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This is what I have to show for my first week of painting:
Flannery O’ Connor
I used the little sketch mentioned in a previous post to start from, but all the reference photos were about 3 inches tall and in black and white. The canvas is 24 x 36 inches. I think I am going to do a little bit more on Monday, but I am going to enter it in the Pensacola Museum of Art’s members’ exhibit which must be done by Sunday night. If accepted, it will hang for 6 weeks beginning in August.
Please, if you have any constructive criticism, let me know.
“Green Lullaby Cradle”
This cute, flame-retardant, cardboard cradle is sold on Rose and Radish for 107$ plus shipping. I wonder if one couldn’t make it at home? Maybe there is a tutorial out there somewhere on the internet.
“Thorsten van Elten China Dog Mug”
Also on sale at Rose and Radish for 17$. I tried this at the local pottery painting studio (which cost about 15$). I love the idea.
This is a post about one of the best things I have stumbled upon in my life.
While in Atlanta, my brother and I visited the High Museum of Art. They have a big show right now on loan from the Louvre. We wanted to check it out. As we walk into the lobby, a video screen displaying a familiar painting catches my eye. My heartbeat accelerated as I read about the exhibit currently on view:
Cecilia Beaux, American Figure Painter
Through September 9, 2007
Cecilia Beaux, American Figure Painter illuminates Beaux’s work by exploring issues of gender, class and the importance of place in relation to Beaux’s identity and reputation as the leading female artist working in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibition features approximately 85 works, including oils, works on paper and decorative objects.
After opening at the High Museum, the exhibition will travel to the Tacoma Art Museum (September 29, 2007–January 6, 2008) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (February 2–April 13, 2008), the institution with which Cecilia Beaux was most closely linked in her lifetime.
I cannot wait to see this collection. However, we were there to see the Louvre show, and that was where we began. We rushed disappointedly through the Louvre. There were a few good paintings (Valesquez) and small sculptures, but the decorative pieces were not interesting. So we finish up and go into the High’s modern art gallery. There were some fun things in there, like the 20+ foot portrait of a man, and some glass works. Next we come to the Leibovitz photography exhibit. You actually go through the Annie Leibovitz galleries to get to the enterance of the Beaux show. The Leibovitz photos were fascinating. I recognized many of them from my many previous years of study in Vogue magazine.
Then I arrived at Beaux’s exhibit:
Infancy
This is the first painting I saw. Infancy was finished when Beaux was 29 or 30. This painting won some awards and secured her position as a great portrait painter. You know what I am thinking; I am 28. This information is more encouraging to me than when I read about John Singer Sargent who was taking home top awards and big commisions at age 21. Cecilia Beaux is constantly being compared to Sargent. They even shared some of the same clients. Sargent is far more prolific and overall a better painter, but in my opinion Cecilia Beaux in some paintings surpasses Sargents color work and sensitivity.
Man with a Cat (Henry Sturgis Drinker)
Sita and Sarita
Self portrait
Dorothea and Francesca
If you are interested in portrait painting, turn-of-the-century culture, or great women in history, do not miss this exhibit (it will be travelling to Tacoma and Philidelphia). I hope to go back to Atlanta this summer to visit again. A Beaux retrospective collection of this size (85 pieces) will not be put together again for decades. I also encourage you to buy the catalogue, it has fantastic reproductions of the paintings, and four articles about Beaux’s life and work.
I must say thanks to my mom and dad who made sure I could go to the museum and who babysat the boys at the park.
“Arrangement in Grey” by Mark Nelson.
While in Houston, I stopped by 2 places that had caught my interest, Texas Art Supply and the Jack Meier Gallery. I enjoyed the selection at Texas Art Supply, but they did not have Ritmo charcoal pencils which I love for their velvety smooth touch.
The Jack Meier Gallery is near Rice Village in Houston. The gallery displayed paintings ranging in styles from abstract to photo-realism. It is a tidy gallery in a good location not far from the museum district. I was dissappointed that some paintings were not clearly labelled. On display were about 30 pieces, so I was in and out of the gallery in a matter of 15 minutes. I was hoping to see more.
“Junkshed” by Michael Dixon
Our travels are done for now.
Vacation Bible School play has ended. Jonathan was again the King in the play, only this time he was the king of Persia with no mustache. (Miles still talks about the mustachioed King of Hearts.)
Our trip which began in Houston and continued in Atlanta went well. We were able to see family in both towns.
This week begins my summer of painting. I will be getting my summer studio set up in a room at Trinitas Christian School tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Miles, Henry and I are spending some time in Houston to help out with backdrops for the upcoming Vacation Bible School at ChristChurch Baptist Fellowship. Miles likes to call ChristChurch, “Papa’s church,” since his grandfather is the pastor. The VBS play is about the life of Esther which requires a set in ancient Persian style. My favorite place to find reference material is Flickr.
What’s not to love about this fantastic wallpaper by Ferm?
