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Archive for the ‘Little Known Facts’ Category

“Painting as a Pastime” by Winston Churchill

Posted in Little Known Facts, Trivia, tagged , on April 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Winston Churchill Painting

Winston Churchill Painting

The Marlborough Tapestries at Blenheim by Winston Churchill

The Marlborough Tapestries at Blenheim by Winston Churchill

Flowers by Winston Churchill

Flowers by Winston Churchill

If you watched the video interview from yesterday’s blog you heard Bush mention that he gathered some inspiration from the essay by Winston Churchill,  “Painting as a Pastime”.  First published in The Strand Magazine in 1921/22  Churchill writes about coming to painting later in life and the enjoyment of it.  Here is one of my favorite excerpts from it:

“Just to paint is great fun.  The colours are lovely to look at and delicious to squeeze out.  Matching them, however crudely, with what you see is fascinating and absolutely absorbing.  Try it if you have not done so – before you die.  As one slowly begins to escape from the difficulties of choosing the right colours and laying them on in the right places and in the right way, wider considerations come into view.”     

More about Churchill tomorrow.

 

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It’s Never Too Late To Start…

Posted in Little Known Facts, Trivia, tagged , on April 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Blair by George W. Bush

Blair by George W. Bush

Putin by George W. Bush

Putin by George W. Bush

Most of you know that I came to painting later in life.  I was almost 30 before I ever started.  A week or so ago I saw an interview that was most interesting about another painter that started after retirement.  He was 65 before he picked up a brush. And no matter your politics this is an interesting story for many reasons.  He said he was looking for something that would “fill the last chapters of his life and fill the extra space in his time and open his mind”.   “A whole new world opened up when he picked up a brush”, he said.   This new painter is President George W. Bush who is having his first show at his Presidential Library.  He has painted portraits of many world leaders with whom he has worked.   What I find most interesting is that after only two years of painting he has challenged himself to painting this show.  For those of you who paint you will understand.

Take a look at this interesting interview last week on the Today Show where he discusses the show and gives a tour of his studio.

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Happy Birthday Leonardo da Vinci

Posted in Little Known Facts, Trivia, tagged , , on April 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouchedBorn on April 15, 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was truly a “Renaissance” man.  Primarily known as a painter, he was also a mathematician,  sculptor,  scientist, musician, engineer, architect, writer, botanist and the list goes on.

220px-Design_for_a_Flying_Machine

Leonardo da Vinci’s Design for a Flying Machine

He painted the most famous portrait of all time, The Mona Lisa, as well as the most reproduced religious painting, The Last Supper.  There was a renewed interest in many of his drawings and inventions because of a book/movie released a few years ago – The Da Vinci Code.

He is an intriguing figure to study.  You can learn more about him here.

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Vasilis Dimitriou Still Painting in Athens

Posted in Little Known Facts, tagged on March 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

27POSTER-slide-57T0-jumboFrom time to time I run across really interesting articles about painters.  Take a look at this one about a painter in Greece who paints “movie posters”.  Very interesting.

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Presidents Who Painted

Posted in Little Known Facts, Trivia, tagged on February 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Landscape by Dwight D. Eisenhower

Landscape by Dwight D. Eisenhower

As we celebrate President’s Day did you know that there are 4 Presidents who were/are painters?  Grant, Eisenhower, Carter, and Bush 43.

Take a look at this to read about them and see their work.

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Berthe Morisot’s “Reading”

Posted in Little Known Facts, Trivia, tagged , on February 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Berthe Morisot French, 1841-1895 "Reading (La Lecture) 1888

Berthe Morisot
French, 1841-1895
“Reading (La Lecture) 1888

I continued cleaning up files this weekend and ran across this one from a museum trip of Berthe Morisot’s wonderful work.

She was one of the few female members of the early Impressionists movement in France.  Learn more about Morisot here.

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Edouard Vuillard, a French Painter

Posted in Little Known Facts, Travel, tagged , , on February 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

"The Small Drawing Room-Mme Hessel at her Sewing Table, 1911"

“The Small Drawing Room-Mme Hessel at her Sewing Table, 1911”

"The Foyer"

“The Foyer”

"Girl at the Piano, 1890's"

“Girl at the Piano, 1890’s”

From time to time I go through old files on my computer in an attempt to clean it up.  I came across several files of photos I took when I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City last year.  I could spend days there.  There is so much to see.  This group of painting is by the French Painter, Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940).

This is from Wikipedia:  “In his paintings and decorative pieces Vuillard depicted mostly interiors, streets and gardens. Marked by a gentle humor, they are executed in the delicate range of soft, blurred colors characteristic of his art. Living with his mother, a dressmaker, until the age of sixty, Vuillard was very familiar with interior and domestic spaces. Much of his art reflected this influence, largely decorative and often depicting very intricate patterns.”  You can read more here.

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Stolen Renoir Must Be Returned

Posted in Little Known Facts, Serendipity, tagged , , , on January 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

copyright - Getty Images: Paul J. Richards, AFP

copyright – Getty Images: Paul J. Richards, AFP

I love reading any story about someone who buys a masterpiece at a thrift shop or garage sale or about stolen art that is recovered but this particular story was of interest as it happened just down the road from where we live.  We have been following it since it was first reported.

Purchased for $7 because she liked the frame, Marcia “Martha” Fuqua learned later that she had an original Renoir.  You would think she had hit the jackpot but it is not turning out that way.

Read the whole story on this link.

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Happy New Year – 2013 in Review

Posted in Little Known Facts on January 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for my blog.  It’s an interesting look back:

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 56,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 21 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Happy Birthday Georgia O’Keeffe

Posted in Little Known Facts, Trivia, tagged , , on November 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe

O'Keeffe Poppy

O’Keeffe Poppy

Born November 15, 1887, Georgia O’Keeffe was an American artist who became known for her large floral blossom paintings, bone paintings, and landscapes around her New Mexico home.  She is often called the “Mother of American Modernism”.  Her vision was unique and she stood by it often saying that her work spoke for her and it  didn’t need her words to enhance it.

Almost everyone will recognize an O’Keeffe painting when seeing one as it has a distinct look and style.  She lived until 1986. You can learn more about her by visiting the O’Keeffe Museum website here.

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