Very Old Game Boards

These game boards are from the early to mid 1800's. The swans and elephant are hand-colored etchings mounted on linen and the game-board showing a mine w/tunnels is a lithograph. Beautiful graphics, don't you think?

Follow this link for explanations and examples of even more games dating as early as 1588-BibliOdyssey.

Except where noted, all these board game prints were sourced from the British Museum Prints Database .

The Art of Amy Crehore

The Bouncing Jug

Jaques Tati - Clip from the film Mon Oncle (1958) -"The struggle of a simple man with a highly modern kitchen and a bouncing jug"... thanks Callash

Happy Valentine's Day 2010

Happy Valentine's Day 2010
Originally uploaded by stevechasmar

Paper moons
on flickr -collection of
Steve Chasmar

Mark Frauenfelder reports from TED Conference

Ukulele Virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro got a standing ovation for his performance at TED yesterday. Mark Frauenfelder of BOINGBOING lists these quotes from the musician: "The ukulele is underdog of all instruments." "If everyone played ukulele, the world would be a better place." "What the world needs now is more ukulele." "Ukulele is the instrument of peace."
Mark says, "One of my favorite presentations of the day was by Dr. William Li, a cancer researcher from the Angiogenesis Foundation. The good news, Li says, is that 'we can eat to starve cancer.' Lots of foods contain naturally occuring inhibitors of angiogenesis, and many are even better than drugs for blocking angiogenesis (see image above)."

Read more at BOINGBOING , plus Mark will do an interview with Jake Shimabukuro soon.

Also, here is the TED conference LINK . I am following TED NEWS on twitter.

I'm looking forward to designer/illustrator Marian Bantjes speaking at TED on Friday from 2:15-4 pm. She was included in "The Scarlet Lettering", a letterpress project from the Cloudy Collection. There are still prints available if you follow the link. You may remember that my art was part of the very first Cloudy Collection card set (monkey image)!

The Art of Amy Crehore

Vintage Ukuleles -My Inspiration!

Uke design copyright 2010 Amy Crehore

I can't stop now! I have a few more vintage instruments to enhance with art - including a "minty" (in more ways than one) green Montgomery Ward duco-finished uke from the 1920's. It was found carefully preserved in the original mail order box. (It matches my "Demon" uke.) Can't wait to paint a design on that one.

Above, is a little sketch I came up with for the headstock of a blond-color vintage banjo-uke that someone kindly gave to me after my art show last year. The tuners were missing and it needed some clean-up. It's a Slingerland style-uke that has now been restored to a nice shine. An authentic set of vintage tuners were found to fit it. Luckily, my luthier loves removing rust from brackets,etc. (This one matches my Slingerland black "Tuxedo" uke.)

In fact, this weekend would be the anniversary of my "Dreamgirls and Ukes" show in L.A. .(A lot of the paintings and ukes from this art show have now found happy homes, but there are still some pieces available -if interested, feel free to contact: amy@amycrehore.com with inquiries.) I am also working on a couple of brand new canvases and a letterpress print right now. Lots to do!
The Art of Amy Crehore

Boys' Choir Meowing

Boy's choir singing classical music in feline vocals

"Be the Jazz King of Your Town"

Banjo-Uke Everyday Life
Originally uploaded by katinthecupboard

This ad from 1926 says the banjo-uke
is "the most popular instrument there is".
Follow link to read more!

thanks, katinthecupboard's flickr and
www.ukulelia.com

Dali, the showman

Here are a couple of cool photos of Salvador Dali (for you, Raliegh) from Crack Two (125 rare photos of famous people). There are some other interesting photos if you follow the link. The only thing I don't like is that Manson's mug is posted underneath his victim. Too creepy for me. Hollywood Babylon is still going strong, I think.

Moise Kisling, painter of women

Painting by Kisling

Kisling 1935 (TopFoto Gallery)
Great photo book about artsts in Paris includes Kisling

Nude by Kisling
Here's a Moise Kisling nude - he did wonderful melancholy portraits of women, including Kiki (famous artist model in Paris that Man Ray photographed). Although I cannot find a website devoted to him, Google images displays a selection of great paintings: Follow this LINK. A great book called "KIKI'S PARIS: Artist and Lovers 1900-1930" (I have it at home) has many photos and stories about Kisling. He was born in Poland on Jan. 22, 1891 and died on Apr. 29, 1953. He moved to Paris in 1913, where his friends included Modigliani, Picasso and Kiki.
Thanks for reminding me about Kisling, eric orchard !

