Palm Springs Art -- Marilyn Monroe & Museum Exhibitions

Forever Marilyn (2011),
John Seward Johnson II

The controversial Forever Marilyn statue returned to Palm Springs, CA in June of 2021 and is expected to stay there for 3 years. Created by artist, Seward Johnson in 2011, the city rented the 26-ft. tall statue of Monroe for 26 months before moving her to Hamilton, New Jersey for the Seward Johnson Retrospective. While she now faces Palm Canyon Drive, her backside is what you see when leaving the art museum. I don't remember seeing that angle in 1955's Billie Wilder film The Seven Year Itch. At first blush, the size of the statue reminded me of Daryl Hannah's character from the 1993 remake of the 1958 horror film, Attack of the 50-ft. Woman.

In the house where we are staying there's a movie poster from another Wilder/Monroe film, 1959's Some Like it Hot. Palm Springs seems to be enamored with Marilyn Monroe.

Love & Peace (2019), Curry Mendes

This year, when I arrived at the Palm Springs Art Museum (PSAM), I expected to see Marilyn out front. Instead, I looked out the museum window down the sidewalk toward Palm Canyon Drive to see her white panties under the spotlights. In a prior visit to the museum in 2018, Marilyn was featured in the Andy Warhol exhibition. She also adorns the wall of Lulu California Bistro on a floral-haired 15'X15' mural.

The second reason I wanted to visit PSAM again was to see the exhibit of American abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011). Previously, I saw the 12 Women of Abstract Expressionism exhibit which featured her early works along with those of Elaine de Kooning and Lee Krasner (among others). PSAM also once held another of Frankenthaler's works that was mostly in the color red. Unfortunately, I have to say that I much prefer her earlier works to those painted in her final years.

Mountains and Sea (1952), Frankenthaler

I love her softer early work in which she introduced her soak-stain technique, as displayed in her 1952 painting, Mountains and Sea.

80" Great Rhombicosidodecahedron
(2020), Anthony James

I always look forward to seeing what artwork is featured in the lobby of PSAM. This year visitors are drawn to a fantastic dodecahedron made of stainless steel, mirrors, and LEDs. It's like something out of the TV series, The Twilight Zone or the original Start Trek. I'd bet that all could be explained by Mr. Spock! It's like a hall of mirrors filled with geometric shapes that appear to deepen into what I can only describe as wormholes.

What I especially enjoy about this work is that each window enables patrons of different heights to peer into the fascinating work and witness their own personal kaleidoscopic view. So amazing!

Le Même Si (1959), Roberto Matta

The final two pieces are by Chilean Modernist painter Roberto Matta (1911-2002). He was part of the Surrealism movement in Paris and influenced the beginning of Abstract Impressionism, along with his contemporary Jackson Pollock (married to Lee Krasner).

10 Famous Artists with Aquarius/Pisces Birthdays

Balloon Dog (Red)
(1994-2000), Koons

This post is inspired by the astrological signs of Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) and Pisces (February 18 - March 20). I decided to write about famous artists born under these signs, starting with American Pop Artist, Jeff Koons, who was born January 21, 1955. The Aquarian is famous for his pop culture sculptures of everyday objects. His balloon animals (e.g. dogs) are especially iconic. I stumbled upon his red dog while browsing for clipart to use for a Valentine I was making. I've always been fascinated by such imaginative creations made from those hard-to-inflate long, slender balloons that look like they are about to pop. Koons' (red, blue, yellow, orange, or magenta) dogs are made from stainless steel that has been covered by transparent varnish.

Blown Away Balloon Dog
(2020), Josh Mayhem

My daughter and I have watched the Netflix TV series, Blown Away, where contestants compete to make objects out of glass. Given the scale of such a sculpture, it probably wouldn't have worked in glass. Although I haven't seen anyone create balloon animals out of glass, I did locate some online that were made of acrylic resin on resin. Personally, I prefer the stainless Koons' steel version as opposed to Mayhem's mass-produced acrylic objects.

