Sunset Textures

 

The Troll In The Tree

 

The troll face peeking from the tree stump is by beloved Swedish artist and illustrator John Bauer.  Born in 1882, the third of four children, Bauer left home at 16 for Stockholm, studying classical art at the Royal Academy of Art.  In 1904, he was commissioned to do a book about Lappland and spent a summer following the Sami reindeer herders on their migrations.

Later he lived in southern Italy for two years and was struck by the beauty of 14th Century art and artifacts.  His most famous work, the illustrations to the first of eight volumes of Bland Tomtar och Troll (Among Gnomes and Trolls), a collection of fairy tales written by Swedish authors, was published in 1907.  It was hugely successful.

(information from https://www.artpassions.net/bauer/bauer.html)

 

Ghost Raven

 

Forest Pool

 

For someone with no education in art and only a smattering of knowledge, I yet still manage to be an art snob.  One definition of art that I absolutely love is that "Art communicates with other people.  And great art communicates something universal about the human condition."  If you look at the greats of painting, you understand their works without needing words.  That's why I don't consider abstract art to be "real" art.  Each person perhaps - perhaps! - can find meaning in it for themselves.  If they want to.  If they bother.  But there's nothing universal about it.  There's nothing about squiggles and lines that speaks to all people equally.  There's no substance there that is capable of moving people emotionally.

The attraction of abstract art, then, is that it's tremendous fun to create!  It's playtime, an unabashed return to the childhood joy of finger-painting.  The fun is all for the painter, and not so much about the viewer.

And that's all right.  Nowhere is fun actually against the law.  (Although, a toilet displayed in a museum???  Ick.  That should carry a substantial fine, at the very least.)

So in the spirit of fun, I dabble in abstraction myself.  I'm a great believer in fun.  To my mind, there's far too little of it around today.  So whatever I can do to find it, and even spread it about, I'm game.  May I suggest that you dabble too?  Doodle, splash, whatever.  There is a lot to be said for spending some quality time with yourself, quietly indulging your creative side.  And there's no down side.  So have at it.  Create.  Seek joy.  You won't be sorry.

Wishful Thinking

Can't wait to go on a road trip!  Normal is around the corner.

Colored Windows

 

The Colors of Night

 

Skywalker

 

A Walk In The Elf Wood

 

Shining Stars

Kay's Words of Wisdom

The idea is that we very seldom do anything perfectly the first time.

All accomplishment is a matter of practice, and the more we practice, the sooner we'll get good at it.  Funny how that works, huh?

Latest Photos With An Upbeat Focus

Some new inspiration now at Rutabaga Art Studio, downtown Geneseo IL.

Doodling In Front of the TV

Birthday Girl

Watercolor and archival pigment on paper.

The Art of Nature

I've been reading books on art, because what better way to spend quarantine time?  (Well, making art, of course.)  I decided to combine these three photos and make something different.  This is computer-edited, but I could just as well paint it.  I may do that too.  There's no limit to what you can imagine, and if you can imagine it, you can make it.  Life is good.

And another one, super-heated this time.

What To Do On A Cold Winter Day?

Make some art, of course!

 acrylic

 Photoshop

 watercolor

Summer Bouquet

Magic In The Mail

New art pens, woohoo!  It really takes very little to make me happy.

Sunday Drive in Tuscany

Beautiful Chaos