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Archive for January, 2013

A Few Favorites at the National Gallery

Posted in Travel, Trivia, tagged Henri Matisse, National Gallery of Art, Paul Gauguin on January 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Henri Matisse, Odalisque Seated with Arms Raised, Green Striped Chair, oil on canvas, 1923

Every time I go to the National Gallery I see something new even though I must have been there a couple dozen times now. And over the years my taste in art has developed and changed. I am drawn to post impressionism more and more. And Matisse has become a very favorite so I always enjoy seeing his use of color and space. And then I discovered a Gauguin painting of Peonies (my favorite flower) that I had never seen before. What a treat!

Henri Matisse, Still Life with Apples on a Pink Tablecloth, oil on canvas, 1924

Paul Gauguin, Still Life with Peonies, oil on canvas, 1884

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Restoration at the NGA

Posted in Travel, Trivia, tagged Benvenuto di Giovanni, National Gallery of Art, NGA, Washington DC on January 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Benvenuto di Giavannis

One fascinating thing I love to see at the National Gallery of Art when I visit is the work they are doing to restore and maintain the beautiful art. Sunday while visiting I ran across this painting group. It was five panels framed together (you see two of them here) that was painted by Benvenuto di Giovanni, an Italian painter (1436-1517) and is a depiction of five scenes in Jesus’ life. The panel on the right is called Christ Carrying the Cross, painted in 1491. It is tempera on panel board measuring around 16″x18″. You can see how much brighter this panel is than the one on the left. The right panel has been removed and cleaned. You can clearly see the difference in the cleaned panel compared to the one that still needs cleaning. What drew me to this grouping was that one of the panels was missing and this sign was in it’s place:It says: “Benvenuto di Giovanni’s Christ in Limbo, usually installed here, is currently in the Painting Conservation Lab for treatment. Each of the five panels in this series will be cleaned in turn.”

How cool is that?

If you want to see “Christ in Limbo”, the piece that is being cleaned, click here.

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Michaelangelo’s David-Apollo at NGA

Posted in Travel, Trivia, tagged David Apollo, Michelangelo's David-Apollo, National Gallery of Art, NGA, Washington DC on January 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

David-Apollo side view

Michelangelo’s David-Apollo

One of the reasons I wanted to get down to the National Gallery this past weekend was to see Michelangelo’s David-Apollo (c. 1530) that is currently on loan from Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence until March 3rd. It is a wonderful example of Michelangelo’s work and of his habit of working non-finito (unfinished or incomplete). You can see in the side view the stone left uncut in the back of the sculpture. He leaves much to the viewer’s imagination, wondering what was his intent. You can learn much more by clicking this NGA link.

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Learning More at the National Gallery of Art

Posted in Travel, Trivia, tagged impressionism, Landscape, Monet, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC on January 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Monet’s Cathedrals

One of the things I like best about going to the National Gallery of Art is that you can learn so very much. For instance, in the Impressionist Gallery that has recently reopened after being remodeled, I came across two of Monet’s Cathedral paintings hanging side-by-side. What a wonderful way to see Monet’s thought process as he explored color and light on canvas. He painted this same scene, Rouen Cathedral, more than thirty times at different times of day and different months of the year in his quest to master color and light. Monet used this learning tool, series paintings, on several subjects including his Water Lilies, Haystacks, Poplars, and The Parliament and it’s always a treat to see several of them displayed together.

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Motherwell @ NGA

Posted in Travel on January 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

At the National Gallery of Art today on a girls day out enjoying this Robert Motherwell along with many other beautiful pieces of art. Look for more from the trip next week.

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Mamie’s Portrait

Posted in dogs, Pet Portaits, tagged acrylic, daily painter, dogs, impressionism, pet portrait, Rescue dogs, Virginia Artist on January 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Miss Mamie, Acrylic on canvas, 12″x12″.

Reference Photo for Mamie’s portrait

I just completed a portrait of Mamie to hang on the portrait wall with the paintings of other dogs that have lived at this house with me. Clockwise from top left you will see Eleanor Roosevelt (Rosie), Truman, Jefferson, Lincoln, Boo, and Jed Bartlett. Now Mamie Eisenhower can be added to the wall.

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Kids Paint Berries

Posted in art class, tagged acrylic, art class, art lessons, Blue Ridge Arts Council, fruit, impressionism, Virginia Artist on January 25, 2013| 2 Comments »

The young artists painted a lovely bowl of strawberries in class yesterday. Even though school was canceled because of the snow, these three die-hard artists came to class to learn about shading and shadows. And they applied those principles to these painting with great success. Good job guys!!!

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Painters at Work

Posted in art class, tagged art class, art lessons, Blue Ridge Arts Council, daily painter, flowers, impressionism, Landscape, oil painting, Virginia Artist on January 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Jan’s Backyard Painting

I enjoy my adult art classes so much. I have enthusiastic students who are excited to be painting. I especially love it when they paint pieces that are meaningful to them. That was the case with Janice’s recent painting of a backyard scene from her parents home. She talked about good memories that her family has of being together there. You could tell that it was something she cherished and now she has a wonderful painting that she can look at and keep those thought in mind. Great job Jan! Now take a look at what some of the other adult students are working on this week in the Wednesday classes. Keep up the good work everyone!

Shelly completes her seascape

Cathy reworks an old painting she recently acquired.

Gretchen makes a start on a coastal painting

Jean puts finishing touches on her daisy

Kathy developing the bow on her Teddy bear painting

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Dog’s Crocheted Sweaters

Posted in crochet, tagged crochet, crocheted dog sweater, Virginia Artist on January 23, 2013| 2 Comments »

Lincoln in his Orange Sweater

The last few days I have been spending time crocheting again. When it’s cold outside I love to do that and it has been COLD! So cold in fact that we didn’t go to the dog park yesterday which is unusual for my crowd. They love it there but when it’s really cold out I don’t love it so much. And when it’s below freezing I make my “kids” wear their sweaters (or jackets) when we go out for very long. Lincoln just got a new sweater yesterday. It’s bright orange. Mamie and Jed each had two or three sweaters that fit well but Lincoln only had one so it was time to increase his wardrobe. You can see more sweaters here and here.

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