The Kiss (1907-08), Gustav Klimt

Originally, I was looking for artwork relating to Valentine's Day or the topic of Love. I had previously posted my Top 15 Paintings that Use Primary Colors -- Red, Yellow, and Blue, including Gustav Klimt's (born under Cancer) The Kiss (Lovers). I received a jigsaw puzzle of it this year for my Capricorn birthday. I've also posted about Famous Capricorns Throughout History and 10 Artists with April Birthdays. Another one of my favorite posts is Things That Go Together in Art – Subjects, Portraits, Landscapes/Seascapes, Still Lifes, and Couples.

AQUARIAN Artists

I've already covered examples of Art of the Zodiac & Artists' Astrological Signs. Let's take a deeper look at the work of other famous Aquarian artists -- Édouard Manet, Jackson Pollock, Norman Rockwell, Max Beckmann, and Joan Mitchell.

Bouquet of Flowers
(1882), Manet

Édouard Manet (born January 23, 1832) is famous for his paintings of peonies. I often use Manet's peonies when I teach about the concept of positive and negative space. 

Convergence (1952), Pollock

Blue Poles (Number 11)
(1952), Pollock

Jackson Pollock (born January 28, 1912) is most famous for his Abstract Expressionist drip paintings. These are two of my favorites.

Triple Self-Portrait (1960),
Norman Rockwell

My favorite Norman Rockwell (born February 3, 1894) painting has to be his 1960 Triple Self-Portrait which I blogged about in August of 2020. He also famously put his own head in the peanut gallery of his baseball painting, The Dugout.

Self-Portrait with Green Scarf
(1917), Max Beckmann

Aquarian German Expressionist Max Beckmann (born February 12, 1884) painted this and several other self-portraits. I love his bold style with its use of black outlines!

No Birds (1987-88), Joan Mitchell

In 2017, I visited the Palm Springs Art Museum where they were exhibiting the Women of Abstract Expressionism, which included the works of 12 groundbreaking female expressionists. Here is one of the works of Aquarian Expressionist Joan Mitchell (born February 12, 1925). It is an homage to Vincent Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Crows (1890). This year, the work of her contemporary, Helen Frankenthaler, will be on display at PSAM.

PISCES Artists

Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-81), Renoir

Now let's highlight the works of famous Pisces artists -- Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841), Michelangelo, Piet Mondrian, and Kehinde Wiley. Renoir's most famous painting has to be Luncheon of the Boating Party. It's a wonderful composition with the yellow hats, white fabric and offsetting striped awning to frame the group portrait.

David (1504), Michelangelo

Italian sculptor Michelangelo (born March 6, 1475) needs no introduction. On our trip to France and Italy in 2011, I saw his statue of David at the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy. If I had a bucket list, visiting Florence would definitely be on it.

Composition with Large Red Plane,
Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue
(1921), Piet Mondrian

I did an art lesson with kindergartners about LINE, inspired by the Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian (born March 7, 1872). His iconic geometric compositions may be recognized by his use of black lines and rectangles in primary colors. Mondrian is definitely one of those artists whose work is metaphorically an actor who has been typecast to repeatedly portray the same character .

Willem van Heythuysen (2005),
Kehinde Wiley

Let's end with Pisces American portrait artist, Kehinde Wiley (February 28, 1977). I saw his impressive work at the Seattle Art Museum's A New Republic exhibition in 2016. I love the intricate and often floral backgrounds he uses to highlight and celebrate urban black individuals in aristocratic poses. While the clothing is modern, his treatment and symbolism reach back to ancient Greece, imperial Rome, and the conquests of European Kings and Queens. Here he reimagines Frans Hals' portrait from 1625. You simply have to see these life-size portraits in person!

Animal Portraits Revisited

I used my birthday gift to attend a 2.5-hr wood burning (pyrography) class in Bothell with my daughter. Here's the resulting portrait of our two dogs on a cutting board (a.k.a. chartcuterie). The trick to tracing both straight and curved lines is to move the tip of the tool slowly and steadily across the surface. You must get used to the wood grain interrupting the flow. Shading, as with drawing and painting, is another technique to master.

