Photo (2024), McDonald In May of 2021, I posted about Birds in Contemporary Art and Photography. Today, I am inspired by a photograph taken by my nephew while stationed in Kuwait. It is a Pallid Scops Owl, one of six species found there. My Michigan sister-in-law professionally photographed this Snowy owl. It migrates from Canada to Michigan in the Winter. There are at least seven other kinds of owls found in Michigan: Barred owl, Great Horned owl, Northern Hawk owl, Eastern Screech owl, Long-eared owl, Northern saw-whet owl, and the Burrowing owl. I've researched arti ..read more

Sometimes, entire museums full of sculptures can be overwhelming and even repetitive. You can only stare at a few busts or nudes in various poses before moving on and walking quickly by. Some of the European museums are jam-packed with similar pieces, with only a few standouts (in my opinion). I appreciated being ushered through a 2019 tour of the Hermitage Museum by a guide who planned to show us only the most important works of art in the vast collection. I always find myself hunting around for the Rembrandts! I prefer a middle ground between classical marble statues and grand, ultra modern ..read more

Untitled, Calder Three-dimensional art is seldom taught in school, which is a shame. Alexander Calder (1898-1976) spent his early years drawing in space using wire to create 3D artworks. He was always building things using whatever he could find, perhaps because his parents were both artists who moved around to follow their commissions and exhibitions. Born in 1898, he created his first kinetic sculpture in 1931. Figure, Dog, Birds (1946), Joan Miro Calder was part of a group of avant-garde artists including Joan Miro, whose 2D drawings curiously resemble C ..read more

...We Three Meet Again... (2003), Birdsall I am inspired by the artwork around me, especially when I encounter multiple works by the same artist all in one place. At Fred Hutch's South Lake Union House, where we've been staying while my wife recovers from a stem cell transplant, I saw two watercolor works by Byron Birdsall. The first of two paintings is of three birds in a snowy scene (probably Alaska). It's my favorite. Giorno di Shopping in  Monterosso, Birdsall The second is a scene in a popular market on the Italian Riviera, and it looks like a photograph, unti ..read more

Photo of the View from the top of Cedar Butte When painting landscapes, I like to use a reference photo as a guide to help capture atmospheric and realistic detail. You may also find inspiration by painting outdoors (en plen air). Here's a photo I took at the top of Cedar Butte. See my September 2022 post, Painting Using MS Paint 3D -- How To. My Paint 3D Landscape I painted the background first, then added foreground elements such as bushes and trees later. For oils and acrylics, you may choose to lay down a darker color for the background and work up in value fo ..read more

Still Life with Parrot and Fruit (1951), Kahlo Many of my favorite visual artists were born in July. In fact, all of them have been featured in this blog. Most were born under the sign of Cancer (or the Crab). They are typically emotional, hypersensitive, competitive, and often isolated people.  Frida Kahlo (1907-54), born  July 6th, is famous for her unusual and often creepy self-portraits. I much prefer her still life paintings. Do parrots like watermelon? The Wolffish (2004), Jamie Wyeth Jamie Wyeth (1946-), son of Andrew Wyeth and grandson of N.C. Wyeth, wa ..read more

In honor of Father's Day, let's explore animated and cartoon Dads. One of the earliest examples of husband and father is Dagwood Bumstead who first appeared in the Blondie (née Boopadoop) comic strip created by Chic Young in 1930. Over several years, Blondie transformed from a carefree flapper to a sensible suburban housewife, while her (then) rich boyfriend Dagwood went from wealthy straight man to penniless clown. He was father to Baby Dumpling (Alexander) and Cookie Bumstead. The film series ran from 1938-1950, starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. Another popular comic strip ..read more

On the Beach (1873), Édouard Manet Beach scenes were popular subjects in the paintings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As you can see here, Édouard Manet and his wife are fully dressed and seated on the beach to watch the big ships sail by. Both subjects are well-covered as if they needed protection from the sun, suspiciously absent from their surroundings. The gray and black figures stand out against the pale-yellow sand. Curiously, Madame Manet's bonnet and shoe get the most detail. Woman with a Parasol (1875), Monet Continuing with three paintings by Claude ..read more

Manet +/- Space Project, Lowell Elementary I've been encouraged all my life to create art. While I am not as prolific as other artists, I do try to share what I've learned about art with others; and that has been one of my goals in retirement. Early on, my focus was volunteering in elementary schools, but that ended with the pandemic. I am now much more challenged to find outlets for my creativity. Bo the Dog, PwC Probably my most successful retirement endeavor has been volunteering with PawsWithCause. The non-profit organization allowed me to continue teaching others how ..read more

How They Met Themselves (1864), Rossetti One of the few paintings that uses doppelgangers is How They Met Themselves (1864) by English poet and painter, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. There is some argument over which couple is the unreal pair, although I am guessing the couple on the left because of the glow surrounding them. The fact that the girl on the right is swooning indicates her shock and surprise at seeing their duplicates. However, the other opinion would argue that she is a zombie like that of Boris Karloff's monster. The couple on the right also seem paler by comparison ..read more