A L L A N I N N M A N

2011-06-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

I just painted for a whole 10 minutes on my lunch break....that's about all the painting that I've had time for as of late. Oh well I guess every little bit counts.

2011-06-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

I had a painting win a purchase award at the Greenville Arts Council! I'm humbled and flattered! It'll be in the permanent collection at E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center. The painting is going to a good home.

Crayons
oil on canvas, mounted to panel
2011

Atari painting

2011-06-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

The world has been conspiring against me to not get any painting done! If I'm lucky I have about two hours to paint at night from 8:30-10:30pm. But lately, we've had so many numerous projects going on, I've been just totally wiped out. But I have had time to work on one painting in particular. The blogger Pacalin was gracious enough to send me some Atari gear to paint. So I've been working on an Atari painting. It looks much different from what I'm used to doing. But I like that! Hopefully I'll have it finished up here in about a week or two. I might even try and make prints of it.

Ready for Take Off

2011-06-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

This was a painting I did back in 2010. My friend Michael let me borrow a ton of Star Wars figures. He had the figure and ship...so I set it down on the carpet in the living room in front of the door and got a good shot of it with the light coming in. The geeks will be quick to notice that I put a B-Wing pilot in the cockpit of a Y-Wing fighter....haha. Ooops. Maybe they were running a skeleton crew that day and somebody had to cover somebody else's shift.

2011-06-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

I am commandeering this blog. Haven't posted in over a year. I used to post just Art history related stuff. I'll still do that somewhat. Now I want to focus more on my art. I hope that's cool?

many moons

2011-06-01T09:46:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted on here in forever! Should I use this blog for my artwork?

Another Day, Another Dollar (100 million of them)

2010-05-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

I'm glad to know in the midst of an economic depression, there are still people out there willing to drop a tenth of a billion dollars on some Picasso painting. “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust," a painting from 1932, recently set yet another record–$106.5 million to be exact. Chump change you say!!?? The painting had been holed up for decades. Never even been reproduced in color in any publication. I'm surpised that's the case, but then again Picasso was pretty prolific, there are bound to be many of his pieces that manage to slip between the cracks.

The New York Times had a pretty drab outlook on the whole auction too. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/arts/06cotter.html?src=mv

Fairly funny read. They're kinda bored with the whole overly-inflated market.

lazy bones

2010-05-04T06:27:00.001-07:00

I've been very bad about posting lately. Nothing will kill a blog quicker than not posting. But, I'm not exactly Clement Greenberg here, so there aren't people beating down the digital door eagerly waiting a new blog post...heheh. Now that I'm finished (for the time being) or atleast caught up on all my artistic endeavors maybe I can resume blahging...more to come!

Walk Like an Egyptian

2010-02-17T07:26:00.001-08:00

CNN posted an interesting article about a recent scientific discovery regarding famous mummy King Tut. Scientists now think that King Tut, who ruled during the 18th Dynasty, from 1336 B.C. to 1327 B.C., died of malaria and complications from a leg fracture. He was only 17-19 years old. I guess it also didn't help matters that he was apparently inbred from generations of keeping it in the fam. He suffered from a grocery list of possible health complications...And he married his sister!!! EWWWW.

excerpt from AP article:

"When researchers scanned Tut's mummy, they found he not only had severe kyphoscoliosis, or curvature of the spine, but also suffered from a toe malformation known as oligodactyly. The condition made his left foot swell, and it would have caused excruciating pain when he walked."

... "In his tomb, we also found 100 walking sticks. Originally we thought they represented power. But they were ancient crutches that he obviously used. He could barely stand."

Above is a picture of what King Tut would've looked like based on a recreation sponsored by National Geographic. Considering King Tut was inbred he looks fairly normal considering he could've come out looking like the boy banjo player from Deliverance!

Arnolfini Wedding, Perspective Lines

2010-02-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

Arnolfini Wedding is such an amazing painting. It still evokes curiosity and debate from scholars with regards of how it was painted and the symbolism portrayed. It's a shame however, that it suffers from some perspective flaws. Still, it adds to the character of the painting. Afterall, Jan van Eyck was one of the first people to start painting in oil. I made this visual to show some of the perspective lines since I couldn't find a good hi-res version on the internet. Enjoy!!

Jan van Eyck
Arnolfini Wedding (Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife)
Oil on oak panel of 3 vertical boards
32.4 in × 23.6 in
1434
National Gallery, London

Self-Portraits by Pablo Picasso

2010-02-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a neat little montage I created of Self-Portraits by Picasso throughout the years. It's interesting to note his versatility as an artist of Realism and Abstraction!

