Helen Frankenthaler was an artist from the Color Field movement, a variant of the Abstract Expressionists. Her color stained canvases with soft washes of color inspired by her love of the land evoked a sense of liquid tranquility. In a largely male dominated era of art, Ms. Frankenthaler found her voice and the subtle nuance of her language remained a force throughout her long and distinguished career. Her death this past week does not diminish her significant influence on contemporary art.
I can be obsessive. When something (or someone) captures my interest, I can be consumed with near fanatical passion. For the past two weekends, I have, without luck, been searching for a particular print from Cy Twombly's Rose Collection. I believe Roses was the last exhibition before his death this past July. Twombly certainly has his detractors (what artist doesn't) but I love his childlike expression of color and the lyrical scribbles of poetry scrawled through many of his paintings. He makes me want to paint again!
"We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies." Pablo Picasso
Domestic Art: Curated Interiors/Holly Moore, Rob Brinkley, Laurann Claridge
Exuberance--the quality or condition of...
2.abounding in vitality; extremely joyful and vigorous.
3.extremely good; overflowing; plentiful
All of this springs to mind when I think of the joyfully beautiful paintings of Todd Hunter. There are those who might infer that artists who paint in the abstract are without skill. I beg to differ--I find it all the more difficult to translate without a literal rendering. I'm completely in love with Mr. Hunter's work.
Check out the rest of his work here.
Framed album covers...
Studies in black and white...
The Comforts of Home/Atlanta Bartlett
Inspirational tear sheets...
British Country Living
Miscellaneous memories...
Love how versatile these shelves are...making it easy to change artwork to suit your mood...
Continuity of color...
The Color Design Source Book/Caroline Clifton-Mogg
Frames to the floor...
A passion for polaroids...
Botanical beauties...
Crazy for collage...
Previous 3 images/Domino
There is something of the past that haunts the romantic canvases of Aurelie Alvarez. In the quiet of her studio in France, she mixes her magical elixirs--potions of paint of her own formulation--to create faded impressions of 17th century tapestries. A little bit of French design meets Bloomsbury.
Images/Campagne Decoration
Hans Hoffman
I read this beautiful quote and have been thinking of how to apply this to my life. Hans Hoffman was an abstract-expressionist painter who taught the likes of Helen Frankenthaler (one of my favorite painters) and Lee Krasner. I've mentioned before my previous years working for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. At that time, I was completely enamored with the Impressionists. However, as I've grown older I've come to appreciate the skill of saying more with less. I find great joy in the exuberance of color and the knowledge required in the well placed line. It has been a long time since I flipped through the pages of my cherished art books. By chance I happen to have a book of Hans Hoffman's work. I thought you might enjoy it too.
All images/Hans Hoffman/Cynthia Woodman
A painter captures his image with paint and brush. His discretion in the treatment of subject matter is broad in range and he interprets it through the use of color, composition and brush stroke. I think for the photographer, the task is so much more difficult. Art is not merely the relaying of information. A true artist must include a part of himself as he interprets what he sees through the context of his relationship to the world. I marvel at the knowledge required to take a good photograph, let alone produce a work of art. Terminology like shutter speed, aperture and refraction make my head spin. I've always had a natural love of paintings, but my very first love affair with photography began with an exhibition at the museum I worked for in another life. Josef Sudek was the artist. His sepia toned images were so simple and beautiful that years later whenever I visited a gallery I was sure to inquire if his work was represented.
These days, I think it is really wonderful that art has become so accessible. I don't think I could live without it. And since a Matisse doesn't appear to be in my near future, I'm not at all above purchasing a fine print. Everyone knows that Etsy is a great resource for the handcrafted, but it's also a great place to discover new artists as well. I happily discovered photographer Tim Irving there. Not only is his etsy shop, Opart, full of lovely images for your walls, but shipping is free all over the world and if you find something you like (and you will) he can customize the size for you.
These are a few of my favorites.
The quintessential image of bicycles and baskets always reminds me of long country roads in France.
Provence, France 1999
Ripe Red
I love the mood of this photograph. I imagine this dress waiting to come to life on the dancer.
Vintage Spanish Fiesta/Flamenco Girls Dress
I love the simplicity of this shot that captures the intricacy of bead work and gold passementerie against that pale beautiful pink.
Suit of Light - Spain
This one is almost like a beautiful watercolor with it's transparent sepia tones.
High Tide
When Tim is not off on some colorful locale photographing, he's writing his blog, Stylemed, about living in Europe and the style of his surroundings. You'll read about the rustic charm of a village in Andalucia, Spain, gaze over the rooftops of Paris or browse a market in Marseille without ever having to board a plane.
