Natural Fashion, Natural Art

I've been looking at the photos that Hans Silvester took of the people of the Omo Valley (Surma and Mursi Tribes) in east Africa. These people decorate each other in the most creative ways. On this link you will find some fascinating photos from his book, Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa, such as the one shown here.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Time Lapse - Clouds

timerPan2 a video by steve_lodefink on Flickr.

This is beautiful. Steve Lodefink shot this little film of clouds. He tells you how he does it on his blog, Finkbuilt, where you will see a few more time lapse films of Seattle.
http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog/downtown-seattle-time-lapse/

Via Flickr:
another kitchen timer time lapse pan.
Rainbow ending.

Sheet Music Designs of Magritte

Hyperallergic has some examples of sheet music that Rene Magritte, the surrealist painter, designed in the 1920s. Follow the link below to see a couple more examples. Apparently he designed and illustrated about 40 in all. These designs reflect the art deco period. Just about every representational painter in art history did some sort of commercial work. Magritte was a well-rounded artist with a knack for composition and design as well as a talent for creating mysterious paintings.

Sheet Music Rene Magritte

The Art of Amy Crehore

1949 Bigsby Solid Body Electric

This guitar just sold at the Vintage Guitars and Musical Instrument Signature Auction in Dallas for a whopping $266,500. LINK If you want to find out more about the maker of this instrument, Paul Bigsby, there is a new blog called The Bigsby Files. Deke Dickerson is the author of the new blog.

Thanks, Fretboard Journal

Saber's Pick #4 (Amy Crehore)

This is so cool! Wonderful artist Saber held a contest on twitter to pick an artist to be featured in Juxtapoz print magazine and I came in at number 4. I am really honored. This is what he wrote about my art: "(Amy Crehore) Is a savage painter. She sneaks by you casting a line and hook that then reels you into her innocent sexual playfulness all the while leaving you stranded as a tickled voyeur creeping in on this dreamlike island utopia where anything goes…I wouldn’t mine being stranded for a bit. Great detailed technical paintings."

 Made my day.

Go to: Saber's Blog

where you can see the winner and list of finalists.

Check out Saber's Art and follow him on twitter.

You can follow me on twitter as well.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Punch Digs Bathing Caps (1950)

Paul Gravett interviews R. Crumb

There's a great new interview with R. Crumb by Paul Gravett. Here's the LINK

Crumb will be the focus of an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, France opening April 13, 2012.

Sketchbooks of Degas

You can view many of the sketchbooks of Degas on this link (National Library of France): Gallica bnf.

Pretty Baa-Lambs

"Pretty Baa-Lambs" by Ford Maddox Brown 1851-1859

Sometimes it pays to re-visit websites that I blogged about earlier (Oct 2009) because they are endlessly fascinating and educational.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Pre-Raphalite Collection

The Art of Amy Crehore

Details of Progress (Amy Crehore)

I took these quick detail shots of the new painting with my ipod.

I'm having fun brushing it in very freely at first.

I will have to set this aside for a few days, but I'll get back to it after I finish my taxes.

The Art of Amy Crehore

ArtofAmyCrehore
See my previous posts about this painting: HERE , HERE , HERE

Process of Painting (Amy Crehore)

Yesterday, I quickly brushed in some color and blocked in some forms on the new painting. I am thinking how cool it looks right now with the large figure not even filled in yet. I'm being careful to leave some of the reddish undercoat showing through my layers of brushwork. The contrast of different colors is exciting. The process of painting itself reveals what direction to take, as if I am being guided along by an invisible force. No real decisions are made ahead of time, except in the preliminary sketch where I worked out a composition. Even that may change as I go along, but at least I have a starting place, a skeleton. My pencil sketch evolved out of the process of erasing and re-drawing and feeling it out.

I use "memories of what life feels like" when I do my art. That is one of my main tools. I take a walk and look at the sky. I feel the sun and smell the flowers. I gaze at the trees.

It feels the same as it did when I was a kid.

I get to exist right in the moment when I paint or draw. Everything else falls away. It is such a joy to escape into art, to focus on the process. Painting itself can be quite a struggle and it's outcome unknown.

It is about continual change, sort of like life itself or the weather. Gotta have faith and confidence that it'll all work out in the end, no matter how long it takes. 

I just do my thing and work it out.

Here are links to my earlier posts about this painting: LINK  & LINK

The Art of Amy Crehore

ArtofAmyCrehore

Progress in Painting (Amy Crehore)

Here's what I did yesterday on the new painting.

See my previous post for pencil sketch. 

The Art of Amy Crehore

ArtofAmyCrehore

amy@amycrehore.com

What am I up to?

Finished a preliminary drawing for a new painting.
(copyright Amy Crehore 2012)

Let's hope I can figure this one out. Here's the beginning.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Art of Amy Crehore

Woodblock Prints of the Sino-Japanese War 1894-95

These are amazing! Japanese Meiji woodblock prints were churned out by the dozens during the Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895. They were mostly imaginative images based on news reports (done by many different artists). One artist, who produced more than 70 prints, was Kobayashi Kiyochika (a few examples of his excellent work are shown above- from the Sharf Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston). There are more images and story to be found on this beautiful site:

 LINK

(Throwing Off Asia II by John W. Dower, MIT edu)