The Paintings of Claude Verlinde

Aphrodite
La déchirure
Le Mariage

What a find! Claude Verlinde, a contemporary painter born in 1927. Some call it "imaginary realism" - which is exactly the way I used to describe my own paintings. How lovely and surreal these are. They are painted with such attention to detail, with humor and feeling. More here:

Galerie Michelle Boulet

Thanks to Internet Weekly
The Art of Amy Crehore

Hugo Boettinger 1880-1934, Painter

Hugo Boettinger in his studio with the large painting "Zwei Blumenmädchen" (1911)-see the guitar in the background?

"Jugend", oil painting by Hugo Boettinger, 1918

"Three Girls Bathing on Bach" 1910 painting by Hugo Boettinger

Who was Hugo Boettinger (or Bottinger)? He was Czech painter who was born in 1880 and died in 1934. He was also a graphic artist and studied at the Prague Academy. He was a friend of T. F. Simon, another amazing painter.
You can find a whole page devoted to Boettinger on
tfsimon.com .
Follow the link and scroll down the page to see lots of photos, paintings and graphic works. He apparently loved music as there are photos of him holding an accordian, a violin, and a guitar. The painting above is entitled "Three Girls Bathing on Bach". The other painting, "Jugend", pre-dates Balthus, yet it has much in common with him. One wonders if Balthus saw these works and was influenced by Boettinger.
Here is another site with images: Michis-Seiten .
Boettinger's paintings of nudes bathing are fascinating compositions. You can see how he loved to overlap the poses of his figures- legs, arms, angles -to suggest interesting relationships. I like to do that, too. I am glad I stumbled upon this great artist!
The Art of Amy Crehore

Teenar, Girl Guitar - Fashion Preview

Teenar photo copyright 2007 Lou Reimuller

Lou Reimuller, luthier and creator of Teenar, Girl Guitar, is allowing me to post a little preview of Teenar in her new "updated" outfit. She never ages and is just as beautiful as ever. Out of the 1980's and into the 21st century! Teenar, Girl Guitar is having a resurgence of hits on my blog from Japan - mostly coming from www.hiroburo.com- one year after I inititally posted about her (perhaps because J-walk blog recently picked up my old post).

Lou Reimuller is also building my new Tickler Ukuleles. The #2 Tickler Uke will be revealed sometime in January. He's the other half of the Hokum Scorchers (photo link).

The Art of Amy Crehore

Kitchen Animals

These kitchen items make cooking more fun in Japan. The panda skillet and the pink pig potholder can be ordered from Fred Flare
I guess I'm in the holiday spirit because my blog is beginning to look like a gift guide! I'm sure I'll snap out of it soon.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Nice Ukulele Case

GUARDIAN VINTAGE UKULELE CASE SOPRANO - Classic styling with heavy-duty 5-ply shaped shell, arched lid, brass latches, very comfortable padded handle, durable black pebble-grain exterior, padded interior with crushed velour lining, accessory box, sized to fit most shaped soprano ukuleles with a maximum width of ~6.75" and total length of ~21.75." Very nice case. Imported from Asia. Only $60.00 at

Elderly

I ordered this hard shell case for the #1 Tickler Ukulele. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived in record time and I saw that the interior is actually a beautiful emerald green crushed velveteen. This case perfectly compliments the Tickler ukulele and it will make it extra easy to ship without damage. It's got a nice vintage feeling about it and it's hard as a rock. The person who bought the # 1 uke will be as thrilled as I am with it. Stay tuned for the # 2 Tickler Ukulele due out sometime in January.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Rare Old Books

Here are some examples of interesting old illustrated children's books

from the 19th century that I found for sale on a site

called Rare Maps and Books

Shown above is "The Book of Laughter" from 1850 and "Happy Little People" from 1898 - both make use of animals and humor.

Also, "Jimmy Sliderlegs" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1890, which is actually the same book as "Slovenly Peter" (my fav) with a different cover. Nice drawings and typefaces.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Mitch O'Connell - Glitter Graphics

Check out Glitter Graphics at artist Mitch O'Connell's site to see the kitty kat image above animated in all of it's glory. Colleen Fry did the glitter animation work for him: http://www.myspace.com/colleenshutterbug

(thanks, boingboing)

The Art of Amy Crehore