Detail of globe, The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein The Younger

2010-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Ambassadors
Hans Holbein The Younger
Oil and tempera on panel
National Gallery, London, U.K.
1533

Real Life Van Gogh

2010-02-02T12:45:00.001-08:00

Is this what Van Gogh really would've looked like? If it is...then I'm a little freaked out!!! His face has been burned onto my brain! He looks a little too intense for my liking.

Anywho, I found this image on some random blog. They based the image on one of his most famous self-portraits...aptly tited Self-Portrait. Unfortunately, no photos exist of Van Gogh after his teens, so nobody really knows what he looked like as a man.

Kids these days...

2010-01-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I've been painting alot of toys lately. They are so fun and revitalizing. There's something about toys, unlike any other objects, that captivate people. The toy paintings evoke memories and emotions. I want to make people feel good about what I paint....So in my daily cruising around on the intranets I found this amazing William Merrit Chase toy painting on an art history blog website of some girls playing with a ring toss! I'd never seen the painting before.

It's really interesting to note what kept kids entertained in the 1800s...and then what it takes to keep a kid entertained in the 2000s!! To the later; quite a bit! Kids now have playstations, and ipods, and youtube, and amazing interactive, sound making, light emitting doodads. My little nephew has amassed probably the equivalent of half a toysrus store worth of toys. Even I had quite a bit of fun things to play with growing up. But think about all those poor souls who lived before the 20th century who had all but a circle with a stick to play with...

William Merritt Chase
Ring Toss
1896
Oil on canvas
40 3/8 x 35 1/8 in. (102.6 x 89.2 cm).
Collection of Marie and Hugh Halff

Explosion in a shingle factory!! Nude Descending a Staircase, No. II (hi-res)

2010-01-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

Marcel Duchamp
Nude Descending a Staircase, No. II
oil on canvas
1912
57 7/8 x 35 1/2 in
Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Last Supper freshly painted.

2009-12-10T06:16:00.000-08:00

Using a computer program, a group of Italian scientists/specialists recreated what the Last Supper possibly looked like back when it was painted in 1495-1497. They based the new image on master copies created by many artists through the years before The Last Supper was too far gone. And also on sketches of the Last Supper by da Vinci himself. There is question as to what exactly Christ's feet looked like considering, well, there's a big door cut into them! Oh the Humanity!

Soon after The Last Supper was created, it started spoiling almost immediately because of da Vinci's experimental medium he used. (When attempting a huge commission it's best not to re-invent the wheel!)

It looks nothing like I had expected. Its...so...clean....and perfect. I guess being overly-saturated with the deteriorated view for so long, its hard to think of a flawless Last Supper.

Part of the appeal of The Last Supper is the mystery surrounding its creation. Knowing very little about it coupled with the deterioration, leaves people always questioning, always thinking.

Mastercopies by Renaissance artists
Last Supper image copyright of leonardo3.net

Is this a long-lost Michelangelo sculpture?

2009-12-09T05:59:00.000-08:00

I just recently read an article in the latest edition of ARTnews about a piece of sculpture being a long-lost sculpture by Michelangelo. The sculpture in question is titled "Little Archer" and has been tucked away in a French embassy unnoticed and unappreciated for years. He's missing his arms and lower legs. But from what's left, some critics seriously think Michelangelo sculpted this...and to up the ante a little more, some think he carved it at the age of 15! I was drawing crude pictures of Led Zeppelin on school desks with colored pencils at age 15...geez...makes me feel under accomplished.

But anyway, there are qualities about it that resemble his other work like the twisting motion of movement and the style of the hair seem to point at Michelangelo. While others completely reject this notion. After some crafty googling I came across a funny article about how this sculpture doesn't pass the "Testicle test." I'll spare you the details but in a nutshell, the sculpture is lacking in it's anatomical accuracy apparently.

The plot thickens and the mystery deepens.

Who knows if it really is or isn't.

Here is a high-res picture just for kicks. Enjoy!

Jeanne-Claude, June 13, 1935 – November 18, 2009

2009-12-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Jeanne-Claude died, aged 74, on November 18, 2009, from complications of a brain aneurysm. Tis sad. I wonder how Christo will carry on. Jeanne-Claude very much seemed to run the show. Every interview I've ever seen with them, Jeanne-Claude does all the talking and even cuts off Christo to finish his sentences...

Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany (Hi-Res)

2009-11-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hannah Höch
Schnitt mit dem Küchenmesser Dada durch die letzte Weimarer Bierbauchkulturepoche Deutschlands
(Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany)
1919-20
photomontage and collage with watercolor
44 7/8 x 35 7/16 in
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie

Little Orphan Annie Liebovitz

2009-09-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

CNN posted a story about Annie Liebovitz. Apparently she's about to lose custody of her entire life's photographic work, real estate, and assets because of mounting debt of upwards of $24 freakin MILLION dollars if she doesn't pay back a loan! Geez. How in the world, as an artist, does she have that much debt? What is she buying? Is she using gold leaf as toilet paper? I could produce work for the rest of my life for just $1 mil....easy...which is a steal. Where do I sign up?

