Deltachord's Arts & Artists

Peter Blake: Pop Artist

2012-01-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

The British born Peter Blake became a big presence in the Pop Art movement after his work was shown in the 1961 Young Contemporaries exhibit that included R.B.Kitaj and Davis Hockney. He was an art student at the Gravesend School of Art from 1948 to 1951 and continued his studies at the Royal College of Art where he became an instructor in 1964 continuing until 1976.

Blake was a Pop Artist that gained public interest when Ken Russell spotlighted him in the documentary Pop Goes the Easel. His creation On the Balcony took 2 years to complete; he finished it in 1957. It is an iconical piece that displays his penchant for creating art that utilizes popular symbols and fine art. Though it is a painting, the work gives the illusion of being a collage. This work makes reference to Manet's The Balcony and in 1961 he created The First Real Target, which hints at work by Jasper Johns and Kenneth Noland.

His artwork became more popular during the nineteen sixties. Blake designed the album cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; this album by The Beatles came out in 1967. He also created artwork for Band Aid, Paul Weller, The Who, and Ian Dury.

During 1969, he resided at Bath and created work based on British folktales and Shakespearean characters. He painted a series of watercolors as illustration's for Alice in Wonderland. In 1975, he helped to establish the Brotherhood of Ruralists.

Blake utilized icons from ads, entertainment, and comic books. His versatility enabled him to work in different media; he produced work in sculpture, printmaking, collage, graphics, and engraving.

In 1981, he was dubbed as a Royal Academician and he was knighted in 2002.

Pop Art Movement

Pop Art Movement

2012-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

Pop Art had its own particular focus, which was the contemporary culture, zeroing in on mass media, and advertising. Teenage fashions, popular music, and comic books were part of the 1950's pop art movement, and this continued through the 1960's, wherein, the youth movement and culture became more dominant in society.

It began in England with the Independent Group; these artists attended the Institute of Contemporary Art of London. The pop artists didn't relate to the art establishment. The art they were interested in belonged to mass culture. Discourse amongst the artists in the Independent Group originated the phrase Propaganda Art.

The styles and ideas of the mass media were employed by pop artists. They dissented from the art vocabulary associated with abstract art. They embraced icons and images in the popular culture and portrayed these in their art, moving away from the esoteric ideas and the superior high and low art attitudes of established art circles.

This art movement popped up in the United States in the 1960's. On this side of the pond, Pop Art was imbued with the upbeat attitude of the 1960's, especially from the beginning until the middle sixties, a more optimistic concept of life pervaded the U.S.A. in popular culture such as the portrayal of American life on TV and in the movies.

Pop Art: Characteristics

These are the attributes of Pop Art: the images are taken from advertising, Hollywood stars, and other mass media subjects. The work is flat and uses vivid colors. Characters from comic books and icons from fan rags were used to produce art. This art utilized clean lines, parody, and sharp edged painting.

Pop artists created record covers and ads for rock bands. This movement was all about consumerism, modern symbols, and urban influence.

Peter Blake

Creating a New Year of Creations

2012-01-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

What are all of you artists going to create this year? Hopefully, you have already begun your new creative year. if not, and you are a little behind, make plans for a series or a least one new piece of work and get going.

I have an oval canvas that I'm going to tackle; I've been thinking of the best way to make use of its shape
to design an interesting painting. oh, the possibilities. Well, on your mark, get set, and create many paintings, drawings, pieces of sculpture etc...feel the inspiration in the air and do it.

Mobile Museum of Art

2012-01-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

The Mobile Museum of Art currently has the James Audubon Maritime Heritage, and the Projections and Reflections shows still going on until 1/8/12.

The shows slated for the next few months are The American Society of Marine Artists 15th National Exhibition (1/20/12 to 4/8/12), Facing South: Portraits of A Southern Artist by Jerry Siegel (1/13/12 to 4/1/12}, Boxes and Their Makers (4/6/12 to 7/1/12), and The Heart of Echizen: Wood-Fired Works by Contemporary Masters (4/13/12 to 7/28/12).

As usual the museum has great art and in different mediums to delight the art lover. If you drop by and indulge yourself, you 'll enjoy your visit.

Christmas and New Year

2011-12-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. The Christmas season is fast coming to a close, even with churches that participate in a full Advent season. So, the New Year is approaching.

We will be covering varied art movements and artists this year, as usual. Check in often and see what is going on. The art world offers us a lot to enjoy, and we'll try to fully enjoy art this coming year. that should be easy.

Until next time, Happy New Year and long live art and creativity.

Ray of Eternal Sun: Christine Granger

2011-12-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

The Ray of Eternal Sun is a mixed media piece by Christine Granger. It depicts the Madonna and Child in golden color: Her halo is golden and His halo and clothes are golden. The image is set against a dark background of blue and brown with a hint of green in some spots.

This artist applies the chiaroscuro method to this painting very effectively. Chiaroscuro means dark and light. To see the painting go to Ray of Eternal Sun

Christmas Art: Mobile, Alabama

2011-12-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

Traditional Christmas art abounds and you can find it on plates, posters, prints, wallpaper, and cards. The manger scene, the three wise men traveling on camels to see the baby Jesus--the King of Kings--the Madonna and child--these religious depictions tell us what Christmas is all about.

The country and city snow scenes, snowmen, Santa and reindeer evoke a different Christmas concept that is okay, if tempered by the real meaning. But the art work in various forms is plentiful in showing us both sides of Christmas.

Another wonderful Christmas art form is extravagant Christmas tree decorating.

Beginning 12/16/11 at the Cathedral Square Gallery the Creative Christmas Styles
show will feature 5 trees decorated by artists. Also, the artwork of sixty Mobile artists will be displayed.

The Light Before Christmas will be showing at the IMAX at the Gulf Coast Explorium Science Center during the holidays until 1//2/12. It starts 12/16/11.

Ah, Christmas art, you gotta like it.

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Christmas Show in Orange Beach: Nautical Night of Lights

2011-12-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

The Orange Beach Christmas Show is a lively annual event that includes carolers, delicious Christmas baked goodies, arts, crafts, and a competition in tree decorating. The Christmas Show dates are 12/10/11 and 12/11/11. This event starts at 10:00 am and ends at 5:00 pm each day. Admission fee is $4.00 for adults, no admission fee for children, and the parking is free.

The annual boat parade named the Nautical Night of Lights is celebrating its 26th year. The parade starts at LuLu's at Homeport Marina and ends at Zeke's Landing Marina. It begins at 5:30 pm on 12/10/11 and ends around 8:00 pm.

The boat parade is a work of art in lights.

Grandma Moses Quotes: The Mind of the Painter

2011-12-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

Quotes by Grandma Moses reveal her practical and philosophical outlook on life. These examples will prove the point.

"A primitive artist is an amateur whose work sells."

In her case, she was an untrained artist that begin painting late in life, and her paintings sold and went way up in value.

"If you know somethin' well, you can always paint it, but people would be better off buyin' chickens."

The above quote speaks volumes on its own. She lived through The Great Depression and understood the practicality of owning chickens. Such homespun wisdom added to her popularity.

"I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint, I just close my eyes and imagine a scene."

Here she speaks of adding her imagination to her observations and painting scenes that many people could relate to, and they liked her work because they could understand it.

Grandma Moses enjoyed painting and making pronouncements about life. Her work and her life embodied a complete and integrated way of thinking and living.

Naive Art: Moses Art

2011-11-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses was a primitive painter that delighted art lovers with her wonderful rural scenes. She taught herself to paint, and had previously done embroidery. Artist like Anna Mary Robertson Moses, are also called folk artist. As she continued to paint she created her own particular folk style.

She painted homey scenes, the countryside, summer and winter landscapes, and her community. She painted from a kitchen table in her studio, a storage room.

An engineer and art collector, Louis Caldor, saw some paintings of Anna Moses sitting in the window of a drug store. Her paintings impressed him, and he purchased all of her finished paintings and went to her home to meet her. Caldor helped Grandma Moses sell her art to a larger audience. He discovered her work in 1938. In 1939, her paintings were shown in "Contemporary Unknown American Painters" an exhibit of the Museum of Modern Art. She had a solo exhibition at Galerie Saint-Etiene in 1940.

Gimbels Department Store showed fifty Moses pictures in November on the heels of the Museum of Modern Art exhibit, and the famous store spread a table by the paintings showing off her cooking talent: jams, bread, and cakes. Moses became a famous painter and a beloved homey figure--an American icon appearing on the Edward R. Murrow TV show. In 1953, her face dubbed Time Magazine.

She painted prolifically creating 3,600 paintings in thirty years.More about Grandma Moses in the next article.

Note: Grandma Moses pic from Library of Congress: Gifted by the New York World-Telegram & Sun; all rights dedicated to the public

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5 Ways to Promote Your Art

2011-11-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

You've created numerous paintings, drawings, perhaps sculpture or pottery. Maybe you are happily creating anime. But how do you sell it? Selling art online seems to be the thing, but can you really sell art online?

Some artists are selling locally, but want to expand their reach to art buyers worldwide. This article explains five ways to sell your art online.

Selling Artwork

You can publicize your artwork. Let's look at how to sell artwork.

time
networking
updates
artist statement
portfolio sites

Time

Time? You say, what do you mean? It is very important to spend enough time getting your art exposed to the art buying public. If you have a website or have your work online at a portfolio site you need to promote it every day. How?

post links
blog
social networking

Networking

Start your own art blog and link to your art website. Submit your blog and website to search engines each month. You post links, blog, and participate in social networking. When you post links to forums add an image of one of your works, offer a free small print to someone that buys a painting or use another creative idea to attract buyers. Maybe let them name a sculpture or suggest an idea for a piece of work.

You pick the best name or idea and blog about why you picked it. Encourage people to share the best name or best idea link with others. This could be a winning viral marketing idea for your art promotion.

Artist Statement

One of the traditional things an artist does is come up with an artist statement. It tells about your concept of your art...what you create and why you create it. This statement should be understandable to people who are not artists. You want to garner their interest, intrigue them, so they want to look at your artwork and buy it. Some brick and mortar galleries hang the artist statement by their work. You can put your artist statement on your own website to engage your visitor in your creative concepts.

Updates

Make YouTube videos of your work or work in progress and add a new video each week as the work progresses. This idea would work well with a large project. You can put your website address in your profile at YouTube. These updates can encourage interest in your painting, sculpture, pottery etc.

Portfolio Sites

There are numerous portfolio sites on the Internet. They usually have free and paid memberships. You can upload pictures of your paintings, digital paintings, photography, sculpture, anime and so forth. many of these sites will make print your drawings and digital paintings. They print them onto posters, cards, t-shirts, mugs, and calendars. They sell these items with your work on them and give you a percentage.

Some art sites charge for your membership and leave the selling, mailing of your work, and collecting the funds to you.

Other art sites give you a profile using their database and with paid membership you can have a separate portfolio besides the free gallery. Some are hosting sites for art and have templates for you to build your site. Some of the art sites promote digital art or photography specifically or traditional art.

There are art sites specific to selling traditional art. A quick search for portfolio sites or art websites will get you started. You can look at some sites and see which one is best for your art promotion.

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Digital Artwork: Is it Real Art?

2011-11-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

The question is still asked by some, if digital art is art or not. The answer depends on the opinion of the artist or art connoisseur. If he accepts new art mediums it is art, and if he doesn't it isn't art. Photography wasn't accepted as an art form at first, it took awhile to grow on most people interested in art. Film endured a period of not being accepted as art too.

