Aesthetica Magazine

Hello! 

Just sharing this beautiful August/September issue of the Aesthetica Magazine .I am honored to take part in this months artist Q & A .

 

 

 

Think Creatively!

Artistic Day in Philly

I have visited PAFA before but not like this. Being led on a personal tour by a knowledgeable French docent named Danielle. I was on my way to a gallery when she offered to take me on a tour. How kind she was! There were many new pieces on display and she was an engaging guide. Her subject of the day was “What is an American Artist?” I think we determined by the end of the tour that there was no such thing (or maybe I should say I did because something tells me Danielle already knew this to be the case.) Amazing how many artists – though born and bred in America - studied and/or migrated to other countries. And if that’s the case, does it even matter where they were born if their talent is a culmination of cultures?

Thank you for today Danielle!

Vive la France and God Bless America

“Yellow Earrings” sketched today from Philadelphia Sketch Club

A Word About Color Temperature

One of the most important rules of color temperature is that warm colors protrude (pop forward) and cool colors recede (fade back). So, if you think about the color scale, this would mean that red, yellow and orange would surge forward in a painting as opposed to the cool colors of blue, purple and green which would make things look like they are further away. That is why cool colors are used to signify elements in a distance like trees and houses because it denotes atmosphere between the foreground and the background of a painting.

We won’t go into a lot of detail about value (light and dark) but I will mention that the value scale is also used to show how close or further away something is and that there is a value scale within these temperature groups that will also intensify atmosphere. The closer something is to us the darker and clearer it should look and the further away it is the lighter and more diffused it should be, again signifying more atmosphere. Nothing explains concepts better than examples so let’s look at a painting by Henri Lebasque titled Blue Mountains in Cannes.

Henri Lebasque

Starting at the top of the painting, we see the mountains are painted with cool blues & purples (very gray, meaning lack of color intensity), showing atmosphere and visually telling the viewer that the mountains are far away.

Now, here is something interesting. Balconies are usually high, higher than the landscape below them and in this painting the perspective tells us that the balcony is indeed very high in the air. Which would mean that the possibility of having trees right next to the balcony is not impossible but is improbable. So, let’s focus on the balcony. Look at the first opening to the left. The cool purple makes it look like whatever you are catching a glimpse of is far away but look at the other openings to the right of the figure. The dark green is too dark and not cool enough. Do you see how that green looks like its bursting through the balcony openings? Now, I am not saying that the great Mr. Henri Lebasque did not see that intense green on that bright beautiful day in Cannes, but I AM saying that this is a great example of how temperature is important to denote atmosphere in a painting.

So remember, cool colors recede, warm colors push forward so the next time you look at a painting notice how the artist has used temperature to portray atmosphere and mood. 


Think Creatively!

The Drawing Tools of Leonardo da Vinci

Hello,

I saw a short but interesting video on Leonardo da Vinci's drawing materials on the Royal Collection website. Enjoy.

Think Creatively!

Monica

A Different Art Form - "Neighbours" (1952 Film)

I sat in the museum in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, stunned. I was watching an artistic movie short with a concept that I had actually thought of two years before. Except this wasn't mine. It was an art piece made 64 years before by the Scottish-Canadian filmmaker Norman McLaren. 

My idea was going to be a short story about two people who were the only two left on earth. They both ended up in this beautiful area of land that they split. The size, flora, fauna were the same on both pieces of property and everything was idyllic. Until one purple flower grew right in the middle of their properties. And that is when the trouble began. That was the basic synopsis for my story but of course I never did anything with it because, well, I'm no writer. And I'm a bit of a procrastinator. 

Yet there I sat, in Canada on my vacation years later, looking at my story on film, yet not my story but the product of someone else's imagination, another artists creation made years before I was even born. A part of me was proud that I had thought of something that had been conceived by an artist of Mr. McLaren's brilliance. But another part of me wondered how unique any of our ideas really are.

So I sat there, on that small wooden bench and watched the second loop of the film "Neighbours", since the first viewing was interrupted by the egotistical meanderings of my own thoughts. That is when I realized how this film was making me feel.  I was horrified and unbelievably sad. 

Norman McLaren had the guts to show what no one really wants to admit. That there are some of our species who will never be satisfied with anything. They will always want what they don't have (even if they don't really want it!) and heaven help those who possess what they want. These are my feelings about this film – I'm sure you will have your own.

Neighbours by Norman McLaren, National Film Board of Canada

Just When You Are About To Give Up...

I am writing this blog about Vincent van Gogh because I am struggling a little with a concept for my 2013 exhibit. I have always felt an affinity for van Gogh, not only for his unique painting style but most importantly because when I look at his artwork his struggle as an artist is palpable. His early work was, well, average. I particularly like the example below which shows two of his sketches. The one on the left of a simple figure, strangely proportioned and two years later the one on the right vastly improved and beautiful.

 

Vincent van Gogh

  

I know from his biography that he loved art and was a plodder like me. He kept painting until he was satisfied and even if he wasn’t satisfied he kept painting anyway. He started painting late in life and continued on to become one of our most admired master artists. Mental illness may have ended his life prematurely but surely he lives on in the wealth of artwork left behind.

So the next time you struggle with a composition, a subject or a concept, please keep trying. And trying. And trying…

Best Regards, 

Monica

I Am Marble by Monica Vanzant

 

Rubens and African American Skin Tones

Hello! I found this interesting video on YouTtube by documentary maker IDTV Docs. Very interesting video about Rubens and his painting of an African American man. I am having a problem creating links tonight so I will cut and past the bio of this filmaker directly into the blog (see below) and of course, you can always follow the link from the video itself. Please enjoy and pay a visit to this interesting site. Best Regards, Monica

IDTV Docs develops and produces documentaries, auteur films, commissioned films, art films and TV series with a widely varying look and feel to them. Socially engaged and quality-oriented, the makers cover a very wide range of socially relevant and cultural subjects. The productions are made for regional and national broadcasters; local and central government; non-profit organizations, arts and cultural funds; as well as companies. IDTV Docs has built up an impressive track record, including many productions that have received national and international awards.

Michael Jackson Earth Video

I am posting this video because we have truly lost a gifted artist in Michael Jackson. No matter what your opinion of his personal life, I believe him to be one of the greatest artist in my lifetime. I cannot, will not deny him this.

This song was not released in the US, but was Michael's biggest hit in the UK, beating out "Thriller" and "Beat It". It was released in 1996 and, in my opinion, is one of the most moving songs (and videos) of his adult career. The focus is on the environmental issue's happening in our world today and this piece of art sends a powerful message. At the end, there is some information you may find interesting about the making of this video.