Yuri Klapoukh's Magic Paintings

"Sheperdess", painting by Yuri Klapoukh

"Rain Through Sunshine", painting by Yuri Klapoukh

I got an email invitation to look at a Russian Painting website. And there I found a remarkable painter named Yuri Klapoukh. Here are two of his paintings that I like. They are very different from anything that I have seen before. Go here to see more of his work as well as the work of other contemporary Russian painters:

Russian Paintings

The Art of Amy Crehore

Leonetto Cappiello 1875-1942

I love this guy's posters. The designs are so charming and animated. Leonetto Cappiello was an Italian designer who lived in Paris. He is now called the "father of modern advertising". Read here:

Leonetto Cappiello

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Old Engravings from Paintings

These are some very nice prints from

Intaglio Fine Art

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Herbert James Draper 1864-1920

Pot Pourri 1897
Lamia 1910
A Water Baby
Ulysses and the Sirens

"Herbert James Draper was one of the finest painters of nudes in the last years of Victoria's reign. As we begin a new century, we are more able to reassess the prejudices and snobbery of some of the last generation of art historians and see the qualities of the work of the last stance of Classicism in British art."

Read more about painter Herbert James Draper at the Victorian Web and see more paintings there. And more painting at: Illusions Gallery.

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(Thanks to Tom C. for sending me the postcard book of mermaids.)

Little Men Inside of Big Cat

I painted a little woman on top of a big cat, but here are some little men inside of a big cat.

I got this image from Make blog and they got it from Miss Mary's Victorian Halloween. It's a costume-built-for-two.

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3 Reminders from Amy Crehore

"Wild Cat Fever", oil painting, 2007 by Amy Crehore for Venus Show
"Homage to the King of Cats", oil painting, 2001 by Amy Crehore (Monovita Magazine) "Bubble Gum Encore" 2005 "Little Pierrot" series by Amy Crehore
" The Two-Timer" 2006 "Monkey Love" series by Amy Crehore

There's another week or so left to catch the Venus Show at Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle, WA where you can see my new painting, "Wild Cat Fever". Monovita Magazine has a little feature about me in their June Issue: Link
And, last but not least, all of my limited edition, signed prints have free shipping:
Click here to view my prints:

Little Pierrot or Monkey Love
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Girl Cicada with Guitar

Click to enlarge

I found this beautiful hokum image on cannibol's live journal page.

(Thanks, Vince.)
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The Crehore Skyscraper

I blogged about playing cards designed by Tom Crehore (1802) and I blogged about a piano built by Ben Crehore (1800). Both were thought to be the earliest known in America. I am now blogging about my great grandfather's skyscraper in NYC which is still standing at 150 Nassau Street. The building is thought to be one of the earliest skyscrapers ever built in this country. You can see it towering over the other buildings in this picture. It's called The American Tract Society Building and William W. Crehore was the chief engineer on the project and Robert H. Robertson was the architect in 1894. Read about it here:
NYC Architecture
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Girl and Sea Monster

Steel engraving by Flemeng after the painting by Ingres. Pre1900prints
Andromeda exposed to the sea-monster (1869) Paul Gustave Dore

Andromeda Chained to the Rock by the Nereids (1840) Theodore Chasseriau

Girl in peril! Look at these dramatic and beautiful renditions of Andromeda. "Andromeda was a Greek mythological figure who was chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea monster and was saved by Perseus, whom she later married." Of course, she was naked! Thank God for Perseus!:

Andromeda

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Art Toys

I like these! Now you are talking. These whimsical wooden toys are replicas of renowned mid-century designer ALEXANDER GIRARD’s 1963 originals. Find out more here:

Supertouch

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Malcontents- part two

Louise Brooks, looking positively come-hither

John Brownlee at "Table of Malcontents" (wired.com) blogged about me a couple of times last week. He picked up the "Demons" post (as did drawn! and boingboing), but he also liked "Black Cat Tease" post. Just the mere mention of Louise Brooks has him dashing over to my blog. "I love Amy Crehore, a vivacious and talented minx if there ever was one......" quote from John Brownlee, read more here:
Amy Crehore Paints Louise Brooks
and "Amy Crehore — the perky little marvel who sets the gold standard for all artists devoted to painting topless Luau dancers strumming guitars and the monkeys in funny hats who love them"- another quote from a John Brownlee post:
A Zoo of Fantastical Beasts
Hey, what's a girl to do?
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There once was a time....

Here are some silly clowns, pierrots or what-have-you. I don't like all clowns, mind you. Just the ones with intriguing costumes like the European ones or the early P.T. Barnum clowns. The later American clowns with big red noses and crazy orange wigs that scare kids at birthday parties are not my ideal.

Images from: Old Postcards

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Take a Matchbook Road Trip!