That said, not all photographs are art, not all film is art, think of B grade movies and everything done digitally isn't art. We could get into a discussion of high and low art, but let's leave that alone for now.

First, art requires originality. Is the creation original? After that criteria is satisfied, it can be considered art, but skill level has something to do with how good it is.Yet, there is something else, the style of art or art movement. What if the art connoisseur doesn't see merit in surrealism? So, the arguments go. My style isn't your style is someones favorite art movement.

But copying of the masters is a tradition and practice, and a good one, but this is derivative, not original to stress my point. That is, going to a museum and drawing a master's painting or drawing.

Control of the medium or media is another factor. With traditional painting and drawing implements, the artist is working hands on and has a lot of control. When the artist paints a digital painting , he has more control of his drawing or painting using a graphics tablet and pen than a painting program. The pressure-sensitivity of the pen is what gives the artist a more natural feeling when drawing or painting.

This means how the surface of the drawing tablet reacts to the pressure the pen puts on it. The pressure level is gauged by a number; the higher number has more sensitivity. This level controls how thick or thin the line is, making special effects directly to image, and allows you to make works free hand with the stylus and more pressure is more paint, and less pressure is less paint.

With a graphics tablet, you can get the control that is lacking with a painting program. so control isn't an issue. Using the pen is a more hands on approach that helps the artist to create with a more traditional touch, and make use of current technology. Is is real art? Well, artist are painting realistic images, fantasy images, and surrealistic images, and so on using the digital art form.You decide.

History of Thanksgiving and Pictures to Draw

2011-11-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

"The Pilgrim Fathers incorporated an early thanksgiving day among moral influences... it blessed and beautified the homes it reached."

Sarah Josepha Hale, 1865

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together."

Edward Winslow, 1621

Thanksgiving, originally celebrated in 1621, is hot on our heels; the Wampanoag Indians and the colonists at Plymouth ate a meal of thanksgiving. It was an English tradition to commemorate a bountiful fall harvest. They acknowledged God during this banquet for blessing them. Massassoit, Squanto, and Samoset were Indian chiefs that attended the festivity. The celebration lasted 3 days.

The colonies generally had a special day or days for thanksgiving; this time of thanksgiving wasn't the same for each colony. These times were marked with people fasting and saying prayers. Thanksgiving for good crops, a colony subscribing to a state constitution, and military triumphs were celebrated.

In 1671, the governing body of Charlestown, Massachusetts decreed the 29th of June as a special day to give thanks. It was the first officially registered Thanksgiving.
On the 3rd of October of 1789, George Washington endorsed a proclamation dubbed General Thanksgiving. He said it was a day of publick thanksgiving and prayer. This was the first time it was proclaimed since the constitution was in force.
In 1863, President Lincoln set forth the 4th Tuesday in November as the day of Thanksgiving.
In 1777, all of the colonies observed a thanksgiving to rejoice and commemorate the British surrendering to the colonies during the Revolutionary War.

Sarah Josepha Hale advocated for an annual day set aside as an official national Thanksgiving Day. She continued her campaign of 30 years, and requested of each president to adopt a particular date because the official recognition was done by states; the federal government didn't hold a national observance, even though Washington had made his proclamation. Hale was the editor for Godley's Lady's Book. Her efforts paid off when Lincoln set a national observance, and it remained the national official day proclaimed by succeeding presidents. Congress declared it a national holiday in 1941.

So what has this got to do with art? Well, many artists have produced Thanksgiving art, and it is a good thing to know history, and why we celebrate Thanksgiving, which inspires the art. Your children may enjoy making some Thanksgiving drawings.

You may be interested in this article: Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell

Drawing Sites

Amazon

How to Draw Thanksgiving Things (Doodle Books)

How to Draw Thanksgiving Symbols (A Kid's Guide to Drawing)

How To Draw A Pumpkin In Six Easy Steps

DeviantArt: What They Have for You

2011-11-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

DeviantArt is a great site to join and upload your art for viewing and buying. If you are a pro member, you can request critiques of your work. In my experience, I can say that I've gotten views quickly, and some critiques.

They will print your artwork as photo prints, canvas prints, wrapped canvas, and specialty products, etc. DeviantArt has forums, chat rooms, contests, journals, and groups. You can submit your art to groups. I suggest going to the site and looking over what they have to offer.

There is a writing group. You can summit your poems,stories, and novels to be read and critiqued. They also have resources and groups for photography, film, and animation.

It is a good place to find art various styles of art. There is something for everyone that would like to buy prints etc.

In my opinion, it is a fun, useful, and friendly site.

Article: : DeviantArt Offers Variety in Art

Article: DeviantArt: Deviations by Deltachord

Post: Deltachord at DeviantArt.

Picasso and Braque: Films and Cubism

2011-11-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Recently, I watched the movie Picasso and Braque go to the Movies. This documentary opened up my eyes to cubism a bit, and made the concepts of cubism interesting to me for the first time. It isn't the type of art that strikes me visually as wow, I really like this, and it never grew on me either.

But learning how the very early movies influenced Braque and Picasso prompted some interest in cubism. The influence of the still images, repetition, and moving images of the early films that these artists watched can be seen in their work. They were big movie fans. Films were a completely new art form that they thoroughly scrutinized down to the cameras and projectors. The light source in some of the paintings suggest blinking light of early movies.

Many things were changing in this era, and a lot of new inventions were created during this time period and right before it. Picasso and Braque synthesize one of the big changes into their artistic mills and produce a new art movement.

Fan dancers were popular during this era, and they had created a sign language used sometimes while dancing. Some movements meant things like "meet me at four o'clock' and so forth. The fan dancers are featured in some of the early films, and Picasso is particularly interested in this. It is an art form of Spanish origin. His interest shows up in some of his paintings.

In the film, art historians and artists talk about the concepts of cubism in relation to early film. Their comments are very interesting. For fans of cubism or anyone trying to understand it, I recommend this documentary.

Article: Some Favorite Painters

Boho Wirewrapped at Artfire

2011-11-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

Emeradl Pebble Earrings

Boho Wirewrapped is a highly gifted jewelry artist. She designs fabulous items from chain mail anklets to bride's earrings to sweater shawl pins and the list goes creatively on... You can indulge yourself in handmade necklaces, pendants and even suncatchers at Boho Wirewrapped

Article: Lapidary Art: Cabbing

Article: Lapidary Arts: CabNFever At ArtFire

Lamp in the Night1 Mug from Zazzle.com

2011-11-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Lamp in the Night1 Mug from Zazzle.com

This is an original design by Deltachord. The image is composed of 2 original photographs altered with a painting program.

Artwalk: Baldwin House Artwalk

2011-11-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

The initial artwalk at the Baldwin House will happen on 11/5/11. The Baldwin House is situated in Malbis, Al. near Highway 181. Artists from Daphne, AL will exhibit their artwork. The hours of this showing are from 4 p.m. to 7 p. m. It is a charitable event as the monies from the wine and cheese will go to Baldwin House Assisted Living.

The Eastern Shore, meaning across the bay from Mobile, AL is going to burst with art exhibits this particular weekend (11/4/11-11/6/11) with the artwalk bringing on new exhibits at The Eastern Shore Art Center, wmCM Studio, and the Lyons Share Gallery.

Lapidary Arts: CabNFever at ArtFire

2011-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Sodalite Rhombus Cabochon

Plume Agate Cabochon

My friend, Roger, is so gifted in the lapidary arts that I had to start a buzz about his creativity, and say you should go to CabNFever at ArtFire to gaze at his creations. Check out the samples shown here and go to his shop to indulge in viewing more beautiful cabochons: agates, labradorites, opals etc.

Gothic Art Now

2011-10-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

Southern Gothic Arts on Artfire has a flair for the Gothic style with a modern touch and vision. His Gothic art prints, pen and ink drawings, and acrylic paintings shine with originality. Below is an example of this artist's works. Go to Southern Gothic Arts

20 Moons

Article: Gothic Art Style Overview

Some Favorite Painters

2011-10-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and art is too. Some people can only appreciate representational art, while others like artists such as Kandinsky. He is one of my favorite artists. He was intrigued with color, and it shows in his work. His art is playful and that gets to me artistically.

Many people like Picasso. But cubism doesn't do anything for me, not Picasso's nor Braque's cubism. I do like Picasso's Blue Period and his Rose Period. Maybe it is the color thing. I have a friend that really likes cubism. Again, art is in the eyes of the beholder or at least what one likes goes from the eyes to the brain and lodges in the heart.

Another artist whose work intrigues me is Matisse. The way he flattened his work and the colors. Modigliani, I like the his penchant for giving his portrait subjects long necks, and the way he styled their faces...the expressions.

That's a short comment on a few of my favorite painter's. Their work looks great to my eyes.

Werewolf Movies: 1990's

2011-10-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

Werewolf Engraving 1700's

The 1990's produced a mixed crop of werewolf movies. In 1991, The Howling VI was released; it features a ferocious fight between a werewolf and a vampire. But the fight is short. It opens with a classic horror movie image: a church.

Ian played by Brendan Hughes, arrives and he becomes a sleuth of the town trying to solve the mystery of the missing people, which happens wherever a certain carnival shows up. This carnival is run by Harker played by Bruce Martyn Payne.

Ian works at repairing the run down church building. Harker captures him for his carnival of freaks. But Ian has a surprise for Harker, as he has a family history that calls for revenge. He slays Harker and moves on.

Mad at the Moon is a 1992 release with a western setting in which a maiden of marrying age has almost reached the its too late stage, so marry who you can get. Jennie loves a guy that doesn't care for her. Her mother pushes her into hitching up with James Miller. He is a country boy with a penchant for transforming into a werewolf.

Wolf was a 1994 release in which Will Randall acquires a more combative nature after an encounter with a werewolf. All of his senses are enhanced. His home life and work life are suffering when he is bitten, but his extremely civilized nature is changed. His unnatural abilities help him to regain his former job, which he had lost to an upstart that was more aggressive.

Bad Moon of 1996 tells the story of Ted who is trying to shed his werewolf traits. He settles his trailer on his sister's land in the hope of family affection ridding him of his werewolf problem.

It is adapted from Wayne Smith's novel Thor in which the dog's point of view is used to tell the tale. Michael is a photojournalist and while in Nepal his romantic interest is slain by a werewolf and he gets bitten. When he goes home to the Northwest, he ends up living with his sister and her dog settles the werewolf issue.

In 1997, An American Werewolf in Paris appeared; it was an effort to do as well as An American Werewolf in London. But it lacked the humor of the former movie. The characters become werewolves by using a serum.

Other werewolf movies are around especially in the b grade films.

Other Werewolf articles: Werewolf in Legend and Movies

The Wolfman

Werewolf in Legend and Movies

2011-10-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Legends of people shape shifting abounded in ancient times and variations developed in different cultures. In a Greek myth told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, Lycaeon, the king, is morphed into a werewolf because he served human flesh to Zeus; he didn't think he was a god. His test backfired; Zeus gave him the perfect body for participating in what was considered a horrible act, a definite taboo in that culture. Another Greek writer, Herodotus, told of the Neuri people transforming into wolves each year for awhile, and afterwards they regained human form. Norse folklore explains that very fierce warriors donned bearskins or wolf skins to go into battle from which the word berserker is derived.

Some ways to become a werewolf include stripping down and buckling on a belt of wolf skin or the whole skin, slurp water out of a stream that several wolves have drank from, sip water out of a wolf's paw, be cursed, and birthed during a new moon. The bite cause became dominant in later fiction and films, but in folklore changing by the bite usually denoted vampirism.