The class was hosted at Piper (boutique) in Bothell, WA with instructor Crystal Bailar. It was a relaxing class and they served wine and snacks. It afforded me the opportunity to try new techniques. We used locally sourced maple which had some beautiful grain. I almost wish that I had done a mountain landscape since the clouds would have come ready made!

My Daughter's Landscape

I probably should have traded boards with my daughter as her wood had no visible grain pattern.

Oscar, Violet, Tanner, and Chachi

My brother and I share a common interest in painting animals, landscapes, and sports figures in different media. We encourage each other by reviewing and commenting on our work and challenging ourselves to try other media and techniques. Some day I will try Paint 3D like my brother’s ~mixed-media electronic drawings. Recently, my brother completed 3 more cat portraits, adding Oscar, Violet, and Tanner to the one of Chachi from my previous post. He then used Zazzle to create a throw pillow to match his new sofa.

If you struggle with drawing, try tracing a photograph using a printout sized to your paper (stretched canvas, or even a cutting board), using carbon paper and a stylus or even a graphite pencil. The amount of detail is up to you. This method will help with proportions and for portraits get the facial features right.

It’s still fun to practice drawing, and getting past such hurdles will enable you to focus on learning to paint with a brush, a stick of chalk pastel, or a wood burning tool. There are many techniques to learn, all which require practice to master. Always try out new tools or tips on a scrap piece of wood first.

Averil by Cheryl Schmitz

As you progress your own style will emerge. The thing I’ve been working on lately is editing. I also want to be more creative about my color schemes and backgrounds. Don’t be afraid to use your imagination and expression to interpret what you see. Get inspired by studying the artwork of others. You may copy a landscape, for example, from a photograph you took with your camera or assemble your own composition from individual trees or mountain shapes.

Aya by Cheryl Schmitz

My colleague from Paws with Cause, resident artist Cheryl Schmitz, gets creative with her color schemes, making beautifully artistic renditions of these shelter animals. Also notice the editing and how well-chosen her background colors enhance the portrait.

Disney's Tramp Pumpkin

Golden Retriever Pumpkin

Collecting various examples will spark your imagination and enable you to visualize and arrange your own compositions. I challenged myself this Halloween by copying two dog portraits and actively demonstrated my pumpkin carving skills at the Everett Farmers' Market. I also found that a linoleum cutter worked really well for scraping,

When pumpkin carving, use a washable marker to sketch the line to guide your cuts. This is certainly an opportunity to edit down to the essential details. I've been experimenting with my range of values through scraping off the skin and exposing various depths. This is also where you can develop your understanding of positive and negative space. This  year I was afforded the opportunity to teach an online pumpkin carving class. I reimagined the Husky mascot from a previous year and also used scraping for the cheeks and jeweled beads for the eyes.

I want to finish with another rendition of a Bryce and Jeju portrait. While in Palm Springs last year the pair was watching me from inside a bedroom window and we captured them in a photo I used to paint a watercolor portrait. The proportions look a little off, but realize that Bryce is on the bed and Jeju is standing on the floor at the wall in the middle ground. The inside, bottom half of the picture is less-focused, in shadow, and the dogs' silhouettes appear highlighted by the sunlight streaming in the window. I like the contrast to the vivid outside landscape. I probably should have edited out the wires around the telephone pole, but then it would have read as a tree. Maybe I could have removed it altogether! See what I mean about editing?!

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.

My Art Journey

JFK (1963),
Elaine de Kooning

I've loved visual art ever since I could hold a crayon. I remember being encouraged early on by my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Schroeder, when coloring in an orange pumpkin in October 1963. It was the year President JFK was assassinated and I vividly remember my teacher crying after the announcement came over the PA. The event happened on my parents' wedding anniversary. It was also the year my Mom became a three-day winner on the gameshow Concentration. We watched her on TV in my older brother's third-grade classroom while making paper-plate Christmas wreathes. All of these things left an indelible impression.

