Pumpkins 2024

This year, I got inspired by the sequel to the movie, "Beetlejuice", and the death of James Earl Jones (the voice of "Star Wars" character, Darth Vader). I also tried to pay homage to Barbie. 

With the passing of my wife, Judy, I thought of "Good Grief, Charlie Brown" as my first pumpkin. I typically carve 5 pumpkins per season.

We did our family tradition of carving pumpkins this year at my sister-in-law's home. It took super long to carve Beetlejuice (above) and I was pleasantly surprised when he was finally lit up. Everyone did an awesome job and were enthusiastic and creative with their choices.

We went to Ben Franklin store the morning of the party to get supplies for my snake version of Beetlejuice, which I carved later that morning.

My sister-in-law's husband carved a spooky tree with a bat flying out of it. He did an excellent job! I love the little yellow eyes on the bat!!

He also spent lots of time scraping down the inside, which resulted in a more glowing pumpkin.

Next is the mystery pumpkin by my niece's significant other, whom I discovered is an amazing sculptor. He wouldn't tell us what exactly his vision for his jack-o-lantern was. He started by cutting off the bottom and kept whittling it down until we finally saw the eight legs of his spider pumpkin.

That arachnid is flexible! Well maybe just its neck!!

My sister-in-law went more traditional, although I have to say she broke out from her triangle-shape comfort zone. Simple but with a scary expression!

My niece was dedicated with the chevron-shaped cutouts for her owl's feathers. We kidded her that the top of the head and ears resembled a hat from the Revolutionary War. Ha!

My nephew chose to carve a pirate pumpkin complete with eyepatch. We thought he was saying "Arrgh!"

After the party, I worked at carving my remaining pumpkins. Admittedly, my Darth Vader was copied from a design I saw online. Still, I embellished him with black Sharpie. I started using a Sharpie last year when my other niece used one to color in a ghost's hat. Very effective!

Here's this year's pumpkin carved (and flipped) by my innovative niece.

This was also the year of the Barbie movie. I think I've created Mediterranean Barbie, although at night she becomes Vampire Barbie!

I had trouble with the eyes and had to replace one of her bottom lids. My brother recommended that I peel more skin off the hair to make her look blonder.

The Art of Perspective

Perspective is one of my favorite art elements of Space. Using perspective can create the illusion of depth in a painting. It's important in creating the focal point of a painting, not only to create interest, but to emphasize the importance of an object, figure, or shape in your composition. To make your two-dimensional painting look three-dimensional, you may choose to vary size, position objects relative to each other, and use overlapping.

My personal favorite for teaching this topic is The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet. See More Seniors' Art -- Acrylic Landscapes for the six ways to create depth in a two-dimensional painting.

Café Terrace at Night (1888), Van Gogh

Perhaps one of the best examples of the use of perspective may be found in Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night (1888). While somewhat cartoon-like, I appreciate his use of color and repetition of shapes. I hadn't noticed the color and relative size of the figures walking up the street outside the café, as I was focused more on the silhouetted patrons against the elliptical white tabletops. The oval shapes are echoed in the starry night sky, and the cobblestone street has more of a pointillist vibe. I'd have to see this in-person.

Bedroom in Arles (1888), Van Gogh

Also painted in 1888 is Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles. Much more shortened in its perspective, the floorboards and the placement and size of the chair against the back wall create the depth. A second version added a checkerboard texture to the floor. Van Gogh was very selective about the colors of the objects and wanted to create a restful and dreamlike setting. I love the simplicity and absence of light and shadow.

The Last Supper (c. 1495–1498),
Leonardo da Vinci

Other versions of single-point perspective include Leonardo da Vinci's and Raphael's versions of The Last Supper. All lines converge just to the right of Christ's head, focusing on the central figure of the feast. The overlapping figures subtly emphasize depth in the foreground. The horizon lines up with Christ's head, with orthogonal lines radiating outward, and the long horizontal table grounding the scene.

The Dance Class
(1874), Degas

Edgar Degas used perspective in his painting of ballet dancers. In The Dance Class, Degas uses size and placement of his dancers to achieve depth in his painting. Like Van Gogh's bedroom, the floorboards recede from view and vanish in the distance. There's even a window far off in the distance through the ornate doorway. The cluster of dancers represents the ~horizontal line. The orthogonal line from the dancer with the red and blue bows to the teacher draws our eyes toward the light blue tutu at the end of the horizontal line. The red bow holds our attention left of center.

Rue de la Bavolle, Honfleur
(1864), Monet

Using mostly orthogonal lines, Claude Monet captured this street scene in the old port town of Honfleur. Due to the shadowing, Monet has divided his painting in half. He once again uses the contrasting colors characteristic of the Impressionists. He seems to have been experimenting with light and dark values as well. The figures in red and blue hold your interest and draw your eyes toward the center.

The Gold Weigher (1675),
Cornelius de Man

This final painting uses two-point perspective and is reminiscent of Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer. It is painted by another Dutch painter, Cornelius de Man (1621-1706). Here, there are two vanishing points, one on the left and one on the right. Initially, I thought this painting was done by Vermeer, but even with the checkered floor, there is no bright blue and yellow that would be characteristic of his work. Well, maybe the soft blue of the woman's shoulder and the golden highlights of the table!

