Museums of Spain

Las Meninas (1656), Velázquez

I'm anxious to explore Madrid and Barcelona, Spain for the architecture, history, scenery, and of course the art museums. The Museo del Prado in Madrid would be the first place I'd like to visit. I am interested in the works of El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya, and as a bonus: Titian, Van Dyck and Rembrandt. It's always a welcomed surprise to find a Rembrandt! In 1656, as part of the royal court of King Philip IV in the Spanish Golden Age, Diego Velázquez painted his iconic Las Meninas. In the group portrait, images of the King and Queen are reflected in a mirror, while the Queen's attendant, José Nieto pulls back the curtain to let more light into the room through the doorway. Édouard Manet admired Velázquez as Painter of the Painters.

Assumption of the Virgin
(1515-18), Titian

Assumption of the Virgin
(1577-79), El Greco

Unfortunately, I missed the Prado exhibition that ended in June 2025 displaying El Greco's (Greek artist born Doménikos Theotokópoulos) Assumption of the Virgin. It resembles Titian's earlier Assumption of 1515-18.

Dogs on a Leash (1775), Goya

Another 'Assumption' painter is Francisco Goya, who, besides painting religious panels, also painted this portrait of two dogs on a leash. It's disturbing to see them chained together, as if being enslaved by the unseen hunter. The detail reminds me of the portraits of Sir Joshua Reynolds, famous for being the President and founding member of the British Royal Academy.

Modern and Contemporary Painters

The Elephants (1948), Dali

Other artists I would encounter are modern artists such as Dali, Picasso, and Miró. Salvador Dali has museums in Barcelona and Figueres (his hometown), Spain and St Petersburg, Florida. His works are also featured at the Prado in Madrid. When I teach art to elementary school students, I often use Dali's Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937) as an example of surrealism. Later, he conceived of this more futuristic version of gigantic elephants.

Robots of Star Wars

Makes you wonder if Steven Spielberg was a fan of Salvador Dali's dreamt up pachyderm-like figures.

Guernica (1937), Picasso

Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró works are also exhibited at the Prado. Picasso's Guernica was returned to the Museo Reina Sofía in Spain in 1981. It depicts the bombing of a town in the Basque country in Northern Spain in 1937 by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

House with the Palm Tree (1918), Miró 

Born in Barcelona, Catalan Surrealist Joan Miró's paintings may be found in multiple Spanish museums and galleries. While The Farm (1921-22) may be seen in Washington D.C., you'll have to visit the Museo Reina Sofía to admire the earlier House with the Palm Tree (1918).

Harlequin with a Mirror
(1923), Picasso

While in Madrid, you may also want to explore the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. An exhibit of Warhol and Pollock artwork will be there until January 2026, with Picasso and Klee paintings through February 2026. I will surely miss those!  Harlequin with Mirror (1923) and Bullfight (1934) are apparently part of the museum's permanent collection, though the website says, 'not exhibited'. I guess you'll have to go there and see!

View onto a Square (1912), Klee

This rather primitive landscape by Swiss German artist Paul Klee is at Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. As you may have guessed it is chalk and crayon on paper and mounted on cardboard. He used gouache, an opaque, watercolor paint thickened with a glue-like substance. I can envision an art project for kindergarten thru 3rd grade students, using crayon or oil pastels to resist washes of watercolor paint, that would surely not intimidate the young artists.

After visiting France and Italy in 2011, the UK in 2017, and cruising the Baltics in 2019, I was able to check off several of the 14 must-see museums from my bucket list. The Prado is next! And, if I make it back to Florida, I will not miss the Dali Museum!!

Pet Portraits

Jeju, the Korean village dog

Bodhi, the 7-month-old kitten

This post is inspired by the mini animal portraits I painted on wooden cookies that I gifted to family and friends as Christmas ornaments this year. The family pets made me want to delve deeper into animal portraits painted by famous artists.

Chloe, the dog

Sexy Rexy, the cat

Next, are the Rosemarys' cat and dog, taken from rather blurry photos in a small Christmas card collage.

Shock, the dog

Maze, the dog

The next pair of dogs belong to my neighbors, Amber & Max Staples. I had promised them actual full-size portraits, but I haven't gotten around to painting them yet. 

