Butterfly Hunter

Nabokov

Every summer Vladimir Nabokov and his wife would go butterfly hunting. He deposited the specimens he found at scientific institutions such as Harvard or Cornell Universities. It was during these expeditions that "Lolita" was finally finished in 1954, 14 years after Nabokov had first thought of the idea. He wrote the novel in the evenings or on cloudy days while travelling through America: western places such as Telluride, CO; Afton, Wyoming; Portal, Arizona; and Ashland, OR. He was not a party person. He liked to hang out with his wife, play chess and hunt butterflies. The rest of the time was spent mostly writing in solitude, for that is what all great writers do.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Lo and Behold: Amy Crehore's "Literartistry" Paintings

Click to enlarge details- Amy Crehore "Story of Lolita" paintings

"The Story of Lolita, Part One" copyright 2007 Amy Crehore

"The Story of Lolita, Part Two" copyright 2007 Amy Crehore

Click on Images to Enlarge

In the book "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, Humbert Humbert is a demon-man full of lust for little Lo, his twelve year old American step-daughter. Humbert was psychologically stunted at age 13 because his first love, Annable Leigh, had died of typhus at only 12. "Lolita" is a prison "memoir" written by an intellectual adult man (Humbert) who is also a murderer and child molestor. ' In recounting his relations with Lolita, Humbert gradually moves from feeling only blind lust for the twelve-year-old "nymphet" girl, to genuine and everlasting love for a worn-out, old-before-her-time adult woman. The reader abhors Humbert's lust, and using of Lolita, but can empathize with his constant guilt over his physiological addiction.' (link) The novel is brilliantly well-written with continuous streams of complex and clever literary allusions. The poetic novel, "Lolita", has inspired my two new paintings (above) for the upcoming group show, "Literartistry".

The "Literartistry" show opens at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, CA on August 11, 2007 from 7-10 pm and continues for 3 weeks. About 50 artists will participate, each interpreting his/her favorite book, and the books themselves will be available for check-out in an upstairs library. Please contact gallery for purchases and check their website for online viewing.

To see my paintings without frames go to:

The Art of Amy Crehore

George Barbier

Detail of Fan 1912 by G. Barbier




1912 Fan by G. Barbier
George Barbier (1882-1932) is considered one of the finest illustrators in the Art Deco genre.

He had the same sense of elegance as the finest Japanese printmakers.
George Barbier

The Art of Amy Crehore

Wanda Gag

Wanda Hazel Gág was born on March 11, 1893 in New Ulm, Minnesota. I wish I had known Wanda Gag. She wrote and illustrated "Millions of Cats" in 1928. It's one of my favorite children's books. Here is a photo of the French version. "Millions of Cats" was named a Newbery Honor Book the year it came out. Gág is credited with being the first artist to utilize the double-page spread and to revive hand lettered text. Her pen and ink drawings have this incredible sense of rhythm. They flow up and down and all around...from page to page. Wanda also exhibited her fine art in NYC galleries and she was a friend of Georgia O'Keefe. I never knew that. It seems she was a very clever artist indeed. She is even sporting a Louise Brooks hairdo in this attractive photo.

You can read more and see a list of books by

Wanda Gag

The Art of Amy Crehore

Lolita Fashions

"Classical Lolita"

"Lolita fashion is part of the fashion style and subculture Gothic & Lolita, which originated in Japan, largely inspired by Victorian children's clothing and the elaborate costumes of the Rococo period. Other influences include the western gothic and punk fashions."

Read about Lolita Fashions

The Art of Amy Crehore

Erling Wold Blog

Erling Wold, the composer in San Francisco who owns a set of my little pierrot prints, and whom I have blogged about before, has written about my "Tickler" ukulele on his blog. Check out what he has to say... and, while you are there, take a look at a beautifully painted harpsichord by Adrian Card.

Erling Wold Blog

The Art of Amy Crehore

Nabokov's Interview with Playboy 1964

Alvin Toffler: "With the American publication of Lolita in 1958, your fame and fortune mushroomed almost overnight from high repute among the literary cognoscenti-- which you bad enjoyed for more than 30 years-- to both acclaim and abuse as the world-renowned author of a sensational bestseller. In the aftermath of this cause celebre, do you ever regret having written Lolita?"

Nabokov: "On the contrary, I shudder retrospectively when I recall that there was a moment, in 1950, and again in 1951, when I was on the point of burning Humbert Humbert's little black diary. No, I shall never regret Lolita. She was like the composition of a beautiful puzzle-- its composition and its solution at the same time, since one is a mirror view of the other, depending on the way you look. Of course she completely eclipsed my other works-- at least those I wrote in English: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Bend Sinister, my short stories, my book of recollections; but I cannot grudge her this. There is a queer, tender charm about that mythical nymphet."

Read more of this enlightening and entertaining

interview with Vladimir Nabokov.

The Art of Amy Crehore