Owls in Art & Photography

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 artists famous for painting owls and here's what I found:

Detail from Garden of
Earthly Delights, Bosch

Perhaps the earliest and creepiest paintings of owls were done by Dutch artist, Hieronymus Bosch, famous for his tryptic Garden of Earthly Delights (1503-15). His tiny owl peers out from a log hidden amidst an otherwise busy menagerie of fantastical creatures and figures.

"Owls were generally associated with menace and death and had an emblematic, moralistic significance."

A Snowy Owl, Tunnicliffe

British Naturalist painter and etcher, Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe (1901-1979) is famous for painting birds and other wildlife. I like the white and black bird against the background's subdued color palette.

See  Royal Academy link to copyrighted Tunnicliffe paintings and etchings.

Wood Owl (1968),
Picasso 

Fun fact: Pablo Picasso rescued an injured owl and kept it as a pet that became the inspiration for a series of Picasso's whimsical painted ceramics.

See British wildlife artist, Robert Fuller's (1972) My Collection of Barn Owl Paintings. What I appreciate about owls is their ability to blend into their surroundings. Note the amber color highlighting its wings and repeating in the tree trunk's moss. It's like they camouflage during the daytime, and except for their eyes (and hoot) are pretty much invisible at night.

Barn Owls, Immature, Jamie Wyeth

Jamie Wyeth (1946-), son of Andrew Wyeth, painted Immature Barn Owls in 2006. While the owls themselves are somewhat ghostly, the artist was successful at showing them hiding in the shadowy rafters of the barn.

AB Owl (2023), Patterson 

My 'owl' pumpkin was inspired by Angry Birds. I was going for eyes that got lighter and lighter with each concentric ring. Anyway, I'm happy with the final effect!

Sculptors

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, abstract installations.

Penitent Magdalene
(1440), Donatello 

I recall learning about Donatello's (1386–1466) unusual wooden sculpture of the Penitent Magdalene (1440) in an Art History class in college. It rather reminds me of melting chocolate. More impressive is how he executed this 6-ft masterpiece without using a chainsaw; it wasn't invented yet!

Unfortunately, we missed the Museo dell 'Opéra del Duomo, where she resides, during our 2011 trip to Florence, Italy.

The Pieta (1498-99),
Michelangelo 

We did get to see Michelangelo's (1475–1564) David while visiting Florence. And, although we splined through the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, the lines to get into St. Peter's Basilica were too long, so we didn't get to see the Pieta. Which one is your favorite?

David (1623-24),
Bernini

We missed Bernini's (1598–1680) marble David while in Rome. He's on display at Galleria Borghese. We also missed Donatello's David, which I studied in my art history class. Although Bernini's is more of an action  (sling) shot. I think I prefer Donatello's bronze version.

Degas (1834–1917), although best known for painting ballet dancers and racehorses, he also sculpted them. We saw examples of them at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum while in Copenhagen, Denmark in June 2019. See my May 2020 post, entitled Sculpture - Another Dimension of Art.

The Kiss (1882),
Rodin

While in Copenhagen, we also saw Rodin (1840–1917) sculptures, though I struggle to remember any. He never actually carved any of his sculptures, instead merely directing other artisans to create them, probably due to poor eyesight. Famous for The Kiss and The Thinker, it was so realistic that he was suspected of surmoulage --  casting directly on the model's body.

More impressive is the Palm Garden and Kai Nielsen's (1882–1924) Mother of Water  (1918-20) as its centerpiece.

Unfortunately, we missed the Auguste Rodin - Displacements exhibit in 2021.

The only Brancusi (1876–1957) sculpture that speaks to me is Suffering (1907), which currently resides at the Art Institute of Chicago. It's an expressive bronze bust of a child. Unfortunately, the image is copyrighted. The Institute is on my bucket list to visit.

King and Queen (1952),
Moore

Henry Moore's (1898–1986) bronze sculpture once resided in Glenkiln Sculpture Park, located in Dumfries, Scotland. While I'd been to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2017, we didn't visit its park either. Lots of sculpture to see all over the UK! My favorite park is Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway, where we visited in June 2019.

Spider (1996), Bourgeois

Surrealist & Feminist artist, Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) created this creepy Spider sculpture in 1996. I wonder if she was consulted for creating Ron Weasley's nemeses in the Harry Potter movies?

Alexander Calder - In Motion Exhibit

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 Calder's wire sculptures.

Yellow Circle

My daughter got me tickets to see the Alexander Calder - In Motion exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. I once discovered a painting by Calder, which was hung rather obscurely near the information desk at the Palm Springs Art Museum. This 2D painting from the In Motion exhibit is similar to the one I found in Palm Springs.

I hope to eventually encounter some of Calder's grand-scale steel sculptures, like this one, that have been installed around the world. I believe there is at least one here locally in the Olympic Sculpture Park!

I believe this one is a stabile, rather than a mobile that would be in motion, and called a kinetic sculpture.