As a famous artist (photographer) you are supposed to be MAKING money. I could understand if she is a no-name, struggling artist who has a little bit of debt. But her case is entirely different. Liebovitz is famous for photographing everyone from The Rolling Stones to John Lennon to the controversial preggers Demi Moore and lately the awkward tweeny-bopper Miley Cyrus scantily clad...ew.

She better get busy making some prints or something.

The Last Supper Perspective

2009-08-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

If you liked this, support my blog!! I made this just for you ;)

The Death of Sardanapalus, (hi-res)

2009-08-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Eugene Delacroix
The Death of Sardanapalus
oil on canvas
395 x 496 cm
Musée du Louvre, paris

Da Vinci, The Last Supper, (after restoration) Hi-Res

2009-08-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Leonardo Da Vinci
The Last Supper
oil and tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic
181 in × 346 in
1495–1498
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

American Gothic, Hi-Res

2009-08-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Grant Wood
American Gothic
oil on beaverboard
29¼ in × 24½ in
Chicago Art Institute

From Russia with Love

2009-08-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

I think it's sad that I had to hear about this story on perezhilton.com... nevertheless! A deranged Russian woman threw a ceramic mug at the Mona Lisa a few days ago. Add this to the list of assassination attempts against poor Mona. The woman was apparently bitter about being denied French citizenship. She's really not going to get it now. Oh well, as the French say: "C'est la vie!" But fear not, being prolly the most important painting in the world, it was deflected by bullet-proof glass. They don't just keep that painting out in open air anymore.

There have been various examples of people trying to damage the picture (from wikipedia);

In 1911 The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. Vincenzo Peruggia stole it by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed. Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed Leonardo's painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum. Peruggia may have also been motivated by a friend who sold copies of the painting, which would skyrocket in value after the theft of the original. After having kept the painting in his apartment for two years, Peruggia grew impatient and was finally caught when he attempted to sell it to the directors of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence; it was exhibited all over Italy and returned to the Louvre in 1913. Peruggia was hailed for his patriotism in Italy and only served a few months in jail for the crime.

During World War II, the painting was again removed from the Louvre and taken safely, first to Château d'Amboise, then to the Loc-Dieu Abbey and finally to the Ingres Museum in Montauban.

In 1956, the lower part of the painting was severely damaged when a vandal doused the painting with acid.

On December 30 of that same year a young Bolivian damaged the painting by throwing a rock at it. This resulted in the loss of a speck of pigment near the left elbow, which was later painted over.

In April 1974, a handicapped woman sprayed red paint at the painting while it was on display at the Tokyo National Museum.

King of Pop or King Tut?

2009-08-10T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yes another Michael Jackson post, but this one is just too good to resist!

This egyptian sculpture has been around for awhile...but the funny thing about it is how people started noticing the uncanny resemblance to Jacko! I mean look at the nose, eyes, pale skin, hair, chin. If this isn't Michael Jackson, I don't know what is... Right down to the botched nose job. I expect it to burst out into Billie Jean at any second.

This egyptian sculpture is located in the Field Museum and is called Statue of a Woman.

Statue of a Woman
Egyptian, New Kingdom
ca. 1550 B.C.-1070 B.C.
Limestone
The Field Museum, Chicago

Warhol's Michael Jackson painting up for auction

2009-08-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

Even though it's been quite awhile since Jacko died, he is still plastered all over the news! All the tabloids and gossip channels love the baggage and the drama...and then comes the art scene. Back in 1984 Andy Warhol did a silkscreen painting of Michael Jackson. Well, that is coming up for sale now. It is to be auctioned in New York and is expected to fetch around $10,000,000. But prolly even more considering the resurgence of memorabilia prices because of his death. So there's no telling how much it will fetch.

Flying Saucers in Classic Artwork (pt. 1)

2009-07-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

"The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John" aka "MADONNA COL BAMBINO E SAN GIOVANNINO" is a pretty typical Renaissance painting. Everything looks normal and expected - all except for the UFO hovering in the background! weird. The addition of this unknown flying object has mystified people for years. Conspiracy Theorists and Ufologists go cuckoo for this painting I'm sure. And this UFO can't be downgraded or passed off for a weather balloon! BURN!

