Artworks With Green

 

The Park (1910), Klimt

My first pic is a good transition from my last 'interview' post about the style of Robert Milaschewski, though meant to be posted for St. Patrick's Day. Here we see what could be described as a landscape, although dominated by tree crowns, with only a hint of tree trunks at the bottom. Instead, Gustav Klimt has used primarily a mosaic of green dots forming an abstract composition. It comes on the heels of the late nineteenth century movement, called Pointillism, which was developed by French artists, Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

Green Wheat Fields, Auvers (1890),
Van Gogh

Here is a closeup taken from (the lower left corner of) Van Gogh's Green Wheat Fields, Auvers (1890), which was painted during the last months of the artist's life. When viewed without the upper half containing the sky and clouds, his green and white brushstrokes become abstracted, much like the dots in Klimt's leaves.

The Green Wave (1866-67), Monet

Unlike other happier Impressionist paintings (from his gardens), Monet's The Green Wave (1866-67) is painted in monochromatic teal green and black. Boats and the seaside were common themes for Monet, though usually calmer depictions of couples enjoying a leisurely outing. I would not have guessed this was his work!

Green Still Life (1914), Picasso

Although the green in Picasso's Green Still Life (1914) encompasses the entire background, it fits the theme of my post. I enjoy the patterned shapes on the wall and tabletop, giving life to the flat green shapes above which the objects would be floating without the black lines and suggested picture frame.

The Allure (1939), O'Keeffe

I was intending to show Georgia O'Keefe's Green Tree (1953), but it was almost too light for this category of green artwork. Then I found The Allure (1939), which is also known as Waterfall, No. I, Iao Valley, Maui. Her paintings of the Hawaiian landscape are reminiscent of her closeup paintings of flowers. The layers of the lush green mountains seem to be opening up to reveal the thin waterfall, as though it's the stamen of a flower.

The Green Dancer (1879),
Degas

Degas' The Green Dancer (1879) is complemented by the bright-orange clad dancers in the background. This isn't quite the green I was looking to highlight, though there's enough of the hue to warrant both the title of the painting and my subject. Degas does like to use diagonal lines in his composition and arrangement of the dancers' limbs. He has intentionally left the floor unadorned and in shadow.

The Green Christ (1889), Gauguin

The last painting, The Green Christ (1889), is by Paul Gauguin. It depicts a Brenton woman seated beneath a green-tinted statue of Christ's crucifixion. It represents a combination of several different 'calvaires' from various locations. Gauguin lived for a time in Brittany, a peninsula of northwestern France.

Like many of Gaugin's works, the subject stands out from the backgrounds, which he decorates with more lively colors. Green is sprinkled throughout. Even the other figures are green, and the woman's face has a green tint as if she is an ogress (from the movie Shrek!).

The black lamb she's holding in the bottom right corner is balanced by the dark water in the distance.

May Flower Paintings

White Lilacs in a Crystal Vase
(1882), Manet

For this post, I was inspired by the red-violet lilac bush that is finally blooming in my yard this Spring. Édouard Manet painted White Lilacs in a Crystal Vase in 1882. Notice how soft the flower petals are depicted against the detail of the glass vase.

Palm Springs Floral Arrangement
(2021), Patterson

I painted a bouquet of hydrangeas, lilies, and orchids in a very similar square glass vase using watercolors, achieving an impressionistic composition. Seeing how a master artist represented lilacs makes me proud of how a novice like me captured the texture of white hydrangeas. I also like the modern glass beads at the bottom of my vase.

Lilacs in a Window (1880-83),
Cassatt

Mary Cassatt also captured lilacs in her painting, Lilacs in a Window (1880-1883). I especially like the lighting, and the mixture of lavender and white lilacs perched in an open garden window. This is an oil painting in an Impressionist style, even softer than the Manet above.