One of the first werewolf films was The Werewolf (1913). The main character was an Indian werewolf; this adaptation is hinged on the Henry Beaugrand's story of 1898 entitled "The Werewolves." The original anthropomorphic wolf man appeared in Werewolf of London (1935) in which Henry Hull is the main character. Due to his refusal to waste many hours being transformed by Jack Pierce the makeup artist, this film pounced on the concept in a Balkan legend of a plant based lycanthropy, wherein Dr. Glendon, a man of science brings on his experience as a wolf man. It was produced by Universal Studios.

But in 1941, Lon Chaney Jr. became the categorical movie monster man playing Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man. This set Chaney's acting career as a wolf man in several other movies: Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1932), House of Frankenstein (1944), and House of Dracula (1945). He was the wolf man in all of those films. Chaney also portrayed Frankenstein in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); he was Dracula in Son of Dracula (1943), and he played the mummy in three mummy movies.

Wolf man films have never totally disappeared from the horror movie genre. The teenage werewolf made the scene in 1957 with I was a Teenage Werewolf, Teen Wolf (1985), and Teen Wolf Two (1987). Ginger Snaps (2000) is the female teen wolf answer to the male versions.

The Howling appeared in 1981, film adaptation of Gary Brandner's novel. A news reporter is followed by a serial killer and is almost fatally wounded. She is sent to a resort in the country because of amnesia. There are some strange characters there, and Karen learns about the werewolves as the story unfolds.

In 1981, An American Werewolf in London premiered. When two U.S.A. guys go backpacking on the English moors and encounter a werewolf, one of them dies and the other lives and his dead friend clues him in that it was a werewolf that assaulted them. With this information and help from his dreams he comes to understand the situation. He had been told it was a madman that jumped them. The doctor believes he is suffering from shock, but decides to make an investigation to confirm or deny David's story.

Davis ends up living with a nurse that had treated him at the hospital and he is shot by the police at the end because he has been attacking people. He dies, but before he does Alex, the pretty nurse informs him of her love.

Werewolf movies keep breaking onto the scene: movies from the 1900's and 2000's coming next.

I Was A Teenage Werewolf Vintage Movie MOUSE PAD

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Novella and Movies

2011-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Stevenson

In 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson published Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is usually known as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It tells the tale of Dr. Jekyll as seen by Mr. Gabriel John Utterson an attorney friend of Dr. Henry Jekyll that scrutinizes the odd manifestations betwixt the malevolent Mr. Hyde and Utterson's friend.

The theme of this novella is the fight between good and evil, although some have redacted the theme to concern a split personality. This modernest approach belies the moral theme, though it is clear that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are morally polar opposites. He had been pondering how to write a good story about the theme of good and evil for years. As a youth he penned Deacon Brodie; it is a play script about a deacon that has a secret life of thievery.

Utterson becomes concerned, after a relative tells him a story about Mr. Hyde and then Dr. Jekyll abruptly redoes his will so Mr. Hyde is the beneficiary of his estate. Gabriel Utterson is very leery of this change. He decides to investigate and see what is really going on. He noses around and locates Mr. Hyde. Utterson gets the creeps around Mr. Hyde, but quizzes him over the change in Dr. Jekyll's will, though Hyde is steadfast in his evasion of the truth.

A year passes and Mr. Hyde callously punches a man to death. The maid sees this incident and fingers Mr. Hyde. A man hunt ensues for the murderer, but they can't find him. A couple of months pass by and Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Landon become very sick. They say they have had an immutable argument.

Then Dr. Landon gives up the ghost leaving behind inscrutable documents with instructions to Utterson to open them upon Dr. Jekyll's death or if he vanishes. Utterson keeps visiting Dr, Jekyll, but he won't see him and Jekyll becomes a recluse.

Upon an evening, the butler of Jekyll decides to go see Utterson. He is vexed about Dr. Jekyll and thinks something is terribly wrong with the doctor or dirty work has been done against his employer. He talks Utterson into going to Jekyll's home once more to invade the doctor's laboratory, and they discover Mr. Hyde laying deceased on the floor. They don't find the doctor.

Utterson takes the documents that reveal the truth of the mystery. Dr. Jekyll took an elixir to transmute into Mr. Hyde who become the embodiment of evil, and this transformation allowed the good doctor to indulge in various evil deeds, whereas he formerly spent a lot of time doctoring the poor for free.

Poster 1880's

This novella was among the first books that were fashioned into a movie. In 1912, Blackhawk films adapted it for the screen. In 1920, Paramount released Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and 3 more film adaptions came out that year. The Paramount version starred John Barrymore, the renowned stage actor. This film inserted a music hall damsel into the story and made Dr. Jekyll much younger.

There are at least twenty movies based on the novella and many movie derivations like Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) in which the doctor mutates into a woman, and a slasher fans can see Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957). The Nutty Professor is another version in which a cockamanny professor transforms into a cool dude. The estimate goes as high as 50 interpretations of Stevenson's novella.

The physical aspects of the two main characters have been inversed in a couple of movie adaptions: The Two faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) and Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (1980). In the two faces version the doctor is hairy, badly dressed, ill-mannered and rude, while Hyde is dressed well, well manned, and urbane and in the hype version the doctor is unattractive and Hype is handsome.

Original Title Page

The versions and adaptions are growing as time passes because the tale's original theme lends itself to reconstructions, parodies, and adaptions, as the novella is rich in its use of a universal theme.

The picture of Stevenson is public domain covered under {PD-US} – published before 1923 and public domain in the US. All picture or prints used are in the public domain.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales (Oxford World's Classics)

Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical

Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Blackstone Audio Classic Collection)

Samhain: All Saints Day: Halloween: Black Plague: Ars Moriend

2011-10-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Halloween comes creeping up this month. But what is the origin of this holiday? Its roots go back to the Celts; this group of people has an antecedent in the Hallstatt culture of central Europe according to a widely held archaeological construct.

Historically, Celtic tribes spread from Europe into Western Europe and on to the British Isles. They preserved their cultural heritage with oral tradition, though Greek and Roman writers eluded to them. Later, in the 4th century A.D. they developed a way of writing called ogham.

Their culture also produced their own holidays and used their particular calendar. Our November 1st had its own designation on the Celtic calendar; it began their new year and winter. During this season, they celebrated the Samhain festival.

The Celtic people thought that the dead souls became animate and rambled around amongst the quick or living people at this time, as they journeyed to the afterlife. Ghosts, elves, and goblins were thought to return for harm. The Celtic priest fired up large fires made with oak branches, thought to be sacred. The priests protected the people with these fires and burnt animals and crop sacrifices. The folk extinguished the fires in their abodes. There were variations on theses practices in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Some Roman traditions were incorporated into Samhain postnate to conquering the British Isles in 43 A.D. such as the October festival of Feralia which honored the deceased and the festival of harvest or Pomona celebrating the goddess of fruit. Possibly, apple bobbing became part of Halloween because of Pomona. The Romans also liked apple cider and the Celts incorporated it into their celebrations.

When Christian missionaries came to the British Isles to convert the Celtic people, they strived to eliminate the pagan religion and its holidays. But All Saints Day originated to honor the Christian martyrs killed by the Romans during the latter days of their empire. Local congregations acknowledged the martyrs of their area. It had become a standard feast in Antioch by the conclusion of the 4th century. This feast is referenced by St. Ephrem in a sermon of 373 A.D. Originally, this feast day was observed during the Easter season. In the 8th century A.D. Pope Gregory the Third changed the feast date to the 1st of November.

This pagan holiday and the Christian feast were blended together by the church trying to rid the converts of pagan ideas and influences and yet get them converted. Since part of the pagan festival was on November 1st these celebrations were melded as Gregory the First told his missionaries "engage " the traditions of the people in order to facilitate their conversion.

This reality of death that we face was ritualized in the Celtic ideas and the death of the saints has been observed by the Catholic Church and other orthodox traditions. People dealt with death through religion and art more than we do today.

The Black Plague has surfaced through the centuries, even before the Middle Ages. This finger of death wiped out 25 million folks from 1346 to 1352. It snapped its ugly fingers and wiped out millions more from the 15th to 18th centuries. It started in China during the 1330's and through trade ships traveled to Italy in 1347.

Boccaccio an Italian poet aptly defines the symptoms of the Black Plague in Decameron speaking of the swelling of the lymph nodes and other symptoms. He described the macabre nature produced by this disease too.

“How many valiant men, how many fair ladies, breakfast with their kinfolk and the same night supped with their ancestors in the next world! The condition of the people was pitiable to behold. They sickened by the thousands daily, and died unattended and without help. Many died in the open street, others dying in their houses, made it known by the stench of their rotting bodies. Consecrated churchyards did not suffice for the burial of the vast multitude of bodies, which were heaped by the hundreds in vast trenches, like goods in a ships hold and covered with a little earth.”

This atmosphere of continual death had men going through the streets with carts crying "Bring out your dead." It influenced the written and visual arts and music. One result in the visual arts of the Black Death was the Ars Moriendi, which means The Art of Dying. These books were produced in the historical background of the plague and its effects on society. It was adapted to several languages in Europe. It started the genre of how to die treatises. There is one existing copy of the long version with illustrations and 299 without the prints.

The short form of Ars Moriendi had 11 woodcuts that explained pictorially and could be used to explain The Art of Dying. The focal point concerns the Last Rites of the Catholic Church for a Medieval Christian. The woodcut below is depicting Pride, which is said to be a temptation among five that assaults a dying person. The man in the picture is assaulted by demons trying to get him to accept crowns. This is an allegorical allusion to pride popular in Medieval Art. Jesus, Mary, and God the Father are in the scene watching. ( circa 1460, Netherlands)

The Dance of Death is a woodcut by by Hans Holbein done prior to 1538 is shown below.

An illustration called Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible of 1411 shown below.

This icon depicts monks deformed by the plague getting a priest's blessing. (Historiated initial "C")

We don't deal with death through art in a serious way anymore, at least usually not, but Halloween reminds us of the Grim Reaper's presence,which is an idea from Medieval Art that has a popular influence this month.

Chinese Papercut: Contemporary Artist: Space 301

2011-10-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Chinese art of paper cutting reaches back into China's 6th century creativity. This art form was originated by Cau Lun is also known as Jian Zhi. It gained more popularity during the 7th century.

Paper cutting began to be considered a higher art form during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). The designs were utilized as sacrifices to gods or dead relatives. Later on, it became a decorative art in doorways, windows, and as lamps. When the art of making paper improved, various types of paper and more colors were available, and paper cutting artists took advantage of this good fortune. Eventually westerners became interested in this artistic endeavor.

Seven intercontinental artists are bringing this technique to Space 301 in Mobile, Al from 10/14/11 until 12/17/11. These artist use this artistic genre to write visual narratives and create intricate abstracted designs. They use the spectrum of colors, and contrast elements with light and shadow. Just to wet your creative appetite--the artists are Lauren Scanlon, Jaq Belcher, Lenka Konopasek, Béatrice Coron, Reni Gower, Michelle Forsyth, and Daniella Woolf.

Making Chinese Paper Cuts

Amelia Earhart Photographs and Goggles Sold

2011-10-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

Amelia Earhart has been an inspiration to generations of girls that is hard to match. She was inspired to become an aviator, when she experienced her first jaunt in the air during an air show with her aviator father. She was twenty years old. Earhart was inspired to take flying lessons from, Neta Snook, a graduate of the Curtiss School of Aviation.

