Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Abstract Artist Helen Frankenthaler Dies At Age 83


The art world lost an important person today. Abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler died at the age of 83.

Born in a wealthy family, Helen was a New Yorker who was heavily influenced by Clement Greenberg (whom she had a personal relationship with), and Jackson Pollock. "In the early 1950s, Frankenthaler started painting with her canvasses flat on the floor after seeing Jackson Pollock do it. She liked the gesture and the attitude of working on the floor, she told NPR in 1988, "but I wanted to work with shapes in a very different way."-NPR News

Many Critics agreed that Helen's work was merely "pretty" and pleasing to the eye.."But Earl Powell, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., rejects that charge, by writing,"It is not cloying," Powell says. "It's not pretty in a pejorative sense. But it really rises to challenge the best work of her time."

Frankenthaler did not consider herself a Feminist, just an Abstract Expressionist Painter trying to make her way in the Art World dominated by Men.

Her creations will be that much more valuable, and her influence on art will be missed.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Lana Gomez

I love learning about other young artists ; particularly painters. Painting I feel, is becoming a lost art form. With technology tailoring creative minds to become Art Directors, Web Designers, or Advertising agents... "Painting" sometimes feels like its losing its influence on young people.

So, I was truly happy to come across upcoming PAINTER Lana Gomez. This abstract artist uses large canvases and fills them up with drippings and blotches of color. Her abstract work is sophisticated as it is chaotic. I love that.

She most recently had a showing at Roseark Gallery in West Hollywood and has a young following of admirers and celebrities clientele alike (Lindsay Lohan included).

Her work is to me inspiring, and a true testament that painting is still well alive and respected.





To visit her website, please click on the title of this post!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Whoa Baby! Warhol painting sells for $662K as Elizabeth Taylor auction continues


An Andy Warhol painting of Taylor sold for more than $662,000 at the auction in New York on Wednesday. The painting was part of Christie's auction house sale of items from the collection of the late actress, who starred in "National Velvet" and "Cleopatra."

All I can say is that's a nice chunk of change for the lithograph!!!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Blue & White

I've begun the process of painting another flower painting this week and was surprised how much I got done last night. Below is an update on the latest floral painting request ---> a white flower with a blue background... After a few hours I see progress!!!


Day Two


Day Three

Friday, November 18, 2011

New Projects


As the year is winding down, there is a rush on painting requests. For 2011, I have several orders to be filled and it's making me overwhelmed with anxiety, but also with a sense of excitement. Whether the customer is an old friend or a stranger, the idea of making a painting for someone (who will open it on Christmas day) is kind of romantic....

I have a request for flowers, city scenes, and family dog portraits..

I'll be updating this blog soon with pictures of my new paintings I'm working on!

Oh the holidays are coming around the corner, Thanksgiving is only a few days away!!!!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Paintings at the Office

During the day, I spend my time as a Patent Paralegal for a small Law Firm in Beverly Hills. When I tell people this, they are quite surprised. An artist working in law? Yes, and trust me friends, I'm just as shocked. Somehow I ended up here, and I have to say, the balance of using my left and right brain may have been a blessing in disguise.

Regardless, the one thing about my office is that the decor is so BORING! Blank, blue walls and desks full of paperwork...... So, about a few weeks ago, I decided that I needed color, and inspiration at my station. I've used the blank wall by my desk as a gallery space. I rotate the art there by putting different paintings of mine up. I've posted a picture below of my desk. Would you change the art in your work station?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Hrdrangea Painting(s)

I was given the assignment to create 4 (small) Hydrangea paintings for a Dining room... Having never painted this flower before, I was kind of excited to see where this task would take me... I'm half way done and wanted to post the results. I decided to do one of the paintings from an up close point of view, and the other from a side perspective..... and I love it!!! 2 down 2 to go!!! (pics of my progress below).

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Pumpkin Art!!!

Maybe I have been in denial; or maybe it's been the 90 degree heat wave that has hit Southern California this week. But even with the Pumpkin Spice Latte back on the menu at Starbucks, it still doesn't feel like fall.

Well, all of that changed today. Yes, its October and with Halloween two weeks away, I now have PUMPKIN on the brain.