But what does this flying object have to do with the subject of the painting? What is the connection? Is it a "heavenly body" or is it the mysterious flying object quoted in the book of Ezekiel? If it is a host of angels, are they holed up in that flying metal object? Some people think that it's connected to the Nativity Star to the left or the Announcement to the Shepherds from the Nativity story. Or it could just be the Millenium Falcon or ET's ride...Nobody knows. Its color, shape, lights, light rays, position in the sky all seem to hint to a real deal flying saucer. The spottings and popularity of UFOs only really picked up in the mid-50s. But did these Renaissance men and women also see them as well?

p.s. Is it about to abduct that poor soul in the background? That dog also looks like it has taken notice. Look at it howling. hehe

Here is more background information:

MADONNA COL BAMBINO E SAN GIOVANNINO
(Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John)
Attributed to Sebastiano Mainardi or Jacopo del Sellaio
Firenze, Palazzo Vecchio Museum, Sala d'Ercole
photos copyright of Diego Cuoghi, 2003
http://www.sprezzatura.it/Arte/Arte_UFO_5_eng.htm

Dinner is Served!! (Menu by Michelangelo)

2009-07-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

While Michelangelo was quarrying marble in Pietrasanta he jotted down these three menus for three different kinds of meals on the back of a letter that had been sent to him on March 18, 1518 by Bernardo Nicolini. Never the one to waste paper, Michelangelo took it upon himself to scrawl out a pictorial menu. Waste not, Want not, eh? Looks like fish, bread, and wine is on the menu.

Michelangelo Buonarroti
Three Different Lists of Foods
pen and ink on paper
1518
Casa Buonarroti, Florence, Italy
8 3/8 x 5 3/4 in

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Self-Portrait, drawing

2009-07-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Self-Portrait
graphite on paper
1835
Musée du Louvre
11 3/4 x 8 5/8 in

For educational purposes only

Hi-Res, Vincent Van Gogh Self-Portraits, Paintings, Chart Diagram

2009-07-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Van Gogh produced many Self-Portraits (some disputed and some attributed) during his short life. Here is a visual chart that I made of his many painted Self-Portraits in chronological order. There are many I have never seen before and then there are of course the most famous ones. (Some of these are merely "attributed" to him, so in all possibility, they could even be by someone else!)

Done with thumbnails from http://www.vggallery.com/painting/main_se.htm

Enjoy!

Boy Picking His Nose

2009-07-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a lesser known work of Andy Warhols.
Ewwwww....Is he picking his nose with his entire hand??

Andy Warhol
Boy Picking His Nose
graphite on paper
11 x 8 1/2 in
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh

Not a Leg to Stand On? (Computer model of "The David")

2009-06-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

An article featured in Discover Magazine recently showcased how The David by Michelangelo is exhibiting signs of stress in his lower legs based on computer models. The areas in red suggest areas of high stress. "It suggests that the four centuries David spent leaning forward in an earlier mounting contributed to the cracks evident in both legs." At some point in the future scientists think The David probably will fail.

I would hate to be under that thing when the legs give. That thing is massive!

photo credit: M. Freytag, V. Tsukov/Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison;
Geometric Data courtesy of Digital Michelangelo project.

Ancient Beekeeping, "The Beekeepers" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

2009-06-25T08:01:00.001-07:00

Lately I have discovered my new past time (besides art) and it is: beekeeping! Surprising, yes, I know. For some reason I have taken an immense interest in bees. They are fascinating little critters.

So I was flipping through a book on Pieter Bruegel the Elder and found an interesting drawing by him of ancient beekeeping during the mid 1500s. The drawing shows some guys in big thick robes carrying baskets. I have no idea what sort of masks they are wearing. It looks very bizarre! I imagine it's some sort of net. Some guy is also shimmying up the tree (ready to catch a swarm?) I'm not familiar with the process or equipment from antiquity, but I'm sure it's basically the same. All you really need is a container, and the bees do the rest!

Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The Beekeepers
pen and brown ink on paper
8 x 12 1/8 in
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany

Goya's Colossus Demoted!

2009-06-17T13:03:00.001-07:00

The painting attributed to Goya for so many years, The Colossus, has been demoted recently by the Prado Museum. It is now considered not a Goya painting! After studying the painting for years, experts think his apprentice Asensio Juliá painted the painting sometime between 1808 and 1812. For one obvious reason: his initials are painted on the painting! "AJ" is written in the lower left-hand corner. I don't know how something like that slips by curators and musesums but it did. The painting is also a little sloppier than Goya's style and it lacks a defined source of light. Both of which, go against Goya's style. I guess they'll be re-writing the art history books.

see for yourself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colossus

Did da Vinci paint Mona Lisa nude?

2009-06-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Did da Vinci paint Mona Lisa nude? A painting has recently surfaced after being hid away for years that reveals a very Mona Lisa-esque painting of a nude woman. After being passed down through history by Napoleon's kinfolk the painting was discovered in the wall of a private library. The painting has similar characteristics of Mona Lisa - similar hand position, background, technique, and she's even sandwhiched between two columns...