Earhart's first across the Atlantic scenario, started with Amy Phillips Guest; she owned a Fokker F.VII dubbed Friendship. Amy's family balked at the suggestion that she fly across the Atlantic. She requested that Richard Byrd a flier and George Putnam find the suitable female to go on the trip.

George Putnam an explorer, promoter, writer, and publisher then asked Capt. H.H. Railey to locate a woman to fly over the Atlantic. When Putnam meet Amelia Earhart he concluded she was the right woman for the flight. Earhart's flying experience didn't include instrument usage or flying with a multi-engine, thus, she didn't pilot this flight.

In 1928, Amelia Earhart, Wilmer Stultz, and Louis Gordon flew the Atlantic in a Fokker tri-motor aircraft. When they returned, President Coolidge sent a congratulations cable. the reporters flocked around Earhart, and ignored her flight companions. It upset her that they didn't get any attention from the reporters. This experience gave her international attention, which promoted her career as a professional aviator, lecturer, and author.

She made a solo trip during September of 1928 flying coast to coast from New York to Los Angeles. She assisted in organizing the All-Women's Air Derby in 1929; she flew the race coming in third. This was the original cross-country race for women pilots. During 1929, Earhart became the original president of the Ninety-Nines, this organization composed incipiently of ninety-nine female pilots, purposed to support and advance piloting for women and was a social and business outlet. The Ninety-Nines was created shortly after the first All-Women's Air Derby. There were 285 licensed female aviators at that time.

In 1932, she soloed a plane across the Atlantic, which was a first for women. In 1935, she was the first aviator to fly alone from Hawaii to the United States mainland. She piloted a Lockheed 5C Vega for this 2,408-mile trip; other aviators had died attempting this flight.

In 1935, Earhart forged speed records for piloting from Los Angeles to Mexico City and
Mexico City to New York City. In 1937, she and navigator Fred Noonan started a flight around the world in the Electra. Heading east was a turn around of their flight plan because of bad weather around the Caribbean and Africa. They headed east from Oakland, California by dint of Miami, Florida. They made it to Lae, New Guinea by the 29th of June.

They had aviated 22,000 miles and would reach Oakland again after flying another 7,000 miles. On the 2nd of July, they left Lae, New Guinea heading for their next refueling spot, which was Howland Island. It is a tiny speck floating in the Pacific Ocean measuring 2 miles long and not a mile in width.
The radio communication between the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca and Earhart and Noonan wasn't good, though the ship was anchored by Howland Island to be their radio contact. Radio transmission around there was poor. This epic flight had induced a lot of commercial radio traffic.

The conclusion reached with the known facts is that the plane crashed at around 35 to 100 miles from Howland Island. President Roosevelt commissioned a search that failed to find Earhart and Noonan.

Recently, 24 pictures of Earhart and a pair of goggles were sold at auction in Oakland, California for more than $31, 000.

The video from YouTube was made by hillkaback.

Amelia Earhart: More Than a Flier (Ready to Read, Level 3)

Amelia Earhart (DK Biography)

DeviantArt Deviations by Deltachord

2011-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Deltachord is now at deviantArt. Come see the gallery as it grows. Enjoy!

Digital Paintings by Deltachord

Ghostly Swamp

Misty River Landscape

Lonely Blue Mountain

Flowing Edge World

Mobile: Upper Dauphin Street: Art, Music, Food

2011-10-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

This fun event began last year (2011) in March and was such a hit it keeps happening. The art galleries and business owners make this a great time and clue you in with banners proclaiming that artwork, food, and beverages are available here.

This fun time on the fourth Saturday each month starts at 11:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. The next Upper Dauphin Street is scheduled for 10/22/11.

Marine Art Exhibition: Mobile Museum of Art

2011-10-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Mobile is a perfect spot to have maritime art show. It is situated on Mobile Bay on the Gulf Coast. The Mobile Museum of Art will host a juried show from 12/9/11 until 1/8/12 that features regional artists. The artwork will visually render the tale of Mobile's maritime history.

Maritime plants, boats, ships, seascapes and so forth will be featured in paintings, photography, sketches, and sculpture. The museum will accept entries starting 11/28/11 and ending on 12/2/11.

John Cage: Musician, Artist, Writer

2011-09-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

John Cage was a visual artist, writer, and composer. He is considered one of the most significant composers of the twentieth century. Cage wrote the music for The Seasons in 1947; Merce Cunningham choreographed the ballet. The Ballet Society of New York commissioned this score. His ideas concerning the gamut technique, though beginning in the thirties with cellular methods and continuing in the forties constricting his melodic range, were more fully recognized in the score of this ballet. He was experimenting with complexities and characteristics of sound according to James
Pritchett, the author of The Music of John Cage.

In 1952, when Cage's composition 4'33" was introduced to the public, pianist David Tutor didn't play at all for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. The concept was that the audience hear the sounds of their surroundings, not the quiet absence of the composition not being played.

For many years, Cage experimented with noises, sounds, and substitute objects for instruments. At first, he adapted a piano to make different sounds by placing objects between its strings. He also experimented with radios, tape recorders, and amplification. Water with shells were used for a composition entitled Water Music written in 1952. Later on in his musical career, he utilized light shows and slide projections and actors in costume.

Beginning in 1978, Cage began a yearly habit of creating a sequence of prints. He employed etching, engraving, and unorthodox materials to make his prints. In 1961, Cage published Silence: Lectures and Writings and in 1969 he published A Year From Monday.

From 10/14/11 until 11/27/11 The Mobile Museum of Art will exhibit Projections and Reflections: A Collaboration of Music and Visual Art. This show includes visual multi-media work by Sally Wood Johnson and the music of Dorothy Hindman. This production is inspired by the work and ideas of John Cage.

Silence: Lectures and Writings, 50th Anniversary Edition

In a Landscape: Piano Music of John Cage

A Year from Monday: New Lectures and Writings

Abstract Paintings and Assemblages

2011-09-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Space 301 in Mobile, Al presents the work of eleven artists from Virginia. Installation, assemblage, and painting creations will be shown from September 25th until October 2nd.

There is no admission fee. The address is 301 Conti Street. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 pm and on Sunday from noon until 5:00 p.m.

Birds of America: John James Audubon

2011-09-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

John James Audubon is the recognized artist of American birds that other bird artists are measured against. For 50 years he drew and painted America's birds. He was known as an authority of ornithology. His wife had been a teacher of George Bird Grinnell who started the Audubon Society.

Audubon's work is done in mixed media mainly employing watercolors, but using pastels to achieve the soft look of feathers. He posed them in natural positions to paint them, unlike other ornithologist of his era that placed them in stiff looking poses. He painted them surrounded by their natural terrain.

His tour de force is The Birds of America folio. The Mobile Museum of Art will display 80 plus prints and paintings in oil and watercolors and some graphite work that includes hand-colored engravings. The exhibition starts 10/14/11 and ends on 1/8/12.

Note: The copyright on the painting has expired. The photo qualifies for the PD-Art tag.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Region

John James Audubon: The Making of an American

John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings (Library of America)

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12)

Sketchcrawl: Enrico Casarosa

2011-09-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sketchcrawl is a fantastic drawing event dreamed up by Enrico Casarosa; he works for Pixar Animation Studios as a storyboard artist. Each event lasts for a day. Artists from many countries participate. Enrico originated the first sketchcrawl, after attending a pubcrawl bachelor party, and subsequently deciding to sketch San Francisco for a day. There are four yearly events.

The sketchers congregate at a determined place, and they draw all day in that area. The objective is to complete a drawing each hour. When the day ends, the sketchers get together to see the other sketches and to upload the drawings to the official website. The sketches from around the world are shown at http://www.sketchcrawl.com.

There's also a specific site for Mobile sketchers: http://www.mobilesketchcrawl.com. Sketchers from Mobile have participated in seven sketchcrawls. The thirty-third crawl is scheduled for October 15, 2011.

Drawing and Sketching Pencil Set In Zippered Carrying Case

Darice 80-Piece Professional Art Set

Pictures of Elvis Presley Singing at 21

2011-09-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

John Lennon said "Before Elvis there was nothing." That's a strong statement from a man that became a rock legend too. There was a certain something about Elvis Presley that triggered such admiration from John and screams from the female fans as he sang in concert. Maybe, those two somethings were a bit different.

But Alfred Wertheimer hadn't heard of the King when he took an assignment from RCA Victor to photograph this 21 year old that became an American icon. In 1956, Elvis switched from Sun Records, the company that recorded "That's All Right," to RCA. In 1954, he garnered national recognition with the Sun Records hit. The 45 record b side song was "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

Wertheimer photographed unique shots that showed the way Elvis interacted with his admirers prior to extreme security precluding that close interaction. The open door to the King's life that this photojournalist took advantage of was an exceptional experience.

Last year, Wertheimer published a book entitled Elvis 56. David Adamson produced the 36 by 48" prints of Wertheimer's work. This pictorial documentation of Elvis at 21 highlights a kiss with his girlfriend, the to be King reposing at a lunch counter, and Elvis practicing with the vocal group The Jordanaires. He had to go to the window and ask his yelling admirers to hush: they complied. These forty pictures form the Smithsonian show now presented at the Mobile Museum of Art until December 4, 2011.

Elvis: His Life in Pictures (Tiny Folio)

Elvis 30 #1 Hits

Elvis Presley: The Great Performances [DVD]

Dauphin Island Art Trail

2011-09-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

The Dauphin Island Art Trail is scheduled for October 15th, 2011. Regional and local artists will display their work. Lovely Bellingraph Gardens located in Theodore on the way to the island is participating by spotlighting regional artists.

Each patron will receive a card to be stamped at each spot displaying art. Patrons that get the nine stamps can put their card in a drawing. They will be qualified to win prizes. This is the first Dauphin Island Art Trail.

These are the nine art venues: Estuarium, Mac ‘N DD’s Emporium, Ancient Marine, Marti’s, Treasure Trove, Sandbox, Historic Fort Gaines Gift Shop, Lighthouse Bakery &, Gift Shop on the island and Bellingraph Gardens.

The art mediums include: painting, sculpting, jewelry design, watercolors, stained glass, and acrylics. This should be a great day at Dauphin Island and Bellingraph Gardens.

Pro Art 14-Piece Clay Tool Set With Case

Shrimp Festival Gulf Shores 2011: Art, Food, Music

2011-09-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

The Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival features shrimp cooked in many delicious ways. This year is the fortieth anniversary of this tasty, artsy, and musical event. Zatarain's is the main sponsor. The festival happens from October 13th through October 16th. Admission cost a whopping zero for the festival.

More than three hundred venders are participating in the Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival. Three hundred thousand visitors and counting swarm this festival each year. More than two hundred artists and artisans show their work at this annual event.

The sand sculpture contest will kick off on Saturday with registration at 11:00 a.m. The judges will pick the first through third place and the honorable mention starting at 3:00 p.m.

The East and West stages erupt with great music each festival day starting at 10:00 a.m. Cool Change, Blackfoot, Elaine Petty, and numerous acts are scheduled.

The concert at The Hangout is free too. It starts at 6:00 p.m. October 15th, with The Tip Tops rocking the house performing soul music from the nineteen sixties, nineteen fifties hits, and nineteen eighties hits. The Tip Tops reside in Mobile, AL.

The Toppettes along with the Dancing Horns are energetic performers. Their song list includes tunes by Aretha Franklin and The Pointer Sisters.

The fortieth anniversary is going to be shrimp-tastic!

Flowing Edge World Shoes from Zazzle.com

2011-09-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is an original design by Colette Dumont. The artwork is a digital painting. It is a fantasy art slash abstract art idea. The shoe is the Keds Women's Champion Slip On. There's nothing else like wearing shoes decorated with original art.

