SIMON SCHAMA’S POWER OF ART
Over the last few weeks (as of June 18th) I have been watching Simon Schama's Power of Art on PBS HD. The BBC website has a more informative site on the series. Catch it here. The series covers eight artists in total. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Wheatfield With Crows, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Guernica, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) and David With the Head of Goliath, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and The Conspiracy of the Batavians Under Claudius Civilis, Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) and The...
Read MoreTranscribing – Van Gogh’s Cornfield and Cypress Trees
I am working my way through Jackie Simmond's 'Pastel Workbook' and one of the exercises is to copy Van Gogh's Cornfield and Cypress Trees. It looked like it was easy enough, but I had a few challenges. One was trying to keep the strokes from touching too much. Another was that I used a paper with a strong ochre tint to it whereas I should have really used a blue/grey paper. Overall, once I got into the aspect of paisley strokes it is quite a fun style to paint with. Please leave your comments on areas of improvement! On a side note, I painted this outside (to enjoy the...
Read MoreLighweight Tripod Easel – LT Easel
I have taken the time to design a Plein Air easel with the intention of having it extremely lightweight and portable. The easel is made from aluminum, weighs 1.5 lbs (0.68kg) and is 24" long. It attaches to any standard tripod. It will accommodate surfaces from 6" up to 24” high. The advantages of attaching it to a tripod are that the entire unit is extremely lightweight, the easel can be positioned at any angle from flat to tilting forward and the height is easily adjusted via the tripod so any painter will be comfortable working on it. Add a 'rock bag' to the cross...
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