Vintage matchbook art is cool and Mike Snyder wants to take you on a little trip: Matchbook Road Trip

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The Serpent was a Woman

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
" Temptation" by Hugo van der Goes 1470 Vienna
"Temptation of Adam and Eve"by Masolino 1425, fresco in Florence

Click on images to enlarge

"Medieval Christian art often depicted the Edenic Serpent as a woman, thus both emphasizing the Serpent's seductiveness as well as its relationship to Eve." quote- about Adam and Eve (Notre Dame sculpture) from Wikipedia

Christopher Witcombe writes more about Eve:

"Eve and the Identity of Women"

I like the placement of a blue iris (instead of a fig leaf) in the Hugo van der Goes painting. He paints Eve as a very beautiful, but spindly woman with a twisted arm. She looks pregnant, too. His serpent is less of a snake and more of a big lizard, looking like she could be Eve's little sister. All of the images above are compelling and surreal.

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Nuns, Madonnas, Pierrots

"Icon" 1990, 18"x22", oil on linen by Amy Crehore

"Tree of Life" 22"x26" oil on linen,1990,Amy Crehore (private collection Santa Barbara, CA)
"Italian Landscape",oil on linen, 16"x34" 1990 by Amy Crehore

I actually painted my first "little pierrot" back in 1990, a year or two after my trip to Italy. The inspiration for the painting, "Icon", was Giotto's Madonna and Child (year 1320). My madonna is holding a little version of my "Tree of Life" painting and a baby pierrot adapted from one of my earlier works called, "Banquet Days". There are definitely recurring motifs in my art over the years. Sometimes it's unconscious. I painted a monkey, a snake, palm trees, and Titian's odalisque in these earlier works. I also painted nuns. These 3 paintings were exhibited at the Portland Art Museum in the early 90's.

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"Black Cat Tease" by Amy Crehore

Louise Brooks Black Cat Tease copyright 2005 Amy Crehore "Little Pierrot" series

I had mentioned in an earlier blogpost that I used pictures of Louise Brooks as references for just a couple of my "Little Pierrot" paintings. Here is one of the paintings I did. This painting is a tribute to Louise, her sense of humor and her sex appeal. The rest of the paintings in my pierrot series were done without using any references. My girls are all imaginary.
Little Pierrot Series

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More Chinese Beauties

Pre-communist Chinese advertising 1930's (Xie Xing Long #18). I like the floral motifs, patterns, colors, and compositions. Postcards from

The Art Werx

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Ukulele at the North Pole

Richard Konter with his famous 1K Martin ukulele.

During the 1920's the Martin Company actually produced twice as many ukuleles as guitars. The Hawaiian uke craze was in full swing at the time. Here's an interesting tidbit - in 1926, a seaman named Dick Konter was a volunteer for Robert Byrd's first exposition to the North Pole. He smuggled his Martin uke onto the plane hoping to play it for some eskimos. However, there were no eskimos at the North Pole when he got there. But, the uke did become the first musical instrument to travel to the North Pole. Link

If all goes well, I should be unveiling my first hand-painted "fine art" uke (Tickler Brand) soon. It's a Martin copy that was lovingly hand-crafted by Lou Reimuller (Teenar's creator) from a Stew Mac kit. The second uke is already in production. It will be made from scratch by Reimuller and designed by me. I am painting them with original motifs from my "Monkey Love" and "Little Pierrot" series.
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Magical Films of Joseph Cornell

Construction: “Tilly Losch,” circa 1935, by Joseph Cornell, artist, 10 x 9¤ x 2⁄ inches

Film: Jack's Dream, late 1930's
Film: Rose Hobart 1936
Film: Nymphlight 1957

Did you know that artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) who made beautiful constructions also made surrealistic, short films? Here are some stills from a few of his creations.

The Voyager Foundation is a place where you can order the collection of films on DVD/video: Joseph Cornell Films

Cornell lived in in a wooden frame house on Utopia Parkway in a working-class area of Queens, NY for most of his life with his mother and his brother, Robert, who was disabled by cerebral palsy. One of the best biographies of an artist that I have ever read is about Joseph Cornell. It is called "Utopia Parkway" by Deborah Solomon. You will be very moved by this book. Unforgettable and poignant.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Giotto is My Man

Giotto's Bell Tower in Florence, Italy (Piazza del Duomo)


I have derived a lot of inspiration from Giotto (1267-1337) over the years. My trip to Florence in the late 80's was a high point of my life as an artist. The gothic-style of the Piazza del Duomo with Giotto's beautifully constructed Bell Tower is my ideal as far as architectural design goes. And Giotto as a painter is unequaled in my estimation. His narrative frescos in Assisi (above) show his architectural leanings, his unlimited creative imagination, a gift for depicting emotion in his figures, a strong sense of color and design. He created some very surreal masterworks. A true innovator. I will never tire of looking at Giotto's art.

'"He converted the art of painting from Greek to Latin and brought in the modern era" - this is Cennino Cennini's synthesis fifty years after Giotto's death, underscoring the revolutionary character of Giotto's painting'- see more images and read more here:

Giotto

The Art of Amy Crehore