Flowing Edge World Shoes from Zazzle.com

H. Beam Piper-Police Operation

2011-09-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

"Police Operation" was published by Astounding Science Fiction in July of 1948. The parallel worlds or versions of Earth are divided into five levels. In this conceptual universe, humans colonized Earth from Mars. The timeline we occupy wasn't colonized very successfully, and the people haven't any recollection of the colonization, so we are in the fourth level. But the transplanting in the first level was outstanding, thus, the Paratime Police originated there.

The illustrations are by Edd Cartier. This story's copyright wasn't renewed. The video sound effect "Crazy Brass" is a creation of musiforvideo.com.

Police Operation from Paratime Series; Illustrations

Police Operation

The Essential Works of H. Beam Piper

Jack Russell Terrier Art

2011-09-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Jack Russell Terriers

This Jack Russel picture is an original print by thedoglover at ArtFire. These two pups are wonderful. If you like Jack Russell Terrier prints, you'll like the other work by this artist depicting this breed. I have a friend that has two of these dogs, and I think he would like this print.

The artist creates realistic paintings of many dog breeds. She lives in Canada.

See More Prints

For Bare Feet-Jack Russell Terrier Dog Adult Poses Socks (Grey)

Jack Russell Mini Flopsie 8"

Jack Russell Terrier 2 Cute Light T-Shirt by CafePress

Flowing Edge World-New Design

2011-09-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is a digital painting on a mouse pad. It is original art by Colette Dumont. She has been creating digital paintings for about three years. Dumont has painted in oils for many years, and her work has been shown in art galleries such as Koch Gallery in Mobile, AL and Art Struck formerly in Blue Ridge, GA.

He Walked Around Horses- H. Beam Piper

2011-08-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

"He Walked Around Horses" is the first short story in the Paratime Police series. It is said that Piper hinged his story on on a report of the disappearance of the British diplomat Benjamin Bathurst; his father was the Bishop of Norwich of the Church of England. His disappearance occurred during the Napoleonic Wars in Germany. His vanishing exit from life kindled much guesswork about what happened to him. Though, most likely he was a victim of foul play.

Piper used this unfortunate disappearance as a jumping off point for his story. In Piper's short story, while journeying home from Austria and traveling through Prussia, Tortha Karf plucked Bathurst up with a Paratime conveyer. He is left in a different timeline that forked off in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec. Benedict Arnold dies from his wound in Piper's story. And other historical changes follow from that divergence.

The video is composed of drawings by Edd Cartier. The story was published in 1948 in Astounding. The copyright wasn't renewed.

The music is by Kevin MacLeod and found at incompletech. The piece is called “Bad Ideas.”

The Complete Paratime (Ace Science Fiction)

Last Enemy-Paratime Series-H. Beam Piper

2011-08-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

The story “Last Enemy” was written by H. Beam Piper and published by Astounding Science Fiction in August of 1950. The series includes a novel, a novella, and short stories. The stories are set in an innovative culture and involves parallel worlds and alternative histories. The Paratime Police are protectors of the covert Paratime travel secret.

The video consists of 5 of the illustrations for the story “Last Enemy” drawn by Walt Miller. The copyright wasn't renewed by Astounding.

The music used in the video is by incompletetech,com. The title is Supernatural Radio A. It is royalty free and the genre is radio drama. It is under Creative Commons license.

Time Crimes: The Paratime Collection (Five Paratime Novels in One Volume)Time Crimes: The Paratime Collection (Five Paratime Novels in One Volume)

Digital Art by Colette Dumont

2011-08-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy the art video. It is original art with music by Dan-O.
Danosongs.com

Digital Art (Second Edition) (World of Art)

Digital Art Revolution: Creating Fine Art with Photoshop

Mobile Carnival Museum: The Art of Mardi Gras

2011-02-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras originated in Mobile, Al and the arts and crafts that it takes to create the entire carnival are highlighted at the Mobile Carnival Museum. The costumes, masks, and floats are all creative designs.

At the Mobile Carnival Museum, you can see videos showcasing the balls. You'll enjoy the elegance of the ladies in gorgeous gowns, the costumes, and watching the masqueraders and ladies dance. You can learn how the floats are made. Many local artists participate in making the floats.

The history of Mobile's Mardi Gras is also explained through photos. If you like crowns, robes, and scepters...if you want to see the elaborate and delicate designs of these royal items, then a trip to the museum or their site is in order.

Hey, Mardi Gras is around the corner. The parades begin on February 5th.

DeviantrART Offers Variety in Art

2011-01-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

The DeviantART site offers many forms of art to immersed yourself into as an art lover. The categories include traditional art, literature, anime, comics, film, animation, fan art, photography and others forms.

Community Projects, resources, and stock photos are also included on the site. When you join, you can browse all of the art pieces, exhibit, and promote your art, and be a part of the community. It is free to join. Take a look, you may find something that interest you there.

ArtFire Collections Always Interesting

2011-01-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

The featured collections at ArtFire offer something of interest to everyone that likes handmade creative objects. The Eat All Your Veggies collection is cute and some items are funny. You'll enjoy looking them over. From Kitchen Tomato Soap to Irked Carrot Pincushion this collection is delightful.

Norman Rockwell: Christmas

2010-12-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

Norman Rockwell painted many homey and heartwarming Christmas scenes. The Christmas Trio pictures three male carolers from the 19th century; it reminds one of a Dickens scene.

His White Christmas exhibits a comical touch with Santa Claus or an old gentleman having tumbled in the snow with presents scattered and a surprised look on the man's face.

Rockwell created many lovely Christmas paintings like Christmas Homecoming that show people happy and in the spirit of the season.

Article: Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell

Christmas: Nativity Video: Icons

2010-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

I hope you enjoy this nativity video of traditional Christmas art.

Artfire Featured Collections

2010-11-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Artfire members are encouraged to create featured collections of other members handcrafted items. A member picks favorite pieces from different artisans, puts the collection together, and publishes it.

You can search Artfire and click on the Curated Collections link to see recent and past collections. You may enjoy seeing what some of the artisans choose as their favorites.

Three of the recent featured collections in order of appearance are Grey Paradise, Hot Apple Cider, and In Tune for Mozart. Which title appeals to you? Go see what the member has collected. Have fun.

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe: Colonial Revival

2010-11-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

The First Thanksgiving

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe was born in 1850 in Honesdale, Pennsylvania and was raised in a log cabin. Her mother was descended from a pilgrim that arrived on the Mayflower. In 1868, she started teaching, simultaneously she designed calendars and greeting cards. She also created illustrations that appeared in Scribner’s and Harper’s magazines.

After moving to New York in 1871, Jennie Brownscombe studied at the National Academy of Design and the Cooper Institute School of Design for Women. She was one of the founders of the Art Students League of New York in 1875 and a teacher at the institution. She relocated to France in 1882; while there she studied with Henry Mosler at his studios, which were situated in Brittany and Paris. From 1886 to 1895 Brownscombe enjoyed her winters in Rome. Her work was exhibited in London and Rome.

She is renowned for historical genre or history painting in particular the colonial revival. The colonial revival encompassed ideas about preserving the historical heritage, as well as advancing democracy, a simple life, morality, the value of family, and good taste. Jennie Augusta Brownscombe painted scenes depicting colonial America and the Revolutionary War.

The First Thanksgiving shown in this post is probably her most well known piece. She painted it in 1914; it was printed in Life magazine. This painting is currently housed at the Museum of Pilgrim Treasures in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The art work of Brownscombe is part of other major collectanea such as the Newark Museum.

She was a member of the National Arts Club of New York and the Municipal Art Society. She died in 1931.

Sunday Morning Styles Art Poster Print by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 32x24
Hope and Memories Giclee Poster Print by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 12x16

Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell

2010-11-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Norman Rockwell was a well known American illustrated. He painted numerous Thanksgiving paintings. The most acclaimed Thanksgiving illustrations he created are The Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom From Want, and Freedom From Fear. Rockwell desired to do something patriotic concerning World War II and couldn't serve in the armed forces because of his age. He was enkindled to create these paintings because of President Franklin Roosevelt's speech also called The Four Freedoms. The President said these were the principles for universal rights.

These paintings were published by the Saturday Evening Post on 02/20/43, 02/27/43, 03/06/43, and 03/13/43 respectively. Each print of a painting in the magazine had an attendant essay. The author's of these essays in order were: Booth Tarkington, Will Durant, Carlos Bulosan, and Stephen Vincent Benét.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury urged the sale of war bonds by showing originals of The Four Freedoms in many U.S. cities. The title of this exhibition was The Four Freedoms War Bond Show. This tour began at Hecht's, which was located in Washington, D.C., where it was transmitted over radio; Lowell Thomas was the broadcaster. Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court was the principal speaker.

The publics response was astounding and proved that the paintings stimulated the feelings of the American people about freedom. This reaction encouraged The Office of War Information to see the effect of the paintings in conveying ideas and emotions concerning freedom. The public wrote 60,000 letters to the artist, which included a letter from the President. Over a million people saw the paintings during the tour. The war years were reduced by the numerous amount of war bonds sold during this tour.

Thus, though they had originally rejected these art works, OWI then had 2.5 million copies printed. The copies were all attended by an essay from The Office of War Information.

Norman Rockwell The Four Freedoms 750pc Panoramic Puzzle The Saturday Evening Post-1943
Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell Art Print(1938 / 1978) , 8.3/4 X 11.1/4 inches
2008 Topps American Heritage Baseball Cards # 66 Norman Rockwell ( Four Freedoms )( Artist ) Trading Card in Protective Screw Down Display

Article Norman Rockwell: Christmas

ArtFire for Artisans and Crafters

2010-10-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

ArtFire began in 2008 and is a great place for artisans to show and sell their creations. It offers free and paid shop options. The artisan can easily customize his shop. The members can use the ArtFire Market Hub to link to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, You Tube and other sites. There is a big variety of arts and crafts offered at ArtFire. Server side statistics are available to the artisan.

ArtFire offers much more to the artisan and the buyer. Check it out today.

Frankenstein Movie 1910

2010-10-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Frankenstein movie mania has never ceased since 1910, when the original silent flick was loosely adapted from Mary Shelley's novel. This short film was the brainchild of J. Searle Dawley who wrote and directed it. It took three days to film the movie at Edison Studios. The monster is played by Charles Ogle, Victor Frankenstein is portrayed by Augustus Phillips, and Mary Fuller is the doctor's fiancée.

Charles Ogle began his acting career on Broadway in 1905. His first film role was in the 1910 Frankenstein film. Augustus Phillips acted in 134 flicks during his movie career. Mary Fuller started her acting career on stage. She debuted in film working for Vitagram Studios. She became a foremost actress challenging Mary Pickford in status.

The theme revolves around the issue of life and death as Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with its cryptic implications, while studying science at college. His vision of creating a human being plunges into the macabre, when he creates a monster instead of the idealized man he envisioned.

His creation sickens him and he returns home and is nursed by his fiancée. When he heals, they are to be married. Enter the monster that is envious of the doctor's sweetheart. The monster seizes a rose given to Victor Frankenstein by his sweetheart from the doctor's lapel. He sees his horrible image in a mirror and bolts away after the struggle knocks the doctor to the floor.

The monster longs for the friendship of his creator and returns on the night of the wedding and causes the bride to faint and Victor finds her. The monster enters the room again and struggle ensues and he overpowers the doctor and leaves again.

