Thursday, May 22, 2014

Studying Anahata Katkin

Kim's Journal

I finished Kim's pages and have sent them on to Priti Lisa.
Kim's artist is Anahata Katkin, whose work I love!

Anahata's paintings feature flowers and sometimes birds and other animals. . .
many beautiful faces. . . and flowing lines and pretty text. 
Since I love images like this, it was so much fun trying to work in her style.




Kim included some amazing cut-out hands for us to sign in with.
Here are the front and back of mine.




The back side of my two "Pink" ladies:

(I wish I could follow this advice, but I need to work on the faith aspect.

I tend toward a Murphy's Law philosophy... more like ~
“Leap, and then wonder what the H-E-double-toothpicks were you thinking”!)



The first four artists who work on each journal collaborate
on the front cover. The last four collaborate on the back cover.
I can't believe we are now half done, but I was the fourth one
to work on Kim's front cover. It already had such awesome art
on it and looked to me to be finished! So I added some swirly
designs ala Anahata in spots where I could!


Anahata's designs are much more graceful than mine, but it was
fun and calming to draw these, kind of like doing Zentangles :-)




Have a wonderful and safe weekend!
Happy (3-day) Memorial Day weekend, if you live in the US!

Signature

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Going to Class!

Studying Henri Matisse


After starting our journal collaboration where we've all chosen
artists for our individual journals, I've rediscovered how rewarding 
it is to learn more about great artists of the past.
Jeanne Oliver's class, "Studying Under the Masters"
came at just the right time!

Henri Matisse "The Lute"
“The whole arrangement of my picture is expressive,” said Matisse. 
“The place occupied by the figures or objects, the empty spaces around them, 
the proportions, everything plays a part.”


Not sure what to do with these little studies . . .
they're around 4 x 6 inches. Cut up for collage?
Postcards? Journal pages? Save in an "inspiration" folder?


Henri Matisse "Seated Odalisque"
Matisse's patterns are almost overwhelming, 
but everything works beautifully together!




Flowing palm-shaped leaves show up often in Matisse's paintings.

Henri Matisse "La Musique"



Henri Matisse "Still Life with Blue Tablecloth"


Since I discovered the paintings that were the inspiration for
these quick watercolor studies, I've come across so many more
of his patterns that I'd love to try painting.

Henri Matisse "Decorative Figure Against an Ornamental Background"

Henri Matisse "Odalisque with Yellow Persian Robe and Anemones"
Awesome!
The blue tablecloth in the painting is based on a textile which is also on display – a nineteenth-century French printed cotton and linen fabric Matisse apparently adored and called (incorrectly) his ‘toile de Jouy’.  The actual fabric consists of a delft blue pattern against a white background, but in the painting, the white is transformed into aqua, enriching the overall harmony. These imaginative transformations of subject matter prove that Matisse was not a realist, but rather an inventor of harmonies that have a tangible yet oblique relationship to reality.  Matisse uses the pattern the way he uses color, to extend his representation of the subject, whether it is still life, figure or interior.  - See more at: http://www.artcritical.com/2005/08/01/matisse-the-fabric-of-dreams-his-art-and-his-textiles/#sthash.uMi3IrLr.dpuf
The blue tablecloth in the painting is based on a textile which is also on display – a nineteenth-century French printed cotton and linen fabric Matisse apparently adored and called (incorrectly) his ‘toile de Jouy’.  The actual fabric consists of a delft blue pattern against a white background, but in the painting, the white is transformed into aqua, enriching the overall harmony. These imaginative transformations of subject matter prove that Matisse was not a realist, but rather an inventor of harmonies that have a tangible yet oblique relationship to reality.  Matisse uses the pattern the way he uses color, to extend his representation of the subject, whether it is still life, figure or interior.  - See more at: http://www.artcritical.com/2005/08/01/matisse-the-fabric-of-dreams-his-art-and-his-textiles/#sthash.uMi3IrLr.dpuf
The blue tablecloth in the painting is based on a textile which is also on display – a nineteenth-century French printed cotton and linen fabric Matisse apparently adored and called (incorrectly) his ‘toile de Jouy’.  The actual fabric consists of a delft blue pattern against a white background, but in the painting, the white is transformed into aqua, enriching the overall harmony. These imaginative transformations of subject matter prove that Matisse was not a realist, but rather an inventor of harmonies that have a tangible yet oblique relationship to reality.  Matisse uses the pattern the way he uses color, to extend his representation of the subject, whether it is still life, figure or interior.  - See more at: http://www.artcritical.com/2005/08/01/matisse-the-fabric-of-dreams-his-art-and-his-textiles/#sthash.uMi3IrLr.dpuf

Signature

Monday, May 5, 2014

Magical Journal Journeys / Month 2


Stephanie's chosen artist for her journal is Marc Chagall.
I had so much fun studying his work. He had some kind of wild mind,
and I couldn't begin to mimic his style!

So I just incorporated some of his imagery, of which there is plenty
that appear over and over in his work.

Brides and grooms. Horses. Birds. Music. Flying. Villages.
 His native village of Vitebsk appears in so many of his paintings.

As does his wife Bella. “Her silence is mine, her eyes mine.
It is as if she knows everything about my childhood,
my present, my future, as if she can see right through me.”
(from his book, My Life)


Stephanie's pages are shaped like houses!

I ended up making my pages 2-page spreads so
I sewed them together with red thread.


The cover is a collaboration among the first four artists.
My part is the flying horse with an umbrella.
I have no idea how a horse holds an umbrella.
Maybe duct tape!




Chagall was referred to as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century"
(though Chagall saw his work as 'not the dream of one people but of all humanity').
An early modernist, he was associated with several major artistic styles
and created works in virtually every artistic medium, including
painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets,
ceramic, tapestries and fine art prints. (wikipedia)


Marc Chagall died in 1985, at nearly 98 years old.
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Sunday, May 4, 2014

The challenge is eye glasses

Spectacles

The challenge at Inspiration Avenue this week is  
Eyeglasses
I altered a piece I did a few years ago for a self portrait challenge.
I did have glasses on, but not these cool round ones.
So, after the addition of new eyes, a new nose and new mouth,
it's definitely not me anymore, but it does fit the Glasses challenge :-) 

 Head over to Inspiration Avenue to check the other entries.
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