Master Monday: Movement with Vincent

I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Van Gogh Museum some time ago. When viewing so many of this talented and troubled man's work in chronological order, you can't miss his strong use of line, and brush stroke. He invokes such energy and visual movement throughout his paintings so effortlessly.

(I confess he isn't one of my favorites, this Master Monday is brought to you in honor of @chancetrouble, who loves Master Vincent).

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Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh

A quick look at Lucian...

I have been entranced with Lucian Freud's work since I first saw his paintings a few (ahem) decades ago. The power of his brush strokes, the energy of his brush work, and the honesty of his vision. Somehow his work pushes away the superfluous "gloss" and unflinchingly shows the model in harsh honest light.

I strive to work with the honesty and energy of this master painter. What are you striving for in your work? Who is are the masters that inspire you?

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The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.-Lucian Freud

Texture with Hans the Younger...

Hans Holbein the Younger is probably best know for his portrait work in the court of Henry the VIII, however he is undoubtedly one of the most powerful artists of the 16th century. I prefer his early work, when he not only focused on the sitter in a portrait, but also dealt with pattern, texture and color just as lovingly.

From the wood, the satin and the peeling paint in the portrait shown here, Holbein had an exacting eye and hand. If you are interested in a very interesting bio and views of his other works and periods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_The_Younger has a very interesting article and further websites to explore.

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“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”- Oscar Wilde

SQUEEEEE (validation feels soooo good)!

I have blogged before about how much I love Daniel Smith Art Materials (www.danielsmith.com) and periodically they have customer art contests and I have entered them a very few times over the years. This year they had a holiday card contest at the same time I was making my holiday cards by hand and I sent them a copy and entered.

Well, today I received a wonderful comment on my blog from them, that I was a runner-up winner. (here is their official announcement/blog post) http://danielsmithblog.com/2009/12/08/daniel-smith-handmade-holiday-card-contest-winners/

Its amazing what a small "nod" can do to put the wind back in your sails.

My wish for everyone this year, no matter what your specialty is, I hope that you get all kinds of unexpected and sincere "nods" too.

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The biggest place I look for validation is from my mother. That's the little girl in me that will never grow up.-Naomi Watts

Zazzle.com, Etsy and ACEO's oh my...

make custom gifts at Zazzle

I haven't forgotten this lovely blog. The holidays are happening with or without me, and I've been hunkered down making an Etsy store, developing ACEO's of my work (I will do a post about these baseball sized art reproductions of my work later), and building a Zazzle.com store. Bear with me please.