Oil Paintings, Art and Wall Decor Blog

About various artists

Can Art Ever Be More Complete - Mark Rothko

I wanted to share with you this amazing video of Mark Rothko, narrated by Simon Schama, part of “The Power of Art” BBC show, depicting Schama’s impression of Mark Rothko’s Secret paintings at the Tate Modern Museum:

It’s a wonderful tribute to such an influential artist. Rothko’s passionate yet simple creations transcend above the canvas and transport us to a place that only art can take us…

I love how Simon Schama remarks upon viewing the Rothko’s:

Can anything be less cool then this room in the heart of Tate Modern?
Further away from the razzle dazzle of contemporary art, and the Frantic hustle of now?

This isn’t about now, this is about forever. This is a place where you come to sit in the low lights and feel the ions rolling by to be taken towards the gates that open upon the threshold of eternity, to feel the poignancy of our comings and our goings, our entrances and our exists, our births and our deaths, womb tomb and everything in between.

Can Art ever be more complete, more powerful? I don’t think so…

O’Keeffe - More than Flowers

Georgia Totto O’Keeffe, like most artists, had a life that was to say at the very least interesting.

Georgia O’Keeffe was a poor Midwest farm girl who became the first woman allowed to have one-woman art shows by major museums. When creating her works she liked to undress, get down on her knees and sketch onto sheets of paper that lay on the floor. She would then hang her work around the room to evaluate each one. Georgia tore up every page because she thought the work mimicked other artists. At a young age she would start over and over again hoping to find her own style of imagery

O’Keeffe worked as a commercial artist for 2 years helping her family through her father’s failed business before entering summer art classes where she excelled with natural talent. When she moved to Amarillo, Texas she became a drawing teacher for another 2 years wearing black tailored outfits and her hair pulled tightly back behind her. The townies found her odd from her clothes and the long walks she would take alone.

From Texas she moved to Columbia, South Carolina instructing art at a teachers college. Still struggling to find her personal style in abstract shapes O’Keeffe mailed these drawings to her friend Anita Pollitzer who showed them to Alfred Stieglitz. Stieglitz exhibited 10 of these drawings in his gallery without O’Keeffe’s permission who confronted him and demanded that the exhibition be closed. The event would not be shut down and the viewing public was shocked over her sexually charged forms. Georgia would forever deny intentionally creating the sexually charged visuals that people saw in her work.

Georgia, young enough to be Stieglitz’s daughter, became involved while he was still married to his wife. They married after his divorce became final and were together until his death. In addition to being together they would also see other people. Stieglitz would sleep around with other women and O’Keeffe would sleep around with both men and women. On one or more occasion Georgia and Alfred were lovers to the same woman.

Georgia found sexual comfort with same sex and mixed couples. One of her crushes was on Margery Latimer and Blanche Matthias. Matthias continuously asked Stieglitz to introduce O’Keeffe to his wife. The couples became great friends hanging out at all night parties.

Spite O’Keeffe’s extra curricular activities she wished to settle down in peace and quiet, not fond of traveling, art exhibitions or dealing with selling her art. She shunned the spotlight unlike other artists, but she did like that other people admired her work.

O’Keeffe would settle in New Mexico calling her home Ghost Ranch and enjoy the view of nature. O’Keeffe would continue to win many awards and show in galleries through the yeas that followed, but started to loose her eye site starting at age 84. This would not slow her creative speed however. She continued to work with the help of an assistant, Juan Hamilton, painting and working in clay.

Georgia received the Medal of Freedom from President Ford in 1977 and the National Medal of Arts from President Reagan in 1985. O’Keeffe died at age 98 leaving most of her estate to her assistant Juan causing a legal suit from her family. Hamilton eventually turned over more than 2/3 of his inheritance to the museums and institutions in her original will.

Salvador Dali on “What’s My Line?”

This ten minute clip is drawn from the famous 1950s game show, “What’s My Line?”

It’s so cool to see this beloved artist try and explain with yes and no answers what exactly does he do…

How would you describe Salvador Dali? An artist first and foremost, but also a performer, writer, designer, animator, architect, creator… a prolific artist that to this day touches us all.