The Art of Amy Crehore

Bolano at Barcelona

A very conservative dress except for the teddy bear heads! From Macleans.Ca: A model presents a creation from the Manuel Bolano collection at the 080 Barcelona fashion show, January 27, 2010. REUTERS/Albert Gea LINK

Skull Theft of Geniuses

What happened to Goya's head? Apparently he wasn't the only one.

Read about it: MACLEANS LINK (Story by Brian Bethune)

"Every Glass Sterilized" 1933

1933
Originally uploaded by hastingsgraham

Photo of the Day.

My New Paintings in Progress (Crehore)

Figure Sketch by Amy Crehore (beach scene copyright 2009)
Partial scan of new oil painting on linen in progress by Amy Crehore
(beach scene, right-hand side)

Partial scan of new painting on linen in progress by Amy Crehore (beach scene, left-hand side with ukulele player)

Partial scan of another new oil painting on linen in progress by Amy Crehore (banjo player)

I always like the way things look while they are still progressing, so I thought I would scan parts of these paintings in mid-stream. I have been working very hard for weeks on these two new works. You can see my preliminary sketch (at top) for one of these paintings.
The Art of Amy Crehore

Simplicissimus

These magazine covers from the 1920's are beautiful and inspiring. Simplicissimus was a satirical German Magazine started by Albert Langen in April 1896 and published through 1967. Contributors included writers Thomas Mann, Herman Hesse, Rainer Maria Rilke, and artists George Grosz and Käthe Kollwitz. Read more about history here: wikipedia

See more covers at ephemera assemblyman (thanks!) and at their website archive: Simplicissimus Magazine.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Draw Serge!

Serge by Mitch Blunt
Serge by Lionel Richerand

I keep meaning to find the time to draw one of these! Here are two fantastic drawings of Serge Gainsbourg done for

"Draw Serge!"

a blog curated by illustrator Jonathan Edwards. Fun!!

The Art of Amy Crehore

Frida Kahlo-Inspired Video

Thanks, bafoeg1234 and www.artnet.com

Watch her shave her nose and play a uke. Love this video. She still inspires many.

Hokum Scorchers' Songs

Lou Reimuller and Amy Crehore- The Hokum Scorchers Band

I finally added 4 more Hokum Scorchers songs to my myspace music/art profile for a total of ten songs:

http://www.myspace.com/thehokumscorchers

Have a listen.These were all recorded in the 1990's. We rarely play gigs anymore, the last one being the opening of my "Dreamgirls and Ukes" art show at Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles, CA last February. Thanks, again Thinkspace! It was truly a night to remember.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Sundance Banksy

sundance twentyten
Originally uploaded by Siân Elizabeth-Anne

Banksy film
to premiere at Sundance?

Photo by Sian Elizabeth-Anne on flickr

Serge Gainsbourg Film Opens Today in France

Serge with Jane Birkin

http://www.gainsbourg-lefilm.com/
NEWS: http://gainsbourgfilm.blogspot.com/

Vintage Postcard of the Day ~ Pierrots

Vintage Postcard ~ Costume Kids
Originally uploaded by chicks57

Thanks, chicks57 on flickr!

George Barsony Ceramics

Barsony FL 48 lamp

1950's and 60's black lady lamps and figurines made in Australia by George Barsony Ceramics- there is a beautiful collection of this mid-century design on flickr :

LINK

(Thanks, black-afro)

The Art of Amy Crehore

What was the Vitaphone Process?

The video that I blogged in the previous post of the 1928 all-girl novelty band, The Ingenues, was an example of a Vitaphone film. What was Vitaphone? "Vitaphone was a sound film process used on features and nearly 2,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. This was not the original process. The first process was called Fuchessound. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes. The soundtrack was not printed on the actual film, but was issued separately on 16-inch phonograph records. The discs would be played while the film was being projected. Many early talkies, such as The Jazz Singer (1927), used the Vitaphone process. .... The business was established at Western Electric's Bell Laboratories in NYC and acquired by Warners Bros. in April 1925. Warner Bros. introduced Vitaphone film shorts (recorded in Brooklyn, NY) on August 6, 1926 with the release of the silent feature Don Juan starring John Barrymore with music score and sound effects only (no dialogue)".....read more on wikipedia

