Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Surreal Portraits

Vertumnus, 1590, oil on canvas by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
The Librarian, 1566, oil on canvas by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (one of my favorite museums) is having a show of 16 Giuseppe Arcimboldo portrait paintings. It opens on Sunday, September 19, 2010 and runs through January 9, 2011.
The show will travel to Milan, Italy after that. Guiseppe was born in Milan in 1527 and died there in 1593. "His portraits of human heads made up of vegetables, fruits, sea creatures and tree roots were greatly admired by his contemporaries and remain a source of fascination today" LINK.
These paintings are timeless. They are inventive, surreal, modern, masterfully painted and full of humor. Watch a video narrated by Isabella Rossellini on the National Gallery website.
On view together for the first time in the USA:

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Illustrated Book Plates

Alphonse Inoue
A. Odehnal
There are some beautiful etched book plates (Ex Libris) on this site. I like these two.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Photosculpture of the Hokum Scorchers in Los Angeles by Mark Lowrie

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Photosculpture of Hokum Scorchers Band Copyright Mark Lowrie
Mark Lowrie makes the coolest photosculptures! He came to my "Dreamgirls and Ukes" gallery show last year in Los Angeles and he took a series of photos of my band, The Hokum Scorchers, playing music at the opening. As you can see, Lou Reimuller is playing a banjo-uke and I am playing the washboard. My fine art paintings and my painted ukes hang to the side of us and behind us. This image shows just a small corner of my entire solo show which featured a total of 15 oil paintings and 13 painted antique ukuleles. Mark made this wonderful photosculpture with the photos he took that night.
See more of Mark's amazing art here:
Listen to the Hokum Scorchers band here. And on my website.
Mark documented my entire "Dreamgirls and Ukes" art show with his photos!: LINK
Thanks again Mark! It really meant a lot to me to have you there.