Lilac Bush (1889), Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh also painted a lilac bush, although much bushier than my own scraggly one. Because of the detail of his foliage, the execution of the bush departs from the better-known brushstrokes found in the background and to the right.

Alliums and Lace (2017),
Stafford

Alliums are very similar to lilacs but in a spherical, ball shape. You almost have to be a Pointillist in order to capture the texture and multiple hues. Here's a painting by a Fine Art America colleague, Natalie Stafford. I love the shadow at the bottom left corner!

Monet

Manet

I've blogged about peonies and the paintings of bouquets by Claude Monet and Édouard Manet. Pretty different interpretations! I use the Manet version for lessons about positive-negative space, and the Monet for comparison.

Young Woman with Peonies (1870),
Bazille

Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase
(1886), Van Gogh

I also enjoy Van Gogh's interpretation of peonies. And I also found this portrait of a black woman by Frederic Bazille. It's really like three separate painting -- the flowers in the foreground, the bouquet of peonies, and the portrait of the woman.

Still Life with Irises (1890), Van Gogh

Of course, everyone loves Van Gogh's irises. I guess I never noticed the dark outlines of the flowers before. Of course, Van Gogh still use a lot of yellow in his paintings! I enjoy his saturated colors and high contrast and the feelings they invoke.

Bleeding Heart (1932),
O'Keefe

There are several other May flowers I could show you, but I'm not as interested in Lily of the Valley and Bleeding Hearts. Georgia O'Keefe did paint bleeding hearts, although in my opinion not as impressive as many of her other floral closeups.

Lily-of-the-Valley (1886), Lucas

The only Lily-of-the-Valley depiction I could find is the landscape by Albrecht Durer Lucas. While the bell-shaped flowers are perhaps easier to paint than other more elaborate blooms, I think they read as cartoony and don't hold my interest. Lucas even had to surround them by a beautiful landscape!

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.

Beach Scenes & Women with Parasols/Umbrellas

On the Beach (1873), Édouard Manet

Beach scenes were popular subjects in the paintings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As you can see here, Édouard Manet and his wife are fully dressed and seated on the beach to watch the big ships sail by. Both subjects are well-covered as if they needed protection from the sun, suspiciously absent from their surroundings. The gray and black figures stand out against the pale-yellow sand. Curiously, Madame Manet's bonnet and shoe get the most detail.

Woman with a Parasol (1875), Monet

Continuing with three paintings by Claude Monet, I must include Woman with a Parasol (1875) even though it may not be a beach scene like the other two paintings. I love the atmospheric effects that Monet has achieved in this painting of his wife and child. Monet reflected the green ground in the underside of Madame Monet's parasol. Her white dress is like a canvas reflecting the colors of her surroundings, making it seem like we're looking through and beyond her. I love this painting!

The Beach at Trouville (1870), Monet

Earlier, in 1870, Monet depicted this scene of The Beach at Trouville. It may have well been people walking on a city street instead of a boardwalk and sandy beach. This northernmost coastal city of France is over 700 miles from southernmost Nice, where we visited in May 2011, yet it looks quite similar. 

Beach in Pourville (1882), Monet

Monet painted a series of more impressionistic beach scenes in 1882. The shadows of the cliffs in the bottom corner distract me almost to the point of drawing a 'line of tension'. Fortunately, the sandy curved shoreline directs me eye toward the muted building in the background.

By the Seashore (1883), Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted lots of portraits of women, including this one where the subject is posing in a wicker chair in the artist's studio. He added the beach scene in the background based on studies he did en plein air (outside).

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of
La Grande Jatte (1884-6), Seurat

The classic A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was painted by Georges Seurat and depicts Parisians relaxing in a park on an island in the Seine River. It's probably the most famous Pointillist work of Neo-Impressionism. And also a very large painting measuring 6.6 ft × 9.8 ft. I usually try to tell my students the size of the painting that inspired my art lesson.