The In Motion exhibit is worth visiting, especially when witnessing the scale and breadth of Calder's work. In-person viewing allows one to appreciate the size and spatial quality. Even the shadows are impressive!

In Paris, Calder became inspired by the effect light had on the colored rectangles tacked on the wall of Piet Mondrian’s studio. Apparently, this image led to his working with mobiles.

Other Innovative Artists

For more kinetic sculptures, see 7 Artist Who Created Innovative Mobiles -- Beyond Alexander Calder. I've placed these artists in chronological order by birth year, and selected specific images.

1. Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968):

Bicycle Wheel (1951),
Duchamp

While I prefer Duchamp's futuristic Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) from 1912, some of his other works are pretty puzzling.

2. Man Ray (1890–1976):

Le Violon d'Ingres
(1924), Ray

Ray used everyday objects, such as hangers (Obstruction, 1920), in his kinetic art, though he's more famous for his photographs that were considered works of art.

3. Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966):

The Nose (1949),
Giacometti

Giacometti was obsessed with human heads and tall, slender figurines. They remind me of something an art teacher would use as a first project for students to study posing human figures. He had an interesting face, but his sculptures were repetitive and rather primitive.

4. Bruno Munari (1907–1998) 

My Multi-faceted Jacks (2015)

Boo! My multi-faced jack-o-lantern from 2015 has creatively designed mini carvings on a single pumpkin. Munari designed human faces in his graphical drawings made up of shapes. See Multiple Identities of a Face.

5. Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997)

Barcelona Head (1992),
Lichtenstein

The father of pop art, his sculptures in his brushstroke series are 3D representations of movement in the style of his 2D Op Art images. He used benday dots to make his art look machine-made. He apparently designed Five Brushstrokes sculpture in 1984, but it wasn't fabricated until 2010, long after his death.

6. Swiss artist, Jean Tinguely (1925–1991)

The Métamatic, Tinguely

Tinguely is famous for using motor-powered automation, for his 'Métamatic' machines that produce artwork.

7. Julio Le Parc (1928–)

Blue Sphere (2001/13),
Le Parc

Much of his art is more like Op Artist, Victor Vasarely than Calder. Again, it is perhaps the 3D representation of 2D Op Art.

Watercolor Artists/Teachers

...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, until you get up close to it. 

Both were painted by Alaskan Watercolorist, Byron Birdsall (1937-2016). In a career that spanned 50 years, Birdsall painted thousands of watercolors/oils, including Alaskan scenes, panoramic landscapes, and even some portraits. I keep discovering more sprinkled around the apartment building.

Born in Buckeye, Arizona, he taught history for 6 years in California, then moved to Alaska to work in advertising, eventually taking up painting part time. Many professional artists, like Norman Rockwell, whose paintings were published in the Saturday Evening Post, worked in advertising.

Other artists who were also teachers:

White Bird of Paradise (1939)
O'Keeffe

American modernist painter, Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), a student of Arthur Wesley Dow, also earned money for her own education working as a commercial illustrator and teacher.

She taught and continued her studies at the Teachers College, Columbia University. BTW, my mother grew up in NYC and lived in an apartment near the university. And my grandfather owned and operated a flower shop nearby.

O'Keeffe decided to become an artist at age 10, and received art instruction from local watercolorist Sara Mann.

O'Keeffe also taught and headed the art department at West Texas State Normal College.

Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot (1908)
O'Keeffe

This early O'Keeffe painting is reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth's Road Kill (squirrel). Both chose somewhat disturbing or unusual subjects. I apologize for the 'dark' image. I much prefer her modern colorful takes on closeups of flowers.

I and the Village (1911)
Chagall

Russian/French Artist, Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was also an early Modernist like O'Keeffe, although he is more commonly associated with movements: Surrealism, Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism. Over 75 years, he produced more than 10,000 works. Probably his most famous painting is I and the Village (1911). In 2011, my family and I visited the Chagall Museum in Nice, France. His large artworks literally filled the walls!

He studied painting under realist, Jehuda Pen, and then in 1907 he went to St. Petersburg, Russia and studied art for three years with stage designer Léon Bakst.

Following WWI, at a war shelter in Malakhovka, Russia, Chagall taught art to Jewish boys. The school was once an orphanage for refugees.

The Blue Bird (1968),
Chagall

Chagall often included birds such as chickens and roosters in his dreamlike, symbolic, religious-themed surrealistic works.

Le Havre, The Port (1884). Boudin

I'm super thankful for Eugène Boudin, who taught Claude Monet and encouraged him to switch from drawing to painting outdoors. Check out Beach Scenes & Women with Parasols/Umbrellas, a post from June of last year, including some of my favorite Monet paintings.

Fishing Boats at Étretat (1885). Monet

I also appreciated the opportunity to visit Seattle Art Museum's Monet at Étretat exhibit in 2021. See my SAM Visit - Monet at Étretat post from August 2021 for more of Monet's beach paintings. Going to a museum is a great way to see multiple works by the same artist, especially at an exhibit in their honor.

My next tour will be the Alexander Calder exhibit at SAM next Thursday. I know, like me, he studied mechanical engineering but I'm unable to find evidence that he ever taught art. I'll continue researching for my next blog post.