The painting was attributed to da Vinci as recently as 1845 but many experts say that the painting is probably not by da Vinci. But it could be master copy of an original nude Mona Lisa. "There are at least six nude versions which are very close to da Vinci's hand. All are attributed to the da Vinci school. The most likely scenario is that his followers got inspired by a now-lost original," says expert Alessandro Vezzosi.

Here's the link to the original story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31320879/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Abraham Lincoln by Mathew Brady

2009-05-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

Mathew Brady
Abraham Lincoln
Daugerreotype
The National Archives, D.C.

Lumière Brothers, Example of early color photography

2009-05-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Lumière Brothers
Young Lady with an Umbrella
Autochrome
Fondation Nationale de la Photographie, Lyons, France

Lewis Hine, Breaker Boys

2009-05-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite photographs:

Lewis Hine
Breaker Boys, Noon hour in the Ewen Breaker, Pennsylvania Coal Co. Location: South Pittston, Pennsylvania
January 1911
The Library of Congress

Poster Child (or Poster Children?) for Child Labor Laws and Black Lung

It's a nice little find on the Library of Congress website.

Head Rest for Sitters in Long Exposure

2009-05-30T08:18:00.001-07:00

This is a handy little device, a head rest, used back in the olden times during photo sessions. Exposure times were often very long so they needed to keep the head still during exposure to prevent blurriness.

Portable Outfit used for outdoor photography in the 1850s

2009-05-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Portable Outfit used for outdoor photography in the 1850s. The backpack includes darkroom tent, camera, tripod, picture taking and process materials.

He's got baggage...photographic baggage.

Edward's Darkroom Tent

2009-05-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

I bet this guy would be envious of digital cameras...heheh

Niepce's Heliography experiments

2009-05-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Comparison between the original engraving and the heliography of Joseph Nicephore Niepce.

The Wet Plate Collodion Process

2009-05-28T06:16:00.001-07:00

Holmes Stereoscope

2009-05-27T14:36:00.001-07:00

This is a Holmes Stereoscope used for viewing images in 3D. Like a primitive Viewmaster.

Camera Obscura

2009-05-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

Camera Obscura

2009-05-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

A Camera Obscura. The image formed by the lens (B) and reflected by the mirror (M) on the ground glass (N) is traced. From A. Ganot, Traité élémentaire de physique (Paris: 1855)

Wollaston's Camera Lucida

2009-05-26T14:44:00.001-07:00

Illustration from 1807

Large Portable Camera Obscura

2009-05-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

This is a Large Portable Camera Obscura. (I would hate to have to haul that thing around!)
It's an etching from 1646 by Athanasius Kircher.

Camera Obscura Image

2009-05-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

The first published illustration of a camera obscura observing a solar eclipse in January 1544. More camera obscura images to come!

Andrew Wyeth has died at the age of 91

2009-01-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

I saw today where Andrew Wyeth died Thursday night in his sleep. He was 91. How sad.

I really enjoyed Wyeth's work. I think the general public found it very easy to relate to him and his work. It was very un-pretentious and humble. His scenes depicted a nostalgic view of simple rural/living. He was an amazingly versatile artist capable of working in many different mediums–one of which was tempera. Tempera is very challenging, but he makes it look like a breeze.

Wyeth is probably most famous for his work "Christina's World" depicting a melancholic handicapped girl crawling in a field. I had the privilege of seeing that work this past summer. It was amazing!

Click on the images for a high-res image of Christina's World.

Puddle of Pollock

2008-12-11T06:40:00.001-08:00

So I bought some stuff off of Threadless last night. Threadless is a place for hip, fun hipster/emo shirts and such. They have some really funny like pun-oriented shirts. Breezing through I found a Pollock shirt. I liked it. But I couldn't ever pull off a style like that. There's also a parody of "The Scream" but instead it has this stinking emo kid screaming. I'm kind of tired of emo kids, and also The Scream parodies.

By the way they are having their annual Christmas sale. Shirts are $5, $10, and $15 dollars. If you use this promotional code you can get $3 off. It's: holiday08

Mississippi Arts Commission Grant

2008-12-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

I recently found out that I got a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission! I am so stoked. I can really use this money right now, especially with the economy being down in the dumps. Buying hundreds of dollars in art supplies to create art that may or may not sell is a risky endeavour. Don't worry MS taxpayers, your money will be well spent!

Any artists living in Mississippi should consider applying to the various grants offered through the state. Here is their site:
http://www.arts.state.ms.us/grants/for-individuals.php

Keith Haring Balloon Attack!

