The Art of Giving and the Giving of Art

Some years ago, I experienced what everyone dreads: the loss of my mother, to cancer. It was a horribly painful experience for my family, but it had its positive side: The most important things in life, love and family, were brought back into focus, drawing us together. My older sister and I, borderline workaholics, left our jobs in North Carolina in the dust to come to my mother's side in West Virginia. My sister-in-law devoted a great deal of her time to care for Mom's personal needs. My father, always a loving husband, provided 24-hour care for Mom that displayed the immense depth of his devotion. Our daily cares and travails were completely insignificant in the face of this situation. We were needed to take care of the person who gave us life, love and support, and who made us who we are.

One of the things my mother made me is an artist. I was incredibly fortunate not only to inherit the special gift for art that she had, but also to have her support and expertise to help me develop it. Anyone who knew my mom knew that she would always help whenever she could, and one of the things for which she was most sought after was her creativity. She contributed artistic flourishes to many a church or social organization's project, giving many hours of her time and talent for free or for the cost of materials only. She has produced beautiful sculpture and murals that have been seen by thousands of people and that will survive as a monument to her love of art and her generosity of spirit.

This has, of course, made a great impression on me. I feel as though she has passed along a wonderful gift to me, and I would love to make the kind of positive contributions to society that Mom has made. Even though she has passed on to her next adventure, she has given us her art by which we can remember her goodness and her lifelong practice of the art of giving.

We should never miss an opportunity to draw close to our loved ones, to reaffirm our dream of peace on Earth and love among all creatures. We practice the art of giving, not only of presents on birthdays and holidays, but also of our hopes and dreams to the next generation, of our charity and care to those less fortunate, and hopefully, we can fulfill our purpose on Earth by doing something to improve our world. Not everyone is an artist, but we all have some special gift to bestow, and the art of giving is the highest measure of humanity.

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Renaissance Artists to Know: Andrea del Castagno

My favorite artistic period is the Renaissance, which covers a broad span of both time and geography and has given us many transcendent works of art, as well as well-known Masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Rafael, Hans Holbein, Jan van Eyck, and Titian. But there were many notable painters, sculptors, and architects who may not be household names to those outside the art world.

One of these is Andrea del Castagno, who was born some time around 1419-1421 and worked during the early Renaissance. Originally named Andrea di Bartolo di Bargila, he was born in Castagna, a small village near Florence, and in typical Italian fashion, ended up with a name that identified him as being from that area. Except for a brief period in Venice about 1442, where he painted frescoes in the San Tarasio Chapel of the church of San Zaccaria, del Castagno worked in Florence, producing work for the church and for private clients such as the Medici and other rich families. Particularly noteworthy are his fresco entitled The Last Supper, at the top of this page, and his series of frescoes on the Passion of the Christ dating from 1445-to 1450 that were painted for the convent of Ste. Apollonia.

Del Castagno employs architectural features to display his skill in the nascent science of perspective, as can be seen in The Last Supper, above, which has a similar composition to that of the well-known fresco of the same name and subject by Leonardo da Vinci. Del Castagno's broad, solid figures and the emotional quality expressed both in the body posture and in the faces of his subjects seems to show the influence of the Florentine painters Giotto and Masaccio, and his later work shows an increasing influence of the sculptural works by Donatello. 

Some of this later work includes Famous Men and Women, a series of nine pieces for the Villa Carducci at Legnaia (c 1450, Ste. Apollonia, portrait of Dante Alghieri from this series pictured) and the fresco entitled Niccolo da Tolentino (1456, Florence Cathedral), an equestrian portrait of the military leader. It is a painting of a “statue” that does not actually exist, other than in the fresco, but was inspired by an actual equestrian statue of Gattamelata by Donatello. Andrea del Castagno died August 19, 1457, of the plague.

Credits: top image, The Last Supper, from Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrea_del_Castagno_001.jpg

portrait of Dante Alghieri from the Famous Men and Women series, from Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DanteFresco.jpg

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I Have Climbed on the Art of Claes Oldenburg, and He's Probably Okay with That

Swedish-American artist Claes Oldenburg is world-famous, with a long and acclaimed career than has already spanned over 60 years. His work has been featured in world-class museums such as the Whitney, the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery.

Although he has produced everything from soft sculpture to performance art, he is best-known for his whimsical large-scale public sculptures of commonplace items such as typewriter erasers, lipstick tubes, and rubber stamps. There is a giant clothespin near City Hall in Philadelphia that I used to pass frequently as a college student at Moore, and as an art student, I knew that was an Oldenburg. It was in my art history books, and hey, there it was, right there!

But there is another Claes Oldenburg piece in Philadelphia that was a little less notable and a little less public. On the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, there is another over-sized common object, a sculpture entitled Split Button, pictured at the top. One night, I clambered about on it, as it seemed to be designed for just such a thing. I suspect I have not been the only clamberer, but I will say that if I had known that was an actual Oldenburg, it might have given me pause at the time.

That said, Mr. Oldenburg clearly has a sense of humor, and I doubt he would mind. After all, I'm pretty sure he wants his work to be enjoyed, and it was fun, after all! 

