Happy Easter to all!

I watched the Miss Potter film this week. Twice. It's the story of the lovely, creative, and somewhat eccentric Beatrix Potter, who created of all the darling Peter Rabbit and friends books. I have to say after viewing the film, that Beatrix was one hell of a woman. I deeply adore her passion and commitment and have most definitely invited her to my dinner party in heaven... whenever I get there. (The list is getting longer every year, I am going to need a large table!)

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Flags for the 4th!

Flag Day, Fifth Avenue, July 4th, 1916, by Childe Hassam 

detail from Flags on the Waldorf, by Childe Hassam 

On this—our day of independence—let your flags fly! American impressionist Frederick Childe Hassam loved painting our American flag. He was born in 1859 in the Boston area—in Dorchester, MA., as a matter of fact. After World War I Hassam painted a series of roughly 30 Patriotic "American Flag" canvases. Here are a few of my favorites, and a few other artist's works as well.

 Flags on the Waldorf, by Childe Hassam


The Avenue in the Rain ,by Childe Hassam

Allies Day, May 1917, by Childe Hassam

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Below, something completely different by artist Jasper Johns.

Three Flags (1958) by Jasper Johns

Okay, this last painting is of French flags 

and was painted by Claude Monet, 

but since we were in the red, white and blue spirit...

Rue Montorguiel, Paris 1878 by Claude Monet

Click here to see to read more about this last painting.

Have in hands

Hands in classical portraiture hold more than mere objects. They can also hold secrets and reveal stories of place, time or social class. Hand gestures can have myriad meanings in religious art, or amorous meanings in later portrait art. The classic Napoleonic 'hand in waistcoat' pose in men's portraiture harkened back to classical times when it was considered bad manners to speak with an arm outside of one's toga. And once upon a time a woman's hand fan was an instrument of communication for her. Her freedom of speech was highly restricted otherwise, so this was very clever indeed. 

(click to see larger view) 

There was an entire slew of secret messages in fan language. For example, to fan slowly meant that the woman was saying I am married. No doubt this this was done somewhat surreptitiously, to a prospective paramour.  If a woman were to hold her hand on her left cheek it mean that she was saying no; to let the fan slide on her cheek, it meant I want you, and if she held the fan on her left ear it meant I want you to leave me alone.  

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The Golden Age of the Paunch

I have kissed the summer dawn

Sun Leaving III, 1971 - Jon Schueler (1916–1992) 

J'ai embrassé l'aube d'été. 

{ I have kissed the summer dawn. }

This luscious painting screams summer solstice to me. I can feel the heat radiating from those warm, yellow and gold ochre colors, with Turner-eque splashes of red. Mmm. Enjoy these long, languid, golden days of summer.

Art in the Barn, 2016

View to Hog Island  20 x 30"

Here is a sneak peek at the three oil paintings I have in the annual juried  Essex County Greenbelt's 'Art in the Barn' show, happening this weekend. I am honored to support our North Shore green space through this organization, and have been contributing my artwork to this show for the past 6 years. The ECG is "...the region’s most effective champion of land conservation, working to conserve the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic landscapes of Essex County, " so any art that you buy supports the beautiful ECGA open spaces of the North Shore, where we can all walk and play in. 

The group show is three days only—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 10–12. There will be loads of paintings, pottery, jewelry, and huge yard sculptures to peruse and purchase. And if that isn't all cool enough, there will be a wine and cheese reception Friday night with live music, beer and a taqueria truck. Hope you can make it!

Tous les Matins du Monde  5 x 7" 

Drifting Fog   6 x 9" 

Perusing through Persian books

I was researching Persian books for a book that I am designing for work and came upon these beautiful illuminated Persian book pages. I have no idea what the calligraphic script writings mean, but like the gloriously rich Irish illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells, these Persian books were most likely created to document and spread the word of their religion. Whatever their meaning, aesthetically they are simply breathtaking. Such detail! The calligraphy and decorative borders are lovely, but I especially love their intense color palettes.

Van Gogh's "almighty beautiful"...