Fishing Boats at Sainte-Marie (1888), Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh's beach scenes typically contain brightly colored fishing boats. This one resembles Renoir's By the Seashore in that the subject boats stand out vividly against the more pastel background. The distant sailboats on the water almost disappear at the horizon.

Idle Hours (1894), Chase

I'm less familiar with American Impressionists such as William Merritt Chase. When I saw this scene of his family relaxing on a grassy knoll, it instantly reminded me of Port Townsend, Washington (sans Pt. Wilson lighthouse). Chase was also an art teacher who taught two of my favorite painters: Georgia O'Keeffe and Edward Hopper.

Lady with a Parasol (1900-1), Sargent

My favorite portrait painter has to be John Singer Sargent. His Capri Girl (my favorite) and other more formal portraits are unlike this one of a reclining Lady with a Parasol. Though in an awkward position, the shapes and swirling lines make for an almost abstract composition. I enjoy stumbling upon these gems whether I'm researching for my blog or visiting an art museum.

Women Walking on a Beach (1909), Sorolla

Our final artist is Spanish painter, Joaquín Sorolla. He has successfully captured his wife and eldest daughter taking a stroll along a beautiful beach. I love the movement and his ability to create a subtle value range using whites and grays. I'm assuming the daughter is on the right, carrying only her straw hat, while her mother is burdened with a coat and umbrella. Sorolla has cut off his wife's head and interrupts the wave crest with her hat and his daughter's hair.

Visual Art Careers

Magnolias (1945), Frida Kahlo

I’ve been watching DIY TV shows lately, especially Fixer Uppers on the Magnolia Network. It inspires me to blog about careers in the visual arts. Many of you may not consider interior decorating as an art but believe me designing a space involves much more than just picking out furniture and wall colors. And architectural design and construction are also required to transform an old structure into something more modern and open. You don't have to be Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) to have a career in the visual arts!

Red Canna (1924), O'Keeffe

Kahlo’s painting of magnolias (and one cactus flower) was inspired by the floral art of Georgia O’Keeffe. O’Keeffe (1887-1986) was mentored by her art teacher, and landscape artist, Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922). Besides being an interior designer like Joanna Gaines, you may try being a design assistant who helps the designer realize her vision while soaking up ideas and learning from a professional. It definitely helps having a mentor or even someone to observe.

Scenery from 5th-Grade Production
of The Music Man (2017)

If clothes are your thing, then maybe fashion design is the career for you. I’ve always wanted to do set design for play productions. I have designed scenery and props for several elementary school drama productions. Graphic designers may find careers in advertising and brand identity, web design, multimedia animation, and illustration by working for an agency or freelancing. I would have loved to be an Art Director or a Museum Curator.

The Golden Section

We each possess our own design aesthetic -- we know what we like when we see it, and know what we don’t like as well. Don’t be afraid to express yourself. Training yourself to design something requires an open mind and willingness to explore concepts (like composition and proportion) and practice to build up your own confidence and creativity.

People who can make a career out of art simply enjoy doing it and have found an audience for their work. They are constantly learning, experimenting, and exploring new ideas. You don’t necessarily have to be talented or even ‘good’ to be an artist – you need to be persistent, practice, and learn by making mistakes.

I’ve always wanted to write and/or illustrate children’s books. Recently I have met someone who publishes animal coloring books. There’s an opportunity to discuss the process of publishing such things that may encourage me to sell my art lesson plans. I’d also like to meet an author or two who might be willing to mentor me. I’m in awe of Eric Carle, Shel Silverstein and N. C. (Newell Convers) Wyeth, three of my favorite illustrators.

Mural by Jeff “Weirdo” Jacobson

Glass blowing and sculpting are amazing careers for those who can visualize objects in three-dimensional space. Such art elements are often excluded from the curriculum in school. I also appreciate seeing large murals painted on the sides of buildings when I travel. I’m assuming that muralists like Jeff Jacobson are commissioned to paint their art by local governments or business owners, while other graffiti artists tag buildings, etc. randomly and often without permission or authorization.