This giant three-way plug in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is particularly awesome.

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Step-by-Step Painting: The Fantastic Mr. Fox's Felicity Fox, Part Two

Please refer to Part One (click here) for the first few steps of this painting, a portrait of Felicity Fox from the Wes Anderson film The Fantastic Mr. Fox. At this point, the background has been completed, and it is time to start work on the figure.

4. "Laying in" Color:

This is also referred to as "blocking in" color, or simply "blocking". The predominant color of each area, preferably in a mid-tone shade to which darker and lighter tones will be added, is painted onto each area. This basically blocks out each area's distinctive coloration for further development. Since acrylics dry very quickly, by the time you have a few areas blocked in, your first area should be dry and ready for further development, should you wish to work straight through.

5. Modelling:

Building up lights and darks to create a sense of three--dimensional form is referred to as "modelling" the figure. Note how the buildup of the paint in layers makes a three-dimensional effect, creating a sense of depth by using contrast to highlight the planes of the figure. At this point, colors must be more accurately mixed to create the desired tonal range and correct hues.

6. Refining the details:

The last few grace notes of the painting, from making sure the likeness is tweaked to perfection to fun stuff like adding highlights to the eyes to give them a sparkle. Note Felicity's brooch (click on any picture to view larger). The finishing touch is, of course, the artist's signature!

Thanks so much for coming along with me on this little journey of creating a fun painting like Felicity Fox's portrait. If you are in the Greensboro area, please feel free to come to the WesFest show on Saturday, September 12th!

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Step-by-Step Painting: The Fantastic Mr. Fox's Felicity Fox, Part One

Howdy, folks! My most recently finished project is a portrait of Felicity Fox, also known as Mrs. Fox from the wonderful animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Felicity's character is voiced by Meryl Streep. I painted this piece as my entry in a local art show at Geeksboro Coffeehouse Cinema, which is hosting "WesFest", featuring the films of director Wes Anderson and a gallery showing of artwork inspired by those films. As a portrait artist, I figured the obvious choice was a portrait, so here is Felicity, step by step:

1. The reference:

I found this cute still of Felicity, which was different from the typical shot of her on the posters or in the doorway, fussing at the boys. Her expression is so sweet and open, and it's a great, detailed head-and-shoulders composition, perfect for a portrait!

2. The sketch: 

I wasn't interested in a slavish reproduction of the still, so I eliminated the apple juice box and the background, concentrating on the figure. I sketch directly on the canvas with a pastel. I never use charcoal or black pastel unless I am actually working in black and white, because the pigment does get picked up and mixes in with the paint a bit. To cut down on this, I smudge the sketch with a paintbrush, but I also choose a color that coordinates with and unifies the work. In this case, the obvious choice was a foxy brown. 

3. The background: 

I always start with the background, as I work in acrylic, an opaque medium. That way I just add layers, and I don't have to worry about trying to paint around things, just over them. It can create a nice dimensional effect, as well. Since this is a fantasy subject, I chose to make the background colorful and playful. I laid in a gradation of pink, light green and medium green, and then went into those colors to spatter the pink with dark rose, the light green with the same medium green, and the medium green with a darker green. A lot of spatter got on Felicity, but all can be painted over, so no worries. Please join me for Part Two (click here) to see how it all turned out! 

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September is Coming Soon! Original Pen and Ink Illustration

I drew the above illustration for a calendar printed for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to give to blood donors. I did the entire calendar, from cover to cover, and I will be featuring different illustrations from it. The Director of the Blood Donor Center told me that it was one of their most popular incentives and that the entire print run of 500 was completely given away during that month! They saved a copy and put it in the hospital archives, and I was stunned and delighted by the honor.

This page is for September, and I tried to capture the spirit of the month by illustrating the traditions of back-to-school (with the books and the paper lunch bag on the right) and also the start of football season, both in schools and on the professional field. I drew this with crowquill pen and ink on smooth-surface bristol board. I hope you enjoy it!

Image my original work. Click to enlarge for detail!

More of my original art:http://www.allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-portrait-of-cheetah-wonder-womans.html

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How I Knit without Knowing How to Knit

Ever since my grandma taught me how to knit when I was a little kid, I have always enjoyed knitting. However, since my grandma lived about 3,000 miles away, she only ever taught me the one stitch, and despite having purchased several books on how to knit, I still haven't been able to figure out how to knit for real--I still just kinda do that same stitch, with the sole variation of the "pulled-out" rows (in picture, above), which is actually the SAME stitch--I just do it twice on each loop.

Not only do I not know any other stitches except for the one (and cast on and cast off, of course), I also don't know how to follow patterns or make complicated shapes--I basically just make flat things. They can be long, skinny flat things called scarves, or big wide flat things called afghans.

To avoid having my knitted items be terrifically boring, as an expanse of one stitch can certainly be, I have discovered the wonderful world of specialty yarns. I use special textured yarns, variegated-color yarns, and I even cut yarn into short sections and tie the ends together, letting them hang out for a "fringe" effect. And that's how I can knit without really knowing how!

Above is a scan of one of my knitted pieces. If you look closely, you can see it's all the same stitch, but the different yarns make it look way more interesting!

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