Green Wheat Fields, Auvers

1890   

I'm extremely excited to see the Van Gogh and Nature show at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA. I'm an unabashed Vincent Van Gogh fan, and I've visited Arles and Saint Rémy, two of his favorite painting spots in Provence, and been lucky enough to experience that amazing Provençal light that he loved so much. The painting above is one of my favorites because I find those green and blue swirling colors in the field absolutely delicious. Its home is usually at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C, so I'm thrilled to be able to see it up close and in person. The show runs from June 14 to September 13.

 Of Arles, Van Gogh wrote:

“I find nature here is almighty beautiful.”

A Wheatfield with Cypresses

1889

This is another Van Gogh favorite of mine. 

This painting usually lives at the National Gallery in London.

Art in the Barn, 2015

Autumn Flush  10 x 10 

Here is a sneak peek at the two of the three oil paintings I have in the annual Essex County Greenbelt's juried 'Art in the Barn' show this weekend The group show is three days only—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 12–14. There will be loads of paintings, pottery, jewelry, and huge yard sculptures to peruse and purchase. And if that isn't all cool enough, there will be a wine and cheese reception Friday night with beer and taqueria trucks all weekend! The ECG is "...the region’s most effective champion of land conservation, working to conserve the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic landscapes of Essex County, " so any art that you buy supports the beautiful ECGA open spaces of the North Shore. Hope you can make it!

Hog Island, Ipswich  10 x 10 

Spring flowers for you

I'm just a little bit in love with Lulie Wallace's colorful, bounty of floral yumminess. She makes these simple floral vases burst with color, energy and happiness. At this point—at the tail end of a wicked New England winter—we're all craving color, or at least something growing and green. It's coming soon! Today is the first day of meteorological spring, so keep the faith people… spring is right around the corner, and with it will come real flowers.

The Rue Montorgueil in Paris

Claude Monet's The Rue Montorgueil in Paris 

Being somewhat of a Francophile, I couldn't possibly let Bastille Day pass without some sort of nod to their chosen day of liberté, égalité, fraternité (freedom, equality, brotherhood). Oui, Bastille Day. And what better way to do this than with a French flag painting. Ok, not just any old French flag painting—this masterpiece is by French impressionist Claude Monet.

The Rue Montorgueil was painted on June 30th, 1878 for a festival declared that year by the government celebrating "peace and work," and was intended to be a symbol of France’s recovery after the defeat of 1870. Viva la France! 

See more famous flag paintings 

by clicking here. (mostly American!)

Iridescence

Lately on Pinterest I've been studying details of classic portraits. For example take a close look at Nicolas de Largillière's Portrait of a Woman painted in 1749. I don't know about you but I get goosebumps looking at this kind of painting detail! The story starts with a single shiny dropped pearl. See the turquoise and green in there? So well painted. And think about it, they probably didn't have plastic pearls made in China back in the 1700's—these were no doubt the real deal. 

Then zoom out a bit more... to see two more round pearls flanking the dropped one. Look closely at the shiny and bulbous cluster of pearls, the amazingly rich golden ribbon and beaded criss-crossed brocade on iridescent, creamy silver cloth, and the intricate, filagree lace. Isn't it all stunning?

 Zoom out a bit more… mmm, now you see more of that beautiful fabric, and a hint of cinnabar colored silk fabric down on the lower right, which is reflected in the woman's lustrous dress.

Zoom out a bit more… and you'll see the incredible tiny waist on this woman, her bodice wrapped so tightly across it she can probably hardly breathe! You see more of that cinnabar colored silk fabric that makes me swoon with envy, and more giant pearls here and there along with other details. 

Zoom out more... and you'll see Largillière's final full-sized painting. The woman's face seems so plain and conservative compared to her opulent dress. How old do you think she is? She has kept her figure for sure, but the powdered gray wigs they wore in those days throw me off trying to guess her age. Since you started backwards viewing the details of this painting, revealing more and more glorious bits long the way, you know that this visual journey all started with one… shiny… white... pearl.