2008-11-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

(photo by Thomas Churchwell)

Happy Thanksgiving! I was following my annual routine of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while getting ready for Thanksgiving festivities, when I caught a glimpse of the Keith Haring Balloon. I thought it was pretty cool. Haring was an illustrator around the eighties. I was never a real big fan of Haring's work, but then again i was in diapers when he was popular. His work is everywhere in clip art and such.

Well, anyway, the Today show crew were doing their spiel when out of nowhere the Keith balloon attacked Meredith Viera! They were sitting high up on a platform and I guess Keith got a little too close for comfort and Viera let out a little yelp! Al Rocker busted out laughing. It was funny. No casualties reported

Da Vinci, The Last Supper, detail, Hi-Res

2008-11-25T12:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few detail shots from The Last Supper...well, just because!

Glennray Tutor "Early Sides"

2008-11-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

Photorealist, Glennray Tutor has a show up at Southside Gallery in Oxford, MS. It's a really interesting show being that it's almost like a mini-retrospective! The show is called "Early Sides" and it showcases some of his work from the Graduate School era. He experimented in Surrealism and Abstraction and then it shows his emergence into Photorealism. It's shocking to view this batch of early work and recent work because they are on different ends of the spectrum! Before I walked in to the gallery I thought it was two different artists' work.

No doubt this show is amazing...I left feeling inspired. Here are more pics from the show:
http://flickr.com/photos/25692014@N03/sets/72157609061056467/

Additive Primary Colors Diagram (Color Theory), Chart

2008-11-13T08:01:00.001-08:00

Here is a diagram of Additive Primary Colors that I made. Click image for a hi-res image!
If you liked this diagram, think about visiting some of the sponsor sites to the right...:)

Subtractive Primary Colors Diagram (Color Theory), Chart

2008-11-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a diagram of Subtractive Colors. Feel free to download to your heart's content!

Hi-res, Printable Color Wheel

2008-11-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

I was looking around on the intranets for a hi-res colorwheel. Could not find one. So, needless to say, I made my own! Feel free to download as an educational source. If you need more, I have more here:
Links to other color theory diagrams:
http://innman.blogspot.com/2008/11/hi-res-printable-color-wheel-additive.html
http://innman.blogspot.com/2008/11/hi-res-printable-color-wheel_13.html

Please support this blog!

Enjoy!

Da Vinci in B-ham

2008-11-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Me and some guys took a day trip to Birmingham to see the Da Vinci show last week. I had never been to the Birmingham Museum and was pleasantly surprised! It was a very nice museum. They had a nice permanent collection.

The show had about 10 or 11 Da Vinci drawings and the Codex on bird flight. These drawing have never left Italy before. So, it's pretty surprising that B-ham of all places got to exhibit them. All the drawings were very teeny tiny. They gave us magnifying glasses to look at them. The Study for the Angel from Virgin of the Rocks was beautiful! It was soooo little. The Study for the Angel was done in metalpoint, which is even more impressive being that you can't make any mistakes! You have one shot with it.

I would tell everyone to go see the show but I think it came down yesterday!

Here are some pics from the trip
http://flickr.com/photos/25692014@N03/sets/72157608738008367/

Chip off the Old Block!

2008-05-22T11:31:00.001-07:00

Two vandals recently chipped off a piece of rock from the Stonehenge monument. Armed with a hammer and a screwdriver, vandals removed a piece about as big as a large coin by cover of night. They also left a 2.5 inch scratch on one of the megaliths. Any further desecration was foiled by security guards.

It is believed they could've been in search of a souvenir! They could have been tourists. Most people go on vacation and come back with a "I Love New York" shirt or a fake Rolex - but these guys come away with their very own piece of Stonehenge! What a shame...

Pronunciation of Artists' Names

2008-05-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

There are alot of artists' names out there that get butchered/mispronounced all the time! I was guilty of this sin too. I'm no linguist or anything but with a little crafty googling I found the answers to my pronunciation queries.

So here is a helpful list of the culprits, courtesy of www.inogolo.com and www.forvo.com
enjoy!

Artists' names and their correct pronunciations!

Jean-Auguste Ingres - pronounced: "Zhahn-oh-gust" "Ayng"

Jacques-Louis David - pronounced: "Zhahk-loo-ee" "Dah-veed"

Hyacinthe Rigaud - pronounced: "Yeah-sahnt" "Ree-goo"

Nicolas Poussin - pronounced: "Nee-ko-lah" "Poo-sah"

Georges Seurat - pronounced: "Shore-hes" "Soower-ah"

Giovanni Tiepolo - pronounced: "Jah-van-ee" "Tee-poh-low"

Paul Klee - prounounced: "Pow-ull" "Klay"

Käthe Kollwitz - pronounced: "Kay-tah" "Kohl-vitz"

Berthe Morisot - pronounced: "Bayer-tah" "Mo-ree-zoh"

Gustave Caillebotte - pronounced: "Goo-stahf" "Kai-buh-t"

Gustave Courbet - pronounced: "Goo-stahf" "Cohr-bay"

Titian - pronounced: "Tih-shuhn"

Wayne Thiebauld - pronounced: "Tee-boh"

and saving the best for last!...