Upon his final return, he is absorbed into the mirror that he sees himself in and Victor comes in. Victor sees the monster as he looks into the mirror, but his own form slowly returns. His bride enters, they hug, which is the movie's finale.

Edison's Frankenstein (Book & Video)
Edison's Frankenstein 1910
1910 in Film: 1910 Films, Thunderbolt, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, French Films of 1910, Italian Films of 1910

Watch Frankenstein 1910

Unique Poster: Bride of Frankenstein

2010-10-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

The single identified Bride of Frankenstein style E film poster is for sale according to artdaily.com. The poster is ablaze in red with the giant monster in chains demanding to know who is going to marry him. The present exhibition is at the Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills. This poster has been in Todd Feiertag's collectanea for over thirty years; this aficionado has collected movie posters for half a century. It is awaiting its auction and will definitely sell for a mint.

The film was a 1935 Universal production; the concept was derived from Mary Shelley's novel published in 1816. John L. Balderston and William Harlbut wrote the screenplay. It took 46 days and about $400,000 to shoot the flick. This was a sequel to Frankenstein of 1931. The director, James Whale, imbued the effect of German Expressionism into the film's imagery and it is seen in the spasmodic steps and arm movement of Frankenstein's bride.

It starts with literary discussion between Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley. It is a comic opening. Then it goes into a parody starting at the finale scene of Frankenstein with the windmill on fire. Dr. Pretorius plunges the plot into action and requests the aid of Henry Frankenstein in creating the monster's wife.

Back at the woods, the village folk capture and imprison the monster, though he again flees to the woods. A blind hermit befriends our anti-hero and he learns to speak a few words. When a couple of village folk spot and maul him, the monster runs to a graveyard to hid. He sees Dr. Petorius while inside the crypt and decides to help the doctor get the body parts for his bride.

Henry Frankenstein rejects the request to aid Dr. Petorius in creating the bride, until the mad doctor has Henry's wife kidnapped. Karl, the asisstant to Petorius obtains a heart to replace the unuseable one. Though, Karl murdered a woman and took her heart, he explains to Dr. Frankenstein that he took it from the police morgue.

They animate the bride with electricity at Henry's laboratory. The bride refuses the monster's affections, which incenses him, and he advises Dr. Frankenstein and Elizabeth to flee. He pulls a switch that detonates the castle.

The film's musical score by Franz Waxman threads through the movie's atmospehere accenting the gestures. Originally, there were 21 dead bodies in the film, but due to the outcry of the censors, the count was reduced to 10. The theme of the flick points out the evilness that lurks, waiting to get afoot.
Bride of Frankenstein Cast

Boris Karloff played the monster in the films including Son of Frankenstein that debuted in 1939. Dr. Septimus Pretorious is portrayed by Ernest Thesigner. Colin Clive playes Henry Frankenstein. Valerie Hobson portrays Elizabeth Frankenstein. Elsa Lanchester has a double role playing Mary Shelley and the bride. Lord Byron is portrayed by Gavin Gordon.

Douglas Walton plays Percy Shelley. Una O'Conner is Minnie. E.E. Clive plays Burgonmaster. The butler is played by Lucien Prival. O.P.Heggie is the hermit. Dwight Frye is Karl. Hans is played by Reginald Barlow and Mary Gordan is his wife. The sheperdess is portrayed by Anne Darling (character name is Ann Darling). Ted Billings plays Ludwig. There are about 30 uncredited characters.

Gothic Art Style Ovierview

2010-10-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Gothic Art grew out of Romanesque Art. Both of these artistic periods occurred in the Middle Ages. Romanesque Art materialized around 1000 A.D., peaked from 1075 A.D. until 1125 A.D. in England, Italy, France and the German realms. It ended about 1150 A.D.; it had become Gothic Art.

Both of these medieval art eras produced sculpture, paintings, and architecture. Romanesque denotes the blending of Roman, Carolingian, and Byzantine styles with Germanic influences. In some locales the Gothic Art era lasted into the latter 16th century.

During the Renaissance, Italian writers (theorists) coined the term Gothic Art as an insult to the style. They preferred Classical art and culture of the Roman Empire and blamed the Gothic clans that invaded and pulverized the Roman Empire in the 5th century for inventing the Gothic style. These writers considered this art ugly, barbaric, and unrefined. An early terminology for Gothic was Opus Francigenum meaning French work.

Architecture

Architecture prevailed as the leading art form in the Gothic period. The main distinguishing architectural features were developed to hold heavy ceiling vaults over wider areas of the cathedral and at increasing heights. Thus, pointed arches, stoned ribs, and flying buttresses were developed.

Colossal sculptures decorated the walls of cathedrals and abbeys. Most of this art represents medieval allegory. It depicted stories of the Bible. The lives of saints and Mary's image were also shown.

Painting

Early Gothic painting used hieratic, rigged, and simple figures and shapes, but it grew into using naturalistic and spatial forms. This change contrasted with Byzantine and Romanesque styles.

There were four types of Gothic painting: panels, frescoes, illuminated manuscripts, and stained glass. The style continued for over two-hundred years.

Sculpture

Gothic sculpture incorporated the Romanesque gates, decoration, and tombs, but it added winged alter pieces, ecclesiastical statues, and heraldic stones. Whereas, Romanesque sculpture is thickset and angular, Gothic sculpture is tall and lean.

The swan song of the Gothic era began when the Renaissance style started to develop in the 15th century, even though the Gothic style was utilized into the 16th century.

Gothic: Architecture - Sculpture - Painting
Gothic Art (World of Art)
Born of the Night: The Gothic Fantasy Artwork of Joseph Vargo

Chainsaw Art Gaining Popularity

2010-10-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Chain saw art is gaining popularity. Those interested in learning how to carve this way can find chainsaw carving for beginner sites and chainsaw carving videos. There are sites where carvings by chainsaw artists can be viewed and bought. There is a guild for these artists. Animals and mascots are popular designs. Bears seem to be very trendy.

Chainsaw Carving a Bear

Artist Book: Balzac: Droll Stories

2010-10-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Balzac's Droll Stories contains 10 short stories and 424 engravings by Gustave Dore. Though this work can't strictly be called an artist book because Balzac didn't produce the engravings it certainly is close kin to that genre of work. It is definitely a well illustrated book. This book was published during an era when the visual arts and fiction were more closely related than today.

He penned these humorous stories from 1832-1833. The stories concern 16th century dames, knights, monks, manners and other aspects of that time. The first edition was published in 1832. Dore illustrated the 1855 edition of Contes Drolatiques. The illustration by Gustave Dore is entitled The Beauty of Constance.

Droll Stories

Artists' Books: What Does That Mean?

2010-09-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

The artist book is an art medium. These books are usually printed in limited editions. But some are a single book called a unique. Today they are sometimes mass produced and it is argued whether or not these books are really artists' books. They are also created as a foldout or boxed single sheets. Older types include the scroll, codex, concertina, and bound printed sheet. An artist book can be sculptural and multidimensional. It can be composed of clay or metal. The artist book combines the means of creation with aesthetic values and theme. This art form's definition is widely debated.

The medieval illuminated manuscripts produced in Europe can be defined as artists' books, but William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience is usually referred to as the forerunner to this art medium. Blake's wife, Catherine, helped him produce his artist book. This work of art was handwritten, and tinted, and images and poems were created for it. It was originally produced in two segments. Songs of Innocence was published in 1789 and in 1794 he combined the first book with another group of poems. The result was Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.

During the 20th century, avant-garde artists got into the art book foray. Zang Tumb Tuuum or Zang Tumb Tumb by Filippo Marinetti was published in journals as serials from 1912 to 1914. This work is a sound and concrete poem. Transrational Boog created by Aliagrov (Roman Jakobson), Aleksei Eliseevich Kruchenykh and Olga Rozanova utilizes hand written text, lithographs and collage. Roman Jakobson is Aliagrov's real name.

This zeal for artist books swelled on into the 1960's and 1970's and during the 1980's and 1990's colleges began giving degrees in book art.

The artists' book theme will be continued in other posts.

New Posts Soon

2010-09-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

My computer is fixed and I'll resume posting soon

About not Posting

2010-08-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hello,

This is to let my readers know that an extended computer problem is the reason for not posting. I hope to have it rectified soon.

Birmingham Museum of Art: Cornucopia of Art

2010-07-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

The Birmingham Museum of Art holds a diverse gathering of artwork from different cultures. The 24,000 art objects are gathered from Asian, American, African, European, pre-Columbian, and Native American cultures.

The display of Asian art is impressive and is the most inclusive one in the southeastern United States featuring a grand collection of Vietnamese ceramics.

The Kress assortment of art includes paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque eras and decorative arts ranging from the latter 13th century to the mid-1700's. The museum also houses 18th century English furniture and ceramics. It exhibits the biggest gathering of Wedgewood excepting in Great Britain.

Its passed exhibitions have included Mary Lucier's "The Plains of Sweet Regret," Charlie Lucas' "The World Through My Eyes," Kim Sangku's "Contemporary Korean Prints," and Leonardo da Vinci's "Drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin."

"Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan" will be on exhibit from 7/31/2010 to 10/10/2010. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The address is 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL.

Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan:

Allegory in Art: Old Masters

2010-07-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Old Masters were artists from the 16th, 17th, and the beginning of the 18th century. These artists used symbols in many of their works. The symbols used to paint or draw allegory in art were derived from ancient literature, mythology, and the Bible. This method worked well because educated people could read these works and be familiar with the symbols and people that couldn't read had heard the Bible stories.

Depictions of Saint Jerome picture him with a lion, bible or a skull. There is a legend telling the story of St. Jerome removing a thorn from a lion's paw and the lion befriended him. The woodcut St. Jerome in His Cell by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528 ) is an example of allegory art.

The Dutch artist Lucas Van Leyden (1489-1533), in his engraving Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull (1519), the artist has the figure pointing to the skull he holds. It is a warning to consider your conscience and mortality. These types of images were called vanitas.

The Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430-1516) was a Renaissance narrative painter and the teacher of Giorgione and Titian. His depiction of St. Margaret devoured by a dragon is representative of the Christian art symbol of sin and sinfulness ie; the sinful nature. The devil is called the devourer in the Bible.

There are many more works of art by the Old Masters that use Christian symbols that portray allegory in painting and other art mediums. These are some other Christian symbols: the crown, rose, lamb, dove, and falcon.

Pictures of St. Joan of Arc seen as a maiden with armor, sword, and a banner astride a horse is allegory art that is probably more recognized by people today. The War Savings Stamp Program of World War I and WWII aided in funding these wars. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts sold these stamps. One of the posters of this program for WWI was Joan of Arc Saved France by Haskell Coffin (1878-1941). The slogan ask America's women to buy the war stamp to support the war.

Sports Art

2010-07-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

We don't usually think of art and sports in the same thought. They seem to be mutually exclusive, but that isn't true. The American Sport Art Museum & Archives of Daphne, AL illustrates this point quite graphically.

This museum was established in 1984 and its goal is to preserve sports history, literature, and art. The ASAMA houses over a thousand works of art. The collection includes photography, painting, prints, assemblage, posters, and sculpture.

The ASAMA also gives out awards yearly to artists and athletes. They are open to the public five days a week. The hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Lapidary Art: Cabbing

2010-06-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

The cabochon cut is a technique for cutting gemstones into an oval shape. Next, the stone is sanded and polished. Cabbing is the term rock hounds use for discussing this process. Sometimes, the artisan displays his mineral collection; agate is a good choice because it takes a bright shine when polished. Some of the stones are used for making handcrafted jewelry.