Cookie, the dog

Kya, the dog

The final pair of my mini portraits are of my daughter's mother-in-law's dog, Kya and my friends' dog, Cookie.

I must say that these were challenging to paint with acrylics at this small scale!

Now that I've admitted my lackluster ability to paint detailed animal portraits on wooden cookies, I need to show you what my uber-talented older brother has accomplished digitally using MS Paint 3D. He recently completed a collage of all of his son's family pets. Amazing!

Head of a Dog (1876), Manet

Head of a Dog (1930), Munch

So, clearly, we Pattersons have some talent, though not professional artists. My brother can certainly compete with the likes of Manet and Munch! Manet's portrait is in oils (another challenge) in a blending of Realism and Impressionism styles. Compare Munch's dog, also in oils, in the Expressionist style.

Le Chat Tigre (1863),
Rousseau

I usually like the works of Henri Rousseau, although his striped cat reminds me of the works of some of the novice seniors whom I've taught through volunteering at Paws with Cause. Let's compare side-by-side. I think it's encouraging to first-time painters to see the works of more famous artists.

My Commissioned Portrait

Sitting Dog on a Pillow
(1855), Courbet

I appreciate Gustave Courbet's rendering of a dog sitting on a pillow, and happy to compare it to one of my own commissioned works. Although his portrait is in oils and mine in acrylics, I think I prefer mine for its brightness. I've even captured the dog's apparent cataracts!

I'd like to finish this topic with one of the lesser-known paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. I know it's not a pet portrait, but it certainly captures the expression of the animal using the artist's recognizable style and brushstrokes. Apparently, it is one of two cow paintings from 1882-83.

 

Lying Cow (1883), Van Gogh

Please check out my other animal portrait posts: Animal Art & Wildlife Photography (May 2020); Animal Portraits (Oct 2021); Animal Portraits with Seniors (Nov 2021); Making Connections with Artists & Animals (Dec 2021); Cats in the World of Art & Painting (Jan 2022); and Animal Portraits Revisited (Jan 2022).

Still Life with Puppies, etc.

Still Life with Three Puppies
(1888), Gauguin

This post is inspired by one of Paul Gauguin's lesser-known paintings, entitled "Still Life with Three Puppies". It caused me to research the topic of obscure, maybe out of character works by famous artists. While Gauguin is famous for painting native Tahitian woman, I found it very strange that he would consider painting, of all subjects, puppies. Upon further study, it's true that Gauguin often included horses and dogs in his landscapes. You may also find an occasional cat or bird.

Apparently, the artist was influenced by the Japanese prints that Van Gogh brought to him, along with children's book illustrations. The puppies must have been just born, as they are disproportioned to the goblets and fruit arranged on the tabletop. I love the pattern captured in the tablecloth! The dark blue outlines mimic its botanical print, with the shapes repeated on the dogs' coats.

Woman Walking in a Garden (1887), Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh also had a few paintings in which he departed from his usual style of expressive brushstrokes, making him seem calmer and his palette more monochromatic. The sunny yellow skirt is surely reminiscent of Vincent!

Still Life with Apples, Pears, Lemons and Grapes
(1887), Van Gogh

His Still Life with Apples, Pears, Lemons and Grapes is also an interesting choice of subject for Vincent, as with his friend, Gauguin's experiment with Still Life. Only the background has his characteristic mesmerizing, swirling brushstrokes. I am amazed that I can still find these gems, after studying my favorite artist for so many years!

Sunflowers (1887), Van Gogh

One of Van Gogh's most prolific subjects was sunflowers. In more than a dozen of his paintings, the sunflowers are arranged in vases on tabletops. Other than his paintings of crabs, I hadn't recalled this version of (dead) flowers. I like that he chose a blue background color and less-vibrant yellow for the subject!

Other researchers of this topic put Edvard Munch's The Scream, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, and Marcel Duchamp's Fountain into this category, but I don't agree. These are still classics and immediately recognizable to everyone who see them.

The Table (1920), Miró 

As you know, Joan Miró is another of my favorite artists. His The Table shows a still life primarily in yellow and black, with a very graphic array of geometric shapes. This is a certain departure from his minimalistic grouping of symbols in black and the three primary colors. Like The Farm (1921), this is a very busy composition!