The VITAPHONE PROJECT -

"In 1991 a group of film buffs and record collectors met to discuss the possibility of seeking out the shellac soundtrack discs that accompanied early 1926-1930 Vitaphone (and other) talkie shorts and features. The Vitaphone Project was formed to accomplish this goal as well as to partner with the studios (particularly Turner/WB), film archives (UCLA, LOC, BFI), and private collectors worldwide in order to get these films restored and seen again. Of particular interest were the nearly 2,000 talkie short subjects, featuring vaudevillians, bands, opera singers, and comedians made by Vitaphone from 1926-1929. In many cases 35mm picture elements exist without an accompanying soundtrack.
Since its inception The Vitaphone Project has located over 3,000 12- and 16-inch shellac soundtrack discs in private hands, has assisted on the restoration of over 35 shorts and 12 features, and has developed nearly $300,000 in private funding for restorations. There are still over 80 shorts for which picture, but no sound, exists" ...read more here: Vitaphone Project

RED NICHOLS VITAPHONE 1929 - WATCH

The Art of Amy Crehore

1928 All-Girl Banjo Band

Duke Davis' Custom Banjo

The Beautiful Creations of Haitian Artists

George Valris and Wife
Maxon

Riguad Benoit
Andre Laurent
The Haitian sequined flags are from the Haiti Art Cooperative. The paintings are from the Haitian Art Society website. I have blogged about Haitian art before. I have always loved the paintings, voodoo flags and sculptures. My heart goes out to Haiti right now... more than ever.

The Art of Amy Crehore

I'm a Polaroid Gal, too!

Playing costume dress-up with a friend for photo (I'm on right-that's not my real hair!)-Polaroid photo
With my little brother at Xmas-Polaroid photo

Fake Woodgrain on the back of the new Polaroid PIC-1000

My grandfather had the coolest camera of all-time: a Polaroid that took black and white photos. I was hooked and I became a Polaroid girl when I grew up. I had my Olympus 35mm for serious photography, but my Polaroid was the one that I took on trips. I used it often to quickly capture events as they happened and to record sudden inspirations. Some of these images found their way into my paintings.
Polaroid is making a comeback! Lady Gaga has signed on as creative director of a specialty line of Polaroid products.
LINK
I'll be the first in line to get one. I miss my Polaroid.
The Art of Amy Crehore

Queen of Clubs

Queen of Clubs
Originally uploaded by stevechasmar

Bauhaus had lots of women! Don't you know?

The Bauhaus 1919–1933: Workshops for Modernity exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art runs until January 25, 2010. There is a special website of the exhibit with lots of history and photos:

LINK

This is "MoMA’s first major exhibition since 1938 on the influential school of avant-garde art. Founded in 1919 and shut down by the Nazis in 1933, the Bauhaus brought together artists, architects, and designers." Also, there is an interesting new book about the women of Bauhaus that I might just have to pick up, after reading this article and others:

Haus proud: The women of Bauhaus by Jonathan Glancy in the Guardian,UK.

Here's the link to the book:
Bauhaus Women by Ulrike Muller .

The Art of Amy Crehore

History of the Book!

History of the Book, Amsterdam's photos is an amazing flickr collection "presenting typographical material of different countries - most of it from the Netherlands for the period 1470-1800 and France 16th century printers. This collection of photos is 'work in progress' of the chair for the History of the Book at the University of Amsterdam."

LINK
(thanks, bibliodyssey)
The Art of Amy Crehore

En Patufet

Cover of the first issue of En Patufet 1904
1925
1925

1933

These beautiful images are from various issues of "En Patufet". I found them on Juan Navarro's blog: http://vinyetes.blogspot.com/ (thanks, Valerie).

' "En Patufet" (top image) was the title of an influential children's magazine in Catalan published from 1904 to 1938, and again from 1968 to 1973.

Patufet is also the main character of one of the most famous folktales of Catalan origin.
He's usually presented as a very little kid the size of a rice grain, wearing a big red barretina so that his parents can better spot him around the place.' LINK: Wikipedia

The Art of Amy Crehore

What Am I Working On?

In Progress- small detail of a much larger work by Amy Crehore
In Progress- detail of larger painting by Amy Crehore
I'm working on a couple of paintings right now. Here, I'm showing you some details of unfinished works. The top one will actually have ten figures in it. I also have some ukulele things going on and a letterpress in the works. This month, and into the new year, I'll be very busy creating new art. Stay tuned to my blog as things unfold.
The Art of Amy Crehore

Happy New Year 2010

Click to Enlarge

“Her Majesty the Ballerina” (by Figuier), is from a satirical Catalan almanac from 1907. (My friend Valerie from Barcelona sent me this artwork and explained it to me). The caption says: "The flower of the stage is anointed with mistletoe, Young and old who approach her fall prisoner at her feet". Valerie says this was a wicked old way to catch birds: 'The word "viscosity" derives from the Latin word "viscum" for mistletoe. A viscous glue was made from mistletoe berries and used for lime-twigs to catch birds.'