I decided to go to the school art show. The artist that I chose is Michael R. Brunt. For the titles there was more than one. "Seattle Skyline HDR", "Deception pass Bridge", and "Big sur". He concentrates alot of his work with the wilderness and natural settings. The dates were not available. The reason why I was drawn to these pictures is because I love the scenery that he perceived through his pictures. They are all in natural settings but just at the perfect time. The images profesed to me how beautiful nature is. Something that we don't really see anymore unless we go further out into nature. His view point he wanted to show us is how calm, and mellow many of our nature states can have. Nobody commissioned it in particular but, they are open for selling to anybody who would like to buy them. It was for the audience of who loves the nature, wilderness and the scenes of the oceon. Here is a poem that was also at the art show that i liked.

"On The Shelf"

My heart was left on the shelf, collecting dust and nothing else, It just couldn't bear being inside me and being scared, He jumped out of my chest running faster than a jet, screaming hysterically. My heart tried to erase the history that it shared with you and me, all those wonderful memories are now erased completely.

Museum Visit

For my Museum visit, I chose to check out the San Diego Museum of Art. I was excited at first and all was well as I headed down the hallway to the "Art of the 20th Century" section. Surely something there would catch my eye and some did, however they didn't quite draw me in like I had hoped. So then I made my way around the first floor and saw some Asian art from who knows what century... definitely not within the years of the class teachings for sure (thankfully). I then stumbled upon some Middle Eastern and Indian sculptures, they were okay but not relevant to the class or my interests. Making my way up the stairs to the second floor, a poster on the stairs advertising an exhibit caught my eye, I HAD TO SEE IT. The artwork displayed on this poster was:

Honoré Daumier, Lovers of classical art more and more convinced that art is lost in France, 1852. Lithograph.

I loved it and I really appreciated Lithography artwork. I was drawn to the cartoon-like style of the image and the awkward facial expressions the characters had. I think that title of the artwork basically sums up what is going on. I was just so amazed that such a modern looking style was used in the 1800's! The sketchy and unfinished look really appealed to me, even more so than the more refined art all over the museum. Pretty amazing that a greasy crayon drawn on stone and transferred to paper via ink can look so cool! It's like a giant stamp! Just to make sure that this was the type of art and/or specific piece I was most drawn to, I made my way around the second floor to the Renaissance section and really didn't find anything too interesting... I've never really been a fan of Renaissance artwork, however I can acknowledge that it played an important role in art history. So I came to the conclusion that I had found the art that I enjoyed the most out of the entire museum and oddly enough, it turned out to be one of the most simplistic art-forms the museum had to offer.

A larger and better quality version can be seen at: http://www.sdmart.org/art/exhibit/century-lithography

Just click on the picture to expand.

Thanks for reading.

Beautiful Works of Art from the Getty Center

Still Life: Tea Set, 1781-83

Jean Etienne Liotard

*oil on canvas*

Unfortunately, I didn't get the information for this painting. But I love it so much because of the impecable details!! It is absolutely amazing...and HUGE!!! lol

Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit and a Cockatoo, 1650

by Adriaen van Utrecht
*oil on canvas*

My Visit to the Getty Center *10.31.2010*

This piece of artwork is a Portrait of Princess Leonilla of Sayn-Wiltgenstein-Sayn, 1843, done by artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter. This particular piece is located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Ca.

I am originally from Los Angeles and LOVE the Getty Center, so I decided to go there for this project and the also the group project that was done a couple of weeks ago. I took a bunch of pictures of still lifes and portraits, and this is one portrait that really stood out to me.

I was drawn to this piece because of the intricate detail. I'm not sure if you can really tell by looking at the picture, but in real life, the detail on this painting is amazing! I am a fashion design major, so to see how the artist did the detail on her dress simply amazed me. The pink ribbon tied around her waist looks to be satin, and the robe thrown around her shoulders looks to be velvet. She's got a pretty set of pearls around her neck and wrist. This portrait is symbolizing the wealth this lady holds. It seems as if she is waiting on servants or for someone. She looks real relaxed.

This painting was commissioned by Louis-Phillipe, the king of the French. Winterhalter was asked personally to make individual portraits of his large family. Winterhalter gained much recognition for his work, earning him a "reputation of a specialist of dynastic and aristocratic portraiture, skilled in combing likeness with flattery and enlivening official popm with modern fashion". Franz Xaver Winterhalter's early pieces were Neo-Classical, but his style can be described as "Neo-Rococo".

The elegant portraits that Winterhalter did were clearly made for the rich! These were huge and luxurious portraits that he spent a great deal of time perfecting. I think he did a good job! ;)

Art Blog

I chose to go to San Diego Art Institute museum in Balboa park to find a painting to write my blog about. I picked a piece of work called That Afternoon painted by Mary Beck. I was drawn to that particular painting because of the light colors she used and the serene feeling it exuded. It felt peaceful and made me think of a family vacation moment. The image says equanimity and ease. The name, That Afternoon, makes me think that Mary Beck was expressing her desire for people to stop, look around and take every moment in. With the soft colors and swirling effect, I believed she captured that moment perfectly! Mary Beck says, “painting for me is a vehicle for creating a moment of silence for the viewer.” She also goes on to explain how she is, “fascinated by endless complexity of play of light on water vs. its transparency.” This piece was commissioned by San Diego Art Institute to be sold in their gallery art show currently taking place. I think this beautiful painting is aimed at those who wish to feel tranquility and relaxation when they pass it. To take a moment and feel the water splashing their ankles and the wet sand beneath their feet!