Still Life with Old Shoe (1937), Miró 

Then there's Miró's Still Life with Old Shoe. I absolutely love this non-traditional 'still life'! It's like he airbrushed the colors. Again, I don't know why I hadn't ever seen this painting before! He even added green to the mix of colors!! It reminds me of the charcuterie board my daughter made for Thanksgiving, along with the pumpkin made of puff pastry-covered brie cheese (foreground lower left?).

Oysters (1862), Manet

The final three examples may be described as still life's though they include a solitary subject, rather than being composed of various unlike items. I'll begin with Édouard Manet's Oysters. His composition also included a plate, a fork, a halved lemon, and a dipping sauce. The dark table and charcoal grey background make the objects appear to float.

Still Life with Golden Breams (1812), de Goya

Also, a still life composed primarily of a pile of dying fish, here is Francisco de Goya's Still Life with Golden Bream. Some have said that it "emblematic of the human bloodshed brought on by Spain's war with France". I'm not sure what possessed de Goya to paint such a thing! I'm reminded of Andrew Wyeth's study of a dead squirrel, in which he smears blood on his painting.

Mound of Butter (1885), Vollon

Finally, I am including this Mound of Butter! A painting by Antoine Vollon, it is simply a knife stuck in some butter on a platter, on a table with two eggs. Maybe this image sparked Steven Spielberg to use Devil's Tower as the image that haunted Richard Dreyfuss' character in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)!

2025 Pumpkins, Etc.

M's Logo 2025

M's Trident 2025

This year's pumpkin carving party with the family was cancelled due to a power outage. Prior to that, I carved a 2-sided jack-o-lantern supporting our Seattle Mariners in the ALCS playoffs. One side displayed the upward pointing trident symbol, while the other side showed the Mariners compass logo. And, no, it's not a pitchfork!

2025 Frankie

On Halloween eve, I carved two more scarier pumpkins -- one of a disturbing-looking Count Dracula and another of a friendly-looking Frankenstein. 'Frankie' was a traditional carving, although I got creative with the lid in order to emulate his flat-top head and hairline. The simple design itself was copied from a pumpkin I saw online.

2021 Frankie

It's a lot different than my 2021 version which I imagined from a photo of Boris Karloff's character. it's funny how just a few well-placed wavy lines can generate a recognizable image. Creepy!

2025 Dracula

Dracula was painted in using a black Sharpie, as I've done for the past two years. For the shadow on the left of his face I peeled off some of the skin to accent his face. I was going to insert some red beads for the eyes, but alas my supplies cupboard was bare; at least I was unable to find the craft beads!

2024 Vampire Barbie

Last year I tried to carve Barbie, which was inspired by the release of the movie. Unfortunately, she wound up looking more like Mediterranean Barbie or even Vampire Barbie.

T-Rex Design

I fully intended to carve another two pumpkins, but honestly, I lost interest. It was disappointing not to have family over to see what they would make. Earlier this year, we went to see Jurassic Parking Lot, a University District play that spoofed the original movie, starring Jeff Goldbloom. The silhouette of the classic T-Rex dinosaur would not have left much structure, and especially as the pumpkin would begin to rot. I suppose I could have peeled the skin for the background!

Raven 2020

It's a similar situation with the raven I carved in 2020. It looked great initially, but the thin pieces of unsupported pumpkin soon began to rot. To keep the bird's beak from pulling away from the moon, you can support it by adding hidden toothpicks.

2022 Wookie

Chewy Design

My 2022 Star Wars Wookie wasn't bad, but not nearly as recognizable as the one I almost carved this year. At this point, I didn't peel the skin of the pumpkin to different depths to achieve a range of values (like the Cheshire Cat below). Lots of cutting!

2024 Snake Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice 2024

Every year I look for inspiration from current pop culture. Besides Jurassic Park, I've been inspired by Beetlejuice, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, and various Star Wars characters from movies and TV series.

2022 Harry at Night

2022 Daytime Harry

2022 Cheshire Cat

2022 Grogu (Baby Yoda)

2022 Mandalorian

                             

2023 Ahsoka Tano

2024 Darth Vader

                            

Ahsoka Tano incorporated many techniques, including peeling of the skin and embellishing with black Sharpies. Her tiara is actually a cutout piece that was reinserted (tilted outward) to give a 3D effect. One of my most challenging carves and maybe my most effective!!