Pumpkin patches bring about a certain nostalgia I have for my childhood. The tradition of going and picking out the perfect pumpkin for Halloween was such an event in my house. I haven't carved a pumpkin in years (all I remember is about half way through cleaning out my gooey Jack-O-Lantern I am so turned off by the inside texture, I remember why this event happens only once a year.. The SEEDS GET EVERYWHERE!!!!)... But this year I think I'll bring the tradition back. It makes fall feel more official. I was looking at images for inspiration, and here are the highlights!

Cannibal Pumpkin

Drunk Pumpkin
Dwight Schrute :)
Disney's Famous Nightmare Before Christmas

Crazy Pumpkin (hysterical)

This has to be my favorite, so much personality in this face

Burger Pumpkin (this took me a second to realize what it was)

Will you be making a Jack-O-Lantern this year?!!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Painting Progress

When I paint, I like to stop and take a picture of the process. Many times I have an idea in my head about what the final product will look like, and every time, the finished result is anything but. My latest flower painting, is quite dramatic (and somewhat romantic). I used high contrast of dark purple and white to give off the affect of shadows. I was going to paint the flower in more orange-pink tones, and then went against it. Here's how it all worked out! ENJOY.
COMPLETED!!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

SASS and COFFEE : Two Things I Can't Live Without

SASS:

Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun 1. sass - an impudent or insolent rejoinder; "don't give me any of your sass"
back talk, backtalk, sassing, lip, mouth
comeback, rejoinder, retort, riposte, replication, counter, return - a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher"
Verb 1. sass - answer back in an impudent or insolent manner; "don't sass me!"; "The teacher punished the students who were sassing all morning";
answer, reply, respond - react verbally; "She didn't want to answer"; "answer the question"; "We answered that we would accept the invitation"

COFFEE:

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark, slightly acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa. Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world.[1] Coffee can have a stimulating effect on humans due to its caffeine content. It is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world.[2]

Coffee has played a crucial role in many societies. The energizing effect of the coffee bean plant is thought to have been discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia, and the cultivation of coffee first expanded in the Arab world.[3] The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century, in the Sufi shrines of Yemen in southern Arabia.[3] From the Muslim world, coffee spread to India,[4] Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas.[5] In East Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption, a ban in effect until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia.[6] It was banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons,[7] and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee seeds or "beans", are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the 'robusta' form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the devastating coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix). Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways.

An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for twelve countries in 2004,[8] and it was the world's seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005.[9] Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain health conditions; whether the overall effects of coffee are ultimately positive or negative has been widely disputed.[10] The method of brewing coffee has been found to be important to its health effects.[11]

Monday, September 19, 2011

Here's Whats Happening (September 2011)

Lately I've been busy doing a lot of little projects. I guess a "perk" about being a painter is that I'm always being approached by people with art problems, such as what kind of art should they be filling their homes with. It's intimidating to know exactly what one should want. I get it. I too can never make up my mind as to how to decorate my own space and commit to an image to look at forever (my roommate can attest to the fact that our apartment still looks like we are just moving in after a year and a half together). But to me the answer is simple: if you love the way an image makes you feel, buy it.

So, the latest commission I was given was by Amanda Carver. She moved into her own apartment this past winter and let me tell you, I loved it!! HELLO JONATHAN ADLER!!!! Grey walls, modern furniture, and a cool "beach theme" throughout. I was happy to come over to her place and decide what we were going to put over her desk in her living room. With so much pattern going on, I suggested that she needed a "feminine" painting to contrast with the rest of her space. So of course we went with a floral design (what girl doesn't love that?)... Her home was already filled with brown, grey, light blue, and green, so I thought purple, white and a little orange-pink would balance the rest out. I'm already off to a good start :)

Pics below!!



Picture of Amanda's living room (love the white desk and wall color)
Begining of flower painting (09/17/2011)


Picture of final painting to come! I'm excited to see how it will turn out :)

Friday, September 16, 2011

Book Art By Cara Barer

Cara Barer not only is a sculptor, but fine art photographer that documents the "physical evolution" of paper. Her focus, books, represent knowledge in which one gets information... and yet with technological advances of the internet, paper no longer maintains the importance it once used to. Barer wrote that she hopes "to raise questions about these changes, the ephemeral and fragile nature in which we now obtain knowledge, and the future of books". Personally, Barer's photography takes on a more design role for me. I look at the lines that her sculptures create and the lighting that showcases each fold of the paper. One may not know the subject at first of her work, but as you see her collection of photographs, it becomes more clear. I would love a wall of her "book art" in my home, her earthy tones, and choice of subject matter seem nostalgic and beautiful.