Endless Highway (2017), Bob Dylan

Painting and photography are often hobbies that turn into second careers. Even presidents and other celebrities dabble in art. Many famous artists started out either in the family business or studying another career on the way to discovering their talent and love for art. Some were discouraged as children from pursuing careers in visual art. Nowadays, schools are removing art and music from their curriculums in favor of math, science, and computer technology.

Fortunately, art integrates these other subjects and such skills may be combined for careers in art. 

Billie Holiday by Shen

If your motivation is financial success, then you may not find art to be a lucrative career. For some, sharing art with others feeds a desire to socialize within their community of like-minded individuals who have a common interest or style. Art requires a compulsion to create, dedication to making things, and a strong work ethic, mainly because of the difficulty to find success in the competitive world of art. Many artists do well in isolation, free of daily interaction with others, away from the typical 9-5 work environment. Designers, on the other hand, need to interact with customers to be able to understand what they want. Finding your talent or developing a skill from something you’re interested in goes a long way toward being happy in a career or simply enjoying a hobby in your spare time or during retirement.

Cats in the World of Art & Painting

The Large Cat (1657), Cornelis Visscher

Growing up and when my daughter was young we had several cats, mainly tabbies. I found this engraving by Dutch artist Cornelis Visscher (1629-58) which you can see at the Art Institute of Chicago. The website calls this "one of the softest, most tactile renditions of a cat ever printed". I agree!

Chachi the Cat (2021), J. Patterson

This post is inspired by a recent colored pencil drawing of a barn cat completed by my brother, who also paints other subjects such as dogs and horses. In May of last year, for my 100th post, I published Anthropomorphic Art -- Animals as Humans, which was inspired by a kitschy portrait of a squirrel wearing glasses that my brother shared from a visit to his optometrist's office. It included the Abraham Teniers painting of cats being pampered by monkeys (check it out!).

Bo from Purrfect Pals

My own cat creation happened at a Saturday Sit-Stay-'n'-Play painting event at the Everett Mall when I first started volunteering with PawsWithCause.

Lina from Purrfect Pals

Another senior participant painted this awesome calico cat portrait.

I enjoy seeing how the public gets inspired by these shelter animals. Being an art docent is a rewarding endeavor that helps people of all ages find their inner artist.

White Angora Cat (1761), Bachelier

Another favorite of mine is the white angora cat beautifully (oil) painted by French artist, Jean-Jaques Bachelier. Here we see a cat chasing a butterfly. The cat's fur is well-executed. Though I wouldn't want to have to brush that coat!

Two Cats Blue and Yellow
(1912), Franz Marc

Cats on a Red Cloth (1909),
Franz Marc

20th century German Expressionist Franz Marc captured some cats sleeping or grooming themselves. The first painting is more realistic than his second more expressive Cubist work. Can you find the mouse?

18th century English artist Thomas Gainsborough also studied feline positions of the Great Cat. According to the referenced link, his black-and-white chalk drawing is similar to that of another famous artist from the 15th century.

Apparently, I missed Paul Gauguin's Flowers and Cats (1899) while visiting the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen, Denmark on our cruise to the Baltics in June 2019.

Another recent post, entitled Making Connections with Artists & Animals features the cats of French Fauvist Henri Matisse.

Many of the world's most famous artists kept cats as pets. Here's a list:

Henri Matisse (Minouche, Coussi, and Le Puce); Pierre Bonnard (Cat);

Salvador Dali (Babou); Gustav Klimt (Katze); Georgia O’Keeffe (Siamese); 

Pablo Picasso (Minou); Louis Wain (Peter); Andy Warhol (Sam); and

        Wassily Kandinsky (Vaske)

We lost American artist Laurel Burch in 2007. She was famous for her bold cat designs such as those featured in one of her books, Fantastic Felines (1997). I believe we've done a jigsaw puzzle like this.