"The Charmer" Lure

"The Charmer" 1910 by The Charmer Minnow Company

"The Charmer" 2005 by Amy Crehore

I did a painting in 2005 called "The Charmer". Coincidentally, there is an antique fishing lure called "The Charmer" as well. I had not even heard of this lure when I named my painting.

I will soon be participating in a very unusual and exciting art show of hand-painted fishing lures. I will tell you more about this show in the near future!

The antique lure in the photo was "made by The Charmer Minnow Co., Springfield Missouri. Circa 1910. Commonly referred to as the Barber Pole Bait, the Charmer minnow is a classic old and antique fishing lure. The lure was created by F. W. Breder and J. H. Loyd. The Charmer Minnow has been found in 3 sizes, with or without eyes, and a assortment of colors."- read about lures and see a lot of fascinating antique fish lures here:

OLD FISHING LURE

The Art of Amy Crehore

Mini-Monkeys by Amy Crehore

Mini-monkey paintings 1-4 by Amy Crehore copyright 2006

I like how Ozoux blog pasted all four of my mini-monkey paintings together in his art review. of last year's Blab Show (this was exactly how I pictured them layed out on a possible page): "My favorite paintings in the exhibition were the work of Amy Crehore, with her Douanier Rousseau-inspired island babes and frisky monkey" -

Check out Ozoux

And see all of my art here:

Amy Crehore

P.S. Don't look for me in the 2007 Blab show. I have moved on to other projects now.

Be sure to check out the "Literartistry" Show for my latest work in Culver City, CA.

Keane Eyes Gallery

Here is something that I never knew: Margaret Keane, creator of the Famous Big-Eyed paintings (that are so influential to certain current lowbrow painters) had to go to court to prove that she painted them and not her ex-husband.

"You see, for many years she was married to a man who claimed credit for what she painted. To prove she was in fact the artist and not her former husband, she painted in court before a Federal Judge and jury, an original oil on canvas painting. When her ex-husband was asked to paint by the judge, his reply was: "I can't today, because I have a sore shoulder." Needless to say Margaret won the case and she continues to paint those Big Eyes we have come to love so dearly. " I remember friends in San Francisco picking these paintings up at flea markets for a song twenty years ago. It looks like vintage originals are going for quite a bit now. I like the ones with cats and a few of the others. Read and see more here about Margaret Keane, painter of big eyes. The website says she accepts commissions:

Keane Eyes Gallery of San Francisco

The Art of Amy Crehore

Zombie Walks

Homepage of Zombie Walk Forum

Photo by Melissa Churley- Toronto Zombie Couple
Richmond, VA flyer from last year

My friend Tom in Richmond, VA told me all about the Zombie Walk that happened last year in his city. Before that, I hadn't heard of it. But, if you google "Zombie Walk" you will see that it's happening all over the place. Crowds of people are stumbling down city streets like ghostly dead robots with fake blood dripping on clown-white foreheads and it looks like a blast. Who didn't see the film "Night of the Living Dead" in college 15 times? Some of the art that is being shown in hip lowbrow galleries reminds me of these photos of Zombie Walks. It does, it truly does. Maybe we all have a bit of zombie in us.

ZOMBIE WALK

Wonder when the next one is? Go to this forum.

The Art of Amy Crehore

The Tragedy of John William Godward

Click on image to enlarge - painting by John William Godward

Check out the absolute beauty of this erotic and wonderful painting by John William Godward. Godward was born in 1861 and died 1922 from a suicide. He was an English Pre-Raphaelite/Neo-Classicist painter and according to Wikipedia: "He was a protégé of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema but his style of painting fell out of favour with the arrival of painters like Picasso. He committed suicide at the age of 61 and is said to have written in his suicide note that 'the world was not big enough' for him and a Picasso.
His already estranged family, who had disapproved of him becoming an artist, were ashamed of his suicide and burned his papers. No photographs of Godward are known to survive."

I actually came across this painting on Pin Up Art,

a site which has lots of fun images- commercial illustration, images from art history and Ziegfeld girls.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Beautiful Nude by Hopper

Edward Hopper 1924 Watercolor -Whitney Museum

I like this watercolor that Edward Hopper painted for his wife, Jo, shortly after he married her. He used his wife as a model for most of the female images in his work. This one is particularly nice- it is very feminine and relaxed, unlike some of his oils which seem to have a certain masculine tension about them. It seems that he struggled with the female form. But, I love Hopper's stark American landscapes -hotel rooms, trains, lobbies, theaters, NYC buildings, and houses in natural settings. He is a true American Icon himself and that is what he painted- iconic American images. His favorite teacher was Robert Henri and that tells me a lot right there about the man. He was also a magazine illustrator and teacher himself before he took up painting full-time.

Here's an interesting website:

An Edward Hopper Scrapbook

compiled by the Smithsonian.

The Art of Amy Crehore

"Literartistry" Show is Online

Listen to snippets from the music soundtrack from Lolita 1962, Nelson Riddle

It looks like both of my "Lolita" paintings sold last night at the "Literartistry" Show. I'm very happy about that! (Update: Both paintings sold on opening night, but one buyer fell through and a Crehore painting is still available! Check gallery website.) Unfortunately, I did not make it down to the opening. The show is now online for all to see, though, and it looks to be a great show with a great theme:

Corey Helford Gallery

I think I will explore my new "demon" character in some future art. Demons can be quite interesting creatures with a lot of depth and history behind them - as seen on the Cornell University library website that I blogged about a while ago.

The Art of Amy Crehore

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