Picasso's Blue Period

Pablo Picasso is widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He was born in Spain but fell in love with France when he first visited Paris the end of 1900 and spent much of the rest of his life there.

1901 was the beginning of Picasso's "Blue Period", so called because the paintings he created during this time (1901 to 1904) had a blue or green tone to them. They have a somber tone that some attribute to the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas which triggered a depressive period in Picasso's life that year. 

The Blind Man's Meal

Frugal Repast

Art Friday - Jen Stark - paper artist

The Artist

American contemporary artist Jen Stark creates three-dimensional pieces from paper. Among her tools are an X-acto knife, wood, and mirrors.  Her methods are simply layering a variety of colors in order to achieve different effects. She is inspired by microscopic natural patterns, wormholes and sliced anatomy.  

Sunken Sediment

The Highest Point

From an interview with coolhunting.com:

You often say you are inspired by science and psychedelia. Tell us more about your fascination.

I love thinking about how enormous shapes out in the universe can have the same patterns as tiny microorganisms under a microscope. How geometric shapes and certain spiraling patterns apply to designs in nature big and small. Also, it is interesting to me how much we still don't know about science and the way things work. I hope to maybe reveal, on a visual level, some truth or insight about these ideas. My work relates to the psychedelic movement because of ideas of perception, and a sense of altered consciousness. I'm also drawn to the radiant colors associated with psychedelics and the fascination with optical patterns and mind alterations. I think in certain ways, psychedelia is a quest to discover unknowns about ourselves and the universe, and I'm striving to answer these type of questions through my artwork.

  

 

 

 

 

Centrifugal

 

Stark was the winner of the MOCA North Miami Optic Nerve 10th annual film festival, as well as recipient of the prestigious South Florida Cultural Consortium's Visual and Media Artists Fellowship in 2008. Her work was also recently included in Cool Hunting's "Best of 2012"

Spectral Zenith

Stark’s began working with paper during a study abroad trip in the south of France, during which a declining dollar forced her to choose an affordable art medium with great potential.

Coriolis Effect

You can find more about Ms Stark and her work here:

https://www.facebook.com/JenStarkArtwork/info

http://www.jenstark.com 

 

Claude Monet

Monet's "Impression, Sunrise"

In 1872 French painter Claude Monet created an oil painting titled "Impression, Sunrise".  It was widely criticized as being unrealistic and appearing to be "unfinished".  In a search for the right word to describe what he considered a poor work of art a critic stated that the piece was more of an impression of its object than an accurate portrayal.  His intended insult of Monet's work spread throughout the art community and came to be associated with the growing trend of paintings that were more concerned with light and impressions of nature than with detailed, realistic portrayals.   

The video below showcases several of Monet's works.  The accompanying soundtrack is the first 3 minutes and 45 seconds of Chopin's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: Romance - Larghetto".   

Monet created series of paintings that portrayed the same subject but in different lighting or from a different angle.  Here is one example - a few pieces from his lily pond series.

Monet loved his wife, Camille, dearly and was devastated by her death from tuberculosis soon after the birth of their second child.  She was the subject of several of his paintings, including the one below.

After Camille's death, Claude Monet's art became even more central to his life as he struggled with depression for the rest of his days.  He died of lung cancer in 1926.   

Isaiah Stephens

The Man

Drawing is part of Isaiah Stephens' soul.  He began drawing as soon as he could hold a pencil and intends to do it for the rest of his life.  The inner strength of women that he says is his inspiration is beautifully illustrated in his work.  

In addition to creating pencil drawings he loves to read - mostly fantasy adventures and science fiction - and has a passion for writing.  He is currently working on his first novel!

When is the viewer, instead of the creator, of visual art, he most enjoys abstract art.  In his own words he "despises" creating abstract art but finds great beauty in the harmony and beauty that can be created by bringing together things that shouldn't go together at all. 

The Art

Isaiah Stephens is an American artist and writer from Lowell, Massachusetts. Mostly know for his 'Gothic Beauty' works, he also plays with art related to pop culture and surrealism.

The emotion Isaiah communicates in his work is amazing.  His ability to create unbelievably realistic portrayals of facial features with a pencil is beautiful.  Please take a few moments to watch the video below.  It showcases several of his pieces and the accompanying music and vocals is art in itself.  Enjoy.

You can see more of Isaiah's work here: www.isaiahs.deviantart.com/gallery

You can connect with Isaiah at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/IKS-Art/176369772413102
http://iksart.tumblr.com/

New Artists Every Week!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the most popular pins on my Pinterest account.  They were a Van Gogh painting and a cookie recipe.  Well you fine people have wonderful taste because so far this month the popular pins are also art - two pieces that I really liked myself! 

I love art of any kind and apparently you enjoy at least painting and pencil drawings!  So starting next Friday I will indulge our shared love of art weekly.  Each week I'll feature a different 

artist.  We'll see how it develops but I'm thinking I'll share some of the artist's work along with a bio so you can learn about the person behind the art.  Some will be well-known artists like Van Gogh, some will be lesser-known artists.

If there is a particular artist or a particular art form that you especially enjoy and would like to see featured here please let me know by commenting below and I will gladly do so.

And let's connect!  If you'd kindly direct your eyes to the right, you will find a button where you can follow me on Twitter or Pinterest or a variety of other ways.  And we can be friends on Facebook!  Look me up!  Ta ta for now!