The prepared gemstones are called cabochons or cabs. Stones with these qualities are most frequently cut en cabochon: opalescent, asteriated, chatoyant, and iridescent. A cab's back is normally flat, but an artisan might hollow the back to make the stone lighter.

You can see beautiful cabs done by artisan Roger Crow at: CabNFever

Digital Gem Scale, Personal Lab Equipment, Weigh Carats

Pointillism Completes the Dots on Michael Jackson

2010-06-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

AP reports that Maya Angelou urges the Fans of Michael Jackson to put their dot in a portrait in progress of this deceased pop star. David IIan is the painter actually connecting the dots, but each one represents a fan. The dots are free.

Pointillism is a painting method that utilizes dots of unmixed color to create a painting. Its most famous practitioners are Signet, Cross, and Seurat.

Go here to get your dot: Get Dot

Psychedelic Posters of 60's Revisited

2010-06-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Toledo Museum of Art is presenting an exhibit of psychedelic poster art. These works were created to promote concerts in San Francisco. The exhibition runs from 06/11/10 until 09/12/10. The artist represented are Wes Wilson, David Singer, Bonnie MacLean, Alton Kelly, Stanley Mouse, Lee Conklin, and Victor Moscoso.

These artists were inspired by pop art, surrealism, and art nouveau. Some of the posters typify black light art. Some of the art speaks of the political issues of the day. If you like symbolic and mind bending art, you will enjoy this exhibit.

75 Silent Films Come Home to the United States

2010-06-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

The New York times, Movie Blips, Twitterers and others are talking and reporting about the 75 lost silent movies that are coming from New Zealand to the U.S. According to The New York Times, the films picked to come back are culturally and historically important. That makes sense. This is happening in accordance with the patronage of the National Film Preservation foundation. The movies were discovered in a New Zealand film archive reports, Dave Kehr.

Kehr also reports that some of these movies indicate the important input of women to early films. The movies being shipped over include some directed by Mabel Normand, Al Christie, and John Ford. Comedies, dramas, and westerns are part of the bunch. This is a wonderful discovery and preservation of these films is vital to the history of the movies.

Space Doggity Poster from Zazzle.com

2010-05-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Space Doggity Poster from Zazzle.com

Michael Peterson: Unique Wood Sculptures

2010-05-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

Michael Peterson is well-known on a national scale. His first works were symmetrical and born of the lathe; his newer works are of an organic nature, but were created via a chainsaw. Forty wood sculptures representative of 20 years of his artistic endeavor will be shown at the Mobile Museum of Art from 07/23/10 until 10/03/10.

Peterson's creativity is fueled by his beautiful surroundings in the Pacific Northwest. His work has been exhibited in many places including The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Detroit Institute of Arts, and the del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles.

Collections of his sculptures are housed at numerous museums including the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA.

Mary Cassatt: American Woman Artist

2010-05-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

Mary Cassatt is most famous for her paintings of children with their mother. She also painted upscale society. Her compositions are daring and exhibit specific details. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1860 to 1865.

Next, she traveled to Holland, Spain, Italy, and France concentrating on and coping the work of the Old Masters; in 1874 she put her roots down in Paris. She and Edgar Degas developed a friendship and he asked her to show her work with the Impressionists. From 1979 to 1886, she participated in four exhibits with the "painters of light." Her early paintings were executed with the light and shadow style and the ethereal effect of the Impressionists.

In 1891, she produced wonderful dry-point prints that were motivated by her fondness for Japanese art. With this collection, she plowed her own road in the art world, stepping away from the Impressionist and distinguishing her own style. Her work features clear lines and soft colors.

In the middle of her career, she began to draw and paint in a classical manner, completing forms, and using three-dimensional technique. Her work was popular and sold well. When Cassatt was elderly, important figures, visited her at her countryside home, Château de Beaufresne, situated on the outskirts of Paris.

Mary Cassatt Paintings

Marian Acker MacPherson: Etched Times Goneby

2010-05-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

The etchings of Marian Acker MacPherson present an historical testament to the architecture in Mobile, AL prior to the 1920's. Through her art, she captured the historical buildings of her era for future generations.

MacPherson studied art at the Vesper-George Art School in Boston and she studied under W. H. W. Bicknell at Cape Cod. Bicknell is renowned for his etchings. Etching had regained popularity with artists during the 1880's.

MacPherson published copies of her work in Prints of the Past of Old Mobile (1932) and Etchings of Old Mobile (1938), and Glimpses of Old Mobile .The latter is a guidebook that includes copies of her drawings in ink. There were at least six editions of the book (1946-1983). As time passed, she started painting in watercolors.

An exhibition of her work can be viewed from 07/30/10 until 09/26/10 at the Mobile Museum of art.

Tim Burton: New Species

2010-05-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

Producer, Tim Burton, has been honored by a doctoral student at the University of New Brunswick. Bridgette Clarkston is a student researcher. She found a species of seaweed that was unknown, when she was collecting samples. She ran DNA samples and discovered that this particular seaweed was nameless.

She dubbed this seaweed Euthora timburtoni because Burton's movies fueled her imagination. According to CBC News, Clarkston said that the flower of this seaweed reminds her of Nightmare Before Christmas.

Nine Mile Canyon Rock Art Spared

2010-05-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Utah.com states that Nine Mile Canyon is an "outdoor art museum." Indeed, it is 40 miles of canyon displaying petroglyph's and pictographs numbering at 10,000. The most well known depiction is the Hunter Panel. The majority of the art work was done by the Fremont Indians.

It is covered for protection by the Antiquities Act, which says that no one may "appropriate, excavate, injure, or destroy any historic or prehistoric ruins or dwellings or other structures."

But archaeologist Pam Miller states that oil and gas development in this remote area will destroy these archaic petroglyphs and pictographs. The industrial trucks throw up dust that destroys the paintings and carvings and chemicals are sprayed on the roads to suppress dust but it harms the artwork.

The Bill Barrett Corporation made an application to the Bureau of Land Management requesting leases to drill 800 wells. The traffic in this "remote" area would go up by 416 %, if the leases are granted. This corporation has done exploratory work since 2004 and made their request in 2008.

But because of the efforts of conservations, an agreement was signed between the Bill Barrett Corporation, the Bureau of Land Management, the local government, and more than one preservation group.

The agreement states that the Bill Barrett Corporation has to supply monies for fieldwork concerning cultural resources and the Bureau of Land Management is required to perform studies regarding the possible damage that industrial dust could cause.

It is an outrage that companies want to destroy public lands for profit and that the laws were ever lose enough that such requests could be made.

After the agreement was reached, Ken Salazar, the interior secretary trumpeted harsher guidelines concerning drilling on government lands.

Native American Wolf Rock INDIAN Art Print POSTER GUIDE - 16x20
Roadside Guide To Indian Ruins & Rock Art Of The Southwest
Indian Rock Art of the Southwest (School of American Research Southwest Indian Arts Series)

25 Years of Pixar Animation: Exhibit at OMCA

2010-05-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Oakland Museum of California will present 25 years of Pixar animation from 07/31/2010 until 01/09/11. This show will exhibit more than 500 works: sculptures, drawings, and paintings. This is a real treat for fans of Pixer's animation. Fans of Toy Story, Up, WALL-E, and Ratatouille are going to enjoy this returning exhibit, which has been on the road for five years. It started at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Showings of short films, talks, and lectures are included in this homecoming. Plus, storyboards used for some of the short films and colorscripts will be featured.

Kate Clark: Sculpture : Human and Animal Mix

2010-04-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kate Clark is an eclectic sculptor that combines animal skins with sculpted human faces. All of the human faces are extremely expressive, but their attachment to animal bodies is bizarre and could be too much strangeness for some viewers. Some people posit that Clark is speaking to the violence in people through her work. Clark's sculptures are definitely mythical. Her work will be shown at the Mobile Museum of Art from 04/30/10 until 07/11/10.

Claudia DeMonte: Eclectic Media Artist

2010-04-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

Claudia DeMonte began creating images that spoke volumes in the 1970's, which included pulp paper designs, clay figures, and paintings. She also works with bronze, fabric, and wood. Her works make a statement on how women are portrayed with sobriety and humor.

DeMonte is also a collector, lecturer, teacher, and curator. Her work and an assortment of hand painted dolls found in various countries will be on display from 04/30/10 to 07/11/10 at the Mobile Museum of Art.

Claudia DeMonte
Biography - DeMonte, Claudia (1947-): An article from: Contemporary Authors

Art Confiscated by Nazis Now Online

2010-04-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

In 1937 the Nazis confiscated 21,000 pieces of art that they declared debauched. Art historians connected to the Berlin's Free University have worked for eight years to compile a database that documents the outcome of that seizure.

The website is now online and explains the story of where each piece was robbed from and if they are still in existence, where the piece now resides, if the historians uncovered the present location. Some works were destroyed.

The Nazis removed artwork from public museums and private collections. Some of the artists represented are Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde, and Max Beckmann.

Website

Maya Deren-Filmmaker and Visionary

2010-04-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

Maya Deren (1917-1961) is thought of as the original unconventional filmmaker in the United States that became well-known. She was also a film theorist. Her work tied the science of depicting human culture with psychology, and literary ideas. Her work is conceptual and connects film with performance. During the 40's and 50's, she worked with cinema as art eschewing dramatic narrative and Hollywood concepts.

The Museum of Modern Art will present a film series of her work starting 05/14/10 and ending 10/04/10. The exhibition is called Maya Deren's Legacy: Women and Experimental Film. Filmmakers Hammer, Schneeman, and Friedrich will be interviewed by Sally Berger. They will comment on Deren's influence of their art.

Maya Deren: Experimental Films

Grace Kelly Wardrobe Shown

2010-04-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

Grace Kelly was one of the most stylish actresses of the 1950's and went on to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco continuing her elegance in a different role. She had a classic look that permeated her life on screen and off.

Some of the hallmark clothes from movies such as To Catch A Thief and Rear Window will be on display at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 4/17/10 to 9/26/10. The ensemble she wore when she met the Prince and the glamorous gown worn when she won an Oscar will also be exhibited.

High Society
Rear Window (Collector's Edition)
To Catch a Thief (The Centennial Collection)
Dial M for Murder

Women Photographers at Mobile Museum of Art

2010-04-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

A show of the work of women photographers with a Southern flavor will run from 04/30/10 until 07/18/10. This exhibition will highlight various photographic methods including pin-hole camera and digitally maneuvered works. The show features work from contemporary and past photographers such as Rollie McKenna and Eudora Welty. Yes, Welty is best known as a writer.

Rollie McKenna: A Life in Photography
Essential Welty CD: Why I Live at the P.O., A Memory, Powerhouse and Petrified Man
On Writing (Modern Library)

Storm Thorgerson's Album Cover Art Shown

2010-03-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

The album cover designs of Storm Thorgerson will be presented at the Idea Generation Gallery in London from April the second until May the second 2010. The exhibit is called Right But Wrong. It also includes written works, drawings, and sculpture. Some other musicians he has designed album covers for are Catherine Wheel, Peter Gabriel, The Cranberries, and Led Zeppelin.

Classic Album Covers of the 60s
Taken By Storm (Omnibus Press)
Album Cover Album

Infrequent Display of Maria Callas's Items

2010-03-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Maria Callas was the foremost opera singer to perform in the 20th century. A showing of her jewelry, costumes, and photographs will be displayed until April 23, 2010 at the Italian Cultural Institute/IIC in Los Angeles, CA. The Biography channel will present a showing of a documentary of this great artist.