I envy his genius and audacity in a time where “strange” was such a cruel word. We must encourage the Dali’s and Picasso’s of the world, without them progress would be boring…

Picasso’s Seven Lovers and Muse

Fernande, Eva, Olga, Marie-Therese, Dora, Francoise, Jacqueline. These were the women who shaped the life and art of Pablo Picasso.

Fernande Olivier was Picasso’s first love. Her presence showed a significant change in his female nude art. He was a jealous lover and often kept Fernande locked up when he went out alone.

Picasso left Fernande nine years later for another woman Eva Gouel. The affair with Eva, however, did not last long and shortly after their break up she died from tuberculosis. Eva was the first lover to never get over Picasso living in sadness until her death.

Olga Koklova was a Russian ballet dancer who became Picasso’s first wife. Her Russian bourgeois social connections changed Picasso’s life and social work. She gave birth to his son, Paulo and his life with Olga became very demanding. It was after this time that he lost his interest and their marriage fell apart. Picasso’s style became aggressive using colors that expressed his anxiety over Olga who was showing signs of madness. Picasso soon left Olga and she suffered a nervous breakdown with the ending of their marriage. She would stalk him and his mistresses in the following years hoping to regain his interest.

After Olga there was Marie-Therese Walter who played both lover and model for Picasso. It was Therese who gave birth to Picasso’s first daughter, Maya, but never became his wife, though she wanted to be. It would be several years later that Therese would be found with a rope around her neck in the garage of her home, an apparent suicide.

Dora Maar was next with the reputation of a successful photographer and the supposed reason for Picasso taking leave from Marie Therese. Dora became Picasso’s lover for seven years witnessing the step by step creation of the Guernica. Picasso’s use of his lovers in his art is unquestionable, therefore, it isn’t surprising to find Dora Maar’s features in this brilliant masterpiece.

Usually portrayed as a weeping woman by Picasso Dora suffered mental health problems after their break up and is considered the tragic muse of Picasso.

Francoise Gilot was another tragic lover of Picasso. They met when she was only 23 and Picasso was in his mid 60’s, Francoise thought she was entering a world of exciting possibilities in her personal life and artistic career. They stayed together for ten years where she put up with his posturing and unfaithfulness. Francoise had a son and a daughter with Picasso, and after he left her, she appeared to be the only woman to move forward with her life and forget him.

Picasso met his final muse, Jacqueline Roque, while cheating on Francoise. She lived with him becoming not only his lover and muse, but secretary as well. She dedicated herself to Picasso and his work for 20 years until his death in 1973. After he died Jacqueline shot herself, another tragic end to a muse from Picasso’s list.

Diego Rivera - Artist, Womanizer, Canibal

Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1886; his twin brother died a little over a year old and Rivera fell sick. On the advice of a doctor, the boy was sent to the mountains with his nanny, later boasting that she was the first of his many conquests. He established himself as a talented artist first drawing at age three. His father, wishing to spare the house walls decorated a room covered in paper for the child to paint on. Rivera would later say these were his first murals.

Rivera enrolled in an art school years later. He claimed that while a student, he and some friends decided to try cannibalism having heard that it would make them healthy and strong. The boys supposedly bought and ate cadavers making them strong and healthy. At that time Rivera started having affairs with women many years his senior. How these two subjects related in his mind are beyond me.

Though exenterated these stories are part of the legend Rivera built around himself. And it is true that, though he was an unattractive man with a frog-like face, he had considerable success with women throughout his life. Who needs looks when you have talent?

A large man of huge appetites, eating and drinking, he also indulged his craving for womanizing. In Spain he began living with Russian painter Angelina Beloff and had a son who died as a child. When Rivera left for Mexico he told Beloff he would send for her, but never did. Instead he moved to Paris and met another Russian, Marevna Vorobieva, who bore him a daughter. In addition to his womanizing ways he was also known for his volatile temper engaging in many fights with those who ridiculed his work when cubism came under attack. Unable to sell his art, he returned to Mexico, broke in 1921 their he met a special lady named Frida Kahlo.

Kandinsky: Synesthesis of Colors and Sounds

Synesthesis is an ancient Greek term meaning “with sensation.” It is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory. An example of this is when a person can hear blue or taste a square. It is this cross wiring in the brain that makes the sound of a trumpet look blue or the shape of a square taste sour for a synaesthete.