Here's an article, Why Elaine de Kooning’s Portrait of JFK Broke All the Rules from the Smithsonian about the making of a presidential portrait.

Choir Boys Will Be Boys (1938),
Frances Tipton Hunter

My Dad was especially creative. I've blogged about his talent for painting and creating award-winning Christmas displays. One year, he cut out six life-size choir boys and painted them in our likenesses, adding a few other ethnicities to round out the ensemble. I remember how he adapted Santa's sleigh out of a paint tray and sat a stuffed Santa inside, then mounted Styrofoam reindeer on the front of our house. Since our house was white he used a spotlight with a rotating colored disc to change the background of his display. He would spell out messages such as, "Peace on Earth", using wire wrapped in silver garland. Another time, he constructed a huge cross that again used a spotlight for his 'Born in the Shadow of the Cross' display.

This painting was published in the Saturday Evening Post, but not by Norman Rockwell. Notice the shiner and crossed bandage.

Clown (after Emmitt Kelly) (1968)

I blogged about how my brother and I decorated the wall of our Dentist's office with a 3D circus scene one year. My Mom decided that we needed to be enrolled in an oil painting class, which resulted in my one-man show in a display case outside the Principal's office in sixth-grade.

I became an 'Art Major' in high school studying under Mr. George Pappas. While I vaguely remember some of the artwork and paintings I made in his classroom, two projects stick out in my mind. One was painting numbers on wooden blocks for our school tennis court clocks for scheduling play times. The other was creating paper mâché Cardinal heads for our two school mascots. In the yearbook, I was listed as Most Artistic male.

Cowboy (1982), Ken Patterson

In college, I spent my first year studying Architecture. As the market was predicted to be flooded with architects by the time I would graduate, I switched to Engineering. My tech-elective was minicomputers. This ultimately led me to a career in Software Engineering. Here's one of my first post-college watercolors.

Since studying Art History in college, I've been steadily accruing knowledge about the visual arts. I've amassed quite a library of artbooks and have visited art museums around the world. While cruising the Baltics, we docked at St. Petersburg where we had the opportunity to tour the Hermitage Museum. Both the Hermitage (2019) and the Louvre (2011) would require days to see everything on display there.

Mrs. Henderson's Memory Quilt (1998-9)

My passion for art has led me to sharing what I know and learn in a classroom setting. For many years I was an art docent in my daughter's elementary school. Her 6th-grade class made logos of their intended careers using acrylic paint on muslin squares, which my sister-in-law sewed into a memory quilt for the teacher. My daughter wanted to be a Disney Imagineer (top-middle).

I also became an instructor at Green River Community College's Interurban Center for the Arts, teaching other parents to do the Picture Person Program. I've volunteered at the Seattle Art Museum and was a fundraiser for ArtsFund.

Ballet Scene (2019), Ken Patterson

Since my retirement, I have continued to volunteer teach in elementary schools, senior centers and adult assisted living centers, adult dementia daycare, and at Franke Tobey Jones' Senior University. For my pastels class, I copied A Ballet Seen From the Opera Box (1885) by Edgar Degas as an example. My copy was painted on purple pastel paper.

Miró Balance (2021), Patterson

In 2021, I became an online art instructor with Heart Art Healing. I resurrected my lesson on balanced compositions, which had been inspired by Spanish Surrealist Joan Miró. This one could have also been used for my class that used repetition of the spiral shape, symbolizing gratitude.

Gunther (2021), KAP

Myra (2021), KAP

I completed my first commissioned portraits on behalf of Paws with Cause. At PwC we raise money and awareness to care for and advertise the adoption of shelter animals as fur-ever pets. Gunther was a challenge because he was an all-white dog. The client requested the color turquoise in the background. I think the color schemes will enable the portraits to be hung side-by-side.