The objects displayed include books, letters, and stage wardrobe. Many of the items were collected by Bruno Tosi;he is the President of the Associazione Maria Callas. The photographs are shown courtesy of the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy.

Maria Callas 100 Best Classics

Favourite Callas
Maria Callas: A Musical Biography (Amadeus)
Maria Callas: The Woman behind the Legend

Hollywood's Golden Age Glamour Photography

2010-03-19T05:42:00.000-07:00

An auction of the biggest classic collection of photographs of Hollywood's Golden Age stars will occur March 26-27, 2010; the auction will be conducted by Profiles in History. This is a collection owned by Michael H. Epstein and Scott E. Schwimer of the work of George Hurrell. It includes photos of Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Johnny Weissmuller, Gary Cooper, Veronica Lake, and other glamorous stars.

This auction also includes masterly prints by Herb Ritts, Jock Sturges, Cindy Sherman, and other well known photographers.

Graphic Artist Howard Cook

2010-03-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

Howard Cook is an artist that lived from 1901 to 1980. Cook was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and died in Santa Fe, New Mexico In 1919 he went to New York and attended The Art Students League on a scholarship. Three of his fellow students were Max Weber, Andrew Dasburg, and George Bridgman. While a student, he was employed at photo-engraving shops, painted billboards, and got some lithography work.

Cook started working as an illustrator in 1922 making woodcuts and drawings that Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, and other magazines used. He illustrated Willa Cather' s fiction work Death Comes for the Archbishop for the magazine Forum. He did a woodcuts series of the Grand Canyon in 1927.

When 1931 rolled around, he had been in “50 Prints of the Year” for the fourth time. He was known for his prints of the Southwest, when he received a fellowship awarded by John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1934. It allowed him to go the Southern states of the U.S. and create drawings for a year.

He was married to Barbara Latham, a fellow artist and they traveled together on this artistic journey. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama he drew people working making sorghum, pottery, and in other endeavors. He draw people in a fiddler's contest and during baptism. He drew folks in coal mines and making steel, while in Birmingham, Alabama. They also visited Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, and Texas.

He moved to Talpa, New Mexico in 1935 and 1937 brought him the biggest commission for a mural that a Taos artist ever received. During the decade of the '40s he painted watercolors; the subjects were mainly Southwest scenes. Cook was in the Navy during World War II; he was a artist-war correspondent in the South Pacific. In 1949 he was elected into the National Academy.

When the 1940's ended Cook had switched to oils and his style had changed to abstract; during this period he favored earth colors. His work had been in many exhibitions and he was a guest professor at various universities.

Howard Cook Works

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Updates on The Bedroom's Restoration Online

2010-03-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

Van Gogh's painting The Bedroom is being restored. Each step of its restoration will be posted at Bedroom Secrets . Every step in restoring a painting has never been shown online via a blog before. All Vincent Van Gogh aficionados will enjoy seeing this process.

The painting went through a complete analysis in 2009 and a record was logged concerning its condition. A scenario for its restoration was adopted from the results of the analysis carried out by scientists and personnel from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

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Where to Find Navy Art

2010-03-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

Navy art is a fascinating area of creativity in sculptures, paintings, sketches, and prints. It is one many times overlooked, but it deserves attention. To see more than 15, 000 works of art concerning the Navy go to: Navy Art. Navy personnel and ships are represented.

Renderings of scenes from every naval era of the United states navy is represented. Some of the modern periods are portrayed more than the other eras. The current exhibits are entitled “Women in Uniform” and “Fight, Let's Go: Works by McCelland Barclay.”

The art can be seen online. A list of the museums is available.

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Possible Incredible Find: New Leonardo da Vinci Painting

2010-01-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

A newly discovered painting by this master may exist; the painting in question is being scrutinized to confirm it is authentic by experts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This addition to Leonardo da Vinci's body of work would be equivalent to adding a new piece to Chaucer's writings. So far, this is an unconfirmed rumor.

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Ogden: The Permanent Collection

2009-12-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

For those intrigued by art created by southern artists, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art at the University of New Orleans holds artworks from the 18th to the 21st centuries by artists hailing from the south. These works include photographs, prints, sculpture, paintings, watercolors, design, ceramics, and crafts.

This collection was begun by Roger Ogden during the 1960's. It is now thought of as one of the most important collections of southern art.

Fantastic Handmade Jewelry

2009-12-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

If you like gorgeous handmade jewelry, you'll be delighted with Margaret Crow's creations. To see her wonderful display of imaginative jewelry go to:
dragonfly-eyes. The site is attractive and easy to navigate.

She makes lovely hummingbirds, necklaces, ear rings, bracelets, pendants, and rings. Her creations are made in various styles. Take a peek, you'll enjoy looking at her works of art in jewelry.

Exhibit About American Indians and Horses

2009-11-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

The exhibit A Song for the Horse Nation begins on 11/14/2009 and runs through 7/7/2011 at the George Gustav Heye Center located in New York. Some of the intriguing objects being shown are beaded bags, paintings, and hoof ornaments.

The exhibition makes use of various media like songs, photos, and audio-visual aids to enliven the presentation. It is the story of the American Indian and the horse brought to life through art.

Artists Quote Their Thoughts

2009-11-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

What these artist have said gives one pause to think. Enjoy contemplating their words. Of course, these are quotes from some of the artist that I like.

1. "For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh."--Georges Rouault.

2. "Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye...it also includes the inner pictures of the soul."--Edvard Munch

3. "Great art picks up where natures ends."--Marc Chagall

4. "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."-- Edgar Degas

5. "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."--Thomas Merton

Though not a visual artist, Merton was a writer and a monk. His parents were visual artists. Besides, I like his quote.

Medieval Sculpture, Minatures and Illuminated Manuscripts In New York

2009-10-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Sam Fogg and Richard L. Feigen & Co. have partnered in presenting an exhibition entitled "Medieval Art and the Contemporary Spirit." It includes works from the 12th- 16th-centuries. Some of the artist represented are Claus de Werve, Pietro da Pavia, and Girolamo da Milano. The exhibition goes from Oct. 29th 2009 until Feb. 5th, 2010.

Important Murals from Crusader Times Found

2009-10-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Two murals from the time of the Christian Crusades have been discovered in Syria in a Middle Age church. They show heaven and hell. These paintings are under renovation as centuries of dust and dirt covered them. Archaeologists of a Syrian-Hungarian team were excavating in 2008 at a Crusader fort on a hilltop near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The location is in the province of Tartous.

The two murals are 8 feet in height and 11.5 feet in width. They were located to the left and right of the alter. Hassan a spokesperson said that these murals are the only ones discovered in the Middle East that picture heaven and hell. Michel Makdi heads Syria's Directorate General of Antiquities and he said it was very unusual to discover paintings by crusaders. No photos of this find are available.

Art Walk Mobile, AL

2009-10-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

The LoDa ArtWalk, which stands for Lower Dauphin Street, happens every month year around, except April and October. The restaurants, bars, and art galleries get involved every second Friday. Musicians and dancers perform and artists show their works. Sometimes pottery is fired up at the Blind Mule,which also lets jewelry artists, painters, and photographers exhibit.

Arrive early to see the work in the galleries, which normally close the earliest. The music, art, and food are very enjoyable.

Mobile Museum of Art

2009-10-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

In 2002 the Mobile Museum of Art was enlarged to 95,000 sq. feet. and become the biggest art museum on the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to Tampa. It sits in lovely Langan Park. There are more than 8000 permanent works in the museum, which entail over two hundred years of culture in their expression. It also presents traveling exhibits and regional works.

This fall three traveling exhibits are gracing the Mobile Museum of Art: Jun Kaneko's ceramic sculptures, Francisco Goya: Los Caprichos, and GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry.

Bead Artisans: Soul of Somanya

2009-09-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Soul of Somanya project helps orphans of working age and young mothers in Ghana make a living by making jewelry and other beaded objects and selling them in the United States. They use their glass bead art form and western techniques taught to them by Melody MacDuffie of Mobile, Al. The organization is ran by volunteers. To find out more about this organization and the people it helps go to:
Soul of Somanya

Delta Art at Etsy

2009-09-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Deltachord now has her digital art at Etsy. Drop by and see her digital watercolors, oils, and drawings. She has landscapes, fantasy, and spacey work listed. Look for the shop called Delta Art. Search under sellers for Deltachord.

Delta Art

Medieval Women Artists

2009-09-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Many of the Middle Age artists were women. The identity of some of these medieval artists has been lost because women got married or changed their names when they became nuns. The nuns didn't normally sign the illuminated manuscripts they created; they had turned away from worldly praise. Some did sign their work, especially if she was an abbess.

Women of wealth got an education as nuns and were given task like illuminating manuscripts, if they had artistic talent. Their drawing pad was a wax tablet. The design may have been traced on vellum first. It was expensive to produce the illuminations for Bibles and Holy books, so anyone given this work was considered skilled and trustworthy.

Bishop Caesarius founded the first western convent in Arles in 512 A.D. He wanted the women to paint illuminated manuscripts, when they weren't reading the Bible, holding vigils, and praying. His sister,Caesaria, become the head of the nunnery.

Sometimes dealers would resign paintings using the name of a well known male artist, if the style was similar, thereby increasing the paintings value. According to Nancy G. Heller it was assumed by some people that a woman couldn't paint well, thus the painting would be attributed to a male art teacher or relative.

These are some of the women manuscript iluminators: Claricia (12th c.), Herrad of Landsberg (1125-1195), Ende (11th c), Gunda (12th c), Diemud (1057-1130), and Hildgard (12th c), Bourgot (14th c).

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Book about Hildegarde de Bingen

Women, Art, and Society

Eco-Artiists: Friends of the Earth

2009-09-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

An eco-artist is one that is concerned about the earth’s environment and may be dealing with ecological issues through his work. Some of these artists use recycled materials to create their art, others up-cycle materials by using them to create sculptures or other forms of art. This process of eco-art began in the 1960’s as a concept of working beyond the white cube, going out into nature and urban areas to create. It began as an experiment to take art away from traditional art centers to the streets. They took it out to the people in the form of “happenings.”

This movement in art was heavily influenced by Joseph Beuys a German artist that had a philosophy of a universal creative component to all of humanity. He participated in performance art and it was a natural platform for his idea that art could be a panacea for humanity. In the 1960’s in an effort to make his art more accessible to the general public rather than to only the rich he created multiples of his sculptures postcards, which were cheaper than unique pieces of art. He created such works as Lemon Light (1969) and Felt Suit (1970); they were multiples.

In 1962 he suggested the cleanup of the Elbe River located in Hamburg, Germany. In 1955 Herbert Bayer had built a grass mound at the Aspen Art Institute in Aspen. Colorado. These and other actions like them are called eco-ventions. There is a list of such artistic actions at http://www.greenmuseum.org/c/ecovention/sect8.html. They range in time from 1955 to 2002. It is a varied and interesting list.

The Documenta Kassel began in 1955 and starting in 1972 occurs every five years. It means the one hundred day museum. Until this particular exhibition the concept had been to select works because they were novel or had individualistic characteristic. The new concept picked a theme and the works had to depict the theme. Joseph Beuys planted an oak tree during the 1982 inauguration of this exhibition. Thus began the planting of 7000 oak trees. He planted several in various cities.

There is a list of eco-artists and some of their visual art and writings at http://userpages.umbc.edu/~sbradley/projects/rtr_HTBA/project/eco_artists.html This site tells about an eco-art project on recycled billboards in Los Angeles in 2008: http://eco-logicalart.org/.