Amedeo Modigliani - pronounced: "Ah-may-day-o" "Mo-deel-yah-nee"

Where Id's At!

2008-05-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Lucian Freud has been named the most expensive living artist after his painting of Sue Tilley recently sold for $33.6 million at auction! (I wonder how much that translates into an hour? 50,000 an hour? 100,000 an hour?) Freud is movin’ on up. His last painting sold for a mere 19 mil.

The painting titled Benefits Supervisor Sleeping is lifesize and was painted in 1995. “Big Sue” posed for Freud in the early 90s for four long years, two or three days a week! It’s a beautiful painting and all, but who would want a painting of a naked, morbidly obese woman hanging over his mantle? (Hey, Different strokes for different folks.)

At this point, it seems that Lucian Freuds have become like Ferraris for the rich. It’s quite a status symbol to own one.

Lucian is the grandson of the psychoanalyser himself, Sigmund Freud. Lucian is known for his fleshy technique of capturing skin using globby brushstrokes. His ability to capture the “meatiness” of the flesh is brilliant and genius.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm stuffed. I was watching the Macy's parade on tv and saw a bizarre site...Jeff Koons created a Macy's balloon after one of his sculptures! The Shiny Rabbit had its place next to Snoopy and Santa Clause. Atleast it was a relatively tame sculpture and not his kitschy porn from the 90s.

Support your local starving artist!

2007-11-07T06:44:00.001-08:00

Everyone should come out to Meek Hall Gallery 130 this Friday, Nov. 9 for our annual Christmas auction. I will have 4 paintings up on the auction block (that sounds so professional like I'm selling them at Sotheby's or something!) There will be artwork by students, faculty, and alumni featuring pottery, paintings, prints, sculptures, drawings, etc, etc. A guaranteed fun time will be experienced by all. So come on down and bring your fat stacks!

Holiday Art Auction
Meek Hall, Gallery 130
Preview: 9:00 am (all day)
Silent Auction: 5:30–6:30 pm
Live Auction: 7 pm
Friday, November 9

Whiff of Warhol

2007-11-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

A New York Company will be releasing an Andy Warhol perfume called "The Silver Factory."...Odd, I wonder what it will smell like? Probably, musk of dirty hippies and leftover Campbell's soup. Anyone who's seen Factory Girl with Sienna Miller and Guy Pierce will know of Andy's indulgent and bizarre lifestyle in his studio called "The Factory" (which I guess the perfume is named after.)

I think it's funny that Andy Warhol is probably the only artist that would work for this. Could you imagine a perfume after any other artist...
Musk of Man Ray by Calvin Klein anybody?

Heads Up

2007-11-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

Flying baby angel heads attack! I saw this photo on flickr.com. Just wondering why Bernini stuck some wings on a couple of dismembered heads and called them angels? Anybody know?

Dumpster Diving

2007-10-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

A person recently threw away 1,000,000 dollars on the streets of New York City - in the form of a 1970s Rufino Tamayo painting! The painting "Tres Personajes" was stolen in 1987 and just now reappeared. A woman walking around the streets of NYC saw the painting in a pile of junk. She quickly plucked it out of the rubbish. But this was four years ago. I guess it took her four years ago to realize she was sitting on a gold mine!

The painting originally belonged to a Houston couple before it was stolen. The painting will be returned to the original owner and sold at Sotheby's.

One man's trash is another man's treasure! I keep on telling myself that my habit of dumpster diving will eventually pay off. Probably not in the form of a million dollar masterpiece though...

Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

2007-10-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

Venezuelan bully Hugo Chavez recently thought it would be a good idea to erect a sculpture honoring Che Guevara in Caracas, Venezuela. Yeah, that's all fine and dandy except the sculpture was made of glass! If there's anything that an old proverb will teach you is that those who live in glass houses and or next to glass sculptures shouldn't throw stones....or should they? As you guessed it the inevitable happened. The sculpture was destroyed by vandals within two weeks! Che Guevara is a pretty controversial fella I guess even in his old stomping ground...

tramp stamp

2007-10-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Saw this tat one day while using the internets. M.C. Escher would be so proud!

Eyebrow plucking

2007-10-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

It seems that the Mona Lisa in her 500 years of existence has suffered the fate of many women - overzealous eyebrow plucking! Scientists have pondered her lack of eyebrows (and eyelashes for that matter) for years. Where did they go? Were they there in the first place? Well, a scientist may have solved this timeless conundrum.