It is thought that as many as 1 in 23 people, more women then men, have some version of Synesthesis. Including the Russian born artist Wassily Kandinsky. In his case, colors and paint strokes created sounds or musical notes and vise versa. Kandinsky is credited with making some of the first truly abstract paintings, but the paintings were more than just visual creations. He wanted to evoke sound through sight and create the equivalent of a symphony that would stimulate not just the eyes but the ears as well.

There are other artists, poets, writers, and musicians who have been known or thought to have had Synesthesis. Van Gogh and Rockmoninoff just to list a couple.

Who else might have this condition and what greatness might they accomplish next?

Van Gogh’s The Harvest

Van Gogh’s famous oil painting, “The Harvest” was created in 1888. Inspired by an earlier drawing of the same name, this painting was finished in one sitting. Van Gogh was so pleased with his work that he gave it the French title “La Moisson”. It was quite rare giving his painting a title. Most of Van Gogh’s works were given titles by dealers, critics and art historians. “The Harvest” was also one of the first panoramas created by Van Gogh as he was unable to attempt such a view before. Why? Previously, living in Holland, he found the flat landscape to be uninspiring unlike this new agricultural French countryside with all its activities.

Leonardo Da Vinci - A True Renaissance Man

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the epitome of the Italian Renaissance Man. His interests were as varied as his art. He had a profound impact on almost every field of study both as a scientist and as an artist.

As of recently, the “Da Vinci code” and other literary works that followed have increased admiration for Leonardo’s work especially as a scientist and inventor. Nevertheless, his glory rests on his great achievements as an oil painter. Specifically, due to a handful of art works that are considered to be among the most popular art masterpieces ever created.

The Da Vinci masterpieces are famous for a variety of reasons. From the subjects to the mystery that surround the oil paintings. The paintings have been researched and discussed by connoisseurs and critics since their conception.

The attributes that make Leonardo Da Vinci’s work so unique are:

• His will to innovate - using various techniques for layering onto the paint.
• His thorough knowledge of the human body.
• His insightful work in optics and light fixtures.
• His profound interest in Geology and other life sciences.
• His keen intellect and will to learn about human nature, including human behavior and responsiveness.

All of these rare qualities have somehow come together in the form of one man during the dawn of forward thought – 16th Century Renaissance. His ability to incorporate all of his passion and interests onto a bare canvas, have made us all view his art on many different levels. Leonardo’s work is interesting and profound, dazzling our interest for centuries.

It takes a simple glimpse in paintings such as, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper to understand the genius that is Leonardo Da Vinci.

These two oil paintings, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are not only the most famous and most recreated oil paintings of all times, but they are also a source of numerous conspiracy theories. People have speculated and analyzed these two paintings for hundreds of years and the truth will probably forever remain tucked away somewhere under that Mona Lisa smile.

The Hope of Gustav Klimt

Hope II is an oil painting by Gustav Klimt painted in 1907-08, gold, and platinum. The painting is part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Klimt used golds in his paintings and his rich ornamental style is one of a kind. Look at the way he’s painted the garment worn by the main figure, how it’s an abstracted shape decorated with circles yet we still perceive it as a cloak or dress.

Klimt, “applied real gold and silver leaf in order to heighten still further the impression that the painting is a precious object” said Frank Whitford in his illustrated biography of Gustav Klimt.

Klimt, a native of Vienna, Austria drew his inspiration from Eastern cultures, from Byzantine art, Mycenean metalwork, Japanese screens and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Klimt is one of the rising stars of recent years, some of his paintings, like the famous Kiss, have become a household name throughout the world.

Van Gogh’s Self Portraits

Van Gogh gave us his soul, his sanity and most notably his ear… He has always symbolized to me the inequities of life as an artist in a world where people expect you to put food on the table before expressing your passion.

In his lifetime, he painted fiercely, despite the cold gestures of the world around him, he kept creating and today his art can only be enjoyed in the finest museums.

The following is a short video depicting the many self portraits of Van Gogh, try and look into the eyes of this amazing master and may be you can find the passion to ignite your life.