Art in the Barn, 2014

Halibut Point path  30 x 30

Here is a sneak peek at the 13 paintings I've submitted to the 25th annual Essex County Greenbelt's juried 'Art in the Barn' show this weekend—including 3 large paintings and 10 small, unframed paintings. The group show is three days only—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 12–15. There will be loads of paintings, pottery, jewelry, and sculpture to peruse and purchase. There will be a wine and cheese reception Friday night with food stands and live music! The ECG is "...the region’s most effective champion of land conservation, working to conserve the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic landscapes of Essex County, " so any art that you buy supports the beautiful ECGA open spaces of the North Shore. Hope you can make it!

Gloucester Marsh with Egret  6 x 12 

detail  from Gloucester Marsh

Manchester Marsh  6 x 9  

Smaller works

Impressionists on the water

Water, water everywhere… to quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I finally saw the Impressions on the Water show at the Peabody Essex Museum last week. The small but stellar exhibit features impressionist paintings from throughout France that have water elements in them—lakes, rivers, inland waterways, or the sea—by renowned artists such as Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Signac and Caillebotte, as well as etching and model ships.

Of course I was utterly mesmerized by every Monet painting in the show, and in order to see every brush stroke I studied each of his paintings up close—as close as the museum guards would let me stand to them! It's always nice to learn from the masters and one cannot see those details in images from a book or on the web. The colors and brushstrokes in the painting below were sublime! One of my favorite paintings is the one you see above, the glorious yellow and orange colored “Saint-Tropez, the Red Buoy,” painted by Paul Signac.

One element of the exhibit that was particularly interesting to me was a recreation of Claude Monet's floating boat studio—complete with paint box, easel, a magnificent scenic view, and a series of computer generated paintings that were being created before my very eyes. Cool concept, and well executed. There are also beautiful boat models that were designed by Caillebotte. Boston Globe writer Sebastian Smee wrote an excellent article about the show—and really, all of his art reviews are excellent—and he raved about these boat models. You can read his article by clicking here.

So although the show wasn't huge, to me it was still worth the visit. Aren't we lucky to have these beautiful exhibits at such an esteemed, local museum? This is in our own back yard! "Impressions" runs to February 17, 2014 so you only have a few more weeks to see it. Anchors aweigh!

A magical menagerie

Hamilton artist Juliana Boyd has an exhibit at the Hamilton Library, showcasing her amazingly intricate, two-dimensional textile works of art. 

In a former life Juliana was an apparel designer, but more recently this Irish lass has gone to the wild side! She uses a combination of appliqué (using upholstery fabric) and a centuries-old process of needle felting (using un-spun wool in myriad hues) to create wool “paintings” of  all manner of happy critters—both domestic and wild. The artist has felted a magical fauna menagerie of foxes, field mice, hedgehogs, birds, backyard bunnies, and my person favorite... chipmunks! And there's flora too—several beautiful flowers! In one example of a spectacular blue colored morning glory, you clearly see the skill of Juliana's craft with all the lovely shading gradations she achieves by felting. 

The artist also takes on commissions, in case you've ever considered timelessly immortalizing your family pet. The animals are usually perched in regal wing back chairs, or on fluffy, tufted cushions. In the show there's a darling little terrier perched on a blue and white toile covered chair! The show runs to February 1, so don't miss it. (the show has been extended until the end of February!), You won't believe these works are made of wool and fabric, and you'll leave feeling warm and—sorry, can't resist—fuzzy! And when you go, make sure to look closely at the eyes... they really twinkle with life. 

I admire Juliana's skill, her love of nature, and her imagination — which was inspired at a young age by stories of Growler and Renard, a wolf and a fox respectively, that her father told to her and her siblings. Read more about Juliana and her enchanting artwork by clicking here!

Charmingly worded 

in her press release, Juliana writes:

In these quiet January days it might be nice to

re-visit the woolly world of Growler and Renard 

at the Hamilton Wenham Library. The woodland 

creatures have taken up residence among the 

bookstacks, and flowers are peeking out 

to remind us of spring days ahead.