Pascal Cotte, a French engineer and inventor, has recently scanned the Mona Lisa using his own high-definition camera producing a 240-million pixel image using 13 light spectrums, including ultra-violet and infrared. The resulting image magnifies her face up to 24 times. The image captured a single brushstroke of hair above her left brow. Success! He believes that Da Vinci did indeed paint on her eyebrows and eyelashes.

But what about their disappearing act? Well, they could've been removed by a shoddy cleaning job. Mona Lisa's eye was cleaned at one point and the eyebrows and lashes could have been taken off along with dirt and grime. Who knows. We may never know the mystery of the disappearing eyebrows and lashes....

Pokemons and Pollocks

2007-10-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

I was watching the Colbert Report late one night and saw a funny little clip about an article from the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, one of the latest fads to hit the art world are child art collectors - kids that are like seven years old buying Warhols, Rembrandts, Pisarros! Little Dakota King, age 9, is one of a bustling group of child collectors. At that age, they should have Pokemon posters hanging on their walls, not The Return of the Prodigal Son. When I was seven years old a masterpiece to me was a coloring book drawing where all the color was still in the lines.

And where are these kids getting the money to buy such extravangances? Well, bar-mitzvahs, birthdays, and sometimes the tooth fairy! How would you like to have woken up as a kid and find a big fat stack of Benjamins stuffed under your pillow in the place of your freshly pulled molar?

Can you hear me now?

2007-10-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Performance artist, Stelios Arcadiou (known as Stelarc) has grown an ear on his arm in the name of art. The idea in of itself is pretty unique but I think it was done for shock value. There are people living their lives with physical deformities and birth defects. I don't think it is something to take lightly. All the time and energy that has gone into growing this ear could have been used for someone who really needed it - not for art's sake. And besides, I haven't heard his concept and purpose for doing such a thing. It's not like the extra ear can hear or anything.

When sharks attack!

2007-10-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Damien Hirst's infamous pickled animals are beginning to rot. Big surprise there. Afterall, they are corpses. It was just a matter of time before they decomposed. Although they are suspended in formaldehyde containers, I read where one of them sprung a leak! Hah. How would you like to clean up that mess?

Hirst caused a stir back in the day when he began passing dead animals off for art. I think it was a really neat idea. It relates to this idea of immortality. But, the general public thought it was the most atrocious thing ever to happen to the art world. I don't see what the big fuss is about. In it's day, it was new and fresh (well maybe not so literally fresh!)

Hirst is going to have to replace the animals like his famous shark because it is decomposing. But when should an artist have to repair or replace his or her artwork? Afterall, nothing is going to last. Conservers can only make it last a little longer. Then again the person who bought the work paid millions of dollars for it. Should a painter have to touch up a painting he painted fifty years ago? hmmmm....

Show me the Monet!

2007-10-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of hooligans suckerpunched a Monet painting in the Musée d’Orsay this weekend. It was the "Le Pont d'Argenteuil." The painting is probably worth maybe a hundred million? I'm not sure what compels someone to do such a thing, but then again Tyler Durden said it best in Fight Club when he said "I felt like destroying something beautiful."

I've always wondered why people destroy priceless pieces of artwork. I came across a very interesting article on CNN.com a long time ago. It was basically saying that some people can develop a weird psychological urge to destroy precious artwork when viewing it. It's an actual psychological condition called the "David syndrome" named after the David. People will be filled with overwhelming emotions when viewing captivating artwork to the point where they experience panic attacks and aggression. It's happened to the David, the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's Pieta, Rembrandt's Danaë, so on and so on.

Recovered Da Vinci

2007-10-04T18:33:00.001-07:00

A painting of Da Vinci's was recently recovered by Scottish police after it was stolen four years ago from a castle in Scotland. The painting is "Madonna with the Yarnwinder." I've actually never even heard of or seen this painting before. It's kind of a strange idea? Not sure what that's all about. But what do I know. Some of the Virgin's anatomy looks a little off too. Da Vinci didn't draw or paint women very frequently. He wasn't that interested if you know what I mean. He preferred to exclusively draw male anatomy...for certain unspoken reasons, *wink wink*

Atleast this one was left in one piece..."The Madonna" and "The Scream" didn't fare to well...

blah-g

2007-10-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

Well, this blog has been long overdue. I have a blog of sorts on my site but it is extremely hard to update and with no commenting because I don't know how to do it! I lack the technological know-how. I always really wanted to hear other peeps opinions too - not just mine. Basically, on this blog I will be giving my diatribe on all things art. Big things going on in the artsy-fartsy world and just little useless facts.

So hopefully I'll post here and there...and everywhere! 24/7 All day, everyday.
Stay tuned as I think of something to say!

Testing

2007-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is a test...testing 123, This is only a test