naturalistic color, which derives its "punch" largely from Robinson's knowing placement of adjacent colors, rather than from artificially raised chroma.

His superb suggestion of textures, particularly evident in his woodland scenes and depictions of individual trees, gives his compositions an appealing sense of tactile immediacy.

Robinson's website divides his work into categories. You can find a few additional, slightly larger images on herts visual arts.

Robinson is represented by the Hawker Gallery, though their site doesn't include artist image galleries.


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Sunday, April 5, 2015

3 Tips So You Don't Wipe Out on Smooth Washes [feedly]



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3 Tips So You Don't Wipe Out on Smooth Washes
// Artist Daily

I am rolling my eyes with embarrassment when I tell you that when I first saw watercolor paintings with wide expanses of color I assumed that these were applied and then wiped out and smoothed over after they were laid down. I had no idea that there were watercolor painting techniques that you could use to get that effect with the stroke of the brush (and a lot of practice). Mea culpa--I'm a novice!

Kind of Blue by Amy Arntson, watercolor painting, 32 x 32.
Kind of Blue by Amy Arntson, watercolor painting, 32 x 32.

But after I found that out, I did my watercolor art research and found several great tips for laying washes that are soft, diffuse, and flowing:

No stinginess. I'm always trying to hoard paint and that is a big mistake. To lay a wash, you've got to do it in one go, and to be on the safe side you should mix more pigment than you think you will need.

Spinner by Mary Whyte, watercolor painting, 2007.
Spinner by Mary Whyte, watercolor painting, 2007.

Go off-kilter. Angling your watercolor painting surface forces a wash to flow downward and there won't be any drips. If you want to stop or reverse the direction that the paint flows, hold the surface so that you can quickly reverse the angle.

Don't turn back. This is the hardest one for me! You can't fix a wash by going back into it. In fact, usually it becomes more of a mess. Because of this, I keep scratch paper nearby to do a few practice strokes before I lay down the wash that I hope will be "the one."

If you want to see more incredible washes--plus luscious color and light effects--from expert watercolor artists with unique visions, Just Add Watercolor is just the thing. Enjoy!


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Thursday, April 2, 2015

Gabriel von Max [feedly]



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Gabriel von Max
// lines and colors

Gabriel von Max
Gabriel Cornelius von Max was a Czech/Austrian painter who was active in the late 19th and early 20 centuries.

Among his fascinations were parapsychology, mysticism and Asian philosophy, as well as anthropology and Darwinism. Likely from his interest in the latter, he kept a family of monkeys on his property, studied them and painted them, frequently in anthropomorphized activities like reading books.

The most famous of these works was his Monkeys as Judges of Art (images above, top, with detail).

Max was one of the early artists to work from photographs, undoubtedly a great help in capturing the appearance of his monkeys, who were unlikely to sit still for their portraits. Among his other subjects were religious, mystical or even medical themes.

There is a dedicated Gabriel von Max website, maintained by Jack Doulton, and two titles on Amazon: Gabriel von Max and Gabriel von Max: Malerstar, Darwinist, Spiritist (German Edition)

[Via Sterling Hundley]


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magictransistor:Karel Thole (1914 – 2000) [feedly]



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magictransistor:Karel Thole (1914 – 2000)
// Hyperwave













magictransistor:

Karel Thole (1914 – 2000)


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