Art with text

Just admire how incredibly detailed this is. It's a page from the artistically renowned illuminated manuscript "The Book of Kells". Imagery and writing merge together into a seemless whole. And I'm pretty sure it would still be that way even if I could read the language written in the book.

Second Artist that inspires me

For the second artist that inspires me, I'll do someone more contemporary: Agostino Arrivebene. I found out about this guy in Juxtapoz magazine. I could stare at his work for hours in pure wonder, and that's not even at the original painting. Technically he employs classical italian techniques with his own subtle mannerisms--he mixes his own colors and makes his own medium. You can tell. Additionally, content wise he does this reall surrealistic figurative work rich with allegory. I've attached a picture of one of his painting's below.

Two Artists that Inspire me (number one)

First on the list  [of artists that inspire me] is...(drum roll)... Renoir! That is, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (yeah that's a bit of a mouthful...or keyboard full)  if just the surname isn't enough for identification (which I know it is). The reason he makes it on this list is his forward-thinking and, if I do say so myself, beautiful use of color. He picked up on hues in the human skin that had traditional-slanted critiques spitting on his face (figuratively) and the more open-minded viewers gasping in awe (this is not necessarily figurative). I mean, sure, the colors may be a little exaggerated, but then why is there such thing as hyperbole in writing? Exaggeration has a way of enhancing somethings reality. And besides, exaggerated or not, it's a scientific fact that their are thousands of different colors in skin tone. Not just one. Even the old masters-- whose use of color is comparably less, well, colorful than Renoirs'-- knew it.Well, maybe some of them were just jumping on the bandwagon of toned-down and even simplified color, but some of them knew.  In Leonardo Da Vinci's notes he makes note (as is expected seeing as it's his notes) that different surfaces pick up different hues -- for instance, shadows on a white surface are predominantly blue. Now doesn't this sound like something Renoir would say?

Ryan De La Hoz

Another post prompted by Juxtapoz, the artist in question being Ryan De La Hoz (I "discovered" him through an article in the magazine). What strikes me about his work is, beneath the surface, the depth of intelligent meaning. Every aspect of the work is a symbol. His art is very grounded in the culture of today, and yet at the same time timeless. For example, with tie-dye, De La Hoz says "while it is now considered kitschy by some, it was once emblematic of a movement that defied corporate culture among many other things. I am interested in the way motifs change meaning over time as they are reappropriated."

Painting portraiture

As I'm focusing on portraiture in my open studio, I found the above artwork a helpful reference on technique. I admire the color the artist uses for values. Also, I find the expression the subject makes intriguing -- it pulls you in. Composition ally this painting can be admired as well. Overall, in small ways and big ways this painting acts as reference.

Abstract Oil

The original color scheme is what initially caught my eye in this oil painting. Things aren't distorted into a striking enough -- but well overused -- balanced rainbow of bold colors. If anything, the rich, brown earthy tones on the right half of the canvas seems to defy such cater-to-the audience aesthetics. Contrasted on the lefts side is a sky-like mish-mash of light blue and white -- it may seem to go with the whole fake-y aesthetic thing I was talking about, but in truth, it's contrast with the other half the canvas only further emphasizes the overall originality. It should also be noted that technicality wise, this painting is one to admire  -- the various shades and hues are picked, mixed, placed and layered with sharp precision.

Fresco

Just recently, I have "discovered" the existence of fresco painting. It's as if this whole time my subconscious has been repeating to me "There's four types of paint mediums: watercolor, oil, and acrylics, and that tempura stuff. There are no other paint mediums." So it's literally mind blowing to suddenly find out there are other paint mediums. Fresco painting, in  a nutshell, is painting on wet plaster. When the plaster drys, a chemical reaction takes place such as with pottery in the kiln, causing the color pigments to become richer and brighter. It's a really ancient technique, found in artwork all over the world. In Europe, it was a predominant paint medium for much of the middle ages (it and tempura) , though it was largely usurped by oil paints. This particular fresco painting is Indian in origin, and I can really appreciate it artistically -- from the sharp, accurate shapes, big bold colors to the meticulous detail. Added to this sense of appreciation is the rapid drying nature of fresco, meaning the artist has to be highly skilled in order to achieve such accuracy, complex coloring and detail.